Campus News and Hall Notes

October - December 2004

Dec. 19, 2004

Campus News:

Reaction to the firing of Tyrone Willingham has not yet subsided on campus. On December 6 the Faculty Senate passed a resolution 26-4 condemning the removing of Willingham. According to the resolution, "the Faculty Senate expresses its concern over the decision to terminate the contract of football coach Tyrone Willingham. The Senate is particularly troubled by the signal that his firing sends regarding the role that intercollegiate athletics plays in the life of this University." So what does this resolution mean? Nothing, really. It's merely an expression of a "concern." No word on whether there will be a resolution to remove "keeping score" from games or a resolution that requires everyone to be able to participate and be awarded blue ribbons at the end of fun time.

And how have we been doing with donations in the wake of the firing? Students were questioned about their solicitation success. The reactions were mixed. Some alums were "excited" about a new coach. Some "weren't happy that it had been done because of how well Ty conducts himself." Some said they would start donating again. Some said no more checks would be sent. It was "probably 50-50."

Then came Monk's assistant. Chandra Johnson, 50, shaved her head in protest over the firing. She said the firing was hasty and not enough people were in on the discussion. She never actually discussed the issues of coaching football or the team's performance. She said she would keep her head shaved until we won a National Championship, which would apparently justify the firing. According to Johnson, the daily shaving would help remind her to keep fighting injustice. (Firing an average coach is injustice?) The newspaper writer apparently never asked Johnson if she would have shaved her head if Willingham was white. Johson is African-American.

But the top criticism came from Monk himself. He was speaking to the Sports Business Journal's Intercollegiate Athletics Forum in New York City. A question was posed to him about the firing of Willingham. His answer was described by ESPN.com as a "three-minute, 30 -second rant." Concerning the firing Monk said: "I am not happy aobut it. And I do not assume responsibility for it." Aren't you the president? He said he was not in on the decision- making process and that he would have preferred giving at least five years to Willingham. Malloy also said: "I just think there was a lot or pressure in the works." Gee, no kidding. Since when has pressure not been a part of such decisions? The most talked about sentence had to be..."In my 18 years, there has only been two days that I've been embarrassed to be president of Notre Dame: Tuesday and Wednesday of last week." Very interesting. Apparently he wasn't embarrassed with the Kim Dunbar incident when the University received its first ever NCAA sanctions. Or embarrassed when the University was found guilty of age discrimination in court. Or embarrassed when charges and lawsuits were filed by women who alleged they were raped by undergrad Domers and administrators supposedly tried to sweep the issue under the rug and keep the women quiet.

Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:

This tale takes us back to the Saturday of the Notre Dame's unimpressive conquest over our ugly neighbors to the North. After the postgame party on the pitch, our main character, who reportedly started throwing them down before dawn, was stumbling out of our hallowed coliseum when he realized his pee-pouch could hold it in no longer. Fortunately for the ushers, he made it out of the stadium without marking his territory. Unfortunately for the few other spectators who happened upon South Bend for the game, he did not make it back to his dorm room. We're told that at a stone's throw from Stonehenge - whose free-flowing fountains aren't good visuals when you're holding back the floodgates - he cleansed his pants with a naturally sterile detergent. Seeing that the nearby flora needed some washin' too, he pulled out the hose in clear view of the surrounding tourists. He then reportedly attempted to cover the evidence with a Solo cup, which proved quite inadequate for what our source called a "pillow-sized stain."

Alas, we continue. Upon returning home, our friend realized he has just donated all the alcohol in his system to our luscious grass. (the Gipp hopes all you sunbathers use towels.) Thus, he would need to continue imbibing. Heavily. He eventually ended up taking a sloshed snooze on a friend's futon. His cronies, unable to wake him with some not-so-gentle physical contact, slowly became alarmed. The hall staff got involved and decided to call the bullpen for their rector, whom our informer describes as the "Patron Saint of Hopeless Drunks." Pops laid his hands upon our friend, called out his name, and he awoke. The rector would later describe his feat as "a moment like Jesus waking Lazarus from the tomb." The Gipper is anxiously awaiting a new messianic mosaic to be constructed on the side of a certain campus dorm.

Hall Notes:

The throwing of marshmallows at halftime was previously credited to Vermin. The '97 Vermin were one of two parties to really begin the tossing of sugary treats in a snowball-fight like fashion. And this leads to the final marshmallow story of '04...

Of course this has to do with the last home game. Since people had been ejected at previous games the wily seniors were waiting for a full assault after their ticket booklet had been used up. The flurry of airborne puffs was enough to bring a tear to my eye. Go on, kiddies, carry on the tradition. Although, I must say, it wasn't as frenetic as my senior year. 1996 was just ridiculous. You hadn't seen that much white since a Mormon family reunion in Provo, Utah. The head usher had the nerve to call '04 "the worst marshmallow throwing" he had ever witnessed. Balderdash! Poppycock! Hell, I entered the '96 game with six bags of marshmallows myself! We had marshmallows stuck on the glass of the press box! And some of them were wet and ran down the glass leaving streaks! All hail the kings.

NDSportscenter:

The time between the firing and the hiring was awkward to say the least. The annual Football Banquet was cancelled. Instead a private dinner was held with the players and their parents. The cancellatoin affected recruits. Eight committed and ten uncommitted recruits were scheduled to attend. Prior to the firing we had 11 verbal commitments. After Willingham was not retained, The Observer reported that two players had de-committed. Both may still sign with us. Another recruit, though, has bailed for good. No current players made any announcements about transferring. The top announcement to come from the players' dinner was that Justin Tuck was voted the team MVP. Tuck set the school sack record, had 47 tackles and 14 of those were for a loss. And now to our new coach.

Charlie Weis graduated from ND in 1978. He did not play college football let along professional football. But he does have three Super Bowl rings. Weis was hired this past week from his post as the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots. He's our first alum coach since interim leader Hugh Devore in 1963. The contract is reportedly for 6 years at $2 million per season. Charlie will pull double duty until the Patriots have completed their season.

Weis came out of Trenton, New Jersey. At ND he majored in communications and education. He was a graduate assistant coach at South Carolina from 1985 to 1988. In 1989 Charlie was the head coach for a New Jersey high school. They won the state title. Then Bill Parcells gave a call. From high school to the pros. Well before Kevin Garnett. Charlie was with the New York Giants from 1990 to 1992 and coached defense, special teams, and running backs. Along the way came Super Bowl ring #1. (Giant great and Domer Mark Bavaro gave Weis mad props.) From 1993 to 1996 Weis coached the tight ends, running backs, and receivers of New England. Charlie was an offensive assistant, coordinator, and wide receivers coach with the New York Jets from 1997 to 1999. He has been the offensive coordinator for the Patriots since 2000 and has two more Super Bowl rings from that stint. Weis has 26 years of coaching experience with 15 in the pros. But it's been almost 17 years since he recruited. He is now at work on developing his staff. More on Charlie next week.

Dec. 12, 2004

Campus News:

Last week Domer public servant Condi Rice was discussed. A few more Domers (and SMCers) were active on this past election day. Seven Notre Dame and St. Mary's graduates were re-elected to Congress. Four Domers and three SMCers ran as incumbents and held their House seats. Two of the Domers were in Indiana. Democrat Peter Visclosky won a 10th term in the 1st District. Visclosky graduated from the Law School in 1973. Republican Mark Souder received an MBA in 1974. He was elected for a sixth time in the 3rd District. The other two Domers are on the east coast. Republican Peter King graduated from the Law School in 1968. He is now serving an 8th term in New York's 3rd District. And Republican Michael Ferguson calls New Jersey's 7th District home. He's already on to his 3rd term after getting his bachelor's degree in political science in 1992.

