Campus News:
A few weeks ago Regis Philbin was back on campus with a full slate. Regis hosted his show, "Live! With Regis and Kelly," on God Quad at 8 am on Thursday September 6th. Roughly 300 students gathered to watch the broadcast. The band played the victory march at the end of the program. The show also showed clips of Regis' activities from the previous day which included a visit to his old room in zahm. After the show Philbin joined the other benefactors of the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center for a 10 am mass at the Coleman-Morse Center chapel. Then it was on to DeBartolo Quad for the Performing Arts Center's groundbreaking ceremony. Regis donated $2.75 million toward the Center which is scheduled to be completed in 2004.
ND ranked 19th in U.S. News & World Report's annual listing of the nation's top school for the third year in a row. This year the rankings came under great scrutiny for the criteria involved in the poll. Washington Monthly and the New York Times were at least two publications that pointed out that consideration is given to a school's wealth and past reputation.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
Apparently, a group of Pangborn and Alumni residents, desperate to escape the furiously fluctuating forces of fall fashion and the South Bend weather, decided to take a little skinny dip a couple of weekends ago. Unfortunately, they chose beautiful St. Mary's Lake for the shindig. The Gipper will not be surprised if reports of third nipples and sixth toes begin to pile up in his mailbox during the next few weeks.
Hall Notes:
Last year the University made some changes in its high school recruiting efforts. Apparently they felt other schools were getting a leg up through wall decorations. So the University decided to make a poster to distribute to high school guidance counselors. A photographer was assigned to get a snapshot that encompassed the Dome and Basilica. The view was from the library. Here is the poster....
Notice anything? In the upper left corner the grand hotel of Carroll is decorated with a banner. ("Go Irish!" banner story is on the "Carroll Hall History" page.) It is the only dorm in the photo, which speaks volumes. A close-up of the poster is below...
NDSportscenter:
We are 0-3 for the first time ever. Obviously we can buy out Davie's contract, but supposedly it's even easier than that. Word on the street is that Davie did not receive a 5-year contract extension, but rather five one-year contracts so that a buyout is that much easier. Hope for that to be exercised after the Stanford game.
The men's basketball team will play DePaul for the first time since '94-'95. The game will be on December 1st at the United Center. We have played the Blue Demons 88 times dating back to 1911-12. The basketball team will have seven national television appearances. Two will be on CBS, one on ABC, and four on ESPN. Kentucky will come to the JACC on Saturday, January 19th for one CBS game. The team will travel to Honolulu for the Hawaii Pacific Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 23rd-25th. (Rough life.) Two days after Christmas the boys will play Alabama in the Sugar Bowl Classic in New Orleans.
The men's soccer team has made a little noise so far this season. After an opening 5-0 win over Villanova, the Irish vaulted into the top 25 for the first time in what seems like ages. However, the #21 Irish next met their match in two higher ranked opponents. We were topped by #5 Furman 3-2 in overtime. Clemson then blanked us in the following game. Since then the team has been about 0.500. So the re-building process has hit a snag. Oh, well...Rome wasn't built in a day. However, had I been foreman...
Campus News:
Because 61% of those accepted choose to come to ND, the housing needs for transfers was hurt the most. The commitment is to freshmen and continuing students. Transfer students are not guaranteed housing. There is a waiting list for transfers who wish to have housing on campus. It is expected that all students who want to be in a dorm will be able to by the spring semester. For know, everybody's gotta look out for number 1. Students are scrambling to find places off campus and some are even living out of suitcases and on couches in the dorm rooms of friends on campus. This problem is expected to exist for the next several years. The number of dorm rooms used has not been under 96% for the last ten years.
On October 10th the opening tune played in the JACC will most likely be "Elevation." That tour is coming to town, and U2 with it. The Irish lads have announced a second leg of their world tour and have decided to visit the only campus they should really ever play. At first the concert was merely a rumor. Apparently certain parties had leaked word before it was confirmed. The cat was officially let out of the bag on September 11th. Seats were going for $86. (Ouch.) However, general admission floor space for students was $46 per ticket. (Just a little ow-ie.) Students even got a crack at tickets a couple days before they went on sale for the general public.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
Perhaps the lack of Rally in the Alley excitement was due to the huge draw of Flipstock, which encouraged sobriety through a series of bands singing about drunkenness and drug use. Evidently, 3,000 students showed up for a free concert, which cost the University approximately $150,000. If the Gipper's math is correct, that amounts to $50 per person. Always looking out for his beloved campus, the Gipp proposes a solution to help cover the cost of such a flop: open an on-campus liquor store. Surely that would make the money back in no time, enabling us to fund an Emmaus rock concert featuring Marilyn Manson and Tool.
Hall Notes:
More Vermin photos have been added, both from weddings. Joe Schenher and some of the '98 crew are chronicled under Big Joe's name in the Photo Gallery. There are seven wedding snapshots in all.
Five '97 Vermin joined in the marriage celebration of Dan Hogan. Look under his name to view the bride, the lads, and a stolen scooter.
NDSportscenter:
Game wrap-ups: Arnaz broke a bone in his right leg when he covered a punt and planted wrong. He's out 4 to 6 weeks...3 of 14 3rd downs were converted...no Irish team has EVER started 0-3. Look for Davie to make history next week.
I misspoke last week. Turns out Muffet WAS supposed to be on one of those flights that stuck the WTC Towers. Well, for a week anyway. She asked her travel agent to book her a flight on United Flight 175. A week after the plans were made, assistant Kevin McGuff talked Muffet into meeting him in Providence and flying out of Rhode Island to avoid Boston traffic. The original rumor had her as being ticketed on that flight and missing it because of heavy traffic.
Verbal #12 is 6'4", 243 lb. Anthony Fasano. Not much information on the Verona, New Jersey native. Anthony runs a 4.79 - 40 and is a top ten tight end according to Tom Lemming. He surprisingly made the cut with a 2.4 GPA. That was aided by a 980 SAT. Virginia was Anthony's second choice.
More recruiting news....the re-scheduling of the Purdue game may put a crimp in the rest of the year's recruiting. December 1st is now gameday, whereas before it was one of only two weekends to bring in prospective players. But that does not seem to be a major concern. We already have over half the expected commitments and how the team performs over the rest of the season will most likely determine who else will sign with the Irish.
ESPN.com recently conducted a poll on the most popular college team in the country. Nebraska was 6th with 2.7%. Ohio State and Penn State were 5th and 4th with 3.8% and 4.3%, respectively. The Wolverines garnered 4.7% and came in third. Who was #2? FSU with 5.4%. The Fighting Irish led the way with 7.1%. Once again we are #1, no thanks to Davie.
