University of Notre Dame - Dome Yearbook (Notre Dame, IN)

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New Yorkers, Californions know Vermonters. With the stimulations and excitements accompanying the new environment, the freshmen at first do not mind the some- what rigorous program, but as the days go by they become wiser and gripe as much as experienced upperclassmen. The Indiana weather, the food, the schedule of classes, all have humbly shared torrents of sarcasm from the students. But they know, as they complain, that it ' s only an old Notre Dame custom . . . and the chronic gripers are usu- ally the first ones back at the Circle when the new semester begins. Freshmen, then, soon find the order of the day a little severe: rise at six, breakfast at seven, classes at eight, dinner at twelve, supper at six, lights out at ten ... a big change from lackadasical high-school days. But after a few months they become reconciled; they realize that their hours have been planned for them with economy. Some of them may even grudgingly admit that the program has done them good, and all of them, while home for vacation, brag about the rigorous life they lead, and all of them look forward to their upperclassman years. when the schedule is not so strict, and the privileges are greater. The golf course, tennis courts, the swimming pool and other facilities of the Rockne Memorial, the extensive interhall ath- letic program, all are outlets for the steam generated during hours of study. The afternoon touch football games on Badin Bog are as much a tradition at Notre Dame as historic Badin Hall itself; three or four games are often played simultaneously, and the air is full of footballs and grasping arms. Movies are shown on Saturday night at Washington Hall and, although scorned by a few who journey to town for their amusement, they attract large, raucous crowds. During the football season the Victory Dances follow the games, tradi- tional St. Mary ' s tea dances occupy Sunday after- noons, and the various class dances, for which name bands are engaged, are eagerly awaited. It does not take long for freshmen to ac- quire all the marks of Notre Dame men, or to adjust themselves to Notre Dame ' s unique atmosphere of masculine informality. The freshmen are assimilated {Co tn tJ m next page Clean Plaif Students . . . learning the troths in Father Leo R. Ward ' s doss, reading the bulle- tin board in the Main building, waiting in long lines for laundry that won ' t be in. 19

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Students find recreation in Branson wreck , with its old football pic- tures and interhall trophies, its radio with a fine bass for music. At other times they are entertained by performances like this one by the Camel Caravan. All this for a bottle and it empty; it happened on Co- operation Night, but it looks like everything else but that. ing, nor is it entirely a fanatic devotion to the alma mater. It has been popularized as the Spirit of Notre Dame ; the public has mistakenly attached it to, and identified it with, the courage of Notre Dame football teams, or with the pride and exuberance of the Notre Dame students at football games. But these, perhaps, are merely the most out- ward manifestations of this spirit. It is doubtful if anyone who has not attended the University can be aware of more than these outward manifestations; students, however, are keenly aware of it, even though it is not definitely tangible to them. The majority of the three thousand boys who go to Notre Dame are of the broad American middle class; sons of physicians, contractors, farmers, lawyers, shippers, they arrive from high school or preparatory school unanimously impressed with the fame of Notre Dame. For a while they walk wide-eyed, but the early fascination soon wears off and they settle down academi- cally and socially, usually falling in with a group of boys with interests similar to their own. There are no fraternities, no cliques, no class distinctions; Notre Dame is a near- perfect social democracy. Under these con- ditions, finding acquaintances is not hard; the South meets the North, Texans befriend 18

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Adams, Hugh Clairborne El Paso, Texas Alcayaga, Eduardo Santiago, Chile, S. A. Bryan, James Joseph Bay St. Louis, Miss. Campbell, Joseph Malin Santa Monica, Cal. Chung, Benedict Jackson Tientsin, China Deegan, John Francis New York, N. Y. deManeby, Lyndsay Raoul West Hartford, Conn. Facusse, Miguel Tecugalpa, Honduras, C. A. Fitzgerald, Paul Brice New Rochelle, N. Y. Garcia, Fernando Ligardi . Caguas, Porto Rico Golubski, Victor South Bend, Ind. Joyce, James Lyle Spartanburg, S. C. McGowan, Graham Burlington, Vt. McKenna, William James Saskatoon, Sask., Canada McNamara, Donald Joseph Brooklyn, N. Y. The names of Notre Dame ore drawn from all the regions of America, her neighbors, and nations abroad. . . . Students . . . holding informal pep rallys, catch Angelo Bertelli, of the accurate passing arm, returning from the library. . . . rapidly; in two months ' time they are indistinguishable from, and equal to, any other Notre Dame man. The University, wiser than most schools, has insisted on but few conventions; the atmosphere therefore resembles home-life more than is usual in universities. In the classroom, more than anywhere else, the informality appears to best advantage. Many Notre Dame professors have sat in the same worn benches in which their own students now sit, and therefore they have a special interest and understanding with regard to the students ' problems. There are no barriers between a Notre Dame man and a Notre Dame prof; the classes are gen- erally informal, though never casual. Students are more alert than ever, probably sensing their potentialities and responsibilities in the somewhat muddied future. In seeking to maintain good professor-student relationships, Notre Dame has done much to preserve its own unity of purpose, and strengthen the spirit and tradition that so typifies it as a Catholic University. In other less important functions, also, the informality ap- pears; in the long, good-humored lines at the Dining Halls, newly converted to the cafeteria system; in a Saturday night show at Washington Hall; in the Huddle, milkshake factory extraordinary; and in the residence halls, which resemble beehives since the Navy appropriated four halls for use in the midshipman training program, forcing the students to double up in the remaining halls. With three, four and five students in a room, the bull-sessions are carried on with more vigor than ever, and with a surprising range of topics. But a laxity in excessive formality does not imply a laxity in law, or in law-enforcement, as any Notre Dame man will testify. There are rules at Notre Dame, which, if not obeyed, inevitably involve the separation of the student from the University, as the student manual euphemistically puts it. Authority for the enforcement of the rules is in the hands of the Prefect of Discipline, and the hall rectors, who do a good job impressing upon some students that their frolicking days are over. So here three thousand young Catholic Americans live four years of their lives, most of them conscious of their advan- tages. They live fully and good-naturedly the months they stay at Notre Dame, and when they leave they are suddenly and sharply aware, for the first time, perhaps, of their loss. They lose Notre Dame and they see their places filled by others like them; but with the regret, there is an accompany- ing satisfaction and appreciation, just as deeply felt; they have known Notre Dame and her way of life, and they find it so strongly attached to them that they know it will never be forgotten, that with it they will gauge every single thing they meet. As a Notre Dame man steps away from the Circle he knows that he will think Notre Dame as long as he lives; he has been made Our Lady ' s special watch and charge, forever. 20