Anne Meagher Northup (SMC '70) is a Republican now into a sixth term in Kentucky's 3rd District. The other two SMCers are Democrats. Donna Christensen '66 is a fifth term congressional delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands. Eddie Bernice Johnson '55 is in the 30th District of Texas.

Finally, two Domers lost in their bids for political office. Joe Kernan '68 was defeated in a run for the governor of Indiana. Kernan, a Democrat, ran as the incumbent. He was the lieutenant governor but took over the top office last year after the death of the governor. Double Domer Joe Donnelly ran as a Democrat in Indiana's 2nd District. He lost to the incumbent. Indiana's 2nd District is Notre Dame's (South Bend's) district.

Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:

The Gipper's heard this one many times before, but, hey, until this campus gets sick of '80s fist-pumping power rock, the Gipp won't get sick of morally casual freshman girls.

At some point in time, we've all walked by some type of restroom unit that contains an extra pair of feet. Or, in this case, knees. But this time, the witness didn't just pass it off with an immature chuckle; he gathered up all his buddies to wait outside and give the stall duo a warm round of applause when they emerged. Ah, yes, the classic gag-that-killed-the-crowd when done to your seventh-grade buddy in the make-out closet. The Gipp's glad to see we've all grown up since then. Anyway, after this gal received her ovation, she got so flustered that she ran and drug another male froshie into the same water closet. The logic behind that response is beyond the Gipper, but he does appreciate the coincidence that the new lucky dog was the roommate of the original recipient. It's quite nice to have a few things in common with your first-year comrade, but the Gipp advises that these two hop on over to Health Services to make sure they don't have too much in common.

Hall Notes:

Below you will see a photo from Scholastic. It's a sweet snapshot from an interhall football game. A bunch of Vermin were captured in color. The photo covered about 60% of one page and spread onto another page. We were the only dorm to command that much coverage. Check out our phat new uniforms. Gold pants! Things have changed since some of us suited up for Carroll. I don't know the dorm Carroll is playing. Then again I don't care. BUSSSSSSS...

NDSportscenter:

The women's soccer team made the Final Four that was held in Cary, North Carolina. Not only did we enter with superb athletes, but also intelligent students. Prior to the NCAAs we had two players named Academic All Americans. Goalkeeper Erika Bohn has a 3.63 GPA in Art Studio. Midfielder Annie Shefter carries a 3.73 GPA with a double major of pre-professional studies and psychology.

The Irish got to the Final Four after a 3-1 victory over Portland at Alumni Field. Even the extreme cold could not stop Katie Thorlakson as she registered a goal and two assists. This was our seventh time to the Final Four and the third in the six years under Coach Randy Waldrum. We entered with a record of 23-1-1. Santa Clara (18-4-2) was our semi-final foe. They were ranked #4 but seeded 16th. The ladies played the Broncos back on September 5th. We beat them 5-2. On that day Thorlakson had 8 points on 3 goals and 2 assists. This time around it wasn't so easy. We won 1-0. Again Thorlakson was instrumental. Candace Chapman took a turnover and drove the field. She passed it to Katie who one-touched it back after drawing FOUR defenders. Back of the net. The assist extended Thorlakson's point streak to 10 games. She has assisted or scored on 23 of our last 27 goals. She's money.

We took on UCLA in the National Championship. Quite the game. UCLA took the lead 1-0 after we scored on ourselves. There was miscommunication on a back pass and it glanced off the goalie's foot. Then we drew a penalty kick on a foul in the box. Guess who? Thorlakson put it in off the left post. With less than six minutes in the game UCLA drew a P.K. Bohn came up with a HUGE save. Regulation ended 1-1. Sudden death overtime. The first overtime ended 1-1. The second overtime ended 1-1. It was on to penalty kicks for the title. Kicks were alternated. We went first versus a freshman goaltender. 1-0, UCLA, after Thorlakson was blocked on the first set of kicks. 1-1, after two sets of kicks (wide right). 2-1, ND, after a Bohn block. 3-2, ND, after four sets of kicks (best of five wins). 3-3, we got stuffed. Sudden death P.K.s 4-3 after a block in round six. National Champions........IRISH! Katie Thorlakson was, of course, named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. It's our second soccer title (1995) and the 26th National Championship for the University. Turned out to be a great week after all. I'll take a National Championship over Urban Meyer.

Our opponent in the Insight Bowl will be Oregon State (6-5), who tied for third in the PAC-10. The game will be on ESPN on Tuesday, December 28 at 9:45pm EST. This will be our second game versus the Beavers. We lost 41-9 in the 2001 Fiesta Bowl. Oregon State has won five of their last six games. The bowl game is in Phoemix and will be played in the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The baseball stadium will be realigned to accommodate a football field and will only seat 43,000. Our payout will be $750,000.

Dec. 5, 2004

Campus News:

Notre Dame senior Charlie Ebersol and his father survived a charter plane crash that killed three people in Montrose, Colorado. The father, Dick Ebersol, is the NBC Sports Chairman and President. The private jet was traveling to South Bend to return Charlie to campus after Thanksgiving break. The pilot and co-pilot were killed in the crash. Charlie's 14-year-old brother was initially listed as missing but was later identified amongst the wreckage. A third unidentified passenger was taken to the hospital. Charlie pulled his father from the downed plane and both men were said to have been seriously injured.

Condoleezza Rice has been nominated by President Bush for the next Secretary of State. Why is this Notre Dame news? Rice is a Domer. She earned her first master's degree here, served on the Board of Trustees, and received an honorary doctorate when she delivered the commencement address in 1995. It was then University President Hesburgh who first recruited her to ND. Rice went to the University of Denver as an undergrad and then looked east. Hesburgh brought her to campus, gave her a tour, and gladly answered her questions about Notre Dame's political science and international studies programs. Rice was sold on ND. She graduated in 1975 after two years of taking in Russian studies and Soviet affairs. Condi has not parted ways with ND. This past July she hosted about 30 administrators, donors and trustees in her West Wing office as National Security Advisor. Her blue and gold memorabilia was proudly displayed on the walls. (She's huge football fan.) Vice President for University Relations Lou Nanni said, "She [is] somebody who just by her persona commands respect. Obviously people of goodwill are going to differ about policies she would advocate as a part of the Bush administration, but nobody would question her integrity, her commitment to service and her high ideals. Coach Tyrone Willingham worked with Rice while the two were out at Stanford for six years in the 1990s. Tyrone commented, "What I saw of Dr. Rice primarily is a woman that is well-balanced, that is intelligent, that has the best interest of her organization at heart and does not ask for anything herself." Nanni added, "Our hope is that when she chooses to step down from her role in public service is that she'll be able to resume her role with Notre Dame in one capacity or another. I think we're proud of our association with her, as I think she is proud to be a part of the Notre Dame family."

Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:

We meet again, dear Gipplings. We'll get back to business as usual in just a sec, but before we begin our chronicles this week, the Gipp would like to ask a favor of this university. Could someone please direct him to the office where you get the dough to set up new campus organizations? Apparently, as long as your application involves vague words such as "development," "dialogue," "issues" or "relations," you can throw as much money down the drain as you please. So the Gipp wants to set up the "Gipper Relations Center," which will encourage a discussional dialogue that aims to address issues involving the relationship between ND students and their Gipp. OK, so the Gipp doesn't really mean to bash this new group, but rather the logic behind its formation: "Nineteen out of the top 20 schools have one, so we need one, too." Last time the Gipp checked, 19 of the top 20 schools weren't Catholic and weren't good at football. But who needs an identity? As long as all the cool kids are doing it....