Campus News:
The University cancelled classes and activities Tuesday morning in response to the events. Father Malloy declared a day of prayer. A mass took place on South Quad at 3 pm. Seven thousand were estimated to have attended. The stage was at the east end, in front of O'Shag. The audience stretched back to South Dining Hall. Here is one photo of the mass and other photos can be seen at the link below...
In other news...The period of unlimited free printing is over. The University will charge 10 cents per sheet to any student who prints more than 1,000 sheets of paper a year. All students have a 1,000 sheet balance with the Office of Information Technologies which will deduct pages each time a student uses a cluster printer. The fee is expected to alleviate some of the printing queue back-ups that occur when large documents are printed. Students may also be inclined to be more conservative with their printing, limiting it to necessities. Statistics show that over 80% of students print less than 1,000 sheets a year. No measures have been implemented to compensate students who receive poor prints from a malfunctioning machine. Printing stations only record what has been printed, whether or not the quality is up to par.
Campus Watch from Me:
Forget the Gipper, I've got some dirt for ya. I happened to be on campus near the Bookstore a few weeks before school began. Football practice was being conducted on the open meadow west of the Bookstore and southwest of the new Golf Quad dorms. Usually spectators are chased away by student managers. However, that apparently was burdensome, so a yellow rope "fenced" in the team and staff and allowed on-lookers to get an eyeful. Regular folks, photographers, media writers, and television cameras were obviously expected. Why were they expected? Because advertising was taking place for a captive audience. Under the stairmaster tent (yes, there was a tent in a meadow with stairmasters under it) was a water station and a fluids stand that had a huge EXTRA STRENGTH TYLENOL sign on display. It was huge and blatant. Yep, we were certainly selling commercial space....AT PRACTICE! Anything for a buck. Hopefully they also provided the coaching staff with an unlimited supply. Oh wait, this is ND. The coaches will surely be assessed a fee after the first 1,000 pills.
Hall Notes:
How in the hell did Admissions know to put all the smart (asses) fellas in Carroll? Vermin Neil Durso '90 graduated with a degree in Biology. Penn State was the next stop for the good old PhD in Biology. Along the way Neil wed Karlene '90 a few months after graduation. Penn State was wrapped up in 1995. One postdoc was done with USDA in Mississippi and a second postdoc took place in Frederick, Maryland with the National Cancer Institute. Neil's current occupation is an as application scientist with Cellomics, Pittsburgh's largest area biotech. In March of '98, Joseph was born. His brother Gabriel saw the light of day last December. Mr. Durso also has a Vermin alumni website. If you feel like checking it out just click on his name in the registry. Neil had this to say in closing: "PhD was the dumbest decision of my life thus far, except for hurling pizza in Lyons lobby."
NDSportscenter:
Talk about fortunate. Both Coach Brey and Coach McGraw were on the east coast this past Tuesday. Rumors were swirling that they were actually supposed to be on one of the flights that hit the World Trade Center. Both coaches were on recruiting trips, which were halted with no air travel. A car was rented and they headed for the Bend.
The Purdue football game has been re-scheduled for December 1st.
Jeremy Van Alstyne is considered the best football player in Indiana. The Greenwood, Indiana native is our eleventh verbal. Jeremy is currently a 6'4", 240 lb. DE/LB for Center Grove High School. Penn State and Indiana were also interested in Van Alstyne, who last year had ten sacks and 138 tackles. Tom Lemming has him as a top 20 linebacker. Jeremy carries a 3.6 GPA and got a 1050 on the SAT. Van Alstyne is also a solid wrestler and track athlete, competing in the discus, shot put, and hurdles.
The #3 women's soccer team has been tested from day one. The first game was against #8 Penn State. We came out on top 2-1. Two days later #25 Hartford was defeated 2-0 at Alumni Field. Last weekend Indiana fell 2-1. Less than 48 hours later Wisconsin produced a 2-2 draw with the ladies. They got luckier than that apple pastry in "American Pie." The Badgers got a goal 30 seconds into the game after some miscommunication between our defenders. The other goal came with less than 5 minutes in the game. The Cheeseheads snapped the 29 game consecutive home winning streak.
Campus News:
This year the University had the highest acceptance rate in history. By the end of last May the University had roughly 100 more confirmations than it planned for. Last year 57% of students admitted decided to come to the Bend. That percentage rose to 61 this year. Thirty-nine study lounges in nine dorms were converted to dorm rooms to accommodate the students. The dorms affected were Knott, PE, PW, Siegfried, Keough, McGlinn, O'Neill, Welsh, and Dillon. These rooms have advantages and disadvantages. They are carpeted, contain modular furniture, and are more spacious. At the same time almost all the new rooms lack a sink. In male dorms, mostly transfers were put in converted lounges while female freshmen got the same treatment in their dorms. Similar conversions took place two years ago and went off without a hitch. Changes also had to be made academically because of the additional bodies. More sections were added to classes and a new advisor position was included in the First Year of Studies. Psychology and Engineering will be the only areas to see larger classes. To avoid the problem next year, the admissions office will decrease the number of students that if offers admission to. Just great. If it wasn't already nearly impossible for everyone's siblings to get in before this alteration.....
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
Some students in Stanford came up with a creative, non-flammable way to celebrate Easter. Instead of eggs, they painted and hid beer cans for participants to find. The winners got the Stanford Cup, a trophy comprised of beer cans topped by a bowl. The Gipp especially enjoyed the motto for this year's contest: "It's for the kids." Apparently, the organizers hope to make the event an annual tradition, expanding it to include four-person teams and a registration fee that would be donated to charity. Beer: "It's for the kids."
Hall Notes:
Carroll has a new rector. Father Jim Lewis is the lucky chap who is now at the helm after serving as rector for the University's undergraduate program in London the past two years. Prior to the London stint, Father Lewis did various kinds of social work, serving as a therapist in the psychiatric unit of St. Joseph's Medical Center in the Bend, as well as at Central Professional Group in Joliet, Illinois. Father Lewis has been a Carmelite priest for 18 years.
NDSportscenter:
Bob Davie continues to show the country he is an average coach with below average preparatory skills. In case you were wondering, Saturday night consisted of the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th quarters of the Fiesta Bowl. Bob has brought us nowhere in nine months. Enough about that jackass. I have seen the future and his name is Vermin Carlyle Holiday. And the BEAST on defense is Vermin Anthony Weaver. If the coach was smart (which he certainly isn't) he'd have the whole team move into Carroll. Vermin are the only one keepin' it real.
PHENOMENAL basketball news. Coach Brey has received a verbal commitment from Tabor Academy superstar Torin Francis. Torin is a 6'10", 220 lb. forward from Marion, Massachusetts. Last year as a junior he tallied 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks a game. Torin is considered one of the top five big men in the country. Bob Gibbons had him rated the 19th best overall player. Check out the list of schools he said "NO" to....boston college, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Florida, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. Looks like we are gettin' in the mix with the big boys. Torin is our third verbal and we are probably looking for just one more. With only the three commitments, Gibbons has stated, "No question it's a top ten class."
