Articles of Interest

Born to Lead

Posted on 15 December 2002:

THE SPORTING NEWS: SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR - TYRONE WILLINGHAM

The first of 16 speeches Tyrone Willingham gave on a night back in June started at 7 o'clock. Charles Lennon, the president of Notre Dame's alumni association, had heard and read the same things about Willingham everybody else had: That he rationed his words no matter how hungry his audience was for information; that Willingham's personality fit the public demands of being Notre Dame's football coach as well as a monk with a vow of silence fit the role of talk-radio host; that Willingham lacked the gravitas required for this particular position, a college football calling.

But Lennon knew better because Lennon knew Willingham long before Notre Dame hired him and long before Willingham became the first college football coach to be named The Sporting News' Sportsman of the Year. The two met six years ago when Notre Dame was playing Stanford and the schools' alumni groups co-sponsored a luncheon on the Palo Alto, Calif., campus a day before the game. Lennon and his wife, Joan, parked in the wrong lot and entered the wrong building. The Lennons were lost until a gentlemanly black man asked if he could help, even though he was in a hurry. "He just told Joan and me to follow him," Lennon says.

Of course Willingham did. Leading the way is what he does -- then, now and back on that warm June night on the Notre Dame campus. He finished the first speech to an alumni reunion dinner crowd in about 10 minutes, hopped on a golf cart and headed to the next. At each stop, the emcee introduced the man that Domers, still scarred from the previous winter's losing and lying, were desperate to hear. "He talked to 16 different alumni groups that night and said something different each time and got 16 standing ovations," Lennon says.

By 10 o'clock, Willingham had wrapped up the last of his shake-down-the-thunder sermons, this one to the Class of '77 celebrating its 25-year reunion. Willingham made this his final stop so he could renew old acquaintances with Michael and Cynthia Parseghian, the son and daughter-in-law of Ara, a Notre Dame legend. A few years ago at Stanford, Willingham got to know the Parseghians after quietly sponsoring a charity event to raise money for the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation. The foundation strives to develop a treatment and cure for the rare Niemann-Pick Type C disease that has claimed the lives of two of Mike and Cindy Parseghian's children.

"The only thing I remember Ty saying when he got done talking after his last speech was that he was very emotional about what he had just experienced," Lennon says. "And how happy and proud he was to be able to do it here at Notre Dame."

***

He compared himself to a Martian. When talking about his impact on college football, Willingham didn't compare himself to past successful Notre Dame coaches such as Ara Parseghian or Lou Holtz. When talking about his social importance off the field, Willingham didn't compare himself to legendary black sports figures such as Eddie Robinson or Jackie Robinson. Instead, Willingham compared himself to a Martian.

"What do we really know about Martians?" Willingham says. "Do they exist? How do they live? Yet I'd say we probably have a bias against them. But if we became more educated about them, we wouldn't have that bias, would we? If we knew more about Martians, we would think differently about them, wouldn't we? If we're going to live on Mars, I need to know more about Martians."

Willingham is one of three black head coaches employed by the 117 Division I-A college football programs -- he's the Martian in his analogy -- and the first in any sport at Notre Dame. According to the Black Coaches Association, only 17 black head coaches have been hired for 348 Division I-A openings since 1982.

When Willingham was asked before the Notre Dame-Florida State game about his views on the BCA's proposal that one of every five vacancies be filled by a black head coach, he politely declined. That makes him a focused coach but hardly a reluctant pioneer.

Willingham grew up in the 1960s in Jacksonville, N.C., which prepared him for a world that often has different rules for blacks and whites. As a boy, he had to watch Old Yeller at the Onslow Theatre from the balcony. He watched Georgetown High, a black school where his mother taught, mysteriously burn to the ground on graduation day. Four years later at Jacksonville High, Willingham beat out a white quarterback for a starting position when the concept of integration was as comfortable as North Carolina's humidity.

Willingham, 48, knows all about racial tension and will talk about it with passion and purpose. Funny how more people than ever on the Notre Dame campus, where 3.2 percent of the undergraduate students are black, have joined the conversation.

"It is a crime," Willingham says of the lack of black head coaches in college football. "Any time we as a people don't allow another person to express their talents based on color, religion or sexual preference, we deprive someone the ability to reach their potential. It's a crime. It's not just a black thing."

He applauds the BCA's initiative. He longs for the day when men like Willie Jeffries can view their profession with more pride than anger. When Jeffries was hired at Wichita State in 1979, he became the first black head coach in Division I football outside of historically black colleges. "It's racial," Jeffries says. "Most of the athletic directors making $150,000 with perks don't want to go out on a limb, and that's 50 percent of the problem."

More than half of the solution, Willingham acknowledges, involves winning. He readily acknowledges that without being the first coach in Notre Dame history to win 10 games in his first year, without beating as many top 25 teams (four) as any program in America, without doubling the Irish win total from last season, he still would be considered a work in progress. Not a legend in the making.

"When one sees that someone can handle the requirements of a certain job, that is an education," the son of a teacher says. "Education makes it easier for change to occur."

So he educates, one person at a time.

He played with kids during a promotional photo shoot at the Boys and Girls Club in South Bend, the same center where about a dozen Irish players showed up every Monday to play pingpong and video games. Thirty of those children accepted Willingham's invitation to be guests at Notre Dame's final pep rally.

He has spoken to Saint Mary's College students, high school football teams, black church congregations and mostly white civic groups. People -- regardless of race, creed or color -- are hanging on his words like they have hooks.

"I don't think we've had a sports leader make the type of impact he has had in this community," says Rev. Donald Alford of the Pentecostal Cathedral Church of God in Christ. "He has united people in the community and begun to change the image of what young football players are today, and even change the image of this community."

Community activism comes naturally for Willingham. His parents, Lilian and Nathaniel, once converted part of their home into a place where at-risk kids could spend time. Lilian Willingham, the first black on the local board of education, contributed so much that there is a Jacksonville parkway named after her.

When Tyrone Willingham arrived in South Bend, his definition of needy went far beyond the football depth chart. "It's my belief that this is a great community but one that has struggled with its own identity," he says. "There were a lot of people saying, 'You shouldn't take that job. You were 25th on the list of 26 candidates.' "

He peeks out his office window. It's 28 degrees and snowing. He arches an eyebrow and grins.

"And people in this community, partly because of the weather say, 'Why would you come to South Bend from Palo Alto?' " he says. "Well, what's wrong with South Bend? There's nothing wrong with South Bend."

The man Notre Dame players call "The Prophet" took a similar tack with his football team: There's nothing wrong with you. Willingham didn't worry about coaching the Irish from the shoulders down until August, if then. The first team meeting last January set the tone for an attitude overhaul, which is as responsible for the team's turnaround as quarterback Carlyle Holiday or cornerback Shane Walton.

Willingham used a 45-minute power-point presentation that concluded with a single click of the mouse and the word "WIN" appearing on the screen. The room erupted with hope, which had been destroyed. The program's dysfunction started to dissipate that day.

Almost a year later, Willingham has had such a profound effect on his players that senior wide receiver Arnaz Battle said after his final home game that Willingham is "like a father to me."

"We're all seeking some type of spiritual peace, some type of oneness in the world in which we live," Willingham says. "I do know that those individuals who find their place spiritually find their place in the world. If one is at peace with self, that is an amazing accomplishment. If one can create love, love is frictionless. I've been taught things run smoother the less friction you have."

Each day as Willingham walks out of his office, he walks past a large gray stone on the floor. Engraved in capital letters is the word "INSPIRE".

***

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. Or is it the eyelets? In the Notre Dame locker room on football Saturdays this fall, win or lose, athletics director Kevin White would stare at the ground the instant he saw Tyrone Willingham. White was not looking away from Willingham as much as he was looking inside him.

White would spot the tiny gold circle he was looking for, a medallion about the size of nickel bearing the likeness of a Catholic saint on the front, handed out at the team's pregame Mass. As a matter of routine, Willingham, a devout Methodist, took the Catholic symbol, strung one of the laces on his adidas through it, and wore it on his shoe during the games as a nod to all the people who call Notre Dame "Our Lady's school."

"To me, that's more than just subscribing to the ideals of this place; that's living it," White says. "Every time I see him with one of those medals in his shoes, I get goose bumps. When I see that, I see how he's bought into Notre Dame, big-time."

There was a time, of course, when White wasn't so sure. The first time he met with Willingham about the Notre Dame job was before White hired George O'Leary "straight out of central casting." White wanted to see more outward signs of Willingham's passion for Notre Dame then -- wanted to hear how badly Willingham yearned for that calling. It wasn't until after White called Willingham back -- after O'Leary resigned for having false information on his resume -- that Willingham boldly declared, "You should have hired me the first time." Had Willingham come on that strong in the initial meeting, who knows?

In White's mind he needed to hire a man with an obvious affection for Notre Dame, partly to show how strong his own is. "My interpretation of Ty (in that first meeting) could have been screened by my own insecurity," White says.

The most rewarding year of Willingham's professional life has been the most trying of White's. The man who brought Willingham to Notre Dame rarely gets credit for doing so because there is a perception White never would have asked if Jon Gruden had a less-confining contract or if Bob Stoops had a less-appreciative employer. Even Willingham has joked that he was either "three, five, seven or nine," on White's list.

White deflects credit for his hiring power to a higher power. "Divine intervention, that's what it was," he says. "The Notre Dame family prides itself in two personal characteristics: respect and humility. Ty has taken those two ideals to another level. Just by being extremely humble. Just by being himself."

Jerome Willingham has heard from his famous older brother about three or four times this football season -- less frequently than when Tyrone was at Stanford. But in those precious few conversations, he heard the excitement within his brother that the public rarely sees.

"People think it doesn't affect him," Jerome says. "It has. He tells me about the pep rallies and how there's nothing like it. He's emotional; he just doesn't show it."

Win or lose. Former Notre Dame tailback Allen Pinkett, a radio color commentator for Irish football, will remember this season more for the way Willingham handled losing to Boston College than the way the Irish beat Michigan or Florida State. Pinkett even left a phone message at Willingham's office thanking him for setting such a positive example in handling defeat.

"The poise he's exemplified, that's what we alums want Notre Dame to be," Pinkett says. "It's like he was born to coach at Notre Dame."

Born to lead, he is the Ty that binds.

Tackle the Arts

Weaver Living a Dream in NFL

Posted on 27 October 2002:

As much as he is enjoying life in the NFL, Anthony Weaver wishes he had one more year at Notre Dame.

The Baltimore Ravens rookie defensive lineman and former Irish standout hasn't let one Saturday pass without plopping himself in front of the tube and watching his alma mater. He pays special attention to the performance of his old 'mates on the D-line -- Darrell Campbell, Cedric Hilliard and Kyle Budinscak -- barking at the television as if he were right there with them on every down.

"I miss those guys a lot," Weaver said. "I wish I could be out there. Watching those guys, I feel like I'm watching my kids."

There is another reason Weaver craves to be back in an Irish uniform this season: Tyrone Willingham.

"I think he's an amazing person," Weaver said. "He made quite an impression on me. I really wish I could have played at least one year under coach Willingham."

Weaver tells the story of how last spring, when he was working out for NFL scouts at Notre Dame, Willingham called him over for a brief conversation at ND's Loftus Center. Weaver was exhausted because the scouts were pushing him to the limit, and Willingham offered some simple words of wisdom.

"He told me to catch my breath and not let those scouts dictate the pace," Weaver said. "He told me to go out there and dictate the pace. He didn't have to say that to me. He didn't even really know me. That says a lot about the man. I was like, 'This man is awesome.' "

Weaver took Willingham's words and ran with them -- literally.

A strong performance in front of those same scouts had many believing Weaver was first-round material. Weaver dropped to the second round of the draft for reasons he can't seem to figure, but he still was projected to be a starter.

And he is.

Five games into the season, Weaver is lining up for one of the best defenses in the NFL. He's been credited with eight tackles, including a sack.

With the Ravens switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 set up this season, Weaver holds down one of the starting spots at defensive end.

"It wasn't easy," said Weaver, referring to the adjustment in a 3-4-setup. "In the 4-3, you're more of attacking, attacking one gap responsibility. In the 3-4, you have two-gap responsibility. So you spend a lot of time on the field just reading instead of attacking. It was difficult, but nothing that practice can't cure."

Weaver looked like a seasoned veteran in Baltimore's 34-23 win over Denver on Sept. 30. He had one of three sacks against the Broncos and helped put extreme pressure on Denver Broncos quarterback Brian Griese.

The usually low-key Weaver even showed some emotion while celebrating several big plays, something he must have picked up from All-Pro teammate Ray Lewis.

"Ray ... he's the man," Weaver said. "He plays with so much energy, so much passion. Just knowing he's out on the field makes you want to play better.

"And he has the entrance before games, with his little dance, that makes you get so excited. I can't help but dance with him."

Even with an outspoken guy like Lewis on his team, Weaver hasn't felt any pressure to prove himself to the vets.

"I'm not nervous around those guys at all," Weaver said. "I think I'm pretty good too."

Although Weaver is adjusting well now, his progress was impeded a little bit. He didn't play a single preseason game after suffering a high ankle sprain during mini-camp. Weaver's right ankle healed in time for the team's opener at Carolina.

"I was pretty calm right until we had to run out of the tunnel," Weaver said. "I was like, "Man, I'm playing in the NFL.' I was in awe. We're playing on the road, and it was a hostile crowd. It was just like going out there and playing USC.

"Notre Dame definitely prepared me for the NFL."

But at Notre Dame, Weaver didn't have to go buy doughnuts and McDonald's for his teammates, like the Ravens' veterans make him and other rookies do these days. And at Notre Dame, Weaver didn't have to sing, "I Believe I Can Fly," in the team meeting room, like he was required to do in front of his Baltimore defensive teammates.

"I think I did pretty good singing it," Weaver said. "The guys told me I earned my signing bonus."

Weaver's contract is reportedly worth $2.65 million over four years. With his new riches, Weaver found a nice place out in a Baltimore suburb called Owings Mills.

"It's pretty quiet, but not as quiet as South Bend," Weaver joked.

Weaver also bought a Cadillac Escalade EXT and a couple of designer suits, just so he could look like a million bucks.

But there's something else Weaver still has to get that money can't buy -- his degree.

"I'm hoping to go back to Notre Dame next semester, because I have 15 credit hours left toward my degrees in government and computer applications," Weaver said. "It's definitely not going to be easy. If South Bend was warm in January, maybe that may be a little easier."

At least if he gets back to campus, Weaver can pretend like he's a part of the Irish again. Maybe by that time, he'll have something big to celebrate with them about.

"I'm hoping that everybody overlooks Notre Dame and that we win the national championship," Weaver said. "I'm praying for that, for all those people who said we had no talent and couldn't recruit anymore.

"I'm just going to sit back behind the bushes for now. But when Notre Dame is 12-0, I'm going to jump out."

Don't Believe Administration's SYR Spin

Posted on 20 October 2002:

I am writing in response to the Oct. 1 article, "New SYR gets mixed reviews." While waiting for an update on how my girlfriend was feeling and for my friend to return from the hospital early Sunday morning, I secretly hoped that an article of this nature would appear in this week's paper and give me the chance to write this response. I find it insulting that the University would attempt to place a positive spin on a policy that, I feel, placed my friend in this very compromising position.

The reason that the new alcohol policy was put into effect, to my recollection, was to promote more responsible alcohol use on campus. While the idea to limit the time of a pre-party and take the dance outside of the dorm was well-intended, I could not help but notice more students drinking to get - and stay - drunk this weekend.

I do not blame the University for the mentality of students. I am simply stating that their restrictions are exacerbating the situation. Out of the 200 people who attended our dance, I was aware of at least five examples of abusive drinking which led to illness or hospitalization. In all honesty, I saw more cases of binge drinking in the two hours before our dance Saturday than I did all last year.

If the University wants to help ensure our safety, I believe that they can provide a more conducive atmosphere for social drinking instead of fostering an environment with abusive drinking. As the social commissioner of Keough Hall and a person who has taken a lot of pride in living here, I find it truly disheartening that dorm spirit has diminished in the past year, especially among freshmen.

From what I have heard this has been consistent around campus and even the article mentioned the lack of spirit in the dorms. Many dorm dances have already been cancelled - for example, O'Neill's - and I fear that the lower attendance rates could possibly lead to the extinction of hall dances. I find dorm life to be one of the most unique parts of Notre Dame and think that the new SYR policies are a destructive force. Do not allow the University to convince themselves that the alcohol policy solves drinking issues here on campus. If these rules and regulations remain constant, it may be you waiting up all night hoping your girlfriend/boyfriend is alright and that your friend makes it home from the hospital.

Dan Degen
sophomore
Keough Hall
Oct. 2

Notre Dame Declines Big Ten Championship

Posted on 29 September 2002

SOUTH BEND, IN - September 21 (AP) The decades-long game of cat and mouse between the University of Notre Dame and the Big Ten Conference took a surprising turn today as Notre Dame was offered and declined the Big Ten football championship. Reading from a prepared statement, Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delaney (of the Ulster Delaneys) indicated that at the close of play on Saturday conference athletic directors met by emergency teleconference and determined that the best path to national respectability would be to award the championship to the Irish, (4-0), who have eliminated half of the top Big Ten teams from serious BCS contention in a fifteen-day period and hold a three-game lead on all other conference schools.

Within two hours, however, the Big Ten's old nemesis delivered a bombshell. Speaking from an undisclosed location where he was meeting with high school players reconsidering prior verbal commitments to Big Ten schools, Notre Dame coach Ty Willingham indicated that the little school from South Bend, Indiana would decline the championship. Shortly thereafter, Athletic Director Kevin White held a formal press conference at which he announced the school's official declination. White expressed "appreciation" and "respect" for the Big Ten, but indicated that the school's Board of Trustees had voted unanimously to decline the honor.