Hall Notes:

On Saturday, November 20, Dean "Beav" Busack '97 wed Jessica Lenore Blumling in Bellaire, Ohio. Jessica is not a Domer. She is from Dean's Ohio birthplace area. It's so close to West Virginia that the reception was actually held across the river and bridge. One wedding, two states. Jessica is not Catholic while Dean is. So the wedding was highly unique as it included both faiths. It was so original that P. Diddy is thinking of sampling it. The happy couple went to the Bahamas for the honeymoon. Upon returning they will go back to their daily lives in central Ohio where they now live and work. They have an apartment in Newark, a town to the northeast of Columbus. Jessica works for Newark High School while Dean is an admissions officer with DeVry University. They plan to buy a house in that area and continue with their current jobs.

The wedding was on the large side. There were about 300 guests. There were seven bridesmaids and seven groomsmen. Dean's two older sisters are Domers and were in the bridal party. Four fellow '97 Vermin were in attendance as guests. Tom "Tim" Mullarkey came in from Dayton. Bob Fincutter made the journey from Denver. Newly-relocated Jim "Sweet Baby" Zawada is now in Chicago. Finally, Dan "Del" Delgado drove from South Bend. And two female '97 Domers - Karen Kerney and Colleen O'Brien - rounded out the ND party.

NDSportscenter:

"Not retained." According to Kevin White, Tyrone Willingham was "not retained" as our head coach. White seemed to be the messenger as he stated the "university senior administrator made the decision." The top seven leaders of the University (administrators and trustees) met on Monday and Tuesday. Word on the street is that the administration was flooded with angry letters last Monday.

Ty had three years left on a six year contract at an estimated $2 million annually. (No University confirmation on that dollar figure.) All the assistants have been retained (unfortunately) for the December 28th Insight Bowl in Phoenix. Defensive coordinator Kent "Never Gonna Blitz" Baer will be the head coach for the bowl game. The team took a had a meeting/took a vote on whether to go to the bowl. Some reported the vote was unanimous, but it was not. Enough voted to go but some younger players were not in favor of playing.

Here are some reasons for the firing not revealed by talking heads on TV or newspaper writers: a pass defense ranked 114th (out of 117), kickoff return rank of 85th (did we ever pass the 35? field position wins games), total offense rank of 79th (two back-to-back trick plays after rushing down the field?), and the 8th BEST run defense. That last one highlights an inept coaching staff. We had the best front seven since '93 and we rarely blitzed our linebackers. Hence, the QB had all day and our weak corners were even easier to exploit. The coaching staff lacked innovation and did not make adjustments necessary to win games. Putting sophomore safety Freddie Parrish at CORNER versus #1 USC after only two weeks of practice while our best corner, Preston Jackson, was on the sideline? How about a better kickoff returner? More than just a handful of well-called offensive series for the entire season? Only one more win than last year? If you really look at it, the firing should not be that surprising.

The men's soccer team entered the NCAA tournament as the #5 seed in the field of 48. It's our highest ever seed and we received a first round bye. Prior to the NCAAs, the team was showered with awards from the Big East. Senior Chris Sawyer was named the Goalkeeper of the Year, his second in a row. Senior central defender Jack Stewart was the Defensive Player of the Year. And we also had the Coaching Staff of the Year.

The Irish took on Ohio State in the 2nd round at Alumni Field. Sadly, we fell to the Buckeyes, 2-1. A weak goal was given up 3 and a half minutes into the game. Their second goal was scored on their only shot of the second half. We outshot OSU 13-5 and had 8 corner kicks to their 1.

Hey, do you know everybody's favorite basketball player, Ron Artest? Did you know he had actually committed to play for the Irish? Artest had verbally committed to play for us when John MacLeod was our coach. It only lasted for 48 hours. Intense pressure back in New York forced him to turn to St. John's. And when he visited ND he was paired up with Mr. Nice Guy Pat Garrity. If only Artest had come and buddied up with respectable Pat.

The women's cross country team came in 4th at the NCAA Championships. It's our third straight top ten finish and our second best finish ever. Our top three finishers earned All-American honors. Junior Stephanie Madia came in 15th. All-World Molly Huddle just missed being an All American yet again. She came in 40th while running on a sore foot that caused her to miss the previous race. The women entered the NCAAs as the #6 team in the country.

Nov. 28, 2004

Campus News:

Here's a creepy story from The Observer. St. Mary's students received an email warning them of a cab driver or car drivers soliciting students to pose for pictures in hotel rooms. The email was sent by the Vice President of Student Affairs. Supposedly the driver solicits St. Mary's students to pose for pictures by offering them various amounts of money. The email stated there "have also been requests for sex acts with groups of individuals so that encounters can be videotaped." One specific driver was identified and was issued a no trespass order for the St. Mary's campus.

Show them the money. Supposedly the amounts of money offered for sexual acts have been "significant and intentionally enticing." The VP of Student Affairs warned of "technology that exists today" that could haunt taxi cab models down the road. Have you heard of "The Internet"? I guess SMCers may not have since the VP had to spend a whole paragraph on it. The email said any student uncomfortable with anything a cab driver says or does should have the driver bring her to St. Mary's and call security immediately. Yeah, that will easily work on the clinicly moronic cabbies.

I know what you all are thinking: Since when did you become a cab driver? I haven't quit my day job. It's more of a moonlighting gig. I borrow a taxi on weekends. It's all good.

Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:

This is a continuation of last week's story that involved an off-campus party, horny girls and disrobing freshmen males...

One particular student, who we'll name Gullible Gus, wanted to keep his garments dry, so he decided to do some stripping of his own. Donning nothing but his skivvies, Gus became the boy-toy of these older women. We're told that he "would do anything that the girls wanted him to, including repeatedly diving into this shallow pool and later breakdancing on a beer-covered floor, still without wearing anything but his boxers." Then, the gals discovered that their live entertainment had "accidentally" forgotten a male thong in the bathroom. It's probably a good rule of thumb never to wear articles of clothing left behind by anyone, much less those articles which actually touched someone's behind. But the merciless harem pressed on, and begged Gus to try it on. At first, he would only let it dangle down his neckline. But then, someone whipped out the checkbook. Two dollars (yes, $2) were pooled together and a final offer was given to Gus. Seeing the joys of a free cab ride home, he took their offer. The Gipp's still waiting for the pictures.

We're told that after re-robing, Gus found that the thong made for good headwear. He also draped his noggin with a female's shirt, which he reportedly mistook for a bra. In his drunken stupor, he had somehow managed to convince himself that he had received the "bra" as a token for his conquest of someone's tracts of land. He was so convinced that he spent much of the night taking whiffs of it and bragging that it "smelled like a girl."

Welcome to college, jackass. People like you keep the Gipper in business

Hall Notes:

The conclusion of the Scholastic article on Vermin track star Selim Nurudeem:

Nurudeem also has considered becoming a professional athlete after he graduates from Notre Dame. As a member of the men's track and field team, he has met much success.

In the past three years, Nurudeem has excelled in the 110-meter hurdles during the outdoor season, as well asa both the 4x400 meter relay and the 60-meter hurdles during the indoor season. Nurudeem has won two consecutive Big East titles in the 110-meter hurdles.