California lineman Derek Landri is our 10th verbal commitment. The 6'3", 276 lb. Landri comes from De La Salle High School in Concord, CA, the same school that produced lineman Aaron Taylor. Derek is a QUALITY pick-up for us. Tom Lemming had him listed as a top 100 player and a top 12 defensive lineman. Another analyst had Landri as the ninth best offensive lineman in the country. Derek benches 330 lbs. and runs a 5.2 - 40. Last year he had 80 tackles and 17 sacks. Derek turned down USC, Nebraska, Miami, and Cal.
Campus News:
This past week was the first one back for the students. The freshmen were welcomed in with open arms. Of course many of the dorms had signs around the on-campus road pointing the direction to their particular dorms. (Not Carroll, mind you.) zahm had one at the Main Gate that read: "ZAHM HALL - THE BEST 6 YEARS OF YOUR LIFE." And by the Security Building they had another: "ZAHM HALL - HIGHEST GPA ON KAMPUSS" (with the second "S" crossed out).
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
It appears one campus group has an annual tradition of competing to see which member has the nicest legs. The catch is that they're all male, and the competition involves more than just shaved legs. Contestants must perform stunts in order to win the coveted bragging rights that come with the crown. This year, one member performed a stunt that took some serious preparation and a lot of balls: He took a pyrotechnics course that gave him the proper certification to purchase special pyrotechnic supplies. Once he completed the course and got the supplies, he lit his member on fire. The Gipp's advice: Don't try this at home, but if you - make sure you shave more than your legs.
Hall Notes:
The pictures have been developed, scanned, and emailed. Here's the story, of a man named Slimmer, who was graffiti-ing a very lovely car. It's a wedding story about vehicle decoration that will go by the name "By Buoye." This is from Joe Schenher's matrimonial event. Behold the tale with picture to follow...
"Joe was adamant that we not f**k up his car, since he had to go straight to the airport and didn't want to have to clean the damn thing off. So, Mo and I went out and bought white medical tape to graffiti his car with--so it could be easily removed.
Not only did we write the usual stuff on the car in tape, we decided to put a big penis on the hood of the car. Kuczaj, Mo, and my girlfriend Kim all stood around laughing as I taped the shaft and head onto the hood. Suddenly, someone says, "So...you gonna do the balls, or what?" Fall-down hilarious. Needless to say, we did the balls.
The piece de resistance was that we realized Joe would kill us, so we wrote 'By Buoye' right next to it. A few minutes later, after Buoye had a look at it, we removed the offensive material for fear that Joe would be terribly insulted (do not anger happy fun ball)."
(From left to right the Vermin are Slimmer, Chris Patka '98, Todd Kuczaj '98, and Mo Karam '98)
NDSportscenter:
Don't forget: Nebraska game next week is a NIGHT game. I believe it is on at 7 pm central time on ABC. LoVecchio is the starter and Holiday is the #2 QB as of this typing. Look for Vermin John Owens (#84) as the first string TE.
Verbal #8 is Josh Hannum from Strath Haven High School in Wallingford, Pennsylvania. The receiver/defensive back is hailed for his speed. Josh runs a 4.3 - 40. The 6'1", 170 pounder scored a 1090 on the SAT and has a GPA o 3.5. Penn State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Purdue offers were declined.
Chris Frome will hopefully bring to our defense what we have lacked for quite some time. Instead of lining up for Michigan, Clemson, Washington State, or California, Chris will put his acceleration and quick feet to work at defensive end for the Irish. Frome is verbal #9. The Newhall, California native from Hart High School is 6'5", 240 lbs, and sharp as a George Carlin diatribe. After sprinting a 4.8 - 40, young Frome continues to maintain a 4.0 GPA after scoring a 1210 SAT.
The women's soccer team, perennially our most dominant Fall squad, is ranked #4 in one poll and #6 in another. Coach Randy Waldrum has been rewarded with a multi-year contract. How the times have changed. Roughly a year ago Coach Waldrum was contemplating coaching in the new women's professional league. He obviously stayed, and with a 44-5-2 record after two years at the helm, he proved worthy of the new deal.
Speaking of the women's pro league, two Domers led the Bay Area CyberRays to the inaugural title. Goalkeeper LaKeysia Beene proved to be the final decisive factor as the Rays won 4-2 in penalty kicks after a 3-3 tie. Beene was also named Goalkeeper of the Year for the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). Defender Kelly Lindsey was also key in the championship and season and was named 2nd team All-WUSA. In addition, both Domers were amongst 24 players invited to try out for the National Team.
Campus News:
So the Generations Campaign is over. I know some of you are already longing for more fundraising. The wait will not be long for the next push. In the next few years, the University will have another self-study, like the Colloquy for the Year 2000, to define its priorities for the coming decade. Every 10 years, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools re-evaluates ND's accredidation. Traditionally, the U has done a major self-study in preparation for that. The coming reaccredidation will be in 2003-4, so another self-study is likely. According to Father Tim Scully, University executive vice president, the next study should be "bottom up." Scully stated, "It ought to be led by faculty and students and their aspirations...It shouldn't be top down." Priorities will be discussed, after which Monk will produce a report outlining them. Officers and Trustees will certainly decide how to meet the monetary demands with a new Generations campaign. Predictions are that the next gear up will start in 18 to 30 months. That leads into the "quiet phase" which begins any substantial fundraising drive, and then the all-out campaign. Until then the Annual Fund and other basic donation-seeking drives will plod along.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
Now, while many Bookstore teams pre-game by taking on extra fluids, most players manage to relieve themselves of the excess before the game. But when Mother Nature calls, you can't always find a bathroom. Of course, most guys just step off the court, find a garbage can or two cars to stand between and discreetly take care of business. One guy, however, had imbibed so much that he had few of the usual inhibitions about going in public. Displaying a total lack of stage fright, he moved to the corner of the court and emptied his bladder. You want cheese on that?
Hall Notes:
More pending nuptial news. Brian "Slimmer" Miller '98 popped the question on the three year anniversary of the day he met his fiancie. Kim Sweeney is the lucky (or unlucky, depending on your perspective) lady. She is a '97 Virginia Tech graduate. These two crazy kids met at a Lockheed Martin event. They both work for LM, but are in quite different departments. While Slimmer grinds it out for the Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis Group, the future missus is doin' that Human Resources thang on LM's Peoplesoft database project, LMPeople. The tentative wedding season is Spring of 2002. (Note: Kim is an adamant football fan. That love fro the pigskin intruded on Slimmer's plan. Here's what Mr... Miller had to say..."In fact, she made me delay our romantic dinner this past weekend (where I was planning to propose!) from Friday to Saturday because we got Redskins tickets and she wanted to see Vick play! Life is good.")