Big Ten officials were stunned at the rejection. They had already dispatched a conference jet to South Bend carrying official emissary Keith Jackson to present the championship trophy. The Hayes Trophy, emblematic of Big Ten football supremacy is named in honor of the fiery Ohio State coach who symbolized the simple, hard-nosed, midwestern values of Big Ten football. The trophy is mounted with a giant Waterford crystal sculpture of the legendary Buckeye mentor rearing back as his withered, balled-up fist lunges toward the throat of an opposing player. The sculpture is mounted on an attractive mahogany base afixed with eleven brass numbers painted scarlet and grey, maize and blue and green and white and ranging from zero to forty-five, symbolizing the graduation rates of players at the various Big Ten institutions.

Off-the-record, Notre Dame officials indicated that they smelled a rat behind the offer. There were indications that legal scholars at the University of Michigan had concocted the Big Ten gambit in the hopes that guileless Notre Dame would accept the championship trophy, thus giving rise to a legal claim of a de facto "gentlemen's agreement" by Notre Dame to join the conference and share its television, bowl and gate revenues with the cash-starved Big Ten athletic departments. When asked about this report at his press conference, White paused and responded with a chuckle, "No dice. . . As usual, we're keepin' every stinking dime for ourselves." Notre Dame has been on guard against potential Big Ten use of the "gentleman's agreement" ploy ever since 1999, when Michigan pulled the quasi-contractual theory out of its voluminous off-the-field playbook in an attempt to stop Notre Dame from playing any games before meeting Michigan in Ann Arbor. Said one Notre Dame official, "There are just so many tremendous gentlemen in the Big Ten that it gets confusing. We have to be careful we're not making agreements with them every time we talk."

Aside from financial concerns, the Notre Dame coaching staff also feared Big Ten affiliation. Members of Willingham's staff indicated that if they were required to load up on games against Big Ten opponents it would limit opportunities to play power teams such as San Jose State, Wake Forest and Cal Berkeley, thus decreasing Notre Dame's strength of schedule and damaging its BCS chances. Said one assistant coach, "You can have your games against Michigan and Purdue, but if you want pollsters to respect you you're going to have to strap it up against the Utah's and Cincinnati's of the world, or else the pollsters are going to penalize you. I think Lloyd Carr spoke for a lot of coaches around the country, when he pointed out that you really need to be concerned about strength of schedule and the BCS."

This latest rebuff of the Big Ten comes three years after Notre Dame declined a formal invitation to join the conference. Sources indicate that at that time certain conditions demanded by the Big Ten undercut the deal. Notre Dame balked at the Big Ten's demand that the famous mural on the University's library be renamed "Touchdown Jalil." Big Ten officials felt that the new nickname, while minimizing Notre Dame's image as a religious school to make it more acceptable in the secular humanist Big Ten, would also make a nod to the multiculturalism so popular at large state schools. Notre Dame's refusal to accomodate by eliminating this sign of Western hegemonism and patriarchy was met with great unease in progressive Big Ten hotbeds like Madison, Wisconsin.

Another sticking point was the previously-undisclosed monetary commitments conference membership entailed. Notre Dame officials were shocked when they discovered the millions of dollars in premiums required of each conference member in order to maintain the term-life insurance policy the conference has taken out on Penn State head coach Joe Paterno. Said one Notre Dame official, "The folks at Minnesota told us that the Paterno insurance payments alone ate up all of their football gate receipts. No wonder none of them make any money."

Reportedly, Notre Dame also balked at the demands that it bring itself more in line with the curriculum of the Big Ten schools. Notre Dame faculty refused to consider implementing a more diverse curriculum including popular Big Ten majors such as Parks and Recreation, Kineseology, Leisure and Tourism, Opening Child-Proof Caps and Breathing.

The Big Ten likewise rejected certain of Notre Dame's requests, including that Northwestern be required to participate in a "play-in" game against Air Force and Duke to retain conference membership and a non-negotiable demand that Michigan State mascot "Sparty" be banned from the conference. Said Rev. Timothy Scully, Executive Vice President of Notre Dame, "Look, our alumni are pretty family-oriented kinds of folks. We really don't want to join a conference where you have this guy who looks like he just left a Greenwich Village Halloween party roaming the sideline. Kids shouldn't have to see that kind of thing."

The rejection of the Hayes Trophy comes in a year that has seen rising tensions between Notre Dame and the conference schools. Conference opinion was sharply critical of the firing earlier this year of former Notre Dame coach Bob Davie who was widely respected as the first Notre Dame coach since 1963 to uncover a talent gap with Michigan State. Notre Dame's unilateral abandonment of Coach Davie's gentleman's agreement with Big Ten schools to avoid using superior determination, discipline and coaching to win close games was seen as an unfair shift of policy by Notre Dame. Conference officials fear Notre Dame's approach represents an unwelcome change in tactics meant to return to the days of the 1980's and early 90's when Lou Holtz -- widely viewed in the Big Ten as ungentlemanly -- compiled a 20-1-1 record against the Big Ten and defeated the conference champion in five straight meetings. In this regard, the Big Ten has made a formal protest that Willingham's promise to "get back to the business of being Notre Dame again" was unnecessarily threatening and inflammatory.

Notre Dame's rejection comes as a setback for the Big Ten in what had been an otherwise auspicious year for conference schools. In June, Purdue retained the title of owner of "The World's Largest Drum" when a Bosnian effort to unseat it failed in a disastrous construction accident. And earlier this month the Ohio State University announced that the percentage of alumni owning shoes had reached an all-time high of eighty-two percent.

In an attempt to ease the Big Ten's again-ruffled feathers, Notre Dame agreed to place the Hayes Trophy on display on campus for a short period as a sign of respect and goodwill. While the University's athletic display cases in the Joyce Center are already at capacity holding national championship, bowl and Heisman trophies as well as game balls from victories over national powers such as Alabama, Texas, Florida State and USC, Notre Dame officials promised to find the trophy a place of honor, probably next to the trophy for last year's Big East women's lacrosse championship.

Celebrities take shots at TV's Dicky V.

Posted on 22 September 2002:

SOUTH BEND -- A chance meeting in the men's room gave Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey even more material to work with Thursday evening.

Offered the opportunity to serve as one of the many celebrity speakers in "A Roast of Dick Vitale" the sixth-annual event to benefit Life Treatment Centers, Brey had a host of topics to touch on for an audience around 500 inside the Joyce Center Fieldhouse.

One subject that drew plenty of attention was Vitale's hair, or lack of it.

During a break between dinner and the night's festivities, Brey walked into the first-floor rest room, where he spotted the ESPN color commentator for college basketball running a comb over his head.

"Dick likes to say he has a receding hairline -- it has receded all the way back to his neck," Brey said. "He goes for a haircut -- $50 bucks. Ten dollars for the haircut, $40 for the finder's fee."

And ...

"Most experts say there's a very thin line between genius and insanity. Dick Vitale has erased that line."

Texas Tech head basketball coach Bob Knight was one of many to offer his views on Vitale by videotape.

"I've never seen a guy who could talk so fast with one eye," he offered.

As if almost on cue up on the dais, Vitale turned to chat with fellow ESPN analyst Digger Phelps. Knight then fired off a zinger at the former Notre Dame coach.

"He combs his hair like he's studying to be a corpse," Knight said of his close friend.

There were times where it was tough figuring out who was being roasted -- Phelps or Vitale.

"Don't feel too bad, Dick," women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw said of Vitale not attending Notre Dame. "Digger didn't get in either."

And so it went during a long evening filled with one-liners and laughs for someone who loves the University of Notre Dame as much as anyone who has ever graduated from the place. Maybe loves it almost as much as Duke University.

Former Notre Dame quarterback Thomas Krug and his wife, Vitale's daughter Sherri, are expecting twin boys. Only his father-in-law, Krug believes, already has the names picked out.

"Duke and Blue Devil," Krug said of a man he sometimes refers to as "Duke Vitale."

Other roasters in attendance included New York Liberty head coach and long-time Vitale friend Richie Adubato, former Irish All-American Pat Garrity and USA Today sports media columnist Rudy Martzke.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, Utah's Rick Majerus and Louisville's Rick Pitino checked in via video. Washington Post columnist and PTI co-host Tony Kornheiser marveled about Vitale having written three autobiographies.

"A guy who's never read a book has written three," he said.

Brey even brought material for some of his fellow roasters. Hounded by Purdue head coach Gene Keady since he took the job, Brey will have Notre Dame play Purdue beginning with the 2004-05 season. The Irish will rotate Indiana off the schedule, at least for two years, and add the Boilermakers -- but only, Brey joked, on one condition.

"The fine-print says that Coach Keady's got to be the coach, or we're not playing."

Keady, who spoke immediately after Brey, didn't stick around for the rest of the evening. He high-tailed it back to West Lafayette for a couple hours of rest before catching a 6 a.m. flight out of Indianapolis today to go recruiting.

Why, Vitale wondered, didn't Keady just take a private plane back to campus?

"We went 13-18 last year," Keady said. "You don't get a private plane when you go 13-18."

Vitale accepted every slight with a smile, then found it hard to return the barbs when given the microphone to end the night.

"I've done pretty good for a guy with no talent," he said. "I'm 63 (years old), but I act 12."

Vitale flashed Phelps his honorary ring from Notre Dame's 1988 national championship football season.

"Take a look at it," he said to Phelps, who sported a yellow shirt with a pink sport coat, "because you'll never win one."

Vitale did second the opinion of Martzke in one respect -- come Saturday, Notre Dame will beat Michigan.

Tears welled in Vitale's eyes each time he talked of Notre Dame.

And he proved again Thursday that what is seen on camera is no act -- a guy who loves life.

"He's making a magic-carpet ride that nobody can make," marveled adidas representative Sonny Vaccaro.

"This guy is bigger than any rock star and it's because of what he believes in," Phelps said. "The fun things happen by accident with Dick Vitale."

First round ends with stripping, pubic hair

Posted on 28 April 2002:

Five strippers, a bottle of pubic hair and a finance professor made the end of the first round of Bookstore Basketball XXXI very memorable.

Punky Brewster opened the day by striping off an article of clothing for every point scored. Five sophomores from Pasquerilla East - Erinn Rigney, Meghan Rigney, Shaina Morphew, Krista Berghoff and Carol McCarthy - began the game wearing white undershirts, shorts, a headband and an armband. By the end of their 21-17 loss to What The Hell Are Robster Craws, Erinn Rigney was wearing only a bikini while the rest of the team was in other various stages of undress.

"We thought our bodies were hotter than our game," Erinn Rigney said about her team's strategy.

What The Hell Are Robster Craws embraced Punky Brewster's strategy as well. Matt Leonard, Bill Bingle, Gregg Michaels, Mike Wahl and Josh O'Farrell even helped by scoring the first two points for Punky Brewster.

"It was very distracting," Leonard said. "I thought it was just a ploy but then we found out they were serious."

While Punky Brewster was serious about stripping, Who's Getting Lucky Tonight? was serious about winning its first round match-up against milkflap.com.

Lucky, made up of one former and four current Welsh Family football players, used physical play and hustling to defeat Milkflap.com, an all guys team, 26-24.

"A lot of guys teams will hold back against us," Katie Rak said about the physical style of play. "They didn't hold back this game so we didn't hold back either."

Milkflap.com, made up of Brian McCabe, Paul Guzzetta, Mike Iacono, Pat Murphy and Joe Biggs, left the court immediately after the loss.

"They played very well," McCabe said as the team's only comment.

Head Bookstore commissioner Brian Clemency said Lucky's win was the first all-female win against an all-male team that he was aware of.

Late in the game, however, it looked like Milkflap would pull out a tough victory, as it led 19-15. Lucky had missed several easy shots and passed the ball poorly up until that point.

"It was one of those things were we were just missing lay-ups," Rak said. "Once we started hitting lay-ups we were fine."

Lucky battled back to take a 20-19 lead. Milkflap.com answered Lucky's answer, however, by tying the game at 21 and forcing overtime.

The extra period seesawed back and forth until Lucky took a 25-24 lead. Rak then grabbed a rebound and hit a short jumper to win the game 26-24.

"I was just at the right spot at the right time," Rak said.

One of the most revolting traditions in Bookstore Basketball entered its eighth year as Absolut Curlies VIII lost to No. 11 We Get Wet, 21-5.

Absolut Curlies, made up of five men from Zahm, continued an eight-year tradition by killing a fifth of Absolut Vodka and shaving their pubic hairs last weekend. The hairs were then put into the bottle and brought to courtside for the game.

"We were more aerodynamic today," junior Pat Amato of Curlies said.

The improved aerodynamics of Amato, Brian Zant, Chris Bystedt, Chris Roche and Pat McGarry could not overcome the superior athleticism of the five freshmen of We Get Wet, Justin Funk, Greg Bosl, Greg Durm, Matt Cox and Mitch Knapke.

Under the lights, finance professor Carl Ackermann and We've Got Your Cash Flow Right Here In Our Pants schooled Loveburger: All About The Benjamins, 21-19.

"They are a real forgiving group of guys," Ackermann said about his student teammates. "They let a guy well past 40 run up and down the court with them. I had a wonderful time."

The ski team was out of its element against No. 24 Irvin Jones as the ranked team whipped the spandex-clad skiers 21-10.

Irvin Jones, Danny Williams, Stacey Locke, Deauto Smith and Robert Allen were too athletic for Do You Want To See My Junk. Despite frequent substitution, Joe Payne, Marc Pribaz, Kevin Wolf, Jon Pribaz, Wes Jacobs, Jesse Hensley, Bill Leimhuehler, Eric Hansen, Dan Block and Kieran Norton could not keep up with Irvin Jones.

Notes:

* Bookstore commissioners released the top eight rankings for the women's tournament, which starts Sunday. Sindone's Slamming Divas received the top seed. Hardcore Strokers, which includes three Saint Mary's basketball players, is ranked second. Who's Getting Lucky Tonight, which defeated an all-male team Tuesday night, is ranked fourth.

* Irish basketball coach Mike Brey's team, Stylistics, plays tonight at 8:30 p.m. at Stepan Courts.

12-year old regulates Bookstore

Posted on 28 April 2002:

When the members of Cuidado Piso Mojado arrived at Stepan courts dressed with large cardboard signs on their backs, a bookstore commissioner promptly stopped them, declaring they could not play in the tournament with their cumbersome outfits.

The commissioner had on this year's Bookstore Basketball XXXI official shirt.

He sported a Walkie-Talkie.

But the players knew he wasn't a typical Bookstore official - he was 12 years old and 4 feet tall.

But Chris Matsey, a home-schooled, basketball aficionado from Clay Township talked a good game.

And Cuidad Piso Mojado listened.

Matsey convinced the players to let him try on one of the outfits to see if it was safe and if head commissioner Brian Clemency would allow it on the court.

Clemency did, but that did not deter Matsey from his patrol as the youngest commissioner in this year's tournament.

"I handle games, keep score, make sure no drugs or alcohol is used and make sure there's no fighting," Matsey said.

Sometimes he gets strange looks from players when he tries to enforce rules. But Matsey knows just how to handle such problems.

"I just put my hand on my Walkie Talkie and they listen." he said. "Then I go get commissioner Brian [Clemency], commissioner Brad [Fritsche] or commissioner Andrew [Dayton]."

So far, the job has been full of hard work. According to Matsey, he had to break up a tense situation between two teams in the preliminary round of the tournament.

"They were threatening to fight and so I got in the middle," Matsey said. "I told them it was a technical foul and if they did it one more time they'd have to forfeit the tournament."

Matsey earned the job when he started showing up at all the games last week, Clemency said.

He takes his job so seriously that he brought an apprentice, one of his friends, to the tournament on Sunday.

"He showed up with his friend and told me he was training him," Clemency said.

For all his hard work, the 12-year old earns one can of soda a day - unless he can finagle more out of the commissioners, a feat he has been known to accomplish.

"He's figured it out that if he times it right he can go to the different executives and get more than one every day," Clemency said. Turning to Matsey, he joked: "We're on to you, buddy."

Matsey enjoys the perks of the jobs, naming "free Coke and Burger King" as the top benefits.

After hanging around the courts for several days, Matsey thinks he knows who is poised to take the tournament championship.

"S.P. Shockers II. Definitely them. They're ranked." he said.

But Matsey wasn't able to watch all of his favorite team's game Monday. He was too busy watching Cuidad Piso Mojado, waiting for a souvenir from the game.

After the team finished, Matsey once again smooth-talked the team into letting him keep one of the large cardboard signs he tried on before the game started.

"I'm just like a regular commissioner," Matsey said. "They need me out here."

Crazy costumes take the court

Posted on 28 April 2002:

When the Bootney League All Stars showed up Monday for their first-round Bookstore Basketball XXXI game at Stepan Courts, they had no idea what team they were matching up against.

But they sure didn't expect what their opponents, Cuidado Piso Mojado, wore on the court.

Inspired by the abundance of wet floor signs around campus, seniors Tom Keeley, Mike De la Rosa, Mike Harris and Jay Newman stepped onto the court with body-size bright yellow cardboard road signs.

Keeley sported the team's moniker with his Cuidad Piso Mojado sign. De La Rosa pranced up and down the court as a deer and shouldered a deer crossing sign. With a cigarette in one hand and a cigar in the other, Harris wore a no smoking sign while a quiet Newman displayed a Slow Deaf Child sign.

But with only four players, the team needed a fifth. So, the seniors looked to their original inspiration: a bright yellow cone. But the cone and the signs weren't enough to pull out a win, as the All Stars rolled to an easy 21-1 win.

"We thought they were interesting uniforms," All Stars' player Andrew Heinlein said. "It was a pretty easy matchup. But it's all about having fun, and this was a fun first-round game."

Joining Heinlein on the All Stars was Adam Dell, Matt Knust, Drew DeWalt and Kevin O'Connor

De la Rosa thought the outcome could have been different.

"I would have won the whole thing by myself, except I got caught in the headlights," he said. "I was in a comatose state the whole game."

Harris' chain-smoking didn't help the team either as he had to stop play to light up a cigarette several times.

The one highlight for Cuidado Piso Mojado turned out to be their ability to box out the All Stars on defense with their huge signs, which tended to double as shields.

Despite their efforts, Cuidado Piso Mojado made a quick exit from the tournament.

"We were expecting big things," Keeley said. "No one likes to go home early."