Notably, Nurudeem also competed in this event at the 2004 Olympic Trials and placed 24th. Nurudeem felt he was not as prepared as he could have been for the event because he was notified only two or three weeks prior to the trials that he would be competing. Nonetheless, Nurudeem believes he gained some invaluable experience at the meet.

Balancing his major and his athletic involvement has been difficult. Nurudeem says he spends 10-15 hours a week at practice; 10-15 hours a week in hte studio; and 12-15 hours a week in class. With this schedule, time management is important for Nurudeem. "I am really passionate about track and about my major, so the hardest thing is not the workload; it's just dividing my passion between the two," he says. "Sometimes I want to be a hurdler. I want to be a really good hurdler. Other times I want to be really good at industrial design. So sometimes I feel like one is taking away from the other, and it makes it really hard to put 100 percent into both."

NDSportscenter:

The women's soccer team entered the NCAA tournament as the #4 seed. Eastern Illinois was abused in round one, 4-0. Wisconsin then came in to the Bend. It was a hard-fought contest. The Irish finally got a goal with less than a minute to go in the game. It was enough for a 1-0 victory. The ladies took on Big East foe, UConn, in round 3. We dominated in a 2-0 victory. The win over UConn was sweet revenge. We had lost to them 2-1 in the Big East Championship after being up 1-0. The team was into the Elite Eight and Portland would have to come to our home field. Entering the game the Irish were 22-1-1. And, surprisingly, we were the highest remaining seed. #1 North Carolina had lost 1-0 to Santa Clara. Along the way Katie Thorlakson was named the Sports Illustrated On Campus National Player of the Year.

The women's basketball team opened the year with a roar. The ladies entered the pre-season NIT as the #11 team in the country. A couple easy wins led to a semi-final game versus #6 Duke at the JACC. Jacqueline Batteast was in early foul trouble and we were down 7 in the first half. Batteast came back to score 17 and lead the Irish to a 76-65 win. The NIT final was also at the JACC. #10 Ohio State was the opponent. The Buckeyes were quite a challenge. Late in the game the Irish were down by 8. We finished with a 12-0 run to win 66-62. Batteast scored 32 points and was named tournament MVP. The women rose to #6 in the rankings.

And women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw has cemented her position within the Athletic Department. She signed a two-year extension that will keep her our coach through the 2010-11 season. Muffet, 48, has been our coach for the past 17 years and has compiled a 384-149 record.

Nov. 21, 2004

Campus News:

New residence halls are in the plans, but their timing is less certain. Fundraising has yet to be addressed. Their is not a specific timetable. The construction is dependent upon a residence hall master plan. The University Vice President of Business Operations stated, "We have hired a consultant to help us look at what kind of residence halls we should build in the future." The University is also examining the renovation of existing halls. The Vice President of Student Affairs created the Future of Residential Life Committee to explore possible alternatives to current on-campus housing. The Associate Vice President of Student Affairs commented, "One thing we talk a lot about are senior suites which would be incorporated into the residence halls, but offer seniors more amenities than the more traditional residence hall rooms. That's the idea we hear the most about at this point." The main objective is to discuss how to increase the percentage of students that stay on campus. A senior on the committee said, "I think the apartment style living is an option that some seniors will like. I think in the future the campus will look more modern, but still maintain its communal feeling." The Future of Residential Life Committee is two-thirds of the way through its work and will present an official report at the end of this semester. They ran a bunch of focus groups and learned about how student life has changed over the years. The current residence hall system is home to 80 percent of undergrads and is exceeding capacity. The University wishes to retain more than 80%. The VP of Business Operations declared, "It's our desire to keep upperclassmen on campus. We feel their leadership within our residence hall system is very important and we want to create space for them." So since they want more space maybe Carroll will stick around for a few more years.

Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:

This is a longer tale so it will be broken down into two parts. Part one:

They say first impressions last forever. If so, it could be a long four years for the chap in our next tale. Better sign up for summer school, buddy.

We start with a traditional freshman disorientation in a male dorm. Our tipster reveals that after receiving new nicknames, the frosh were steered toward an off-campus house. (Nicknames, eh? Gipp could use one of those. Operating under a pseudonym would make this job much easier.) They eventually ended up in a domicile with a few wound-up ladies, whose fancies had just been tickled by the fertile feather of a male stripper. After running out of skin to bare, the performer was dismissed and the ladies moved on to a more exciting pursuit: taking advantage of young, helpless, drunken males. Their sweet talk convinced our pack of baby wolves "to dive into a couple of kiddie pools that were set up in the lawn," says our source. How you can actually dive into four inches of water is beyond the Gipp, but apparently, unlike their female friends, these guys didn't need to see more than four inches to get wet.

Hall Notes:

Previously details were given on a current Vermin who is the star of the men's track team. Senior Selim Nurudeen may be off campus this year but he's still a man of Carroll. He was again featured in Scholastic, but this time for a different reason. Here's part 1 of 2 of a piece titled "A Dashing Designer":

The track is not the only place where hurdler senior Selim Nurudeen has excelled. He is also an extremely talented industrial design major.

As a freshman, Nurudeen began taking classes toward a pre-professional degree with the aim of continuing on to medical school. Nurudeem says, "I came in thinking I was going to go pre-med. And the only reason I went pre-med was because my older sister is in med school and my dad is a doctor, so I felt like I had to do that."

He says he didn't know industrial design was an option until his sophomore year. But it was not until his junior year that Nurudeen declared the industrial design major. In the short time since then, he has had a lot of success. Nurudeen says he decided to make the switch because "one of my passions is drawing. When I come up with the shape of something, and then I have to put it on paper, that's the part that I really enjoy."

While many believe industrial design is part of the engineering major, it is actually an art major. Nurudeen describes it as "everything designed except for architecture." This can include designing everything from household products - such as brooms and refrigerators - to clothing to cars and even video game characters.

Because it encompasses such a broad range of design, industrial design boasts a myriad of career options. Currently, Nurudeen's primary interests are in designing athletic apparel and video game characters. However, Nurudeen is unsure of what career path he will follow after he graduates in May.

More next week.

NDSportscenter:

Our 10th verbal commitment comes from recruit Lawrence Wilson of Akron, Ohio. Lawrence is a 6'6", 235 lb. defensive end from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. That's the same high school as NBA phenom LeBron James. Wilson has been compared to current defensive end Justin Tuck. Wilson has speed, strength, and quickness. Tom Lemming rates him the 21st best defensive end prospect. Lawrence also plays tight end and now basketball. He even wants to try our hoops team when here. Ohio State and Purdue were left wanting.

Speaking of Tuck, he's now the school's all-time leader in sacks. He has been tied with Kory Minor at 22.5. Tuck recorded two against Tennessee for a career total of 24.5. Last year he had a single season record of 13.5. And Tuck still have a year of eligibility left. Will he return? As for the sack record... somewhere I suspect Alan Page is chuckling since they didn't keep sack stats in his day.

The women's soccer team swept the Big East awards. Junior Katie Thorlakson was the Offensive Player of the Year. Central defender and 5th year senior Melissa Tancredi repeated as Defensive Player of the Year. (By the way, both are amongst the 15 finalists for National Player of the Year.) For the 4th (school record) time Randy Waldrum was named Coach of the Year. Four Domers were on the 1st Team All Big East. Three were on the 3rd Team. Junior goalkeeper Erika Bohn was 4th in the nation in allowing only 0.36 goals per game and 1st in the Big East. Yet she was snubbed and did not make ANY Big East teams. But back to Thorlakson. She's the first Domer Big East Offensive Player of the Year. Not even Anne Makinen or Cindy Daws won the award even though they won the Hermann Trophy for the National Player of the Year.