NDSportscenter:
Our seventh verbal commitment is a 6', 180 lb. defensive back from Lexington Catholic High School in Lexington, Kentucky. Jake Carney runs a 4.5 - 40 and is one of the top 3 players in Kentucky, according to Tom Lemming. He is also a kick returner and receiver in high school, but will most likely be a corner or safety in college. Carney attends the same high school that David Graves called home back in the day. Jake scored a 1380 on the SAT and can tinkle the ivory keys as well as bow the fiddle. Stanford, Purdue, and Kentucky were shown the door.
All the freshmen minus one reported this fall. Aldo De La Garza is not yet in attendance. He needed to score a 19 on the ACT to qualify. Aldo said he got a 21 and has submitted the paperwork to the NCAA. It's just a waiting game for the time being. The 6'4", 320 lb. offensive lineman most likely would see little if any action this year so his loss is minimal for this year. However, he should be a solid contributor in the future. Aldo runs a 4.8 - 40 and benches 480 lbs., a mere 70 lbs. below my max. What a lightweight.
The women's basketball team made waves in the off-season. Two HUGE recruits selected the Irish. Courtney LaVere, a 6'3" forward/center from Ventura, California, committed to ND. She led the #1 high school team in the nation to a 29-2 record last year. The second top 25 blue-chipper is Megan Duffy, a point guard from Chaminade-Julienne High School in Dayton, Ohio. Both players chose Blue & Gold over Stanford, UConn, and other top notch teams.
Campus News:
For those of you who haven't been back to campus in awhile, LaFortune now has a Huddle Mart in the southeast corner on the first floor. It has occupied that spot for a few years. Students are not fond of the steep prices. As one student says, "The Huddle Mart puts the 'con' back in convenience store." Some, though, are keen to the "five-finger discount" as employees have caught five shoplifters, four of whom were students. The general manager estimates the Huddle Mart loses between $1500 to $2000 per month due to shoplifting. Everything from cough medicine to chips to school supplies have been plucked. Busted students are sent to the Office of Residence Life where the punishment can range from a written warning to permanent dismissal depending on a student's disciplinary history. To deal with the problem, security cameras have been installed. Food Services is also hoping to hire off-duty security officers next year. Yes, you heard that right. Cameras and guards for a little Huddle Mart. And of course, cameras and security guards cost money, which means higher prices for Huddle Mart shoppers.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
It happens because each year, Notre Dame students drink too much. And each spring, Notre Dame students drink too much and then play basketball. From the corrupted courts of Bookstore Basketball, the Gipp offers the following tidbit:
One team decided that it lacked the requisite skill needed to succeed at Bookstore. Rather than going out there, giving it their best and going home losers anyway, the players came up with a plan to disgust - if not defeat - their opponents. Each player chose a spreadable food product and covered himself with a generous helping of it. The menu apparently included mayonnaise, nacho cheese, and peanut butter among other things. To add a little twist to this dish, many of the guys were clad in Speedos. The edible contenders' opponents were not well-pleased with the prospect of playing man-to-man D, and they were even less pleased when the food-covered players proved they were more interested in sharing their bounty than playing basketball. The game quickly degenerated into a disgusting mess that left the courts smelling rancid for days. The spreadable edibles were, of course, disqualified for their antics. But who really came away the victors in that matchup?
Hall Notes:
"Funeral - No Parking." That's what the sign said that was posted in the circle drive of Christ the King Church in Denver. Is that an omen or what? On Saturday August 11, 2001, Vermin Dan Hogan '97 wed Sarah Metzler (Gonzaga '98). Two Vermin were in the ceremony. Dean Busack '97 and Bob Fincutter '97 donned tuxedos and were a pair of dapper gents. Three others from the Class of '97 were in attendance. Tom Mullarkey, Sweet Baby James Zawada, and Dan Delgado rounded out the crew. Like Big Joe Schenher '98 a few weeks before, the couple honeymooned in St. Lucia. Dan and Sarah will return to a townhome in Fort Collins, Colorado where Dan will continue to work as a computer programmer in hopes of eternally putting off finishing his graduate work in English at Colorado State.
NDSportscenter:
The men's basketball team has received another verbal commitment from a senior-to-be. Rick Cornett, a 6'8", 225 lb. power forward, is a beast on the boards. Rick currently attends Homewood Central High School in Homewood, Illinois. We were the first school to make an offer and that paid off. Rick turned down Kansas State and Illinois. He has a 3.6 GPA and scored a 20 on the ACT. Last year Cornett averaged 21 ppg, 15 rpg, 5 bpg, and 3 apg. He is exactly what the coaching staff is looking for. The backcourt is set and no more guards are being brought on board. The coaching staff is going after the big fish and are competing with the big boys. Brey has elevated us so that we are no longer seeking second tier players. A few scholarships are still available and we are right in the hunt for some key big men.
This summer the American Football Coaches Association gave ND the Academic Achievement Award for our 100% graduation rate for last season. (This was for the freshman class of '95-'96.) The team GPA was the highest it has been in quite some time at 2.67. Eleven players made the Dean's List including Tony Fisher, who earned a 3.41 in economics. Others on the list were Tom Lopienski (3.583 in Film, Television, and Theater) and Sociology major Arnaz Battle, who got a 3.5.
Campus News:
Building commenced this past spring for the new Fischer Visiting Faculty Residences, apartments for visiting professors and faculty members. The residences, which are to be located behind Fischer Graduate Housing, will consist of two buildings with 24 units. "This gives the University more of a marketing tool," said Joe Schellinger, director or Notre Dame's Academic Space. The apartments are especially accommodating to visiting professors with children because the residences are all two- bedroom complexes. Often it is difficult for visiting professors, especially professors on sabbatical from other countries, to find housing in the local South Bend community because their stay is so brief. Although the University has the funds to begin building, the University is still looking for donors to subsidize the apartments. The Office of the Provost is in the process of deciding which colleges and institutions within the University will receive the badly needed apartments. Distribution of the apartments is based on the budget, size, and need of the colleges and institutions requesting space. Each college must have a five-year commitment to rent in their budget. The waiting list is long. The apartments are expected to be ready for spring of 2002.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
The Gipp's glad to see the library has taken steps to eliminate the viewing of inappropriate Web sites on library computers. New cards have appeared next to each computer that inform users about the laws regulating adult materical. The Gipp would also like to report that library staff meetings have become much more interesting since his last column. Frustrated officials are trying to plug the leaks and save the library's image. Maybe they should have thought about that before eliminating research options for ND students.