Cuidad Piso Mojado was not the only non-conventional team to make an appearance on the courts Monday. Team 107: Three She-Bears, A Hoopoe and an Asian showed up with more than just basketball on its mind. The team, with players Kevin McGirr, Tim Ruggaber, Kevin Haley, John Sengenberger and Jim Ree, sported outfits ranging from hot pink shorts to tennis skirts, Baby-Ts and Depends undergarments.

But the team had a serious message to go along with its less-than-standard outfits.

Praying before the game and again at halftime, the team's members and fans were bound by a common love.

"We like to read the Bible and we love Jesus," Haley said.

Even the team's name, which ironically was censored by the Office of Student Affairs, has its roots in the Bible.

The reference to she-bears comes from 2 Kings and a Hoopoe is a bird mentioned in Leviticus.

"We all like searching the Bible for weird strange passages," said team coach Josh "Baldhead" Stagni.

The team squared off against a short-handed squad, Colonel Puberty and his Band of Anglophiles with players John English, John Dicello, Dave Lubnik and Clete Willems. The team only had four players for the first half because the fifth player failed to show. In the second half the team picked up a fifth player in Jenny Chan, but the extra body was not enough and Colonel Puberty fell to Team 107, 21-16.

The winners were surprised by their victory.

"We're not very good," McGirr said. "By the Grace of God we won."

First round action continues today and will continue until Thursday on courts throughout campus.

Team Inebriation lives up to its name with playing style

Posted on 28 April 2002:

As soon as Falco's 1985 hit "Rock Me Amadeus" started blasting across Stepan Courts, all predictability went right out the window.

Team Inebriation strutted onto the court, living up to its name and garbed in old-school basketball uniforms and other original shirts. Although it had the height and athletic advantage over its opponent, Longitude, Team Inebriation's choice of playing style hurt its chances for victory.

"If they weren't drunk, we probably would have lost," Longitude's Steven Schrantz said after his team's 21-11 win.

Point guard Brendan Slattery typified Team Inebriation bizarre playing style when he took a fast break chance and charged right past the basket. He continued down another court and scored a lay-up in wrong basket, on the wrong court.

"We were absolutely confused," Slattery said. "I didn't even know what court we were on."

Five guys all older than 2,000 years old could not defeat their youthful rivals as The Outsiders beat the Biblical All-Stars 21-8 in first round Bookstore Basketball action Sunday.

Dressed as Adam, Jesus, Moses, David and an Obscure Bible Guy, the five men from Stanford could not overcome the athletic advantage of The Outsiders.

"We thought that God was with us and if God was with us, who can be against us?" asked Jesus, a.k.a. Steve Gillespie. "But we were wrong, God has forsaken us."

Shane Hudnall, dressed as Adam, played the entire game barefoot and clad only in fig leaves. Despite playing the second half with one hand because he was eating an apple, Hudnall still displayed effective ball handling and a nice shooting touch.

At halftime, the All-Stars treated the crowd to a Last Supper of white bread and potato chips. One of the female fans also washed the feet of the players.

Throughout the game, the All-Stars' coach tried to intimidate The Outsiders with The Word Of God. The Word Of God chastised The Outsiders frequently for breaking the Seventh Commandment: thou shall not steal (the ball), but The Outsiders kept sinning and cruised to an easy victory.

Youth was served in another game Sunday as Pasty Moe And The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat defeated Dootin The Vitamin G 21-14. The all-freshman squad pulled away in the second half from the all-senior Vitamin G. Pasty Moe took a 12-7 lead early in the second half and held on to win.

"They had the height advantage, and they were better shooters. They were also faster," Vitamin G's Kyle Eller said.

Three members of the Saint Mary's basketball team bowed out of the tournament early this year as With Ourselves defeated Hardcore Strokers 21-10.

With Ourselves used its height and athletic advantage to jump out to a 10-4 lead and never looked back. The first-round Bookstore loss was the earliest of Saint Mary's senior Anne Blair's career.

"Usually we play really easy or funny guys in the first round who don't take it very seriously," Blair said. "These guys didn't take it easy on us. I think they will go pretty far."

First-round Bookstore games continue today and Tuesday at Stepan, Lyons and McGlinn courts.

Bookstore Teams Find Their Names Censored

Posted on 28 April 2002:

Junior Brandon Griffith was very surprised to learn the name for his Bookstore Basketball team had been censored by Student Activities.

His team's name wasn't profane.

His team's name wasn't sexually explicit.

His team's name wasn't racist, sexist or anti-homosexual.

Nevertheless, Student Activities struck Poor Man's Blanket from the list of Bookstore Basketball team names and replaced it with Team 22.

"We made the name with the intention that even Father [Mark] Poorman [vice president for Student Affairs] would get a laugh out of it," Griffith said.

Poor Man's Blanket was one of about 70 teams that were censored by Student Activities this year. All references to Poorman were removed from the list as well as other names deemed too sexually explicit, insulting or profane.

Brian Coughlin, director of Student Activities, said that there are no set guidelines for determining what teams will and will not be censored. The list of team names is passed through three people - Bookstore adviser Melvin Adams, Coughlin and Peggy Hnatusko, assistant director of programming for Student Activities - and each person crosses out any name he or she deems offensive.

Coughlin couldn't give specific reasons for why certain names were banned since he had to look at so many different teams. There was, however, no specific bias against team names containing "Poorman."

"There is no policy to eliminate names that had `Father Poorman' in them," Coughlin said.

He said the "Poorman" names were removed because there is a general policy that Bookstore Basketball team names should not contain the name of another person without that person's specific permission.

"It's not Father Poorman specific," Coughlin said. "It's a rule for any person. Any person will be highlighted [to be further questioned.] If they want to contact the person specifically, they can do that."

Griffith said he was never informed of this policy or given the chance to contact Poorman to ask his permission.

"They never asked if we had gotten permission, and it wasn't even his name," Griffith said. "It's `Poor' and then `Man' with a capital M."

This general policy does not seem to apply to names besides Poorman's or other University administrators. Uncensored team names include references to, among others, former Irish quarterback Ron Powlus, former Irish football coach Bob Davie, pop singer Britney Spears, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Minnesota Vikings assistant coach George O'Leary.

Out Faster Than George O'Leary captain Jeff Simko said he was unaware of any rule about requesting permission from O'Leary.

"What do you think? Of course not. We definitely didn't call him," Simko said.

Coughlin claims he questioned names with O'Leary and Davie in them but did not censor them.

"I highlighted both those names so if they are in there, I don't know what to tell you," Coughlin said.

Crusading for Scholastics

Posted on 21 April 2002:

The student body of Notre Dame has always had a reputation of being well rounded students who worked just as hard as any top 10 academic institution, but have not forgotten how to have a little fun at the same time. I am quite relieved that the University administrators are finally getting around to stomping out these nasty rumors. If all goes as planned, such distractions as social gatherings, sexual relationships and (the most evil of all) tailgating will be nothing but windy stories told by old alumni. Nearly a decade ago, the administrators had started this campaign to rid your beloved campus of anything not related to academics, spirituality, or discipline. They had closed the student bars on campus and outlawed the use of kegs by private parties.

I was encouraged by this move and anxiously awaited the certain shift in the student population. No longer would this campus be overrun by out-going, socializing youths. Soon a wave of pure intellectuals, geeks and hermits would take over. To my disappointment, the turnover was not as quick as I had hoped.

A few weeks ago, I learned that the University had decided to take another stab at drastically improving the quality of student life at Notre Dame. With an efficient strike, Father Poorman out-did himself and his predecessors. He banned one of the only regularly attended social events left on your campus. Pure genius. Honestly, there is no need for dances. I cannot think of a single good reason that college-aged men and women should be allowed to enjoy each other's company in a relatively mild atmosphere of sexual tension. The administration was crazy to allow this debacle to go on as long as it did. What a waste of four perfectly good Friday nights each year. Think of the possibilities. With this extra time, maybe another theology requirement could be added now.

My advice to you is this: Students, do not try to fight this. Just sit back and let it happen. There is really nothing you can do. The administrators are too smart for you. They have all of the time in the world to slowly turn this University into just another draconian, Bible-thumping private college. You are only here for four years, and then you leave and a new set of students are pushed into the ivory tower.

Do not think for a second that this University needs you, your righteous opinions, or even your alumni donations. For every one of you who were allowed into this place, three others were rejected. They would happily fill your place. So keep on studying, go to Mass daily and most importantly, stay in the safety of your dorm room as much as possible. Do not worry about your fellow students who like to party, they will slowly be weeded out, and more decent students will take their places.

It is time to join the ranks of Bob Jones University and Brigham Young. We are a moral institution above anything else. There is nothing else to college besides school. Do not waste your time fraternizing with the opposite sex or frequenting certain South Bend establishments. Keep your nose in the books, and some day, Notre Dame will boast a higher suicide rate than Cornell, burnout rate than MIT and lack of social skills than the University of Chicago.

Since this is the Viewpoint section of the newspaper, I feel compelled to add a few suggestions for Father Poorman and the rest of those tireless crusaders for justice and scholastic responsibility. I think that the administration should move to ban all social events that are not hosted by Flipside or involve a carnival. In addition to that, the mandatory 11 p.m. lights-out of the pre 1960's era should be re-instituted. And most importantly, we should take drastic measures to get rid of Notre Dame football. It distracts the students from their work. It takes away from the academic prestige of our institution. And worst of all, - oh wait, that will not work, I just remembered how much money football puts in the bank.

Richard Quint
class of '59
NewPort Beach, California
April 4, 2002

Destruction of Dorm Residentiality is a Crime

Posted on 21 April 2002:

My letter today is in response to Peter Schmidt's letter, "Noting flawed reasoning," printed Mar. 28. His rude dismissal of the motivations of student protesters requires response.

In his letter, Schmidt dismisses the desire of students to uphold Notre Dame tradition, wondering if they "somehow experienced those traditions in a previous life" because they "have [only] been a part [of them] for a few years at most." The purpose of tradition on a college campus is to create a connection between members of the University family who were not campus residents at the same point in time. Students have been waving their arms to the band's performance of the "1812 Overture" for two decades. Should the current students' efforts to uphold that tradition - and even the value of the tradition itself - be devalued simply because they've only been doing it for up to four years?

In instituting the recent policy changes, the University administration jepoardizes Notre Dame's most unique tradition of all: stay-hall residentiality. During my tenure at Notre Dame, my friends at other schools (usually state-affiliated with strong Greek systems) thought the fact that I stayed in a dorm for four years was complete lunacy on my part. At their schools, dorms were only for geeks who couldn't get into frats or find apartment roommates.

They failed to see the beauty of stay-hall. I got to know people in the six classes that surrounded mine and keep in contact with them until this day. Even though my dorm was converted into women's quarters, I still feel a strong affinity with fellow Cavanaugh alums - even those who were not on campus during my time.

These policies remove some of the traditions that help bind dorm-mates together. With those traditions gone, students will migrate off campus and dorms at Notre Dame will become just like those at any other school.

Gone will be the opportunities to meet and learn from those who may be different from you. I remember my dorm-mates as vividly now as I did 10 years ago at graduation. I couldn't tell you the name of the guy who lived next door to my first apartment if you gave me a million dollars to do it.

And that's the true crime here.

Mike Coffey
class of '91
April 2, 2002

Lack of Participation Not a New Problem

Posted on 21 April 2002:

Although sadly I am no longer a student, I am an alumna of Notre Dame. Yet it seems nothing has changed; I don't remember being consulted about this policy either. Not that it surprises me.

I understand that Mr. Litle was not around when the administration's crackdown on alcohol began, but I was. I was at Bridget McGuire's. I was at the last ticket campout before they were banned. I was an opponent of the cancellation of the Graffiti Dance. And I was there when the students were denied a seat on the Board of Directors.

The difference between myself and most students at the time was that I was a member of the Student Union Board staff for three years at Notre Dame and witnessed firsthand the efforts of the Student Union to try again and again, without avail, to have a voice in the truly important decisions at Notre Dame. Instead, intelligent students with good intentions are rebuffed, or worse, ignored. Notre Dame kids are touted as some of the brightest and best students in the country today by the same people who, behind the closed doors of Student Affairs, treat students as though they do not even merit expressing an opinion.

If the alcohol policy is what the administration thinks it will take to ensure the safety of its students, so be it. As some have said, you are free to leave; there are others who would give up alcohol entirely to attend Notre Dame.

My problem is this: until the higher-ups at this University learn that Notre Dame students and alumni should have a place in the decision-making processes that affect them, situations like these will continue to contribute to the sad public commentary on what is otherwise known as a bright, progressive, student-oriented university. Sadly, I am sure the current propective students visiting at this time are getting quite an earful from some angered freshmen.

In my years at the Student Union, I finally realized that our efforts to have a voice were futile and unfulfilled. I am beginning to realize that, in the absence of a capital campaign, the majority of alumni are overlooked as well. Father Mark Poorman, the majority of alumni and students and I respect your leadership, intelligence and good faith. Please help ensure us that you respect ours.

Kathleen Leicht
class of '01
March 26, 2002

Students' Role in University Policy Examined

Posted on 21 April 2002:

There's something rotten on the campus of Notre Dame. Festering beneath the surface of the University's ideal exterior is a force more frightening than anyone realizes. For years, Notre Dame has given us fleeting gifts of bread and circuses while denying us what is far from our grasp: a voice.

Father Poorman's naove proposal to change the alcohol policy on the campus is merely a symptom of a terrible plague which afflicts the University. Though his proposal may seem to be madness, there is slight method to his decision. However, we should not overexert ourselves with this one small battle and forget that we have a greater conflict right beneath our eyes. The student's voice was largely absent from the proposal and soon enforcement of the new policy, and Father Poorman knows it.

But is he the one to blame? Does not the Board of Trustees, already known to perpetuate its own archaic "vision" for Notre Dame, bear the bulk of the responsibility for treating us as inferiors? I certainly got this sense when I scanned the hallway wall at the Morris Inn, splattered with portraits of current trustees. I could almost see the thought, "our money makes you possible," emanating from their eyes.

At some point, they forgot that our annual tuition should cover more than the cost of attending classes and eating quarter dogs. The ability to make a change as we see fit is a modest proposal to say the least, but the trustees would rather eat their own children than grant it from their own benevolence.

Alas, we are left with the question: What can we do to assert our voice and pull the curtain back from the eyes of those blinded by the notion that Notre Dame is a picturesque institution? Robert Pazornik's idea for a coalition to "Change ND" is a step in the right direction, but we need so much more. We need to frighten the trustees with more than a petition not to donate money in the future. After all, how many will succumb and donate money to obtain football tickets if we ever return to the status of a football powerhouse?

I challenge everyone who realizes that the call to "Change ND" should really be "Save ND" to act on this pressing issue. Once we pull back the curtain and discover the source of our discontent, we must develop a true student voice.

Bill Rinner
sophomore
Siegfried Hall
Mar. 25, 2002

Administrators' Actions More Immature Than Students'

Posted on 14 April 2002:

For those of you who don't know or who didn't attend, the party on March 23 at Lafayette was overrun with police handing out tickets for underage consumption. I was one of the unlucky ones who happened to get stopped and caught. I did not have a drink in my hand, and I was not acting drunk or out of it in any way, shape or form. I had just had a couple of drinks with my friends like we do on weekends.

The ticket itself isn't a big deal to me. The part that really bothers me is the conversation that I had with the police officer that was writing my ticket. He first told me that he had heard on the news about the new policy that the administration is trying to implement. Then, the shocker: he proceeded to tell me that the reason the cops were writing drinking tickets was because someone from the administration had called the police, tipped them off about the party and requested that "names of people drinking be taken."

Now, I will speak my mind to the administration. Your strong-arm tactics will not work. Many of my fellow students and I are sick to our stomachs because of the events of this last week. First, you try to take away our SYRs, which include some of the best and most well-known student traditions. Then, with the intention of scaring students and getting them into trouble, you tip the police about a party?

I thought we, the students, were the immature ones who can't handle hard alcohol or dances in our dorms. Well, you are the ones who need to grow up. Ratting out your own students? Trying to reduce drinking by scaring us?

There might be a small number of students who abuse drinking, but the vast majority of us do not. Notre Dame has always taken pride in the fact that it is a unique place. Now, you, the administration, are single handedly trying to ruin that. Notre Dame prides itself on the quality, intelligence and character of its students. So I ask you, why won't you let us have a voice? Why do you treat us like we are incompetent, irresponsible kids?

Matthew Scheidler
freshman
Alumni Hall
March 25, 2002

Where's the Proof?

Posted on 14 April 2002:

Students have made some excellent points regarding the changes in the alcohol policy; however, what I would like to see is the proof that backs these changes up.

Father Mark Poorman claims 30 focus groups were consulted before this decision was made, but declines to specify who they were and what was said. His letter makes references to percentages, numbers, and comparisons to other schools, yet does not include these statistics and assumes we will simply take his word for it.

Perhaps if students had access to the results of this study, we could better understand how this decision was made. If the situation is really that bad, then the evidence will be right there for all of us to see. At a university of the caliber of Notre Dame, it would seem reasonable to believe that the students could gain insight into the administration's decision through the publication of these statistics. Whatever that insight may be, at least the University would have afforded some respect to the students that they are attempting to protect. Who knows, we might even agree.

Ryan Pohlman
junior
Sorin Hall
March 20, 2002

New Rules Show Lack of Respect for Students

Posted on 14 April 2002:

As an off-campus, 21-year old senior next year, the new alcohol policies do not affect me in the least. In fact, I'm now better off since I can tailgate without fear of fine or harassment like so many of-age tailgaters experienced this past season.

So why am I enraged about Father Poorman's new policy? It shows an utter lack of respect for and confidence in the student body. Of course, this problem is not new, and Notre Dame faculty members face similar problems, but never has this outrage been so manifest as now. Much is being said about the direct impact of the policy on campus life. I wish to add my views of the larger picture here.

I doubt that anyone would deny that the students, faculty and alumni of Notre Dame are what make us a great University. Notre Dame carries a tradition of excellence in academics, but unlike other top-tier schools, we have strong social traditions that make us a family, resulting in one of the most dynamic alumni networks in the country.