Nov. 14, 2004

Campus News:

In late October a fight took place at a popular student bar and a football player was named as a suspect. The Library Irish Pub was the place of the incident. The altercation led to the early closing of the bar. An off-duty South Bend police officer saw James Ryan, 20, a junior offensive lineman, punch the alleged victim, 23-year-old South Bend resident Kevin Marriott, in the bar. Marriott did not require medical attention but had cuts on his forehead, blood on his face and possibly a broken nose. At first the victim was not going to file an assault report. He changed his mind after learning the suspect was a Notre Dame football player. The Library owner dealt with the incident by asking puncher and punchee to punchout. The bar then closed at 1:45 am.

The incident shook down like this supposedly: Ryan claimed Marriott spilled beer on him. Marriott said he was bumped walking through the bar. He said "excuse me" with "an attitude" and then Ryan struck him. The two exchanged punches until the officer intervened. Ryan was not custodially arrested. And despite the fact that he is 20 years old, he was not issued a citation for being an underage patron. (The cops dropped the ball on that one.) The University has policies in place that apply to any student who breaks Indiana law. Tyrone deferred to the University to handle the issue.

Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:

Recently it has come to the Gipper's attention that the ladies of the lake are at it again. But this time, the counterpart is a man of the blade instead of a man of the cloth. (Young ones: Ask around about the PriestGate scandal we had a few years ago.) Reportedly, an adult ROTC officer found a young SMCer to be a very dependable storage place. By that, the Gipper means that this warrior found pleasure in inserting his sword in her sheath, removing it, inserting it again and, well, you get the point. (Ladies, let's not think too deeply about that analogy; it could get painful.)

This wouldn't be a big deal, if he did not already have a matron and heirs waiting for him back at his estate. The only positive his superiors can take from this incident is the soldier's proven ability to get his privates to stand at full attention.

And if you wouldn't mind a little Gipper commentary....Girls, what's your deal, here? Apparently, there is some type of "off with your uniform, on with my birthday suit" arrangement. The Gipp can't think of two professions with more tradition and honor than the priesthood and the military, so it appears these gals are starting at the top of the totem pole and working their way down. And we all know how good they are at that.

Hall Notes:

Carroll entered the playoffs as the #2 seed. Not bad for a team that entered the season ranked dead last. The first round opponent was #7 seed Knott. Both defenses kept the scoreboard at zeroes until late in the first half. Knott then got an 11-yard touchdown pass and an extra point. The Juggs got the ball back one last time before the half. A 29-yard pass to the six yard line set up a field goal as time expired. Carroll was down 10-0 with a half to go. The Vermin quarterback took it upon himself to move the ball in the second half. His arm and legs were aided by Jugg penalities, some of which were deemed questionable by Knott. The Vermin scored a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. However, the extra point was missed. The Vermin tried to mount another game- winning drive later, but were picked off at the end of the game. Carroll fell to Knott 10-6.

NDSportscenter:

The men's soccer team climbed to #4 in the rankings. And promptly lost. The men entered the Big East tournament as the #1 seed after getting eight conference wins for the first time ever. The Irish entered with an overall record of 13-2-2. The quarterfinal opponent was #8 seed (#21 overall) Seton Hall. Regulation ended in a scoreless tie. Overtime ended in a scoreless tie. It went to penalty kicks and we came up short, 8-7. We lost, but since it was decided with penalty kicks it counts as a tie with respect to our record. The 13-2-3 Irish now await the NCAA tournament selection but still expect a first round bye.

Basketball news: Coach Mike Brey has received a contract extension. He is inked to ND through the 2010-11 season. In four seasons, Brey is 85-44.... The men's team was picked to finish fourth in the Big East behind Syracuse, UConn, and Pittsburgh. The Irish felt highly disrespected. Chris Thomas was a pre-season selection to the All Big East 1st Team. No other Domer was even mentioned for anything else....The women's team was predicted to finish 2nd in the Big East. Senior Jacqueline Batteast was selected as the Pre-Season Big East Player of the Year. One publication even picked her to be the National Player of the Year.... alum Troy Murphy has reportedly signed a new deal with the Golden State Warriors. Supposedly the deal is for six years and $58 million. At the same time his friend and fellow alum, Matt Carroll, was cut by the Warriors just before the final roster was declared.

The men's and women's cross country teams finished 2nd at the Pre-National Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana. The women entered ranked #6 and the men were #9. Stanford won both races. Twelve of the top 30 teams were at the meet. Molly Huddle finished 3rd overall and Kurt Benninger was 8th.

Nov. 7, 2004

Campus News:

Some architecture Domers developed a theoretical master plan for Roseland, Indiana, the little town just north of campus. The project was merely an academic exercise for the students and a means to encourage Roseland residents to think in new ways about their town. A meeting was held at the Roseland Town Hall and about 30 members of the public turned out. One student idea was to create seven traffic roundabouts, replacing existing traffic signals along Indiana 933 from Cleveland Road south to Angela Boulevard, to keep traffic flowing steadily. (Good in theory but bad idea for the Cleveland and Angela intersections. Good ol' archies.) Another idea is to add a landscaped median down the center of Indiana 933 with openings for roundabouts and periodic left turns. (Another pretty idea but horrible for most businesses along the road. Good ol' archies.) There are some good ideas, though. A bike lane, a new zoning code, and a town square are interesting ideas. The planning work was provided free by the School of Architecture. Roseland is seeking a $32,000 grant in hopes of hiring a professional firm to develop the town's first master plan since the 1960s.

Here's the police report on the boston college game: most citations and ejections yet this year. A total of 34 people were cited before and during the game with the vast majority being boston college fans. The NDSP director stated, "If not the toughest, [boston college] is one of the toughest crowds we face." The NDSP has observed a pattern of increased incidents on recent years' Irish-Eagles game days. The citations include minor in consumption, minor in possession, and public intoxication. Seven arrests were made, four prior to the game and three during the game. The arrests involved public intoxication, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Three b.c. students and two Domers were arrested. Ushers and police made 135 ejections, including two resilient fans that were removed twice. It was the 5th highest total in 9 years. The top four - with a peak of 220 - were also for b.c. games. The head of ushers said this of b.c. fans: "They are their own worst enemy." But Domers were tossed also. Fifteen were booted for throwing marshmallows at halftime.

Campus Watch from Scholastic:

The FINAL installment of the College Town piece from Scholastic:

The attractions in the performing arts center and at the park would then draw people to the commercial area across the street. "One thing that we purposefully did not do was to put an eating area inside the performing arts center, because then that makes it necessary to have [external] restaurants," Rucker says. "What people would normally do, if we are having a performance, would be to go to dinner before, go to the performance, and then afterwards go to bars, clubs, restaurants, and sit and talk about the performance that they just saw."

Lyphout thinks the performances and the amenities of the college town development will help bridge the gap between South Bend residents and people affiliated with the university. He says, "I think [the development] is going to give more opportunity for the community and university students, faculty and staff to interface, to interact, to bring them together."

The university hopes that this interaction will redress the perception that the university is isolated from the community. "For some people, the university is still perceived as kind of an island," Lyphout says. "I think this will create a common ground on campus borders where everyone feels comfortable."