Hall Notes:
Another "Classic Moment in Vermin History" from Andres "Big Country" Arredondo. It is simply titled "PUKIE." An additional note has been thrown on the end. It has nothing to do with the story, but it's damn funny. It's just a closing remark from Andres that brings chuckles...
Our freshman year, I hooked CJ up with a random "Dog Book" girl who got TANKED before the Carroll SYR. I recall her and CJ going nuts on the "dance floor" aka basement then CJ sitting by himself in the 24 hour lounge. CJ apparently was spooked by his date. As the SYR was coming to a close I ran upstairs to find his date who had HUGE gash on her forehead and her dress hiked up all the way to her face....WOW!!! She claimed that she got into a fight in the bathroom. The truth was that she slipped on her own puke and hit her head on our porcelan god in the girls bathroom. Not only was that a surprise, but she also puked all over the couch. We couldn't remember her name after she left, but we all called her PUKIE. MEMORIES.... At the end of the year when it was time to move out, we stumbled on a HUGE dried up pile of PUKE under one of the wardrobes..... I guess, in a way, PUKIE never left Carroll. We always wondered why that room (206) always STANK.....
Not really a story: My freshman year TONY FARINA threatened to KILL ME!!!!!! I really miss that kid......
NDSportscenter:
The baseball team completed its national letter of intent signees during the 2001 spring/summer period and added nine players to our current roster. The biggest name recruit is SS/P Matt Macri from Dowling High School in Clive, Iowa. Baseball America listed him as the #28 prospect overall and said he should be the first Iowa high school player ever drafted in the first round. However, because his commitment was so strong to us, he wasn't drafted until the 17th round by Minnesota. Macri actually turned down a $2.25 million signing bonus offer from the Blue Jays to be selected with the 15th pick in the first round. (He must really love thee Notre Dame.) Macri is one of three Gatorade Players of the Year (one from each state). The others are Martin Vergara, a RHP from DePaul Cathlic High School in Paterson, NJ and Grant Johnson, a RHP from Lyons Township High School in Burr Ridge, IL. John Axford, a RHP from Assumption College School in Brantford, Ontario, is listed by Baseball America as the top Canadian prospect. Scott Bickford, a LHP from Northern High School in Owingo, MD; Matt Edwards, a SS/OF from Lee-Davis High School in Mechanicsville, VA; Jay Molinda, a catcher from Moline (Ill.) High School; Chris Niesel, a RHP from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Plantation, FL; and Tyler Jones, a RHP from Martin High School in Arlington, Texas have all signed. In addition to Macri, a few other were drafted but have yet to sign pro contracts. They are expected to enter freshman year at ND. This in- coming group could be rated as high as one of the nation's top three. They are set to join an irish squad that is returning eight starting position players and each of their top five leaders in batting average from the 2001 season.
Campus News:
The University recently named three new officers. Jeffrey C. Kantor, who has been a vice president and associate provost since '96, will become vice president for graduate studies and research and dean of the graduate school. He will be responsible both for the development and state of all postbaccalaureate work and for the development and administration of all research conducted by faculty.
John Affleck-Graves, a faculty member from 1986-2000, returns from a year at Florida State to succeed Kantor as a vice president and associate provost. He will also assume a new professorship in Finance in the Mendoza College of Business.
The biggest name amongst these three officers is that of Louis M. Nanni '84. Mr. Nanni served eight years as executive director of South Bend's Center for the Homeless, which he etablished as a national model. He was even praised and mentioned by name for his work by President Bush during the May Commencement speech. Mr. Nanni will become our first vice president for public affairs and communication, a newly created division that will include four departments formerly part of University Relations - public relations and information, community relations, university communications design, and Notre Dame Magazine - as well as a new department of governmental relations. His previous position was as executive assistant to Monk.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
One of the Gipp's editors got a call from the Development Office shortly after the last issue of Scholastic came out. The conversation went something like this:
"Hi. This is someone from the Development Office who hasn't talked to you in awhile. Nice cover story on Notre Dame's tuition."
"Thanks."
"So who is 'Jane,' your anonymous source? She seems unhappy with her job, and I'd like to talk to her."
"Well, she's anonymous."
"Yeah, but who is she?"
"I don't think you understand what 'anonymous' means."
"Well, I guess you're not going to tell me. I'll just talk to you never."
Hall Notes:
Old school Vermin Glenn Hutton '75 lived in Carroll when it was a graduate student dorm. He passed some info our way on the state of the dorm back in the day. The grad students living in Carroll varied across the board. Some of them were in the MBA program (like Glenn), some were law school students and the rest were liberal arts graduate students or science majors. At the time, the only other graduate student dorm was Bronson Hall. According to Glenn, Bronson was a "DUMP." He lived on the second floor of The Hotel in a room that had a private bath which was cherished. This was "because the bathrooms in Carroll Hall in 1973 were awful. The plumbing and fixtures were right out of the 1920s. The shower stalls were made out of metal, and when you were in there they would fog up, steam up, if anyone was taking a shower." And the place was hotter than Hell's Kitchen. Thankfully that bit of tradition never changed and all of us have been able to enjoy the sauna by the lake over the years.
NDSportscenter:
We have another verbal commitment. Our sixth recruit is Bob Morton, a 6'4", 300 lb. offensive lineman. The McKinney, Texas native had originally verballed to Texas A&M, but he changed his mind. A big reason was because we have a law school. Bob carries a 5.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale and scored a 1280 on his SATs. (He was rather upset with that score and plans to take it again.) He is considered one of the best centers in the nation by Tom Lemming and is rated a top five lineman in Texas. Bob runs a 5.2 - 40 and has surprisingly quick feet. Maybe our tackles can learn a thing or two about that. He turned down Texas, Stanford, Colorado, Georgia Tech, and Northwestern to play for the Irish.
Ten former ND women's soccer players have been making their mark in the inaugural season of the WUSA professional soccer league. Goalkeeper LaKeysia Beene '00 has made the biggest impact. She plays for the Bay Area CyberRays and has played every minute in goal. She has held opponents to less than a goal a game. At one point LaKeysia had 600+ minutes of shutout tending spanning 6 straight games. Kelly Lindsey '01 joins LaKeysia on defense for Bay Area. Three Domers play for Washington. Jen Grubb '00 plays all game, every game at defender. Monica Gerardo '01 has started 5 games, seen action in almost all the games, and has 2 goals to her credit. Anne Makinen '01 joined the squad halfway through the season and has worked up to being a starter. The Boston Breakers feature World Cup star and iron woman Kate Sobrero '99. Meotis Erickson '01 has made a couple starts and Holly Manthei '98 recently joined the team. The San Diego Spirit have Shannon Boxx '99 (3 goals, 2 assists...the most of any Domer) and Jen Strieffer '00 (2 goals, one game winner).