Furthermore, unlike so many other universities, we have great respect for our school. We do not riot when we win national championships (or lose them), and we do not hold mass protests against policies we think are unjust. We usually respect the administration's decisions, learn to live with them and adjust our lives accordingly, like mature adults. No doubt, many were upset when the Graffiti Dance, the campout for football tickets and Sophomore Siblings' weekend were cancelled, but we eventually took these actions as a loss, moved on and embraced the new Notre Dame. Could we have protested, taken action, embarrassed this University unbearably? Yes. Did we? No, we were more mature than that.

What Poorman's policies tell us is that the University does not see students as adults, but as uncouth youngsters that must be monitored and controlled in every way, shape and form. Instead of approaching us as adults, seeking our input (and I'm not talking focus groups possibly made up of anti-drinking, anti-social people here), the administration acted like bad parents. They waited until housing contracts were in for next year and until RAs were hired (I'm sorry, guys) to unveil their tradition-killing plans.

It was a sly move. Perhaps the students, forced to live under their new, tighter rules, will eventually forget we ever had SYRs and tailgating and there would be a minimum of student response. Wrong. There will be enough of us that remember when we could be social on campus to keep the fire alive.

The problem goes way beyond alcohol, parietals, or even being able to fish in the lake. The lives and livelihoods of the heart and soul of the school, the students and faculty are in the hands of a handful of administrators, some of whom probably forgot what it was like to be a college student. We have no voice and when we ask for one, we are refused. The saddest thing of all, however, is that no matter what the students do, no matter how much backing from all majors, ages, sexes, races, sexual persuasions or social types we have, the administration will not listen. I feel sorry for the underclassmen and the incoming freshmen. They all deserve to have the same Notre Dame tradition I experienced as a freshman and sophomore.

When I came to Notre Dame as a freshman, I was amazed at the level of camaraderie and closeness in the dorms. I had close friends at every grade level, in every major, and I never felt the need to leave campus to have a good time. I seldom felt held down by the rules.

In the short three years I have been a student here, much has changed. Already, before the new alcohol regulations have taken effect, I have noticed a dwindling dorm spirit, or rather a flame starved for oxygen from an overbearing administration. I have seen our administration take action against long-standing traditions that were never a problem and stifle our spirits without warning. Three years ago, I would have recommended the school to anyone. Now, I see Notre Dame as an excellent place to delay or harm one's social development and to increase one's stress level to outrageous levels.

Some argue that if you don't love the school, including all the changes it may care to make at will, you should find somewhere else to go. If the administration wants to parent a school full of overstressed, fake-ID wielding, drunk-driving, immature and unwieldy students on a campus where few and mostly underclass students live in the dorms (where they can't wait to get out), they may.

However, I cannot have respect or admiration for a rule-making administration that does not respect us or treat my friends and me as adults. Give us a say, a real say, and mean it, or I guarantee Notre Dame will not be Notre Dame any more - it will be another school in the Midwest, and that would be a shame.

Jesse Hensley
junior
Siegfried Hall
March 20, 2002

Notre Dame Students Got What They Deserve

Posted on 14 April 2002:

Notre Dame students don't deserve alcohol in their dorms or alcohol period for that matter. Let's look at this how it ought to be seen. About six years ago, with the administration's blessing, bars around town started getting busted. Notre Dame students did nothing, just moved on to the next bar. This was understandable at the time. Later, the administration banned the football ticket distribution campout. Notre Dame students did nothing. They just rolled over like the sheep they are and accepted the plate they were given. The next year, the Graffiti Dance was cancelled. Notre Dame students had nothing to say because it didn't affect them, only upcoming freshmen. And last year, out of the blue, a tailgating task force of power-tripping rent-a-cops started busting everyone they could see at tailgates under a new ResLife edict. You, Notre Dame students, whined in the Viewpoint.

Now, the administration is banning hard liquor in the dorms. Let me tell you what Notre Dame students are going to do - nothing. You're just going to take it. Why? Because upper-classmen are going to say, "I'm moving off campus anyway," or, "I'm only here for next year." Without a critical mass of students, anything anyone else does won't matter. And you know what's best - you deserve it. I'm not going to sit here and say this policy change is bad. It's not. It's just a continuation of a consistent policy move over the last six years that Notre Dame students have ratified with their apathy.

Oh sure, student government is making a grand hullabaloo about getting back the SYR. This is because it specifically serves their and the administration's goals. When the administration "gives" us back the SYR, student government will get to claim a victory, students will think they have a voice (so they shut up) and the administration will have carried out its carefully crafted plan to herd its sheep. You think you've won so you don't protest, your stupidity earns you your liquor ban.

What's next after hard liquor? Beer and underage drinking are next. And the sooner the better. If students aren't willing to stand up for what they want now, then they deserve what they get in the future as far as I am concerned.

Of course, I could be wrong. Maybe there will be some sort of student push to stop this legislation. Maybe 15 students will go have a sit-in while the rest of the campus mocks them because they themselves are too frightened to stand up for what they believe. Maybe someone will take a dump on the porch of the Main Building. I'm sure someone is going to send an "Oooh, oh so nasty" letter to the editor. You go get 'em pal. I'm sure they'll care what you have to say if you think it out real hard and write it to The Observer. (Note hypocrisy here.)

And here's the problem with the impromptu student government sponsored "protest": a herd of sheep, no matter how large, is not frightening. Standing up on a podium and complaining to a bunch of passive students is no protest. Try perhaps holding a no-class day, a sit-in in the ResLife office or painting horns, a tail and a bifurcated tongue on touchdown Jesus - that's protest. I am in no way advocating this sort of activity.

Is there going to be any sort of civil disobedience to protest the administration's decision? No. Is there going to be any organized effort to stop what is happening? No. Will there even be a campus petition opposing the proposed changes to du Lac? Nope. Why? Because ND students are one of five things: a.) Convinced they don't matter and their opinion won't be heard by the administration (probably true); b.) Convinced that any sort of opposition to University policy undermines the University's ability to function as a private institution (just plain stupid); c.) Mindless little sheep that have yet to question any authority known to them; d.) So morally self-righteous that they condemn anyone for caring about their own living situation when there are poor people in some other country; or e.) So sick and tired of trying to get people to care that they have decided maybe this is a just punishment for student apathy.

So go ahead, write your mean-spirited letters to the editor, sit in your room and drink beer while complaining to your friends about the big bad administration, but by no means take any steps that might show you are displeased with the situation being shoved at you. Remember not to care at all about the future of the school you attend, and above all, hold true to that most sacred of Notre Dame traditions: Conformity.

Senate Opposes Ban on In-hall Dances

Posted on 14 April 2002:

Claiming residence life would be damaged if dances were forced out of the hall, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution Sunday opposing the proposed ban on in-hall dances and criticizing the decision-making process used by the Office of Student Affairs in revising the alcohol policy.

The resolution will now be presented at today's Campus Life Council meeting, the same meeting where Father Mark Poorman, vice president for Student Affairs, is expected to formally announce the proposed changes to the University's alcohol policy.

While the resolution said in-hall dances, commonly called SYRs, should be allowed to continue, it did not directly address the Office of Student Affairs' proposed ban on "hard" alcohol in undergraduate dorms or the revisions to the tailgating policy.

"The other two were brought up, but right now our biggest concern is SYRs," said Dillon Hall Senator Jim Ryan, who helped draft and revise the resolution along with Lewis Hall Senator Jennie Flannery and Student Body Vice President-elect Trip Foley.

According to the resolution, the proposed alcohol policy "threatens to negatively alter or eliminate memorable campus traditions" by forcing dances to be moved out of the residence hall. Senators listed 14 campus traditions, such as Alumni Hall's Wake, the Fisher Regatta and the Lewis Crush, that would be affected by the changes.

The resolution also said the University recognizes the tradition of in-hall dances through an appeal for donations sent by the Annual Fund to alumni. The advertisement asks for money to "ensure that the next generation of students has the opportunity to experience the novelty of an SYR firsthand."

"Getting rid of SYRs seriously impacts the community at school," Ryan said. "Some of the biggest events each dorm has are in the dorm."

Senators also disapproved of the process through which the policy was implemented. They said the proposal will go before the University's key officers without the approval of the CLC's Task Force on Alcohol Policy. Several senators claimed less than 80 students were involved in the focus groups Poorman said were consulted prior to his recommending the changes.

"I think most students are upset students weren't involved in the writing of the policy," said Carroll Hall Senator Jesse Flores, who is also a member of the CLC Task Force on Alcohol Policy.

During the decision-making process, Flores said the data from the 28 focus groups, which he said were composed of a broad spectrum of people, was compared with data from a study on college binge drinking conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health.

"[The administration] was looking to see if the focus groups matched up with the numbers," he said. "It turns out they did."

Most of the half-hour debate revolved around making sure the resolution was factually correct. Senators eliminated a clause saying more student attend in-hall dances than out-of-hall dances and argued about what figure should be used to represent the number of students involved in focus groups before settling on saying "less than 80 students" were involved.

"[The CLC] is going to look to pick it apart," Sorin Senator Pat Hallahan said. "We need to make sure it's tight."

The Senate resolution will be presented for CLC approval at this afternoon's meeting. If adopted by the CLC, the resolution will be submitted to the Office of Student Affairs. Although the office is not obligated to comply with the resolution, it typically incorporates CLC resolutions into its decision-making process.

"This is not the only step," Ryan said of the Senate resolution. "It is not the end-all solution."

Learn from the past

Posted on 7 April 2002:

I was a sophomore in 1983. I expected to live on campus until I was a senior. Then the 1984 alcohol policy was announced. It took two minutes for us to agree that we were moving off campus early.

In 18 years the administration has learned nothing. I'm pushing 40 now, but I remember enough to know that believing that banning hard alcohol on campus will decrease abusive drinking is absurd. Completely, utterly, absolutely absurd. It's the behavior of an ostrich. Personal experience teaches me that for those who want to drink, the proposed changes in the alcohol policy will increase their drinking, not decrease it.

I think back to those days and I thank God that I never killed any of my buddies or myself driving to off campus bars and parties or doing any of the other ridiculously stupid things we did. I lived through it relatively unscathed, but not everybody will.

No one who reads this should think that I condone abusive drinking. The administration is right about one thing. Binge drinking is dangerous. But the administration's answers to the problem are so far from adequate that it shocks me. As much as my alumni friends complained about ineptitude in the search for a football coach, the alcohol policy review process makes that search look stellar in comparison.

The solution must be student-based. It cannot be dictated from above. The answers to ultimatums from above will be rebellion today just as it was 18 years ago when I moved off campus in an act of defiance. Today's acts of defiance will perpetuate the problem, not diminish it.

I guess you can always review the policy again in another 18 years when this try fails.

Timothy Short
class of '87
Mill Creek, Ind.
March 20, 2002

They're pushing us around

Posted on 7 April 2002:

There has been a lot of vilification of Father Mark Poorman the past couple of days and frankly I'm disturbed by it. People have been writing "Osama bin Poorman" on dry-erase boards, putting pictures of him in the urinals for target practice and ranting about him in public until they foam at the mouth and people have to drag them out of the Waddick's line saying "Calm down, Muto, you just wet yourself."

Actually, I can't blame the good Padre, because it's not the man's fault. For you see, he is not Father Poorman at all, but an evil clone, hell bent on destroying all fun on campus. I have no proof of this, but that's the only explanation I can think of for this blunder of Three Stooge proportions.

I spoke at the rally the other day. For the record, I did not say that "celibate white men" are pushing us around. I said that "middle-aged, celibate white men" are pushing us around. I hate being misquoted.

I believe that my comment has some validity. The students of Notre Dame, a diverse group that holds a variety of different viewpoints and has a wide range of values and opinions, is being controlled by a small contingency of priests who don't exactly have their fingers on the pulse of the student body. It's like Walter Kronkite trying to direct a Jay-Z video.

Obtuse metaphors aside, the administration has totally lost touch with the student body and seemingly, with reality. If Notre Dame is a family, then current students are noisy kids banished from the adult table. We have to sit at the kids' table until we're wealthy alumni and can sit with the adults. This policy is a way to shut up the noisy kids without dealing with any real problems like the horrible state of gender relations or the severe lack of activities that would drive many to drink in the first place.

The most infuriating thing is that administrators assume a condescending attitude, like it is beneath them even to deal with us. They seem shocked that a group of sex-deprived, frozen and bored stiff 20-year olds would want to do anything but sit around and play Monopoly at LaFortune on Saturday nights.

If they take away my booze, my tailgating, and my Mardi Gras, after already taking away my right to confer with women after-hours, I have a feeling I'm going to go slowly crazy like Jack Nicholson in "The Shining." Don't be surprised next year if campus police have to shoot me off the North Quad water tower after I climb it with a high-powered BB gun and start picking people off.

I'm going to cut this off now, because I want to save room for others' opinions. But I'd like to address the students first.

The rally was a great start. But we can't stop there. I can see exactly what Poorman is up to. He's threatening SYRs, knowing that we would conveniently protest. But he never had any intention of getting rid of SYRs. My guess is we are going to get SYRs back, we're going to pat ourselves on the back, feeling that we got something done. Then we'll blindly go back to our daily tasks while the administration bends us over on the tailgating and hard alcohol issues. Do not let this happen.

We need to show that we have a voice, and we will not lay idly by and get pushed around. Burning du Lac is a good start. I'd burn my copy, except I'm using it to prop up one of my stereo speakers. Show the administration they can't pull the wool over our eyes. Next year I will be O'Neill Hall's president, and not only will I ignore any new rules that go into effect, but I will urge my freshmen to ignore them as well. They will beat us only if we let them beat us.

Midnight Alcohol Rally Escalates

Posted on 7 April 2002:

In the latest student demonstration against proposed alcohol policy changes, more than 100 students burned copies of the Notre Dame rule manual, du Lac, and hurled glass bottles of alcoholic beverages at the Main Building steps early this morning.

The midnight rally, which lasted for 30 minutes, ended abruptly when students quickly scurried away from the scene after Notre Dame Security/Police arrived at 12:30 a.m.

NDSP Sgt. Greg Pavnica said police received a call about a disturbance outside Main Building and "some vandalism along with a fire," which they are investigating.

The rally ended in no injuries or arrests.

"Don't give up the fight," said O'Neill Hall President-elect Joe Muto, a sophomore who has been vocal about his contempt for the alcohol policy, which will ban in-hall dances, "hard" alcohol in the dorms and will allow students 21 years old or older to host tailgaters with alcohol in a designated lot.

Vice President for Student Affairs Father Mark Poorman officially announced the new policy at Monday's Campus Life Council meeting, although students received an e-mail about the changes on March 18. Since the e-mail, there has been an all-campus rally sponsored by student government.

Students said they were participating in the latest rally because it was another chance to show the administration that their voices would be heard.

"I feel that Father Poorman's decisions are an invasion on our rights," said sophomore Cindy Adimari, who attended the rally with fellow Badin Hall residents.

Muto, who spoke to the crowd, said he was satisfied with the student response.

"We're very powerful," he said. "I don't think students realize that."

The idea for the rally, called "Give Back du Lac," came from some sophomore Walsh Hall residents who wanted to prove that students weren't apathetic about campus issues. One of the coordinators for the demonstration, Krista Seidl, said she was disappointed with University administrators after the CLC meeting.

"I was really frustrated afterwards," said Seidl, adding that she had expected more of a student response at the meeting. "I was surprised that only a small crowd of the students were being proactive."

Later Monday, Seidl, along with sophomores Gabby Sopko, Leah Bertke and Mary Miksch decided to take action. The women made posters and began spreading message of the du Lac demonstration by word of mouth.

However, Seidl and the other planners advertised that students should bring copies of du Lac and old gifts from in-hall dances to the rally, not the bottles of Absolut, Bacardi, Jose Cuervo and lighters to burn du Lac that participants also added to the list.

"We didn't intend for people to start lighting things on fire," said Seidl. "[The people who started fires] went to extremes to try to get their point across."

"The point is to give another opportunity to students," Seidl said.

Some students, however, disagreed with how the rally's participants used the opportunity.

"I think this behavior is indicative of the same sort of irresponsible behavior that the policy seeks to address," said Carroll Hall Senator Jesse Flores as he listened to students shout anti-administration sentiments and light small fires.

Flores looked at the crowd and began to point out the danger of starting fires and leaving broken glass bottles and paper on the steps of the Main Building.

"All that is ludicrous behavior in my opinion," said Flores.

Freshman Hanni Masserer said he agreed with the proposed alcohol policy changes to du Lac and that the students at the rally were behaving childishly.

Masserer, who is a 23-year-old student from Germany, said he is used to drinking beer in his country rather than the hard alcohol that the new policy bans in undergraduate residence halls.

"It's a private University. So basically, either you like it or you transfer."

Poorman Stands Firm on Alcohol Changes

Posted on 7 April 2002:

As nearly 200 students surrounded him on three sides Monday, the man behind proposed changes to the University alcohol policy welcomed student input into the writing of the revisions but closed the door on reversing the planned crackdown on campus drinking.

"I don't want to build false hope," Father Mark Poorman, vice president for Student Affairs, said, receiving grumbles from the student audience."This does appear to be a definitive direction we're moving in. If we look at that again, it'll be down the road."

Poorman's words came at a divisive Campus Life Council meeting, where the administrator formally introduced amendments to the alcohol policy a week after announcing them to students. He spoke in front of hundreds of undergraduate students who filled the chairs in the LaFortune Ballroom after the crowd had packed another room to capacity.

On a day when CLC members and several students at the 2 1/2-hour meeting directed frank comments and questions to Poorman for the first time publicly, the council's defeat of a Student Senate resolution also thwarted hopes for an eleventh-hour stand against the policy changes.

The CLC voted 11-7 in closed ballot in favor of the resolution to overturn the proposed ban on in-hall dances, leaving the measure one vote short of passage. The vote likely reflected a split between the students and the rectors and lone administrator who sit on the council.

Comments throughout the meeting reflected the division.

"With the amount of effort we put into alcohol awareness, education, discipline, we could be doing so many other things," said Keenan Hall rector Father Gary Chamberland, who asked Poorman why he hadn't taken the more drastic action of banning all alcohol on campus.