Hall Notes:

So fifteen Domers (all seniors, I believe) were booted from the football game for throwing marshmallows at halftime. What has become of the senior activity that some Vermin helped establish back in '96? With the cooler temps come the increased ability to hide bags under clothing. If they are found, they are confiscated, the person's ticket booklet is snagged, they are booted, and they go to Res Life. The head usher stated, "Clearly, if we catch you with a bag of marshmallows, you are out of there. We are looking for the people that either somehow have secured a group of marshmallows or the ones that are throwing them aggressively. There are some that are enjoying it a little bit too much. Those are the people who we are looking for." That fit the description of the '97 Vermin that started the whole thing! But we were not run out. We became unknown legends. If our names were known, no doubt songs would have been written. The usher continued, "Our strategy is to stand back, watch the throwing, make sure no one gets hurt. At the end, we have zeroed in on the people - my term is the ringleaders - and those are the ones we tried to grab." Ringleaders, eh? I guess back in the day we could have been called that. However, we were children of the '80s. I think we would prefer...."The Lost Boys."

NDSportscenter:

Women's soccer star Katie Thorlakson is the frontrunner for the Player of the Year. When the team was 12-0-0 she had gathered 11 goals and 12 assists. At that point she had received her third Big East Offensive Player of the Week award. She then led the nation in points (34) and assists (12) and was 6th in goals (11). The team then suffered a tie. But the junior forward got up to 14 goals as she led the Irish to a record of 17-0-1 and the school's 4th unbeaten regular season. The team fell to #2 in the rankings because of the tie and Katie still had more to prove. She went off in the first round of the Big East tournament. Against St. John's Thorlakson had a record 10 point day. In that game she scored four goals and assisted on two other goals in the 7-0 victory. After 19 games she had 18 goals and 17 assists. Player of the Year? Time will tell.

Indianapolis recently hosted the FINA World Swimming Championships. For the first time ever, Domers participated in the Championships, the second biggest event outside of the Olympics. Freshman Natalie Burke of Cape Town, South Africa and freshman Drew MacKay of the Cayman Islands represented ND.

A current South Bend high school junior has already verbally committed to play for our women's hoops team. Actually she committed to us LAST year as a SOPHOMORE. The earliest Melissa Lechlitner can sign with us is November of 2005. The 5'7" point guard chose us over Purdue. As a high school freshman Melissa scored 14.4 ppg and dished out 5.1 apg.

Oct. 31, 2004

Campus News:

The University is focusing on finalizing designs, dates and costs for the closing of Juniper Road and the realignment of Edison Road. Assuming the design is approved, phase one of the project is tentatively scheduled to begin in April 2005 and end just before January 2006. This a very aggressive timetable. Phase one involves demolishing a large portion of the existing Edison Road and realigning it to the south as well as beginning work on a new north-south corridor where it meets Ivy Road.

Phase two calls for work to be completed on the portion of the new road that runs parallel to Ivy by August 2006. It also calls for the improvement to the section of Douglas Road from the new road to old Juniper Road by December 2006. The new north-south corridor will have four lanes and far less stoplights. Juniper Road will not close until all the alternative routes are in place. Old Juniper is set to be razed as early as January 2007. It will be replaced with green space and new construction sites, possibly including two new residence halls.

The total cost for everything involving the roads is now estimated at $22 to $23 million. Supposedly the University has confirmed that it has located a funding sources for the project.

The new Edison Road will run right through a huge tailgating area. So where will the new tailgating location be? A University employee stated: "I don't think we've had any discussions yet if there are other spots we can use as substitutes." Gee, they have incessant meetings about jacking up ticket prices but don't seem to give a passing thought to tailgating ticket holders. The employee mentioned adequate space in a lot north of Douglas Road. North of Douglas Road! Tailgating will be three-quarters of a mile from the stadium! And don't expect a cheaper parking pass.

Campus Watch from Scholastic:

More on the College Town piece from Scholastic:

While the university would like more of its employees to live in the area south of campus, it does not want to displace any of the neighborhood's current residents, particularly low-income residents. "What we want is a diversity of incomes in the neighborhood," Rucker says. South Bend Heritage, an organization that works closely with the NNRO, facilitates this goal by providing affordable housing south of campus. The organization also rehabilitates dilapidated houses in the neighborhood. Rucker says the result is a diverse neighborhood with personality, which is something that appeals to employees of a university.

The proposed multi-use development will need to appeal to a wide variety of patrons, including neighborhood residents and university students, faculty and staff. Rucker believes this is possible. She envisions the area between the Performing Arts Center and Edison Rd. as a "small central park" that will host activities appealing to many demographic groups. She says, "It would not be uncommon to have musicians performing or drama troupes or some sort of activity going on - in warm weather of course."

The final installment of this piece next week.

Hall Notes:

So the Vermin were 3-0. They had to play the next game on a Wednesday before Fall Break. Short week before taking on Sorin. An undefeated regular season was not in the cards, though. The Otters lit the Vermin up 34-13. 34! 34 points in a one hour game! It might be the highest scoring game in intramural history. Carroll was intercepted three times and two of them were returned for touchdowns. The Vermin were down 14-0 in the first quarter and it was over. Fortunately they made the playoffs and live to play again.

NDSportscenter:

Our winless hockey team took on #1 boston college at the JACC the Friday before the football game. Our lads came away with a 3-2 victory. The winning goal was scored with only fourteen seconds remaining in the game.

Notre Dame freshman and Olympic gold medalist Mariel Zagunis was at it again. The sabre specialist was in Poland recently for the Junior World Cup. Of course she came out as the top fencer. Then right afterward she flew back to the States and went to the White House on October 18. Mariel and other 2004 Olympians were honored by President Bush.

The men's soccer team is off to its best start since 1988. In that year the team started 9-0-2. Our best Big East start was 4-1-1 in 1997. We bested that also. We began the year in the top 15 and worked up to #5. We then took on #1 Indiana at Bloomington. The Irish got 9 shots on goal to their 10. The Irish also got 6 corner kicks to their 1. We played them more than even but didn't catch the breaks and fell 2-0. But the men bounced back after falling to #9. They got back up to #5 by the end of the regular season. When the team was 12-2-2 overall, they clinched the Big East regular season title (our first) with a 7-1-1 conference record.

Raghib "Rocket" Ismail has been spending his Saturdays working for ESPN. He has been a specialty feature on the Gameday program. And now the Rocket will be the guest speaker at the 84th Football Banquet.

Oct. 24, 2004

Campus News:

ACE in the hole? The Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) program hangs in the balance while part of its funding is disputed in court. Father Timothy Scully helped found ACE in 1993. Over the past ten year 577 teachers graduated from the ACE program. Scully said, "[We] started the ACE program because Catholic schools in under-resourced areas of the United States were struggling to find qualified and committed teachers." However, the American Jewish Congress brought a lawsuit against ACE saying federal money was being inappropriately used to pay for the teaching of Christian values. Federal District Judge Gladys Kessler, in a July 2 court case, agreed with the Jewish group. The plaintiffs argued that AmeriCorps should not finance programs that place volunteers in Catholic schools. The judge said the ACE program unconstitutionally crossed the line between church and state and "completely blurred" the distinction between secular and non-secular activities. But about two months later the judge entered a stay of her own ruling because of AmeriCorps and the ACE program's intention to appeal. The ACE program would not be affected until after the appeal's decision which is not likely until next spring. The judge also said that no one enrolled in the program before the appeal decision would be affected if the decision goes against ACE - only future enrollees.