Campus News:
The Generations Campaign and increased spending of the endowment has benefitted the faculty a great deal. Over the past decade the average salary for full professors has increased each year to allow the University to stay ranked between 20th and 23rd in faculty salaries among the top 190 institutions. In 1999-2000, the average salary for full professors was about $100,000. In addition to bumping up salaries, the University is attempting to add to the almost 146 available endowed chairs in the colleges. Thanks to the Generations Campaign, 11 new chairs will be coming in this fall. The University offers four types of chairs: collegiate chairs to attract academia's "newer stars"; University chairs - senior-level positions for established educators who have distinguished themselves over time; visiting chairs to attact professors for a short period of time; and endowed directorships for directors of entities such as the Center for Social Concerns. (I have also donated two chairs myself. One being a semi-rusty lawn chair with a flower pattern and the other being a classical folding chair for those professors who wish to conserve space.) Despite these strides, and the fact that the University spent $660 million in chairs last year, only 150 of 900 professors' salaries, benefits, and research were fully funded. To cut corners the University has held all non-salary expenses for 3 years at zero- percent increase. Damn, this place is pricey.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
This is about a musician who came to campus...
So that laid-back, go-with-the-flow image G. Love projects? It's about as real as Britney Spears's breasts. During his negotiations with the University, G. Love had a lengthy roster of demands that read like a spoiled kid's wish list. Among other things, he insisted that specific brands of bottled water and fruit juices be available in his dressing room. He wanted masseuses on hand to keep him and his band relaxed. He wrangled with the University about including a clause in his contract that would have treated him and his entire staff as University employees - giving them full worker's compensation benefits if they were injured on campus.
Too bad for G. Love: His demands out-number his fans. But there are a couple of people out there who like the guy. One star-struck fan made her way backstage after the show to hang out with G. Love & Co. Since she couldn't get on the world-famous superstar, she settle for hooking up with one of his managers. While the girl was getting a very special backstage tour, an ND administrator found out what was going on and took action. Breaking up the happy couple, the administrator informed G. Love and his entourage they had about five minutes to get off campus. The Gipp was not sad to see them go.
Hall Notes:
Michael "Steffi" Graf '94 is a gene-ius. He has received his Masters in Genetic Counseling and has been working as a genetic counselor in a diagnostic genetics laboratory at Case Western Reserve University for almost 3 years. Steffi acts as a liaison between the lab, the physicians or order testing, anad their patients who receive results. (Did I just type "liaison"? Cool. I feel so cultured.) Mr. Graf is also currently in his first year of an MBA program at CWRU. His most recent news is that on June 23rd he became engaged to Kathryn Sullivan '94. A spring 2002 wedding is planned. Steffi also has some news on a few other Vermin. Here's the scoop from Michael himself...
"Anthony Laboe ('95) just got engaged last week as well. He and Heather were engaged on 6/22. Anthony (Twan) also just graduated from Orthodontistry school (I think that's right, anyway). They are currently living in the Ann Arbor area. Mike Bell (Taco) ('94) has been in Indianapolis for several years and is married to Maureen. They both work at Eli Lilly and just had a child (Joey) in Novemeber of 2000."
NDSportscenter:
Well, another defensive back made the paper in a less than stellar manner. Senior safety Donald Dykes was in court on a felony charge of residential entry. According to reports, police arrested Dykes on July 7th at the apartment of a woman with whom he previously had a relationship. Dykes allegedly had been asked to remove his items from the apartment and return the keys. When he used the keys to enter, a neighbor called the police and Dykes was arrested. He was charged with a Class D felony, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison, and was released on $500 bond. Davie was on vacation and unavailable for comment. The sports information director for the athletic department stated the situation would be handled as a "university matter," separate from the criminal proceedings.
Troy Murphy has been playing some solid summer ball. He helped lead his Golden State team to a 4-2 record in the Southern California Summer League. Murphy averaged 19.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg, and 3.5 apg. He shot 50% from the field and 74% from the line.
Former All-American defensive lineman and current Minnesota state supreme court judge Alan Page has received the 2001 Dick Enberg Award. It went to Mr. Page based on his work outside of the courtroom to stress the student-athlete and promote education and academics in the world of sport.
Campus News:
Tuition and financial aid were helped by the Generations Campaign and the endowment but tuition continues to rise more than inflation and there is still a shortage of scholarship money. Because of the impressive returns on the endowment a year ago, the University approved a 20% increase in spending of the endowment, which allows for a 0.3% cutback on the rate of tuition increase. A 40 or 50% increase was not deemed a solid idea. The 2000 fiscal year was atypical with returns approaching 60%. The University did not want to overspend. It seems they were correct to be cautious as the 2001 fiscal year was projected to return only zero to five percent.
This 20% spending increase set aside $34 million for the Office of Financial Aid. About 7 years ago only 40% of students received a little scholarship assistance. This year, enough money was available to aid 3,000 students at an average of $11,000 per student. Although the Generations Campaign surpassed its goal by over a couple HUNDRED million dollars, the effort to raise money for financial aid fell short of expectations. (HOW?!?!) The University had hoped to raise $190 million to support scholarship packages, but missed the mark by $30 million. (I didn't major in math. Can someone please explain to me how the U surpassed an overall campaign by over a quarter of a BILLION dollars but still missed a mark by $30 million? Did I forget to carry the one in my addition? Does it involve complex integrals? Differential equations? I don't get it.) At least the athletic department contributes to financial aid. Athletics generate $40 million but only operate on $28 million. Much of the remaining goes toward scholarships. $4 million is donated to the general scholarship fund as part of the NBC contract. The department also takes care of its own, spending $8 million on athletic scholarships a year.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
The always-popular dining hall managers have been at it again. A student was enjoying some Cap'n Crunchberry in NDH when she made the mistake of tossing a crunchberry into the air and catching it in her mouth. The DH manager swooped down on her and warned her about throwing food in the dining hall. The students started to laugh and were promptly informed that this was no joking matter. Imagine if they had tried to sneak out with two pieces of fruit.
Hall Notes:
Can you still hear them? Off in the distance? The faint chime of wedding bells? Yip, another Vermin got hitched. Big Joe Schenher '98 wed Janelle Dombrow SMC '00 on the last weekend in June. Brian Buoye and Brian "Slimmer" Miller were ushers. Chris Patka and Todd Kuczaj were groomsmen. Guest Morris Karam was "Best Mo." (Truly an honorable position in any wedding.) The missus does Public Relations in Chicago for a group called the Weinstein Organization. The lucky couple met while doing a play together Joe's senior year. After their honeymoon in St. Lucia, Mr. and Mrs. Schenher returned to their condo in Chicago to begin married life.