Poorman, a former Dillon Hall rector, restated his belief that alcohol abuse is a problem at Notre Dame but said his proposed changes to outlaw "hard" liquor in undergraduate residence halls, ban in-hall dances and loosen tailgating rules address the issue.

Poorman announced the changes March 18, after a two-year study into abusive drinking on campus. Approval by University officers of the changes likely will be a formality, and the revised policy will take effect in the fall.

Students were critical of the changes and decried being left out of the policy-making process.

Chris Manuel, co-chair of the Hall Presidents Council, said Poorman should release survey and focus group results that were part of the study.

"I know that you feel that they are private, but I feel entitled to them," said Manuel, a member of the CLC's alcohol use and abuse task force, who sat next to Poorman at the meeting. "Your report loses a considerable amount of credibility without these statistics."

Poorman said the data was best used for internal planning and "wouldn't advance the discussion at this point."

Poorman compiled and distributed a one-page list of what he believed were the questions students have asked him most in the week since he announced the changes in a campus-wide e-mail.

In the document, he answered concerns about enforcing the liquor ban, saying hall staff won't search for and seize the contraband unless individual rooms or gatherings draw undue attention to themselves.

He also responded to suggestions that the changes would drive more students to consume alcohol off campus and increase drunk-driving cases.

"We can't be held hostage by threat of students drinking and driving because the alcohol policy isn't liberal enough," he said.

Poorman acknowledged that he considered student safety played a role in the changes. He linked incidents of sexual assault and alcohol poisoning to abusive drinking and said the changes would have a "huge impact" on creating a campus culture that isn't alcohol-focused.

Freshman Adam Istvan said the changes were the result of the University wanting to disown liability for students' well being.

But Poorman said, "If we were interested in liability, we would have gone `dry.' The thing that would have reduced or eliminated our liability was going dry."

Following the meeting, Libby Bishop, student body president-elect, said Poorman hadn't fully answered students' questions.

"I still have a problem with the process of how this policy was formed," she said. "After the CLC meeting, Trip [Foley, student body vice president-elect] and I realized we need a new way to empower students. We want to channel the energy we saw today from students are working on a new way to do that."

Bishop, who enters office April 1, said she would continue to contest the in-hall dance ban. She and Foley expect to meet with Poorman in early April.

Leaders Hope for Student Support at CLC Meeting

Posted on 7 April 2002:

Student government officials plan to mount a public offensive today against proposed changes to the alcohol policy as University administrators formally introduce the changes to the Campus Life Council.

The push follows an emergency Student Senate meeting Sunday where members rushed passage of a resolution contesting the recommended ban of in-hall dances. Brooke Norton, student body president and chair of the CLC, said the council will consider the resolution today at its 3:30 p.m. meeting in the Notre Dame Room of LaFortune Student Center.

Norton, who last week organized a student rally protesting the announced changes, also has arranged for CLC members to speak against the policies and hoped for large student turnout to the meeting.

The biweekly meetings are open to the public.

"We want a strong showing from students," Norton said. "We hope to pack the meeting and let administrators see that this is an important issue to students."

More than 600 students attended Wednesday's rally, eventually marching to Main Building, where Father Mark Poorman's office is housed.

Poorman, vice president for Student Affairs, will officially present the policy changes he announced to students a week ago. The changes - the first to the University alcohol policy in 14 years - require revisions to the student handbook, du Lac. Ordinarily, Bill Kirk, assistant vice president for Residence Life, proposes du Lac revisions to the CLC.

"I thought the alcohol changes were so important that I wanted to do them myself," Poorman said.

The administrator, a former Dillon Hall rector, also expected to address feedback he has received in the past week about the proposed changes. He said his comments would echo information he announced in a March 18 e-mail to students.

Kirk will introduce other planned changes to du Lac, Poorman said.

"I'm curious to hear Father Poorman's input," said Sol Galmarini, said Badin Hall senator and CLC member.

Norton expected to allow three students to direct questions to Poorman. She said other other students could submit questions to CLC members, who, in turn, would question the administrator.

In anticipation of a capacity crowd in the Notre Dame Room, Norton said she also reserved space for the meeting in the LaFortune Ballroom.

Ironically, council approval of the Senate-drafted resolution would forward the measure to Poorman's desk for consideration in the Office of Student Affairs.

Poorman last week announced three changes to the alcohol policy that University officers are likely to approve this summer and enact in the fall:

• the ban of in-hall dances

• the outlaw of "hard" liquor in undergraduate residence halls

• and the loosening of tailgating rules to allow 21-year-old students to host parties before the home football games

Notre Dame adopted an alcohol policy in 1984.

Bishop and Foley Vow to Represent Students

Posted on 7 April 2002:

Saying administrators "sold students short," Libby Bishop and Trip Foley renewed Thursday their commitment to fight proposed changes to the University alcohol policy.

Still more than a week away from taking office, Bishop and Foley, the student body president- and vice president-elect, said they would pick up where Wednesday's rally left off and continue to represent student interests.

"I think that students were sold short by not involving them in the process of making this policy," Bishop said in a release. "I will personally take an active role on working with Bill Kirk [assistant vice president for Residence Life] and his office on the writing of this policy and ensure that a number or students will have input in the revision process."

Bishop and Foley enter office April 1 but this week began meeting with University officials and organizing student response to the proposed changes.

Father Mark Poorman, vice president for Student Affairs, announced Monday three sweeping changes to the alcohol policy:

• the outlaw of "hard" alcohol in undergraduate residence halls,

• the ban of in-hall dances known as SYRs

• and the revision of tailgating rules to allow drinking-age students to host parties before Saturday home football games in the fall.

Poorman said the changes would keep Notre Dame from becoming an alcohol-centered campus. He expected that University officers would approve the changes this summer and enact them in the fall.

If approved, they will be the first major amendments to the policy since 1988. The University first adopted an alcohol policy in 1984.

Revisions this year are the result of a two-year study into the alcohol use and abuse on campus, Poorman said.

But Bishop and Foley disagreed with the process officials used to develop the changes, saying it almost completely excluded students.

"This can never happen again ? where they work for two years in secret," Foley said in a Wednesday interview. "Abusive drinking isn't a good thing, but this policy isn't going to solve that."

The pair took particular issue with the barring of in-hall dances. Foley called the move "tradition-attacking" and worried that it would endanger hall spirit.

"It's not a real solution," said Foley, who believed that drinking and socializing would shift off campus and pose safety risks for students. "It has the effect of hurting the special aspect of the residential community we have at Notre Dame."

The ban of in-dorm dances and hard alcohol in halls was a double-whammy, according to Bishop.

"I don't really know what they're trying to accomplish there," she said.

In the wake of the probable changes, Bishop and Foley called for Student Affairs and Student Activities officials to increase funding for student groups to plan on-campus events. The money would pay for attractive new programming on campus.

Bishop and Foley said they also will work with the Office of Alcohol and Drug Education to address the root causes of abusive drinking.

The pair has a scheduled meeting with Poorman in early April. They said they would urge Poorman to include them and the student body in spelling out the details of policy initiatives.

"When it's such a change as this that affects student life so much, I think student opinion is critical," Bishop said.

Students in February elected Bishop and Foley, who had campaigned on the issue of clearing up unclear tailgating rules.

Now, the announcement of three changes to the alcohol policy expands the pair's agenda.

They pledged a zealous but realistic campaign to represent student interests.

"We need to work toward a fundamental change in how policy is determined at this school," Foley said.

Bishop added, "Hopefully, we can use this passion that people have about [alcohol policy changes] to get students to talk to us about other concerns affecting their lives here."

Senators Call Meeting for Alcohol Resolution

Posted on 7 April 2002:

The Senate decided Thursday to hold an emergency meeting on Sunday evening to pass a resolution calling for a review of the proposed ban of in-hall dances.

The primary reason behind the emergency meeting is to pass the proposed resolution before Monday's Campus Life Council meeting. If it passes, the resolution will be brought up at the same CLC meeting where Father Mark Poorman, vice president for Student Affairs, is expected to formally present revisions to the 18-year-old alcohol policy.

The resolution calls for students, faculty and administration to be involved in reviewing the changes to the in-hall dance policy.

"Life in the residence halls is a hallmark of the Notre Dame experience and the traditions of these residence halls bolster the Notre Dame community by bringing together the residences of a dormitory," the Senate Residence Life Committee wrote in a copy of the proposed resolution obtained by The Observer.

The resolution also refers to the potential cancellation of signature hall events and says the "direction of the proposed Alcohol Policy threatens to negatively alter traditions, some of which have lasted for over 20 years."

Stanford Senator Aldo Tesi, chairman of the Residence Life Committee, said an important part of the hall dances was its location in the halls.

"I am concerned about the smaller dorms such as Badin, where we only have 120 girls and it will be hard for us to have dances. For formals, we have to have two or three other dorms join us in order to have the dance financially and it detracts from the tradition," said Sole Galmarini, Badin senator.

Other senators raised concerns that smaller halls would be financially unable to meet the costs of their dances and that some dances might have to be cancelled in the fall because of the lack of space and available weekends due to football games.

Brian Coughlin, director of Student Activities, countered this by saying that the University has compiled a list of on-campus sites where hall dances can take place. Also, the University is looking into the possibility of reduced costs at off-campus sites.

"We have a list and there are 30 venues. Some of them are unique and unexpected. It would be irresponsible to release a list without informing the venue that their foyer might be used for a dance. These places would be ideal because they would be free to use," said Coughlin.

"Some of these places are the business school library and DeBartolo. They aren't 30 great new places and they are definitely unique," said Pat Hallahan, Sorin Hall senator and the chief of staff for Libby Bishop, student body president-elect.

Coughlin said that hall dances held outside and under tents would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis as all dances are currently handled.

The supposed lack of student involvement in the formation of the alcohol policy was also emphasized by several senators, although no mention of student involvement was included in the draft of the resolution obtained by The Observer.

Blake Haan, Keenan Hall senator, pointed out that only nine of the 28 focus groups held between September 2000 and March 2001, referenced in Poorman's Monday e-mail to students, were composed of students. About 240 individuals participated in the forums, and only 56 were students.

In an attempt to strengthen their resolution, senators discussed the addition of a clause that would be linked to the Annual Fund's use of SYRs to advertise for fundraising. The Annual Fund is a University-sponsored fundraiser directed toward alumni.

The advertisement appeals to alumni to donate money so that future students could enjoy SYRs as they once had. The mailing included a picture of a couple at a dance and used the popular MasterCard advertisement to compare the SYR memory to a priceless experience.

The Senate intends to use the Annual Fund's use of SYRs to demonstrate that the University does recognize the traditions that are associated with SYRs.

Join the Campaign to "Change ND"

Posted on 31 March 2002:

I've been at this school long enough to realize the sad, sad truth that the Golden Dome stands for one thing and one thing alone. And it's not Our Lady of the Lake.

It's cash.

Cold hard cash. Alumni checks with six zeroes, endowment figures with eight digits, big dollar signs and bigger piles of that precious, precious monetary fuel that buys stadiums and dormitories, Notre Dame monogram waffle irons and Stanford head coaches.

Notre Dame guidelines for student life revolve around wealth, and the latest policy revisions by Father Poorman are sadly no exception.

Is the issue at hand preservation of community, student safety or some other admirable cause? Father Poorman sat down at his computer Monday night and lied to us all. He drafted a masterfully woven blanket of rhetoric - a page right out of some Clintonian public relations spin cycle so fiendishly fashioned, so cleverly crafted, that one might actually be led to believe that the interests of the Notre Dame student body were the sole inspiration for the its conception.

But the truth is dirtier. Much dirtier. Father Poorman didn't need to write a statement Monday night. He barely needed to draft a page in order to express the true incentive for this plan. In fact, he should have only needed a single word:

Liability.

Plain and simple. If an underage student dies from over-consumption on school grounds, the Golden Dome is liable. Father Poorman has to sit in front of a grand jury and sheepishly explain that he is, and for quite some time has been, fully aware that underage students are imbibing massive quantities of powerful intoxicants on this campus. And what happens when the frailties of our ambiguous drinking policies are exposed? The Golden Dome pays through the golden nose, and some poor parents of an expired student get a sheepskin parchment and a check for $90 million as a macabre souvenir of duLac's worst nightmare.

But if said underage drinker dies with a drained bottle of Goldschlager in hand at College Park or Castle Point or on the sticky mauve tiles of Boat Club's dance floor, the University is not liable. Do not pass go, do not pay $90 million and Father Poorman proceeds directly to his mahogany desk in the president's office. Much better.

Is there a good chance that more students will perish from overdrinking off-campus than on? Yes. Is there a good chance that the Notre Dame community will drastically deteriorate upon the death of SYR's and traditional hall dances? Absolutely. Is any of this relevant to liability? Hardly.

Risk management. They teach us this stuff in school, right? If I were Father Poorman, maybe I'd do the same thing because people in high places aren't stupid. They're actually very smart, and if they have to bend the truth once in awhile for public policy purposes, who's to be the wiser? We're only students.

But that's not what should worry us most. It shouldn't bother any one of us that someone we trust, a member of our own Notre Dame family, may have in some small or not so small measure, sought to mislead his flock in any way, shape or form.

What should bother us most is that Father Poorman could care less what any one of us thinks in the first place.

And maybe that's not even the worst thing - maybe we should be more concerned that Father Poorman (and whoever pulls the golden strings above him) doesn't really even care what our student body government thinks either. Father Poorman didn't even bother to allow our student representatives any input concerning a drastic policy change that ultimately transforms the Notre Dame community as we know it.

So what now? What are we supposed to do?

Do we rally? No - no one will listen.

Do we chain ourselves to radiators? No - no one will care.

Do we pour malt liquor on the steps of Main Building? No - no one in Main Building likes malt liquor. And saving the right to consume malt liquor on campus isn't even the point.

The point is that, we, the students, have no voice in a place that wouldn't exist without us. And the way to speak when you have no voice is to learn the only language your adversary understands. At Notre Dame, that language happens to be cash.

This is a formal call to all seniors, juniors, sophomores, freshmen, graduate students, faculty and alumni who care about the Notre Dame community to promise to withhold all future monetary donations to this University until serious policy changes are enacted to provide students here with a real voice. Students need meaningful representation with meaningful power, and until such a power is realized, the Notre Dame community will continue to suffer a tragic, albeit silent, injustice.

A group is being organized among campus upperclassmen known as "Change ND." The group will be asking all Notre Dame students to sign individual pledges not to donate any personal funds to Notre Dame until drastic steps are taken to ensure that student voices will be fairly and adequately represented in the future.

The pages of The Observer will be littered for weeks with rants, raves and assorted gibberish - like this letter, for example. There will be angry words and cynical expressions; there will be good points made. But at the end of the day, the paper you hold in your hands will be thrown away.

Don't let this issue die quietly like so many other scarlet crimes the administration has coyly passed beneath our noses for years and years. Take this one out of The Observer and into your halls. When you see a "Change ND" pledge, sign it. Post it on your door and a tape a copy to Father Poorman's office window. Tell your parents, tell your friends. E-mail your local alumni clubs and let them know how strongly you feel about this.

Change is long overdue, and we badly deserve it. Today we have the opportunity to fight for something meaningful and something central to every academic and moral value this place of learning - our home - represents. Raise your fists and lower your wallet. Here come the Irish.

Robert Pazornik
senior
off-campus
March 20, 2002

Administration ignores student concerns

Posted on 31 March 2002:

Love them or hate them, you have to hand it to members of the administration for knowing what they are doing regarding the recent changes in the alcohol policy. Inevitably, more students will move off campus because they are fed up with being treated like children, leaving more dorm rooms for incoming freshmen. Students over the age of 21 who live on-campus will most likely welcome their new-found ability to tailgate at the cost of their right to have hard liquor in their rooms.

Moderate drinkers should not be directly affected by a ban on hard liquor and actually may support the intent to decrease on-campus drunkenness. It appears that the only segments of our community that will oppose these changes will be heavy drinkers who live on campus and underage drinkers who still lack the ability to tailgate. The last time I checked, neither demographic was busy forming a special interest group.

However, all students should be opposed to these changes for no other reason than that we had absolutely no say in them. This new alcohol policy is about much more than alcohol. We put up with a lot as Notre Dame students, and the administration seems to have no appreciation for it. University officials manage to maintain a facade of understanding through organizations such as student government, the Campus Life Council, SUB and any other groups you want to throw in there.

However, when the rubber hits the road, don't think for a minute that the administration is anything other than apathetic to dissension from students. Their general attitude seems to be "love it or leave it." Somebody handed them the Golden Dome and they use it against us every chance they get. I could be wrong. In fact, I hope I am. But if not, this is still our school, and I can only hope that someday we'll actually have the guts to take it back.

Vinnie Zuccaro
sophomore
Dillon Hall
March 19, 2002

Community and Tradition Destroyed By Unfair Policy

Posted on 31 March 2002:

Several weekends ago, I was at a ResLife job fair hunting for an assistant rector position for next year. Time and time again, potential employers, all employees in the residential life field themselves, praised Notre Dame for our fantastic dorm system. How, they wanted to know, did we manage to keep so many kids on campus and maintain our famous school spirit? Simple, I said, it's the dorm life. Living in the dorms is fun - they're like fraternities, and our dorm mates are like family members.

Guess what, Father Poorman and crew, thanks to the bomb you just dropped on the alcohol policy, you can kiss your - I mean our - precious "residentiality" good-bye.

Strangely, you've failed to recognize that, for better or for worse, college students like to drink alcohol, and Notre Dame is no exception. But instead of implementing programs aimed at responsible drinking, you've chosen an all-out ban on hard alcohol and in-dorm SYRs.

Though I find it sad that Notre Dame students would leave their dorms simply because of stricter alcohol policies, the truth is that many will. And with them will go our cherished and coveted residential system.

The most glaring error in your assessment is that you claim that banning hard alcohol in the dorms is a safer alternative to the current policy. Is it safer that students leave their dorms and drive to bars or off-campus parties? Wasn't this the reason for the relatively lax alcohol policies in the past? Do you honestly think that students will simply stop drinking? It is my prayer that the Notre Dame community never has to endure the loss of one of our own when he or she is killed in an alcohol-related car accident. Schools across the country have not been immune to these tragedies but our alcohol policies have spared us from this.