Of the Domers who have gone through the ACE program, 26 have received PhDs in education, 38 have studied law, 12 have become doctors, 6 have pursued doctorates and nearly 50 have gone on for advanced degrees in education. After completing the two-year ACE commitment, each student receives a master's degree in education. ACE participants are allotted a stipend of $12,000 a year from the schools in which they teach. Also, most ACE students are eligible to apply for and receive two annual $4,725 education vouchers, provided by AmeriCorps. To qualify, the student must complete 1,700 hours of services in or outside of the classroom that is of a non-religious affiliation.

Campus Watch from Scholastic:

More on the College Town piece from Scholastic:

Increased single-family housing near campus is, in fact, one of the focal points of the university's college town development. According to a written response to frequently asked questions at a community meeting last December, the university owns 120 parcels of land in the area surrounding campus. The university has amassed these properties in an effort to maintain stable, single- family residential communities in those areas. The university is interested in maintaining these communities in part because it does not want an influx of inexpensive undergraduate student housing on the fringe of campus, as is common at many other universities. The university feels that this would be detrimental to the undergraduate experience at Notre Dame, which depends heavily upon the residence hall system.

The university also seeks to increase single- family housing near campus because university employees like to live near their place of work. "[University employees want to be able to walk to work, to ride bikes, that sort of thing," Rucker says. "And that's because of the nature of the work. If you're a faculty member and you're teaching, you don't want to have to drive a long drive and then turn around and have to drive a long drive back."

More next week.

Hall Notes:

The Vermin took on the defending champs in week one. In week three they played Fisher who was 3-0 and the new #1 ranked team. The Vermin were hurting early. Carroll was down 10 in the first half until a 24 yard field goal made it 10-3 at the half. Then late in the third quarter the men of Carroll drove to the one yard sparked by a 31 yard pass. The quarterback plunged in to put 9 on the scoreboard. But they missed the extra point. D'OH! The Vermin got the ball back very late in the fourth quarter on their own 20 yard line. The Vermin quarterback led what can only be known as "The Drive: Vermin-Style." He was 6 of 7 to three different receivers. The QB amassed 50 passing yards and 15 rushing yards and got Carroll to the opponent's 15 yard line. He completed the drive with a 15 yard touchdown pass. The Vermin went for 2 and got it. Final score: Carroll 17, Fisher 10. The 3-0 start guaranteed Carroll an appearance in the post-season.

NDSportscenter:

The time has been set for the Tennessee game. CBS will be broadcasting the game at a kickoff time of 3:30pm EST on November 6.

Well, a few weeks ago the band was disgruntled about only traveling to one away game. Also the band feared a $36,000 funding shortage would jeopardize the trip to Tennessee. Vice President for Student Affairs Father Mark Poorman said the University will make sure the band will be in attendance regardless of financial concerns. Instead of two road games, a single two-day trip was set up for Tennessee at a cost of $66,000. That took up the whole travel budget. There was a shortage, though. However, fundraising was to take care of it. Band members were not required to donate or fundraise. If enough money was not raised, Student Affairs would make up the difference.

Nine people were arrested during the Stanford game. Five of them were Domers. And 25 people were cited for alcohol related offenses. Eleven people were ejected from the game for intoxication. Oh, and there was a game too. The Stanford win was our 800th. Only ND and Michigan have 800+ victories.

Former Irish pitcher and current Chicago Cub Grant Johnson is in school this fall. The Cubs will pay for two semesters of tuition: this fall and next fall. In addition to that he received a $1.26 million signing bonus. Not bad. After school wraps in December he will head to Florida to work out at the International Management Group's baseball academy. Then it's off to spring training in Mesa, Arizona.

Former Irish tailback Reggie Brooks is back at the University. Brooks, his wife, and their four children have relocated to the Bend because Reggie is now a full-time worker with the campus Office of Information Technologies (OIT) as an administrator of production systems. Brooks had majored in management information systems. He's a computer guru. Brooks' main task is the Removare Project, the campuswide replacement of the University's information systems. He also gets on the radio for post-home game shows.

Oct. 17, 2004

Campus News:

The new security building/post office complex is expected to be finished by December 20. It should be operational by the beginning of the 2005 spring semester. It has been built in the same gothic style as other structures on campus. It looks like a four-story castle. For a security building, it looks monstrous.

The existing security building was builts as a temporary structure in 1944. The new complex will include more room for offices, training space and even some classrooms. The new structure has 40,000 square feet. The post office will only occupy 5,000 square feet. It will cover half of the lower floor on the side of the building that faces the nearby power plant. The new post office will only gain 44 square feet but it will have three new enclose loading docks.

The new post office will have more parking and a new road leading to it. Saint Joseph's Road will be opened to Douglas Road to provide access. Now that this new complex is nearly ready to go, further construction can be planned. Upgrading these facilities was not the primary reason a new complex was built at a different location. The main reason was to vacate the security building so a new building could go there. A hotel is planned for the site. The hotel will eventually replace The Morris Inn.

Speaking of new construction.... the DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts is now open. Sadly it is completely locked up for every home football game so no one can check it out. But I found its site on the net and you can access it by clicking below. Check out the photos. There are ten total thumbnail picts at the top to click that enlarge to show the Center's details:

http://performingarts.nd.edu/gallery/index.shtml

Campus Watch from Scholastic:

More on the College Town piece from Scholastic:

Marguerite Taylor is a 60-year resident of the Northeast Neighborhood and sits on the NNRO. She is excited about the commercial development south of campus. "It can do nothing but bring prosperity to the neighborhood," she says. Taylor says that commercial development is not the only thing the university is doing to reinvigorate the neighborhood. She says the university's encouragement of its faculty and staff to build homes and live in the Northeast Neighborhood has improved the relationship between the university and the neighborhood.

Rucker, too, cites the return of university faculty and staff to the Northeast Neighborhood as an important step in revitalizing the area. She says the university has facilitated this movement by selling land in the area to faculty and staff who have agreed to build or buy a home there. The university still wants to maintain the traditional character of the neighborhood, though, so it set architectural standards for construction to ensure that the new houses in the neighborhood resemble the older ones. Rucker says this effort has been successful: "One of the things I've been hearing from people is, 'There's these houses, and I don't remember them being there a few years ago, and it looks like they've been there forever.' "

More next week.

Hall Notes:

Last year the Vermin football team was 1-3 with only a win over despised zahm. This year the Vermin opened 2-0. St. Edward's was abused 14-0 in Carroll's second game. The Vermin quarterback was 5 for 11 for 65 yards. He also ran for 48 yards and a touchdown. Our freshman running back is a stud. He had 11 carries and a touchdown. He paced the offense to eight first downs.

The Carroll defense recorded another shutout. St. Ed's quarterback was harrassed all game long. He was only 3 for 8. The Vermin had two interceptions again and three sacks. The defense only gave up 55 total yards. The score makes it appear as if the game was closer than it really was. The Vermin entered the season ranked 14th out of 14 dorms. After two weeks they were ranked 4th. They are thundering their way toward the playoffs.

NDSportscenter:

How 'bout those Thompson Twins? The ones from the '80s and the Irish doubles team. Christian and Catrina Thompson are sophomores on the Irish women's tennis team. They gained entry to the ITA All-American Championships in Pacific Palisades, California. This tournament is one of four that make up the collegiate grand slam. The twins entered ranked #7. They were one of sixteen in the tourney. It's only our sixth time in a grand slam and the first since 2000. The twins knocked off the #6 team first. Then they took down #1 Arizona. So they made the semi-finals and became only the second Irish duo to do so. Making the semis guaranteed them a spot in the field of 16 for the second grand slam event. The ladies faced #11 New Mexico in the semi-finals. Of course Christian and Catrina beat them. The twins are the first Irish duo to make a finals. They faced two Florida freshmen. Unfortunately the twins lost 8-3.