NDSportscenter:
We have already landed four verbal recruits for NEXT year. The first to state he was coming was Scott Raridon, a tight end out of Mason City, Iowa. The 6'7", 270 lb.-er is the son of a former ND Strength and Conditioning who was here in the late '80s and was even a part of the '88 National Championship. Scott's father was also a former All-American tackle at Nebraska. Scott carried a 3.3 GPA and scored a 26 on the ACT. He is projected to be a lineman here. We won out over Wisconsin, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Iowa State, and Iowa.
The second recruit is offensive lineman James Bonelli of St. Bonaventure High School in Ventura, California. Bonelli is 6'5", 275 lbs and runs a 5.1 - 40. He's considered one of the top four lineman in Cali. Bonelli also has a 3.3 GPA. He turned down USC, Florida, Tennessee, and Florida State.
Number 3 is TE/DE Dan Santucci. He's 6'4", 250 lb and it out of St. Patrick's High School in Chicago. This was seen as a strange move on our part to make him an offer. His team was 2-7. He wasn't all state. He also didn't have any other offers. Hopefully he's a diamond in the rough.
Chris Olsen was a BIG catch. It was thought he was a shoe-in for Miami, but he turned from the dark side. He's a 6'4", 220 lb. quarterback out of Jersey. Olsen is a drop back passer who threw for 2,000 yards and 22 TDs last year.
Campus News:
Here's some information on alumni donations...
We have one of the highest alumni-giving rates in the country at 48%. Funds are solicited in three ways: through the phone center, direct mailing, and personal contact. The phone center is operated through the use of 10 students at a time working evenings. The call alumni, friends of the University, and parents of current students to ask for contributions. (Parents of current students? Damn. They just got done cutting a tuition check! Cut 'em a break!) Student callers are given a script to follow, which even includes pre-written responses for typical complaints, should they be given an earful. Each semester the phone center sets a goal of $1 million, which they routinely hit. If you have a prestigious job title, be prepared to be hit up for more dough. The typical phone request asks for a three-year pledge to solidify a commitment. They rarely ask for more than about $15,000 over three years. ($15,000 over 3! Whew! Good thing my signing bonus rivals A-Rod's.) The student callers' goal is to get unspecified donations so the University can use them in whatever manner they see fit. Donors are also encouraged to become a member of one of the giving societies. The University has four such societies. The Edward Frederick Sorin Society requires an annual, unrestricted donation of $1,000 or more, and it has an inner "Founder's Circle" for those who contribute $3,000 or more. The Stephen Theodore Badin Guild was established for those who wish to make an estate gift. The Order of St. Thomas More requires annual gifts of $1,000 or more to the Law School, and the key to the John Cardinal O'Hara Society is a donation of $1,000 or more per year to the MBA program.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
The Gipp has learned that the OIT official responsible for monitoring computer-cluster consultants has threatened to fire anyone whom she discovers leaking information to the Gipper. Much like the library officials, she is worried that the tips are hurting the department's image. Ironically, this same administrator finds the Observer cartoons that make fun of the OIT hilarious - she even has them hanging in her office.
Hall Notes:
The life of yet another semi-old school Vermin is detailed below. This is the skinny on Matthew Caito '91....
Ten years older, wiser and stronger and 1 million frequent flyer miles later... Matthew graduated in 1991 with a career in fresh produce distribution beckoning. He's done it all in the family business from warehouse operations to payroll to buying to sales and on into upper management. Along the way, he earned his masters degree in marketing from Butler University in Indianapolis. Matthew had open heart surgery and married Kerry in the same month in 1993. Fortunately, both "operations" netted good results, with three kids in urban utopia as a result. If you're in Indianapolis and want to talk about fresh produce, world history, or if you want to talk about hedging a market derivative against a reduction in the fed by more than 2 points, give him a call. Otherwise, there's always the Best Western.
NDSportscenter:
You may now call the ticket office or get online to find out what games you won through the lottery. All the home games are sold out. Believe it or not, the West Virginia game ended up being the more requested game EVER. Huh? Well, that is a parents' weekend game and it was also a home game where alums could put in for four tickets instead of the customary two. Look for the tickets to be mailed out a few weeks before the firsts game. Expect them in late August or early September. The number for the ticket office is 219-631-7356.
We finished 11th in the Sears Directors' Cup for athletics for the 2000-01 school year. It ties our highest ranking ever. The top ten in order of #1 to #10 were....Stanford, UCLA, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Ohio State, Florida, USC, Arizona State, and Penn State.
World Bowl IX (Yes, 9!) recently terminated another NFL Europe season. Jarious Jackson led the Barcelona Dragons to the championship game. They lost, but Jarious still had a solid campaign as he was the #2 rated passer in the league. He is fighting for a roster spot on the quarterback-stacked Denver Broncos. Other Domers in NFL Europe: Center John Merandi, who is signed with the Colts, also played for Barcelona... Cardinal Deke Cooper played for the Rhein Fire and led the league with 6 picks...right guard Brad Williams suited up for the Amsterdam Admirals and is associated with the Bears....and Vermin Ronnie Nicks is a special teams player and backup middle linebacker with the Rhein Fire. He is not linked to an NFL team.
Campus News:
Here's a little information about the endowment...
Until 13 years ago, the University had left investment of the endowment in the hands of a three-person staff. The money was invested in blue chips - stocks from large, consistently profitable corporations. These stocks are relatively stable, but don't have a high yield. For years, the $2 billion endowment saw relatively little gains. In 1988, double Domer Scott Malpass returned to campus as the assistant investment officer. Then he rose to vice president of finance and chief investment officer, with full control of investing the endowment pool. Malpass expanded the investment committee to a staff of 18 alumni and reevaluated the University's portfolio. The portfolio was expanded to include overseas investments and venture capital. Within a year, the committee raked in $1.3 billion, making ND first in higher education investment returns for the 2000 fiscal year. The endowment had ballooned to $3.5 billion.
The endowment is divided into three sections: unrestricted, temporarily restricted, and restricted funds. Unrestricted funds are comprised of tuition, auxillary funds, and gifts, such as those to get in the football ticket lottery. Temporarily restricted funds may only be used for the donor's specified purpose - usually a scholarship or a building. Restricted funds...well, restricted funds are just plain goofy. They are simply there to build the endowment. The original donation cannot be used, nor can the interest earned on that donation be used. Gee, thanks. Those funds are what I like to call "Molly Ringwald's 'Breakfast Club' role" funds. Ya know, "a tease."
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
A group of girls got a hold of the key to a Suburban owned by the Center for Social Concerns. It appears the foolish thieves made a copy of the key so that they could have access to the SUV whenever they felt like using it. But the girls didn't stop there. When the vehicle got low on gas, they forged a signature to have the tank filled up on the university's dollar.
You'd think that this would have been enough lawbreakin' for the young hooligans - but it wasn't.