Earlier this year, we resident assistants were asked to provide our residents with alternatives to off-campus parties. It was said that too many of our students, especially freshmen, were getting drunk off-campus and having trouble getting home. Essentially, what you've done is taken them out of an environment where a network of assistant rectors, resident assistants, rectors and countless non-intoxicated fellow students are able to offer them help if they've had too much and left them in one full of equally-intoxicated strangers. That's safety!

I also find it strange that in-dorm SYRs have been banned, despite the fact that some dorms experience almost no problems during dances. My dorm, Keenan Hall, simply does not have the kind of problems that other dorms have because our staff, our upper-classmen and especially our rector, have cultivated an environment where responsibility is encouraged. Instead of punishing us for the misdeeds of others, perhaps your office should take a long look at the inadequacies of problem dorms and develop ways to make their SYRs safer.

And why ban both hard alcohol and SYRs? If alcohol is the creator of all of the SYR problems, isn't it enough just to get rid of the liquor? I'm thankful I don't live in Lewis or McGlinn because your SYR ban has left them with no signature events. And what will Alumni be like without the Wake? As past director and head writer of the Keenan Revue I faced the possibility of losing our dorm event, and I can only imagine how these students are reacting to the news.

Much has been said over the tailgating issue, and I'll not rehash all of that now. But though many of the over-21 ilk are grateful for a place where we can enjoy non-Animal House tailgating, I for one am greatly concerned about the under-21 crowd. Not only is tailgating a large part of the football weekend - though I disdain those who insist it's the focal point - now you've driven students away from their families. A father and son won't even be able to enjoy a beer and a brat before a game, and what's more, you've effectively turned Turtle Creek into the Boat Club of tailgaters. How many freshman and sophomores do you think will elect to stay off-campus and pass out on someone's futon as opposed to going to the game? As any true Notre Dame football fan would attest, this behavior is inexcusable. But like it or not, it'll be a reality.

The purpose of this letter is not to champion alcohol. It's not about the alcohol. I rarely drink myself and when I do, I don't get drunk. I'm writing about preserving traditions that began far before any of us were born - traditions that are bigger than any single one of us. By enacting these changes so swiftly and definitely, you're not only creating a discipline nightmare for yourselves - and the poor resident assistants who unwittingly signed on for next year before these unenforceable changes were made known - until all of the current students are graduated, but you're sacrificing residentiality, tailgating and dorm dances without giving a thought to the role these institution play in forming the Notre Dame experience. And by the way, a quick history lesson will tell you that Notre Dame's alcohol ban of 1984 didn't work - that's why the rules are the way they are today.

I know what I've said is going to have absolutely no impact on the University's decision. I only hope that my fellow students will make their collective voice heard on these matters and hope that any alumni who don't want to see these beloved traditions trampled on make their voices heard as well.

Grant Gholson resident assistant
senior
Keenan Hall
March 19, 2002

Letter to the Editor

Posted on 31 March 2002

This letter is in response to the recent article outlining the new alcohol policy unveiled by Father Mark Poorman. I believe this new policy will produce more harm than good and, in short, is a huge mistake.

The decision to ban "hard" alcohol in residence halls, even among those students who are 21 years or older, baffles me. First and foremost, why is a distinction being made between hard alcohol and other alcoholic beverages, such as beer and wine? Does the University really have the authority to determine that XYZ kind of alcohol is okay to drink, but ABC is not, especially if the decision-maker is a 21-year-old student? It is my understanding that the University would like to instill the belief every student makes independent decisions regarding their lives. This new rule is completely contradictory to this.

As a student at Notre Dame I was faced with situations where I could choose to drink and if I chose to do so, I chose what to drink. Every person coming of age is faced with these decisions, and it should be their prerogative to make their own choices.

The decision to ban in-hall dances, in addition, has absolutely no basis for being included in this alcohol policy. It absolutely saddens me to hear think that my former dorm, Cavanaugh Hall, will no longer host SYRs on-site. In-hall dances are a Notre Dame tradition and a nationwide college tradition, for that matter. What next, force us all to study in our rooms from 4 p.m. until 11 p.m. every night? This micro-managing of the student body is again telling students that the University has absolutely no trust in them. If these rules become the new law at Notre Dame, students will begin acting just how the University is treating them - as children.

I have always defended and supported Notre Dame's traditional alcohol policy because it has always given Notre Dame students the freedom to drink or not within set boundaries. In addition, as someone who has lost many friends to drunk-driving accidents, I was always incredibly thankful that as a student I could attend parties and dances on campus where there was never the risk of students driving drunk. Tightening the on-campus alcohol policy will simply force those students who would like to drink to seek out parties and dances off-campus, increasing the chances of drunk-driving incidents greatly. Is this something the University is willing to risk? My parents were always incredibly grateful that they never had to worry about me getting in a car with a drunk driver while I was attending Notre Dame, and I know they were not alone. If these new policies were to be implemented, Notre Dame parents would be losing their assurance that their children would be safe on the roads near campus.

There are an endless number of other issues I would like to address regarding this topic, but it would take too long to outline them. I simply ask that Father Poorman re-evaluate these new policies and take a hard look at the realistic consequences that will inevitably result from them rather than the idealistic goals behind them.

Kate Coughlin
class of '97
March 19, 2002

ND Battle Brews

Posted on 31 March 2002:

"I'm the local jester of O'Neill (Hall) and possibly the last. It's horrifying," said Notre Dame freshman Tom "Doogie" Sutton, who dances on the steps of the Main Building before a crowd protesting proposed campus liquor rule changes. O'Neill Hall is known for its annual in-hall dance featuring a Mardi Gras theme, and in-hall dances will be banned under the new rules.

At a protest gathering Wednesday, University of Notre Dame students hold up signs to show their displeasure at the new campus alcohol policy.

University of Notre Dame junior Jesse Hensley burns a copy of du Lac, the university's guidebook of student regulations, during a protest Wednesday regarding campus liquor rule changes. Tribune Photos/SHAYNA BRESLIN

SOUTH BEND -- In a pep rally-style protest, University of Notre Dame students turned out Wednesday to express their displeasure at planned changes in the campus alcohol policy.

Chanting "We want a voice," about 500 students gathered on the North Quadrangle to give pep talks and denounce the new policy. Student government leaders vowed to convince administrators to listen to student concerns.

A few students burned copies of du Lac, the handbook of student regulations.

The new rules, expected to go into effect next fall:

Students will not be allowed to possess or consume "hard" liquor in undergraduate residence halls.

Residence hall dances must be held away from the hall, at an on- or off-campus site.

Undergraduates 21 years or older will be allowed to host registered tailgate gatherings on home football Saturdays. Graduate students may host tailgaters without registering with the university.

Some students say elimination of in-hall dances will detract from Notre Dame's residential character. About 81 percent of undergraduates live on campus.

"Dorm life: Ain't broke, don't fix it!" read a sign on a bedsheet hung outside Keenan Hall.

"Having more dances off campus means students will just drink a lot more before," sophomore Julia Schmidt said. She doesn't drink, but she disagrees with the new policy. "I didn't feel it was necessary," she said.

Preparing and decorating for in-hall dances is a primary way of building dormitory unity, according to students.

"I think it's going to hurt residential life and destroy the sense of community we've developed. It's going to push people off campus," said senior Bill Ferreira, a resident assistant in O'Neill Hall, a men's dormitory.

The university's alcohol rules have changed dramatically over the decades. It is believed that alcohol was first permitted in campus dormitory rooms in the late 1960s.

The rules became more liberal after 1972, when women undergraduates arrived. Beer kegs were banned from campus in the late 1970s.

In the early 1980s, alcohol flowed unchecked in residence hall common rooms on weekends. In those days, no efforts were made to enforce drinking-age laws.

The most recent major policy change occurred in 1984, when large residence hall parties were barred to those under 21 and student groups were no longer allowed to host tailgate parties on game days. Since then, drinking has shifted to off-campus parties and smaller gatherings in private rooms.

Some said the new policy will prompt more students to go off campus to drink.

"If safety is a concern, drunk driving should be a concern," said junior Larry Simpson.

After the rally, about half the crowd marched to the front of the Main Building, chanting and making more speeches. Most administrators in the building had gone for the day.

ND Eyes Change in Alcohol Rules

Posted on 31 March 2002:

"I think this is going to hurt the social scene here. It's already not too great and I think they're making it worse."

Tony Accetta Notre Dame sophomore

SOUTH BEND -- The University of Notre Dame is considering major changes to its campus alcohol policy, including banning hard liquor in residence halls and eliminating traditional in-hall dances.

The proposed changes would loosen rules in one regard: Students 21 years and older would be allowed to host tailgate parties in a designated parking lot on days of home football games.

The proposed changes are designed to encourage more responsible attitudes toward use of alcohol and to adhere to Indiana alcohol laws, according to a statement issued Tuesday to the campus community by the Rev. Mark L. Poorman, vice president for student affairs.

Notre Dame has been studying the issue of alcohol use on campus for the past two years. The effort included 30 focus groups from campus and the community, discussions with rectors and comparisons with other universities.

The study "confirmed the perception that a significant percentage of Notre Dame students engage in abusive drinking," Poorman wrote.

A third of Notre Dame students report missing classes because of drinking, he wrote.

Poorman was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

If approved, the proposal would result in the most sweeping changes to campus alcohol rules since the policy was tightened in 1988. The changes are expected to go into effect next fall.

Many students are unhappy about the planned changes. They learned of the proposed new policy two days after returning from spring break.

"I think this is going to hurt the social scene here. It's already not too great and I think they're making it worse," said sophomore Tony Accetta, 20, who lives off campus. He and his roommates frequently throw parties.

The changes will simply encourage more students to move off campus and drink off campus, he said.

Some students expressed concern that they weren't given a larger role in developing the new policy.

Junior Joyce DeLeon, 20, said she doesn't drink, but she isn't sure the new policy is a good idea.

"It's more about student rights and us having a voice in our lives here," said DeLeon, who lives off campus. "I know a lot of people are going to party off campus," she said.

Notre Dame is known for its strong residential character, and students planning in-hall dances are part of that tradition, said freshman Sarah Schneider, 18.

"I think drinking is a big problem on campus. Drinking is one of the central parts of the undergraduate experience, from what I'm told."

Dan Bubar First-year Notre Dame law student

"If they keep taking away the liberties that we previously had, I wouldn't stay on campus," she said.

"It's just another way they can restrict our freedom here," said freshman Darryl Burton, 19, who thinks the announced changes are a first step. After eliminating hard liquor, administrators will wait a few years then make it a dry campus, he predicted.

Burton admits he and his fellow Alumni Hall dorm mates drink. Sometimes they see vomit in dormitory restrooms from someone who had too much to drink, but he doesn't know of any cases of alcohol poisoning.

Students drink before in-hall dances to get in the right social mood for the dance, he said.

"Every day, this place gets closer and closer to a Bible camp," Burton said.

"It's a step toward total control, like fascism," said freshman Alex Garcia, 18.

Garcia admits he drinks once or twice a week, as do many of his dorm mates. He said he often sees people who are drunk.

Not all students oppose the changes.

"I think drinking is a big problem on campus. Drinking is one of the central parts of the undergraduate experience, from what I'm told," said first-year law student Dan Bubar, 22. "The proposed changes are a step toward solving the problems."

It's wise to allow students of legal drinking age to tailgate in designated areas on home football days, Bubar said. "Notre Dame is trying to help their students learn to use alcohol responsibly," he said.

Bubar attended Taylor University, in Upland, Ind., as an undergraduate. Alcohol is barred on that campus, and nobody questions the policy, he said.

The proposed changes:

Students, regardless of age, will not be allowed to possess or consume "hard" alcohol in undergraduate residence halls. The term "hard liquor" has not yet been defined, but many on campus believes it means all alcohol besides beer and wine will be forbidden.

Residence hall dances will be held outside of the hall, either at on- or off-campus venues. In part because of space constraints, the focus of some in-hall events has become not the dance itself but private gatherings in individual rooms, according to Poorman.

Undergraduates who are 21 years and older may host tailgate gatherings in a designated campus parking lot on home football Saturdays if the gatherings are properly registered with the university. Graduate students will be allowed to host tailgaters without registering. Students younger than 21 may not host tailgaters, nor possess or consume alcohol at tailgaters hosted by others.

Hall Staffs Confront Policy

Posted on 31 March 2002:

The new alcohol policy changes have received varying reactions from residence hall staffs with the general agreement that many of Notre Dame's traditions and enforcement policies in question will remain.

"Student Affairs isn't doing this to be the evil, wicked witch of the west. There's a reason," said Alumni Hall's assistant rector Pat Costello, a law student who is also a Notre Dame undergraduate of the class of 1990.

Among the three major revisions in the policy - the ban of so-called "hard" alcohol, the allowance of tailgating for students of the legal drinking age, and the end of in-hall dances -the latter has been the more voiced concern of late. Alumni Hall, which hosts its "Wake" every year, is just one of the University's 27 dorms, to have traditions tied to their in-hall dances, also called SYRs. Many students perceive that the new policy will threaten the legacy of these SYRs.

"The Wake isn't cancelled," said Alumni's rector Father George Rozum.

He added that Student Affairs would allow the SYR tradition, which includes carrying Alumni's rector in a coffin around campus, to continue as long as students were more responsible about drinking. Also, the new rules require that the dance is located outside of the dorm, but Rozum said the hall staff would consider using the dorm's nearby courtyard as a new location.

"I think if our Wake had been on the line, it would've been a different story," said Rozum.

Nevertheless, both Rozum and Castello thought the policy was an effort of the University to look out for students' best interest.

"We're going to enforce it however Student Affairs tell us to," Rozum said adding that many students are unaware of the cases of students who go to the hospital each year because of alcohol abuse.

"If somebody were to be killed nobody would be outside protesting. Everyone would be at the Basilica in mass," said Castello.

Fellow rector of Farley Hall, Sister Carrine Etheridge said she was optimistic about the changes.

"To be realistic, when you have access to alcohol for five or six hours straight, rather than for a limited amount of time, I think it's a setup for being a problem," said Etheridge whose dorm also has an annually celebrated SYR, Pop Farley.

She said the residents in her dorm were disappointed and had a right to protest the changes, but she also pointed out what she thought were positive aspects to the policy.

"I think it might change the social scene a little, but the upside of this is that students are going to find a lot of interesting places to have dances," Etheridge said.

She said the University administration has expressed the willingness to open other campus venues for dances, and that they would also still allow in-hall social gatherings before the dance.

"This is probably going to mean that the students drink two hours before a dance instead of five or six," said Etheridge. "We can still have pre-parties and decorate."

A more critical group, the incoming resident assistants, also support the need for change, but have some criticism about the effects it will have on their experience during upcoming year. Because the revised alcohol policy was announced after the RAs had already been chosen for next year, those students were given an additional rule to enforce.

"It's just one more thing that's going to make my job tougher that I didn't anticipate," said junior Dan Zeller who will be an RA in St. Edward's Hall next year. "It's a new twist that maybe they should've thrown in before RAs were selected."

Zeller, like many current hall staff members, said he agreed that alcohol abuse had become a problem, but the revisions did not adequately solve it.

"I think it's unfair to the kids that are 21 years of age, but these are the same students that are providing the alcohol," said Zeller.

However, his chief complaint regarded what Zeller though was poor justification of the elimination of in-hall dances, or SYRs.

"Especially since they've already taken away hard alcohol, which seems to be the root of the problem, then why can't we have our SYRs?" said Zeller.

Junior Meghan Anderson of Howard Hall, another recently selected resident assistant for next year, had an indifferent view about the policy.

"I think it's important that students have a voice - but I would encourage students to look at issues that really matter," said Anderson, adding that she considered her role as an RA to be a friend, sister and mentor.

"I don't see the role of an RA as being one of snooping into people's rooms and monitoring people," Anderson said.

Current RAs said the alcohol policy will likely do little to curb all underage drinking in the residence hall rooms, but could offset some of the major alcohol-related emergencies.

"I really don't think it's going to affect the way I interact with residents and the way I go about enforcing the rules," said senior Yogeld Andre, an RA in Dillon Hall that will stay for a fifth year.

Andre said he initially thought the University was proposing a dry campus, but was immediately notified that it would not be the case. Andre's rector, Father Paul Doyle, read the Dillon staff a list of anticipated questions from Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Father Mark Poorman.

"The reason these laws were instituted is to cut back on the amount of students sent to St. Joseph [Hospital]," said Andre. "Hard alcohol has been involved in a disparate amount of cases."

Senior Tim O'Connor, also an RA in Dillon, said there were "pretty blatant problems that needed to be addressed" concerning Notre Dame and alcohol.

"I think the policy needed to be updated in some way," said O'Connor. "Anybody that says there wasn't an alcohol problem with Notre Dame students obviously wasn't paying much attention."

Still O'Connor, like Andre and the incoming RAs didn't expect the actual enforcement of the rules to change very much.

"I don't think it's going to be an exceptional change in the way things are done," O'Connor said.

Students Flood Rally, March to Dome

Posted on 31 March 2002:

To the chant of "We need a voice," hundreds of Notre Dame undergraduates marched to administrators' doorstep Wednesday, flooding a student demonstration in protest of proposed changes to the University alcohol policy.

The effort brought together more than 600 people, carrying "Save liquor" signs and lofting burning copies of Du Lac, the student handbook, in the air. The student government-sponsored event, billed as an all-campus town hall meeting, was students' first public movement against alcohol policy changes that University officials unveiled Monday.

"We've heard your frustrations, and we share your frustrations," Student Body President Brooke Norton said, flanked by class and residence hall presidents standing on a platform on the Fieldhouse Mall. "We still have time to stand together and affect this."

A boisterous crowd took Norton and other organizers' comments to heart, moving the protest from its North Quad location to Main Building - home to most administrative offices, including Father Mark Poorman's.

Poorman, vice president for Student Affairs, on Monday announced three changes that University officers are likely to approve this summer and enact in the fall:

• the outlaw of "hard" alcohol in undergraduate residence halls

• the ban of in-hall dances

• and the revision of tailgating rules to allow only drinking-age students to host parties in designated parking lots before home football games

Poorman said the changes were necessary prevent the campus culture from becoming alcohol-centered.