The Irish hosted a cross country invitational a few weeks ago that featured eight ranked teams, with us being the eight highest ranked team. The Stanford men (#2) and women (#1) participated and won for both teams. Our men's team came in 2nd, only six point behind. The top Irish runner was sophomore Kurt Benninger who came in second overall. The men beat six higher ranked teams. The women came in third. We had the second and fifth highest finishers with junior Molly Huddle claiming our highest spot.

Our ninth verbal recruit is Martin Frierson of Irmo High School in South Carolina. Martin is a 6'2", 180 lb. receiver who runs a 4.47 - 40. He's also a track star competing in the long jump, triple jump and hurdles. He plays hoops too. Frierson carries a 3.74 GPA and had a scholarship offer from Vanderbilt. He had also received interest from Clemson, South Carolina, Auburn, Georgia and Miami.

Oct. 10, 2004

Campus News:

It has been one year and nine months since underage students were sued for being busted at The Boat Club, a local bar. The students were sued by the owner of the bar who argued the students fraudulently represented themselves to the bar and were responsible for the damages it incurred. The bar owner sued each student for $3,000. Over the summer, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that The Boat Club could bring lawsuits against the students. This reversed a lower court's August 2003 decision to dismiss the cases. The appeals court ruling did not address whether the lawsuits were winnable for the plaintiff. The students have chosen to not appeal this ruling to the Indiana Supreme Court. The suits now return to the South Bend Small Claims Court. The students can seek a hearing or negotiante a settlement.

The initial raid in January 2003 netted 213 minors. The students were fined and did community service. They then received additional penalties from the University. The lawsuits followed those penalties. Some students plan to continue their cases at small claims court. Others have chose to seek settlements and end the expensive legal process.

The Boat Club also had to negotiate with the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission concerning penalties as a result of the citations. Well, the Commission voted to NOT renew the liquor license for the bar. The Boat Club can appeal (and they are still open to this day). The bar can remain open while appealing.

Campus Watch from Scholastic:

Oct. 3, 2004

Campus News:

Yo quiero Taco Bell. Over the summer the University ended its contract with local Taco Bell restaurants. This issue was brought to the forefront after student protests last spring. The Progressive Student Alliance argued that the chain's tomato suppliers in Florida treated migrant workers unfairly and did not pay a living wage. Students wrote Monk, staged hunger strikes and even 30 or so approached Monk's office in person. In response the University called Taco Bell on the issue. When specific and timely answers did not come, the University postponed plans to revew the contract and expand it to $75,000 by this fall until the Bell delievered a satisfactory response. The original contract was for $50,000 yearly. Taco Bell lost its official sponsorship of a postgame football radio show but can still advertise in game programs.

The Dean's List has changed. The Class of 2005 will be the first to graduate under the new graduating honors system. Fewer seniors will receive degree honors than ever before. Honors will only be given to those with GPAs in the top 30, 10 and 5 percent of their class. That replaces the criteria of GPA marks of 3.4, 3.6 and 3.8. The Class of 2005 has known this since they were freshmen. The previous criteria was seen as too lax with each college having more than 30 percent on the Dean's List. Some had over 50 percent of students on the List. The new steps are also seen as countering grade inflation. Others say there are so many because the students are smarter. All I know is I STILL wouldn't be on the Dean's List. Son of a....

Campus Watch from Scholastic:

More from the piece of the College Town:

Neither Lyphout, Inks nor Eagan is concerned that the proposed multi-use development will have an adverse effect on businesses that Notre Dame students and staff currently frequent, such as restaurants downtown and on Grape Rd. or shops in University Park Mall. "I don't think it's going to cannibalize any of that business," Lyphout says. "It's just going to create new business."

The effect on Grape Rd. and the mall will be negligible, Inks says, because they attract a regional market and are not dependent on student business. He adds that there are few retailers downtown that students frequent, so the proposed multi-use development will not hurt business much there, either.

Eagan thinks the proposed multi-use development will have a much different draw than Grape Rd., the mall or downtown. "I think it's a totally different kind of business," he says. "[The proposed multi-use development] will be a little more unique."

Lyphout agrees. "It's not going to be something that competes with University Park Mall," he says. "I think it's going to be something that's a much smaller scale and of a much different appeal. It's going to be a place where people browse and relax, are entertained. People tend to go to malls on a mission: they need a pair of jeans; they need a new coat, etc. This will be a place where people can go to interface with the community, meet friends, relax."

Dan Stauffer, owner of Buffalo Wild Wings, a popular student eatery on Washington St., also does not fear a tremendous drop in his business. He estimates that 75 percent of his business comes from non-students and that that portion of his clientele will be relatively unaffected by the proposed multi-use development. Stauffer thinks that most of the remaining 25 percent of his clientele will remain loyal to his restaurant. He says that since students are drawn to his restaurant for reasons such as quality and ambience, the convenience alone of the restaurants in the proposed multi-use development will not prevent students from going to Buffalo Wild Wings. Stauffer adds that as a student at Indiana University, he lived in a vibrant college town of Bloomington, and a similar development in South Bend is "long overdue" for Notre Dame students.

Hall Notes:

J.J. is on the shelf. One-time Carroll resident Julius Jones has had a rough rookie season in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys. First he was roughed up in the pre-season and came away with ailing ribs. Then he took a vicious hit in the second game of the season. A Cleveland Brown defender's helmet smashed into Julius' shoulder and fractured it. I believe J.J. continued to play with the injury and it was later diagnosed after the game. Jones will be out for two months with the broken shoulder. I think Julius could literally say the NFL is all it's cracked up to be.

NDSportscenter:

Unfortunately, unfortunate news is usually all you hear about. Well, here is some fantastic news. Senior linebacker Derek Curry was named to the 2004 American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team. Curry is one of eleven Division I athletes to be named to the annual team that represents community involvement and leadership. Curry has been a three-year volunteer for the Student-Athlete Advisory Council Pediatric Oncology Christmas Party. He has volunteered at the Boy's and Girl's Club of South Bend and the Robinson Community Learning Center, among other activities.

Basketball news: Chris Thomas and Torin Francis are among 50 pre-season candidates for the All-American Wooden Team....freshman Rob Kurz is currently recovering from a broken jaw. It was fractured in an "off-campus incident: just hours after the Michigan game. Rob endured a one-hour surgery. His jaw was wired shut for three weeks, I believe. Kurz, by the way, is actually 19-years-old. He's older than sophomore shooting guard Colin Falls....women's player Katy Flecky has decided to not play her senior year. She is staying in school and plans to focus on academics. The 6'2" former forward averaged 5.2 ppg and 3.2 rpg for her three year career. She was plagued with injuries throughout her time with the Irish.

So the band didn't make the cut. Because of budget restrictions, the Band of the Fighting Irish will only be traveling to one away game this year. In the past the full band of about 380 has always road tripped to at least two away games. This year the band will travel only to Tennessee. The funding will be exclusively through money raised by band members. No University funding was provided. (Yet football ticket prices jumped to $53 and we just signed a contract extension with NBC.) Michigan State was expecting our band and actually sent a letter saying they were going to miss the band. The band also questioned the University's decision to give each member a $25 gift certificate. Why not use the almost $9000 for an away game like, say, Michigan State, which is two hours away?

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