Since the vehicle belongs to the CSC, the girls had no trouble driving it past the guard gate and onto campus. They were eventually caught when, in a move that the Gipp can only describe as sheer stupidity, they decided to drive up to LaFortune and do some shopping.
All told, the girls had the truck for some two weeks, including spring break. During that time, they managed to rack up around 800 miles on the odometer. Now, if the girls used the vehicle for spring break, the Gipp wants to know: Where did they go? There's not exactly a bunch of spring-break hot spots within 400 miles of South Bend. Like the Gipp said: sheer stupidity.
Hall Notes:
This is a story from Andres "Big Country" Arredondo '00. A rollicking good time. And the names have been RADICALLY changed to protect the guilty. The shall be called "NAKED GUY." Behold....
When CJ Howard, Jim Blaum, and I (Andres) lived in Rm #310 our sophomore year where many random things happened....one in particular...
A certain Golf Team Captain (let's call him Drian Bonahoe) slept walked into our room, ASS-NAKED, and pissed all over our desk/entertainment center which held our TV, all of CJ's notes from class, and.....not to mention our POTATO CHIPS..... I recall CJ waking up (after hearing me cuss my brains out) and asking Drian "Hey, Drian, can you use the bathroom down the hall?" In his sleeping state, Drian replied, "Just a minute buddy, just a minute buddy." After he was done pissing, he proceeded out towards the door and wiped his feet on a blank sheet of paper on the floor. That was frightening, but we all tried to look at the bright side......WE SAW A NAKED GUY!!!!! Oh, Jim slept through the entire ordeal.
NDSportscenter:
Recent graduate Martin Ingelsby will be serving an internship in our athletic department for the 2001-02 academic year. His duties are still undefined, but may include some work within the Irish basketball offices. Brey eventually wants to add Ingelsby to his coaching staff.
The men's and women's athletic departments won the Big East Commissioner's Trophies. This is the fifth consecutive season both the men and women have dominated the Big East. This was the 6th straight Trophy for the men. The only other Big East school to win both in the same year was Villanova back in '82-'83, '83-'84, and '86-'87. We won a share of the title in a league-best eight sports.
Baseball coach Paul Mainieri was recently woo-ed by SEC powerhouse Mississippi State. They offered more money but Mainieri declined. The 44-year-old is 304-124-1 at ND over the past seven years. He was comfortable here, as was his family. Uprooting them was deemed too unfavorable. AD White rewarded coach's loyalty with a new 5 year deal. We were fortunate. Mississippi State, who has appeared in seven College World Series', is considered a top ten coaching job.
Campus News:
The University plans to construct a new multidisciplinary engineering learning and research facility to open in four years. Our current faculty is fine, but our present facilities lag seriously behind those at other schools. The new facility is imperative to retain and attract students and faculty. The building is projected to be the same size as the law school. It will contain a commons area on the first floor, a large learning center, a nanotechnology laboratory, and a materials synthesis laboratory. The learning center will be 16,000 sq. ft., which is almost 4 times larger than the current one that opened this past year in Cushing. A large grant from the General Electric foundation will support some of the learning center. When the current learning center in Cushing Hall is vacated, it will be turned over to the Computer Science and Engineering Department, and most likely will be used for a Virtual Reality Laboratory. (Personally, I'm still holding out for a Laser Tag room.)
The nanotechnology research area involves electronics much smaller in size than a human hair, and, therefore, requires ultra-clean space. The nanotechnology laboratory will be 7,000 sq. ft. and require an extremely high standard of air quality. That specific air quality is one of the major costs of the new building. The location has yet to be determined, but it is expected to be near Cushing and Fitzpatrick. The building will be funded by a combination of federal government funding, which goes toward the research facilities, and donations from alumni and friends with an interest in the future of engineering at ND.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
We've all heard stories about money-hungry business majors and the heartless corporations they go to work for after graduation. Well, the Gipp would like to report a tip that confirms his worst fears. During an interview with AT&T, one student was shocked by the interviwer's pitch. While most corporations at least pretend to care about you and discuss the "friendly work environment" at the office, this guy was brutally honest:
"We want people who are motivated by money, who want to make a lot of it quickly and who are willing to step over others to get it."
Wow.
Hall Notes:
COUNTRY! Yes, that's right, Andres "Big Country" Arredondo '00 has weighed in. Andres got his degree in marketing and then went to work for National Steel Corporation's Headquarters in Mishawaka. In February he was transferred to Dallas. By mid-January Andres was sent to the district sales office in Houston, TX. His current title is Sales Representative and Mr. Arredondo is single-handedly reviving the dwindling steel industry. Here's some info from the man himself:
"It's basically been ALL work since graduation and my training program just ended 1 month ago......BIG responsabilities + No REAL experience = FUNTIMES AHEAD. Anyway, I was dating a Domer in Dallas and things moved a bit too fast in then end.....but at least I can say that I came close to buying a "rock"..... All these moves have brought me very close to San Antonio (hometown) which is a plus. I may run for MAYOR of San Antonio someday......"
Country also shared some quality stories. Check one out next week.
NDSportscenter:
Troy Murphy slipped a bit according to so-called draft experts. He went to Golden State at the 14th pick. Troy is 6'9 3/4" and 230 lbs. after cutting off 15 lbs. Surprisingly Golden State picked him without having him work out for them as he had doen for eight other teams. Murphy is the highest Domer to be selected since LaPhonso Ellis went 5th in 1992. Under the collective bargaining agreement, Murphy will sign a 3-year, $4.22 million deal. His rookie salary will be $1.31 million. Troy joins a team that went 17-65 last year and hasn't been on TV since the series finale of Starsky & Hutch. Good luck, Troy. Maybe we'll meet again one day.
The track & field team sent 2 competitors to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Ryan Shay competed in the 5,000 m and 10,000 m. Liz Grow sprinted in the 400 m. Ryan entered the 10,000 with the 4th best time and the 5,000 with the 15th best time. He improved on those radically. Shay came in 6th in the 5,000 with a time of 13:52.45. He lost by 10 seconds. Ryan, though, WON the 10,000! His time of 29:05.44 was 20 seconds better than the nearest runner. This was Shay's 7th All-American honor and the University's first individual champion since 1972. In fact it was the first outdoor track title since the 400 m hurdles in 1956. Shay will be returning next year as a 5th year senior. Liz Grow went into the 400 with the 7th best time, but finished 13th.
Liz Miller, the Irish softball coach, has retired after 9 years with ND. Her coaching career spanned 26 years and 917 wins. She went out after her (and ND's) best year ever. In fact, for the first time ever, three Miller-coached players were picked for the U.S. National Team. Irish players Lizzy Lemire, Jarrah Myers, and Jen Sharron will represent our University.