Protesters, however, claimed student social life wasn't rooted in drinking and were upset that students were shut out of the policy-making.

"This is about dorm unity," said Joe Muto, O'Neill Hall president-elect. "This is about a hell of a lot more than hard alcohol."

To which a man in the crowd interjected, "Like freedom!"

Muto was among several speakers who enlivened the already-enthusiastic group. He joined other hall presidents in condemning Poorman's proposal to cancel in-hall dances and popular signature events in dorms.

"If you want to take my Mardi Gras away, if you want to take my dorm unity away, then you'll have to pry them out of my cold, dead hands," Muto said, warning that he wouldn't be "pushed around by a bunch of celibate, white men," an apparent reference to priests in the administration.

Dorms that host well-known dances and events were best represented at the rally. Throngs of O'Neill Hall residents came to protest cancellation of Mardi Gras, and Alumni Hall attended to support their "Wake" dance.

Sophomore Ryan Schildkraut was worried about losing residence hall traditions. He decided to move off campus next year because of the changes.

"It seems like they're not trusting the students," said Schildkraut, who was wearing a hall T-shirt.

Stanford Hall freshman Greg Borchardt said, "I think students got a raw deal. This is our effort to show the administration how we feel about the policy and hopefully bring about change."

Student Body President-elect Libby Bishop, who takes office April 1, vowed to fight the changes. Bishop and Vice President-elect Trip Foley won election in February, campaigning on the idea promise that they would stand up for student rights and clear up confusion that surrounded tailgating rules last fall.

"Trip and I promise to continue this fight for students to have a voice in the making of this policy," said Bishop, whose position permits her to remain on campus this summer to work with University officials on the actual revision of the policy. "I personally will be at [Assistant Vice President for Residence Life] Bill Kirk's door every day to see that we have a voice in the writing of these changes."

Bishop encouraged students to attend Monday's Campus Life Council meeting, where Poorman will formally introduce the proposed changes to the body. The meeting is at 3:30 p.m. in the Notre Dame Room of the LaFortune Student Center.

Ironically, as organizers urged students to remain passionate about the cause and to lobby administrators, several people pointed to Poorman walking toward North Quad. Poorman came within 25 yards of the event then turned around in the direction of his office.

Minutes later, when student leaders invited questions from students, one man asked if they group could march to Main Building.

They gathered outside in front of the building's stairs. At one point, they directed chants of "Come downstairs" to Poorman's third-floor office window. One student set fire to a copy of the student handbook, and as the rally died down, set it on the ground to burn in front of the building.

Bishop and Foley said following the demonstration they were pleased with student turnout and zeal. They were confident that they could impact passage of the proposed changes.

"We need to keep the momentum going," Foley said. "It's important that students stay motivated and keep giving us ideas."

Poorman Unveils New Alcohol Policy

Posted on 31 March 2002:

The University's top student life official unveiled Monday broad changes to the school's alcohol policy, challenging students to seek out non-drinking activities and heading off his own concerns about an alcohol-centered campus climate.

Father Mark Poorman, vice president for Student Affairs, announced three landmark changes that target drinking among undergraduate students:

• a ban on "hard" alcohol in residence halls,

• a barring of in-hall dances

• and a rewriting of the tailgating policy to permit of-age students to drink in designated parking lots on home football weekends

The changes - the first major revisions to the policy since 1988 - may prove a watershed moment for the University.

"I felt like we needed some change two years ago," Poorman said. "We looked hard at what we think would have the greatest impact on campus. The changes are grounded in what we've heard over the past two years."

Poorman announced the changes in closed session Monday to the alcohol task force of the Campus Life Council. He'll formally introduce the measures to the CLC on March 25 as revisions to duLac, the student handbook.

Poorman sent word of the changes swiftly to campus in an e-mail Monday. The text of that message appears also in a full-page advertisement today in The Observer.

Announcement of the changes would have come later, Poorman said, but he wanted to end speculation about the impending action. For nearly two weeks, visitors to the student-run Web site NDToday.com have fueled the rumor mill, posting messages about the University tightening the alcohol policy.

In the letter to students, Poorman said a study of alcohol use and abuse that beganin 2000 yielded both "encouraging and alarming" results. He said data collected through focus groups and surveys found that many students either don't drink or do so in moderation, but officials "cannot overlook or excuse abusive drinking."

"I want a campus culture that is creative, that finds lots of alternatives [to drinking] and that isn't completely rooted in alcohol use," he told The Observer.

Barring any challenges from Poorman's colleagues, the policy amendments will take effect in the fall. Poorman said the changes already have the support of University officers, who will likely approve them in July.

Notre Dame adopted an alcohol policy in 1984, and it underwent revision four years later. The University banned kegs in residence halls in the late 1970s.

Poorman acknowledged that the current policy is disjointed and doesn't clearly spell out rules governing on-campus drinking among undergraduates. A more "user-friendly" policy in the fall will provide clearer guidelines, he said.

"In general, it's a good policy," Poorman said. "It just needed improvements to lead to a healthier, safer environment."

It's an environment that will prohibit so-called "hard liquor" in dorms, even among 21-year-old students.

Poorman believes the move will curb cases of intoxication, alcohol poisoning and hospitalization which usually involve students consuming drinks with high alcohol content or doing "shots" of liquor.

He offered no clear-cut definition for "hard liquor," saying officials would base that determination on proof, or alcohol, content.

On a mostly residential campus where dorms are central to student life, the long-standing tradition of dances in residence halls will go the same way as potent alcohol. Poorman said the in-hall dance ban springs from a pattern of students ditching the dance to drink in their rooms.

"Some of the most problematic behavior occurs at dances where the focus is on individual gatherings in rooms," he said. "Rectors say that outside dances are more successful in limiting intoxication."

The ban doesn't hurt tradition, according to Poorman. Dances can still can be held off campus or at non-dorm on-campus venues. It follows a trend, too,

of halls holding their dances at off-campus locales such as the College Football Hall of Fame and Coveleski Stadium.

It comes at a time when student life officials are expanding on-campus social space options, announcing in the past several months plans for a revamped Alumni-Senior Club, purchase of an off-campus house for event programming and dedication of space on the second floor of South Dining Hall for meetings, dances and other functions.

But it also means that some hall signature events - O'Neill Hall's Mardi Gras and Alumni Hall's Wake, for examples - will be cancelled. Signature events that aren't dances and that aren't alcohol-centered - such as McGlinn Hall's Casino Night or the Fisher Hall's Regatta - will continue or be looked at on a case-by-case basis, Poorman said.

"I believe the halls can have great signature events that don't depend on hosting a large, alcohol-based dance," he said.

Officials will enforce the new tailgating policy with the same eye toward cracking down on alcohol-laden partying.

The revised policy allows students 21 and older to register to host tailgaters in a designated parking lot on Saturdays before home football games. It clears up confusion surrounding enforcement of tailgating rules last fall when law enforcement and Residence Life and Housing staff stepped up their patrol and citations of under- and of-age drinkers.

"It's a much better policy because now it mirrors Indiana state law," Poorman said.

The policy allows all graduate students to tailgate freely.

Poorman was enthusiastic that the changes would better serve the University's academic and Catholic mission. He said a revised policy also would empower students.

"A big part of this effort was to empower students who don't want to organize their social lives around the use and abuse of alcohol," Poorman said.

He noted that the policy could have called for an outright ban of all alcohol - a so-called dry campus - but said that wasn't the type of environment he wanted to create.

The new policy will be flexible in that students who now want to move off campus can arrange through the Office of Residence Life and Housing to have their on-campus housing deposits refunded, Poorman said.

The actual language of the alcohol policy that will appear in duLac won't be written until this summer. Poorman said student government officials would have input in the rewrite.

Making His Point

Posted on 17 March 2002:

When Sports Illustrated named Chris Thomas Player of the Week in the middle of February, the freshman point guard got a phone call from a staff writer who had to fill an information box with tidbits about Thomas' life.

At some point during the interview, the writer asked Thomas if he had a nickname.

"Well, coaches call me Hollywood every once in a while," Thomas told the writer. "When the lights go on, I like to showcase my talent."

Big mistake.

During Notre Dame's next game a few days later, the announcers called Thomas "Hollywood," "Broadway" and "Showtime" almost every time the point guard touched the ball.

He didn't like it one bit.

"That's the total opposite of what I'm trying to get across," Thomas said. "You should expect the best when the lights go on, and that's the kind of guy I am."

Thomas wants to be respected on the court. He wants to be normal off the court. Unfortunately, as he has found out, that's not going to happen. No matter how much he didn't want it to happen, the respect he's earned on the court has turned into much attention off the court.

But then again, maybe he should have expected it. This was a player who scored so many points that he had to sit out of games when he was just six years old. The Indiana native earned McDonald's All-American honors and was named Mr. Basketball in a state where basketball is life to teenage kids. He'd proven again and again in high school that he was a top-notch player, capable of succeeding at the highest levels.

Thomas stepped onto campus this year as one of the highest-rated recruits ever to wear an Irish uniform. The goals he wanted to accomplish his first year - win Big East Rookie of the Year and emerge as a dominant point guard - rivaled the high expectations of Irish fans drooling over the prize recruit.

"I knew 20 minutes into the first practice of the year that he was the guy," coach Mike Brey said. "He was in control right away, and we wanted him to be in control."

Thomas, the first player in Notre Dame history to wear jersey No. 1, said he picked the number because he wanted to stand out. But it didn't matter what uniform number he wore, because after he registered a triple-double in his first game, people across the nation picked up their schedules and circled Notre Dame. Thomas, they said, would be exciting to watch.

From that point on, every move Thomas made was under a microscope. Every breakaway slam-dunk ended up on SportsCenter and every ankle-breaking crossover became the topic of conversation in dorm rooms across campus.

"You kept waiting for him to falter, and he never faltered," forward David Graves said.

Thomas admitted he had to adjust his mindset. In high school, he could dominate players with his athleticism. His tattoo, which he got for his 18th birthday, reads "Stop Me If U Can." He pretty much ran a one-man show as he lead his team to a pair of high school basketball championships.

Once in college, he quickly found out that he had to be a complete player, and he had to get used to the idea that he had talented players around him. Teammates Graves, Ryan Humphrey and Matt Carroll helped the freshman through a grueling Big East schedule. He talked with his family nearly every day. And whenever Thomas needed a lift, Brey's office door was always open.

When he played well, his support group kept him in touch with reality. When he struggled, they picked him up.

"There been a lot of things that have hit me hard," Thomas said. "I've had a lot of mature people that have picked me up and kept me humble."

There's a certain cocky edge to Thomas that makes him seem like he thinks he's the best player on the court on any given night. But he tempers his confidence by putting the team ahead of his personal goals. The day Thomas earned the Sports Illustrated award, he was upset because the Irish weren't ranked in the Top 25.

He would rather be an all-around standout rather than a scoring machine because he feels the team doesn't need him to score points to win. He writes `Lil' Big Man' on his shoes because he wants to lead the team in rebounds, not just points or assists.

"I want to do whatever the team needs," he said. "It's the little things that mean so much to the team, and it's the little things I have to improve."

The strong chemistry between the freshman and veterans is part of the reason why Thomas doesn't want to fail. When Notre Dame lost to Syracuse earlier this season, 25 people sat around Thomas as ESPN analyst Digger Phelps said Notre Dame wouldn't make the NCAA tournament unless the point guard improved.

"I was like `Wow.' He's saying I'm the central part, the glue on the team," Thomas said. "It made the guys realize I'm not playing my best and I realized they probably thought, "We don't win when he plays like that.'"

Thomas sought respect on the court, and he got it. Opposing players came up to him and congratulated him on his success. Other coaches praised his six Big East Rookie of the Week. Teammates raved about his poise. Visiting media raved about the freshman sensation from Indianapolis, Ind.

In fact, few people consider Thomas a freshman anymore Q and its been that way for a few months.

"I got over the rookie mistakes and I was wondering if I got respect," he said. "Now I know I've got respect and people are talking about me."

But Thomas found there was a price to that success, too. He gets phone calls from die-hard fans begging him to stay all four years in college. The chorus of media interviews is starting to wear on him. And he hints he's getting tired of signing autographs after every game.

"It's fun to make them happy, and you have to make them happy," said Thomas. "For right now, it's all fun and games, but eventually, it's going to get old."

Thomas wants to play basketball, but he also wants to have a normal life. He knows he can leave basketball on the court. Others, he said, can't. And all the attention leaves him jaded with his success.

Thomas doesn't want people to treat him differently, but the spotlight shines so brightly on him that its tough for others to treat him as anything less than a basketball star. He'd rather shine the light on the team's accomplishments.

Reluctantly, he's grown used to the fame. But that doesn't mean he likes it.

"The guys who know me really well treat me as Chris. They'll be the first to treat me like I am," he said. "I want people to treat me and understand that I don't like being Chris Thomas or Big East Rookie of the Year 24-7. I like being Chris Thomas on the court and that's it."

Zorich's Rise From Poverty Sparks His Philanthropy

Posted on 24 February 2002:

Notre Dame and Chicago Bear football great Chris Zorich gave a speech Sunday in the Coleman Morse Lounge on the importance of community service. Students clustered around Zorich on couches and chairs as he spoke about his life growing up in poverty and the significance community's assistance played in his life as a child.

While Zorich was growing up in the far East side of Chicago, his family was in a state of poverty. He grew up with a single mother and only through the help of government assistance was the family able to receive the bare essentials for survival. There were times, explained Zorich, when there was no food in the house and he would scour the garbage behind the local grocery store for anything edible to eat. Because of the conditions he had to live with, attending college never crossed his mind. Yet, fate was on Zorich's side and he was able to play football at Notre Dame.

"I knew a chance to go to college would open better opportunities for me," said Zorich.

After college, Zorich was drafted to the Chicago Bears, a thought that he did not think would ever be possible.

"Playing for the Bears was a dream come true," said Zorich.

After achieving fame and fortune, Zorich knew he had a duty to help families that are experiencing the poverty he faced as a child.

"I remember standing in line at our church waiting for a food basket," said Zorich. "That makes an impression on you when you're a little kid. I promised myself that if I was ever able to help others, I would. That's why I created The Christopher Zorich Foundation."

The Christopher Zorich Foundation was established in 1993, and is committed to the realization of human potential - mind, body, and spirit. Its mission is `One Purpose, One Goal,' which is to provide assistance and opportunities to disadvantaged Chicagoans. The organization strives to foster a sense of caring, which crosses race, religious, economic, and social boundaries.

The foundation runs a food drive, awards Notre Dame scholarships, donates new toys and clothing to needy children, sponsors a 5K race, gives corsages to women in shelters on Mother's Day, and partakes in various other activities in the Chicago community. On one Thanksgiving, he distributed 97 turkeys to needy families in his community.

Zorich told students that to make a difference in someone's life you must try to put yourself in that person's position.

"By understanding your client, you're opening your heart to what they had to go through," he said.

Zorich is currently attending law school at Notre Dame and plans to stay involved in the betterment of Chicagoland families in the future.

The lecture was the keynote speech of the Blessing Unto Others series sponsored by the Notre Dame Student Government. Now in its second year, the Blessing Unto Others Week centers on the goal of raising student awareness on campus of how blessed students are to be members of Notre Dame Family. Blessing Unto Others seeks to motivate the entire student body to come together each year and raise money for a foreign charity that is served by current Notre Dame students.

A Class With Room For More

Posted on 10 February 2002:

COMMITTED

JAMES BONELLI

6-5, 280, OL, Camarillo, Calif., (St. Bonaventure): Notre Dame's second verbal commitment. Considered one of the top four linemen in California. Played in the U.S. Prep All-American Bowl in San Antonio featuring the country's top high school players. Also had scholarship offers from top schools like USC, Florida, Tennessee and Florida State. Runs the 40-yard dash in 5.0 seconds and bench presses 320 pounds.

JAKE CARNEY

6-1, 180, DB, Lexington, Ky., (Catholic): Attended Notre Dame's football camp in the summer. Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming rates him as one of the top three players in Kentucky. Played in the U.S. Prep All-American Bowl. He received scholarship offers from Stanford, Purdue and Kentucky. Runs the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds and bench presses 240 pounds.

ANTHONY FASANO

6-4, 243, TE, Verona, N.J.: Lemming ranks Fasano as one of the top ten tight ends in the nation. Played in the U.S. Army Prep All-American bowl. Attended Notre Dame's summer football camp. Chose Notre Dame over Virginia.

MARCUS FREEMAN

6-3, 230, TE, St. Paul, Minn. (Cretin-Derham Hall): Former high school teammate of Irish sophomore Rashon Powers-Neal. Last season he caught 18 passes for over 300 yards and three touchdowns while missing a little over three games with a high ankle sprain. Played in the U.S. Army Prep All-American bowl. Lemming ranks Freeman as the fifth best tight end in the nation.

CHRIS FROME

6-5, 240, DE, Saugus, Calif., (Newhall Hart): Chose the Irish over schools like Michigan, Washington State, Clemson and California. Played in the U.S. Army Prep All-American bowl. Has a perfect 4.0 GPA and scored 1,220 on the SAT. Bench presses 315 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.75.

JEFF JENKINS

6-1, 195, RB, Ann Arbor, Mich., (Huron): Rushed for 1,427 yards and 21 touchdowns during his senior season. Had 3,986 rushing yards over his career, a school record. Was named area player of the year and to the all-state team. Led his team to the playoffs. Also a standout sprinter in track. Chose Notre Dame over Toledo and Northwestern. Owns a 3.7 GPA and scored 18 on the ACT. Attended Community High School -- an academic alternative school -- although he played sports at Huron High.

DEREK LANDRI

6-3, 272, OL, Concord, Calif., (De La Salle): First team USA Today and Parade All-American. Played on both the offensive and defensive lines in high school. Lemming rates him as one of the top 12 offensive linemen in the country. Recruiting analyst Allen Wallace has him listed as one of the top nine defensive linemen. Had 130 tackles and nine sacks in 32 quarters. Received interest from Nebraska, USC, California and Miami. Bench presses 375 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.89.

TRAVIS LEITKO

6-6, 260, DE, The Woodlands, Texas: Comes from the same high school as former Irish defensive lineman Grant Irons. Had 100 tackles and six sacks last season. Picked Notre Dame over Stanford, Michigan, Texas and Texas A&M. Lemming rated him as the country's 22nd best prospect. Carries a 3.9 GPA and scored 1,470 on the SAT.

BRIAN MATTES

6-6, 250, DE, Larksville, PA, (Plymouth Wyoming Valley West): Played both ways earning all-state honors as a tight end catching 34 passes for 400 yards and two touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, he accumulated 70 tackles, 13 sacks, 12 tackles for loss and two blocked kicks. Was named all state at defensive end as a junior. Chose Notre Dame over Virginia Tech. Also a basketball standout recruited by Penn State for hoops. Bench presses 280 pounds and runs a 4.7 40-yard dash.

BOB MORTON

6-4, 300, OL, McKinney, Texas: Talked out of a verbal commitment with Texas A&M. Also had offers from Texas, Stanford, Colorado, Northwestern and Georgia Tech. Lemming rated him as one of the top five offensive linemen in Texas. Owns a 5.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale due to success in advanced classes. Runs a 5.2 40-yard dash. Played in the U.S. Army Prep All-American bowl.

CHRIS OLSEN

6-4, 220, QB, Wayne, N.J., (Wayne Hills): Picked Notre Dame over Miami. Led his team to the state title game two years in a row. Tore the ACL in his left knee during the first game of his senior season. As a junior he threw for 1,987 yards and 22 touchdowns. Runs the 40-yard dash in 4.8 and bench presses 265 pounds. Played for his father, Chris Olsen Sr., at Wayne Hills High School.

SCOTT RARIDON

6-7, 270, TE/OL Mason City, Iowa: Could move to the offensive line. Son of former Notre Dame strength and conditioning coach Scott Raridon. Chose the Irish over Nebraska, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Iowa. Played in the U.S. Army Prep All-American game. Bench presses 260 pounds and runs a 5.0 40-yard dash. Holds a 3.3 GPA and scored a 26 on the ACT.

MICHAEL RICHARDSON

6-0, 180, WR/DB, Warner Robins, Ga.: Originally committed to Wake Forest.

Played mostly receiver in high school but probably will play in the

secondary. Hampered by injuries his senior year he caught 12 passes for 180 yards and gained 361 yards rushing. He played in only six of 11 games. Runs a 4.4 40-yard dash and bench presses 280 pounds. Has a 3.9 GPA and scored 1,060 on the SAT.

JAMIE RYAN

6-5, 280, OL, Tamaqua, Pa. (Marian Catholic): Missed most of his senior season because of a throat infection causing a blood clot. Played in his team's first four games. Picked Notre Dame over Penn State, Michigan State, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. Bench presses 350 pounds and runs a 4.9 in the 40-yard dash.

DAN SANTUCCI

6-4, 245, TE/DE, Harwood Heights, Ill. (Chicago St. Patrick): Attended Notre Dame's summer camp. Bench presses 305 pounds. Runs a 4.74 40-yard dash. Led his team to a 7-4 record as a senior, recording nine sacks. Holds a 3.95 GPA and scored a 20 on the ACT.

NATE SCHICCATANO

6-3, 225, RB, Catawissa, Pa. (Columbia): Rushed for more than 1,000 yards and scored 21 touchdowns during his senior season. Also played receiver, safety, linebacker and quarterback. Chose Notre Dame over Penn State, Michigan State, Oregon, and Iowa. Runs a 4.4 40-yard dash and bench presses 360 pounds. Owns a 3.8 GPA and scored 1,020 on the SAT.

MAURICE STOVALL

6-5, 215, WR, Philadelphia, Pa. (Radnor Archbishop Carroll): First team USA Today All-American. Lemming rated him as one of the top two receivers in the country. This past season, caught 31 passes for 743 yards. Also played free safety, returning five of his 11 interceptions for touchdowns. His final college choices were Notre Dame and Virginia.

RHEMA MCKNIGHT

6-2, 188, WR, La Palma, Calif. (Kennedy): Considering Notre Dame, UCLA, Florida and Oregon and Washington. Runs a 4.48 40-yard dash. Rushed for 1,331 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior. He had 19 receptions for 334 yards and five more scores. He played a little quarterback, completing 50 percent of his passes for 358 yards and two touchdowns. As a junior, McKnight had 62 catches for 1,188 yards and 15 touchdowns. Has a GPA of 3.1 and scored 1020 on the SAT.

Race shouldn't be a factor

Posted on 20 January 2002:

When George O'Leary was hired, Jesse Jackson stuck his nose into the world of athletics and suggested Notre Dame should hire a minority football coach.

After all, only four out of 115 NCAA Division I football coaches are black, an absolutely pathetic number. And after Tyrone Willingham was hired, Jackson and other civil rights leaders praised the move, saying it marked a historical step forward for all minority football coaches.

However, the tiny number of black coaches isn't the most important point. Neither is Jackson's meddling.

The real problem is that race is even an issue at all.

Notre Dame hired the most qualified football coach available. It didn't hire a black football coach.

Tyrone Willingham would have been hired if he had blond hair, blue eyes or pink and purple polka dots as long as he was the institutional fit Notre Dame was looking for.

Willingham was hired because he succeeded while facing tough academic standards. He was hired because he's taken Stanford to four bowl games, beaten Notre Dame three out of five times, and been named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year twice. In short, he was hired because he can win.

"All the football pundits, professionally or collegiately, say this guy is a great football coach. And we knew that in the beginning," Kevin White said. "[Race] was never an issue."

The fact that White hired Willingham solely based on his accomplishments showed that he was able to keep football and race as separate as George O'Leary and honesty.

Too bad the rest of us aren't as talented.

Sure, society has come a long way from the days where white offensive lineman refused to block for a black quarterback. Thanks to social advancements made by Jackson and countless others before him, Carlyle Holiday and Matt LoVecchio can compete against each other for the starting quarterback position and be best of friends instead of the competition turning into an epic battle between races.

Instead of walking into a silent locker room with whites on one side and blacks on the other, Holiday can see his teammates joking around. And LoVecchio doesn't hesitate to throw a pass to a black receiver or hand off to a black running back because he doesn't have to worry about taking heat from his white teammates who play the same positions.

But there's still a long way to go. Terms like 'social significance' shouldn't even be brought up in a press conference involving a minority coach. Willingham's hiring shouldn't give Notre Dame a recruiting boost or any other added benefits. Notre Dame shouldn't be a social pioneer simply because it hired a black head coach.

And the hoopla from civil rights leaders like Jackson surrounding Willingham's hiring shows just how far we have to go to make race a non-issue.

To call Notre Dame and Kevin White racist because Willingham wasn't hired the first time around, as several national civil rights organizations have implied, is preposterous. Then, for those same civil rights organizations to turn around and praise Notre Dame and White for eventually hiring Willingham equally ridiculous.

Although Notre Dame has said it hopes to improve minority rates in its administration, it wasn't looking for a black coach. The Irish wanted the best coach. That Willingham happened to be black was sheer coincidence.

"Thomas Aquinas has a way of describing essentials and accidents," said University President Father Edward Malloy. "The essentials about Tyrone - outstanding coach, excellent reputation, great track record, great institutional fit. Accidents - high-profile African-American coach, high-profile position."

Tyrone Willingham wasn't hired because he is black, just like Bob Davie wasn't fired because he was white. Willingham was brought in to win after it became clear Davie could not.

Notre Dame and White are earning national praise for hiring the first black coach in school history. And like Jackson and others have said, it is a huge step forward for minority football coaches across America. But the very fact that Notre Dame is being praised for hiring a minority head coach shows just how many more steps we have to take.

White didn't pick Willingham only because the genes that control skin pigmentation happened to be different from 111 other Division I head football coaches. Willingham emerged as the top choice because he best embodied Notre Dame ideals.

During his tenure as athletic director at Arizona State, White slowly learned more about the conference-rival Stanford football coach. He admired Willingham's success at an institution with strict academic standards. And he respected Willingham's no-nonsense, disciplinarian approach on the football field and his personality and integrity off of it.

"Tyrone represents a very high-end football coach who just happens to be African-American. And will we enjoy some residual benefits from that? Absolutely," said White. "But that wasn't why we chose him."

Kevin White doesn't want race to be an issue. Tyrone Willingham doesn't want race to be an issue.

So why is it?

Malloy walked in Willingham's shoes

Posted on 20 January 2002:

Rev. Edward A. Malloy doesn't isolate himself as much as some people's image of him might suggest.

It's not beyond the University of Notre Dame president to know what an Internet message board is.

Or even peruse one of them.

He knows sports talk radio. He watches the sports anchors on TV wave their arms demonstrably as they drivel. He bristles over breakfast while reading newspaper columns.

Yet it's all good.

Even the outrageous. Even the inflammatory. Even the most ignorant thoughts emanating from the hiring of 48-year-old Tyrone Willingham as Notre Dame's head football coach.

ND's first and only black head coach in any sport.

It will be interesting to see how long that phrase -- first and only black head coach in any sport -- stays, parenthetically or otherwise, with Willingham. How long the media will trip over themselves as to whether to use the word black or African-American. And whether to hyphenate.

And Malloy will be watching and smiling, because he believes it is healthy. He believes that dialogue brings progress -- even when it means two sides eventually have to agree to disagree.

He knows that, because he has lived it.

"On the playgrounds in Washington D.C., there's a T-shirt," Malloy told The Tribune. "On the shirts it says, 'It's a D.C. Thing.' It's about all the great playground basketball players in the history of Washington D.C. There's only one white person on that T-shirt -- me.

"I've lived the opposite part of the story. I lived much of my youth where I was the only white person in a black world, and I was accepted on my own terms, because I could compete."

So he is not worried when people ask whether Willingham would have been hired with a 44-36-1 record if Willingham had been white. He bristles at suggestions that ND bowed to Rev. Jesse Jackson's demands, but only because it's untrue, not because it's unflattering.

And because Malloy has lived it, he is much more believable when he says Willingham wasn't hired because of the color of his skin. But Malloy, athletic director Kevin White, and Willingham will all agree that ND will benefit as a byproduct from the hiring. Not as a product of it.

"What we're doing in this society and what Notre Dame is doing as an institution is trying to be a warm and friendly multicultural environment," Malloy said. "Athletics has a role to play in that. And as a side benefit to this selection, I think that coach Willingham will give us a face and a visibility that will be great for the institution."

It won't wipe out ignorance or racism or misperceptions. But it might be a start.

Until then, we'll have to put up with people who use too broad of a brush in suggesting all Irish fans who don't like Willingham are racist. Or assertions that Notre Dame won't ever be able to fire Willingham if he turned out to be a lousy coach because it wouldn't be politically correct. Or that the media will be afraid to criticize him.

Malloy knows this is where we are, humbling as it may be, in our evolution as a society. The media reflects this, sometimes gracefully, sometimes clumsily.

He accepts people may doubt Willingham for non-football reasons.

He also accepts those who argue that Willingham comes to Notre Dame with a lower winning percentage than the man the university just fired, Bob Davie.

Because Malloy knows numbers can lie.

Perspective is more important.

Remember, the fan favorite the last time ND had a football head coaching vacancy was then-Northwestern coach Gary Barnett, whose career record at the time was 14 games below .500 when Irish fans longed for him to succeed Lou Holtz.

Since moving on to Colorado, Barnett still hasn't broken even (63-72-2) and ND fans hardly salivated about him this time around.

Even the embarrassingly few head coaches (four) among 115 Division I-A schools can be twisted. Rev. Jackson, for one, argues that nearly half the players in Division I-A are black. But should the number of players be reflected in the number of coaches? Or in the percentage of black people in the U.S. population (12 percent)?

And couldn't you turn the argument around and say that more scholarships should be given to white players since they're underrepresented in terms of the general population?

That's why Notre Dame chose simply the best coach available, not the one who'd make the strongest social statement -- even though they may be one and the same person.

"I think that's everybody's responsibility," White said of addressing the low number of black college head football coaches. "That's not my specific responsibility. My responsibility is to do the right thing for the University of Notre Dame, and I think Tyrone represents a very high-end football coach who just happens to be African-American.

"And will we enjoy residual benefits from that? Absolutely. But that wasn't part of the equation."

What is part of the equation is that the black/white discussions are here and are good for now. Eventually, it is important to learn from them and move beyond them. Eventually, Ty Willingham needs to be Notre Dame's head football coach -- not its black football coach.

Perhaps Willingham said it best, at his introductory press conference on New Year's Day.

"Is this significant?" he said of whether he viewed his hiring as a historical breakthrough. "Yes, I say it is significant. But I am first and foremost a football coach at the University of Notre Dame. The young men will expect me to be the kind of leader that they expect their fathers to be. And that's the role that I will try to go for."

O'Leary's tale is laughable

Posted on 13 January 2002:

Attorney Jack Reale, representing George O'Leary, laughed off a request from The Tribune to interview college football's most famous fibber in time for Sunday's edition.

Now we know why.

The position taken by O'Leary during Sunday night's ESPN interview indeed was a joke.

Notre Dame asked for a resignation O'Leary wasn't prepared to offer? Is this Christmas Eve or April Fool's?

The school demanded it and O'Leary had little other choice?

While he was on a roll, did O'Leary throw in the fact that he also finished second to Rudy Giuliani as Time's Man of the Year and once recruited Harry Potter's brother?

If O'Leary's nose had been stretched like the truth was during Sunday night's interview with ESPN's Mike Tirico, then his nostrils would have been sniffing your remote.

"I was asked for my resignation, which I wasn't going to fight that," O'Leary said in the interview. "I think they (Notre Dame) did what they had to do based on the facts they had."

O'Leary's new stance sounds like lawyering.

Sounds like someone who might be worried about having to pay the $1.5 million contract buyout to Georgia Tech if officially proven that he left Notre Dame on his own accord.

Sounds like someone other than the man who showed remorse Dec. 14 and explained in a statement why he "tendered his resignation.''

O'Leary's version of the story gives the impression that Notre Dame summoned him to the Golden Dome, waved his bogus biography in front of his face, and forced him to resign on the spot.

When, in fact, Notre Dame vice president for public affairs and communication Lou Nanni maintains that O'Leary was the first person to bring up the notion of resigning during a lengthy conference call.

Several times, Nanni said, O'Leary offered but Notre Dame said no. The university could have accepted O'Leary lying about lettering three times for New Hampshire's football team. But lying about an academic degree he never earned, no matter how long ago, presented a far more serious dilemma for a place steeped in academia.

Still, the university waited until it had asked more questions, gathered more information, weighed different options, and only then accepted O'Leary's offer to resign. It came via fax about eight hours after the discussions began.

Contrary to what O'Leary suggested in his I-am-the-victim interview, Notre Dame actually had more to lose than gain by revealing details of his resignation.

To some, even considering overlooking O'Leary's academic exaggeration makes the university appear weak and blinded by its football program. To some, Notre Dame might even have earned respect within its own community if it came out that the university sent O'Leary packing when the first fib was uncovered.

Asking who is a more credible source in this case, Nanni or O'Leary, is like picking between the New York Times and the National Enquirer.

It should have come as no surprise that a man who couldn't remember how many diplomas he has earned suffers from selective-memory disorder.

While earning that bachelor's degree at New Hampshire -- a legitimate claim -- O'Leary must have majored in Revisionist History and minored in Impressionist Art.

O'Leary would have been better staying holed up in his Georgia vacation home, fishing. If he were going to speak out on the most embarrassing episode of his life, he should have spoken with contrition or kept his mouth shut.

The more O'Leary's lawyer, Reale, lashes out at Notre Dame for its lack of forgiveness and the more O'Leary implies the university let him down, the more thankful Notre Dame football fans should be that this duplicitous self-servant left town.

O'Leary could have avoided all this by telling Notre Dame on his first day on the job to take the Master's degree part out of his bio. He could have brushed it off to a misunderstanding with the sports information staff at Georgia Tech, end of story. He could have even come clean and Notre Dame might have supported him like it initially wanted.

But he didn't.

Instead at his first meeting with Notre Dame players he warned them that he had one rule: Don't lie to him. This 24 hours before it was revealed that O'Leary had spent the last 21 years perpetuating an untruth to employers at Syracuse, Georgia Tech and briefly Notre Dame.

He also told the Notre Dame media at his first real press conference that the one thing he cannot tolerate in people is self-pity. This a day before he issued a statement blaming, in part, the false claims on his resume on being "a young married father.'' As if young married fathers lie on their resumes all the time.

"Not one thing I put on paper ever got me a job," he said. "Not one time did I ever turn in a resume. I've never done a resume or been involved with a resume in any job I've ever been involved with."

That must have been another George J. O'Leary of 4 Finch Path, Liverpool, N.Y., 13088, then, who filled out the resume submitted to Syracuse University in 1980. And O'Leary will want to hunt down the muckraker who added to his Georgia Tech bio in 1995 those embellishments about a Master's degree and three football letters from the University of New Hampshire.

"In the worst case, somebody verbally asked George about that (background) and he puffed it because of insecurity from being a Central Islip (New York) boy who is now working here among the PH.D.'s and the chemists," Reale told CNN/SI. "It had no bearing on getting a job, getting advanced, getting paid or whatever.''

It does have a bearing, though, on getting respect. How can any college football coach who lies about his academic credentials ever be taken seriously by a university faculty, its alums, or parents of recruits when he discusses the student-athlete mission?

He cannot, which is why O'Leary must go far away from college football now. Let him go to the NFL where he won't come within a mile of an academic transcript. Or go to the CFL or NFL Europe and let them put in his bio that he is the only unbeaten coach in Notre Dame history. Just go, and take your lawyer, too.

"There on the side of the (Notre Dame) library is Jesus, with his arms outstretched," Reale added to CNN/SI. "Now, is he signaling touchdown or saying 'Come to me and I will forgive you?' The latter wasn't presented as an option.''

Next thing you know, he'll be quoting Rudy.