.., THE The Independent Newspaper Serving Notre Dame and Saint Marys VOLUME 38: ISSUE 48 · · FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 7, 2003 NDSMCOBSERVER.COM SMChosts Applications remain high despite football woes presidential By KATHERINE GALES News Writer candidate Although the football team has struggled to win games this First candidate to fall, the admissions office has not had much trouble winning meet with students applic:.nts for the Class of 2008. An applicant pool of 12,100 at noon today last year - the largest number of applications Notre Dame ever By MEGAN O'NEIL received in a single year - led News Writer to 2,002 freshmen enrolling at the University this fall, the sec­ Saint Mary's took a step ond-largest freshmen class in forward in its presidential school history. search as the College wel­ "We're still processing early comed the first of four presi­ action applications from the dential candidates to campus Nov. 1 deadline," said Bob Thursday. In the culmination Mundy, the University's director ..... :'· of admissions operations. "[The of the lengthy and meticulous . .:~: . -:·~:·_·-'\if:r·- . :§t:; .· .. search process, the candidate numbers] look very similar to met with administrators and last year's, and last year was an . -~:_,~/:··:;:::~;~. answered questions posed by all-time high." faculty members on the first According to Mundy, the num­ day of the two-day visit. ber of early action applications Today, the candidate is is around 3,000 - "not far ofT scheduled to meet with any from last year's," he said. students who are interested In fact, according to an article at noon. in the spring edition of Notre SOFIA BALLONffhe Observer In order to maintain a fair A tour guide leads several prospective students and their family members around campus. Such interviewing atmosphere for see NUMBERS/page 3 tours are a dally sight on campus for many students. each of the candidates the presidential search commit­ tee asked that The Observer not publish the candidate's name or personal informa­ tion. However, each candi­ Housing crunch hits transfer students hard date's name and biographical information was made avail­ "Accommodating first year stu­ [contacted Residence Life], the Shoup's office several times By CLAIRE HEININGER dents has always been our pri­ more chances they had and the over the summer. able online for College stu­ News Writer dents 24 hours prior to his or ority ... In July, after we sent more times their name went "They told us that the likeli­ her visit. out everything to the freshmen, into the bag." hood was pretty slim for "If you keep the candidates When this year's transfer stu­ we realized that the housing However, transfer students' females, so I signed a six-month confidential you will draw a dents received the news that situation would be especially housing problems did not just lease in Turtle Creek because I much stronger pool of candi­ they were admitted to Notre tight this year." evaporate when their names wanted to get on-campus in the dates," said search commit­ Dame, they were also told In response, Shoup and the were pulled. Several who had spring," she said. However, tee consultant Nancy Cook. something more disheartening: Office of Admissions co­ taken the precaution of making along with the shorter lease "That's why we hold many of there were no guarantees that authored a letter warning arrangements to live in off­ came an extra payment of $50 our meetings ofT-campus." they could live on-campus. transfer students that it would campus apartment complexes per month, and McCotter is no The candidates, when they Due to the increased size of be unlikely for them to receive such as Turtle Creek closer to living on-campus than arrive at the College, start at the freshman class, there were on-campus housing during their Apartments, College Park and she was in August. the Welcome Center. In an few remaining empty rooms first semester at Notre Dame. Lafayette Square Townhomes "ResLife still hasn't let me hour-long PowerPoint pres­ available for transfer students. Transfers then had the option found themselves locked into know anything about being on­ entation, candidates will be Many were left scrambling to of adding their names to a wait­ lease agreements for at least campus next semester," she provided with a brief look at find other options, a process ing list, which entered them in the entire semester. said. "It's inconvenient because the heritage of Saint Mary's, that only added to the many a lottery for any dorm spots Colleen McCotter, a sopho­ I have to let Turtle Creek know including some of the notable adjustments of their first few that opened up. more who transferred from if I'll be renewing in the spring. accomplishments of past weeks. "We had a garbage bag with Bentley College, said that she I asked them for a 20-day "It's been hard," said Jeffrey all the names in it in my office," felt discouraged about the pos­ extension, but if I don't hear Shoup, director of the Office of Shoup said. "The advantage sibility of on-campus housing see SMC/page 4 Residence Life and Housing. was, the earlier the student after calling and e-mailing see HOUSING/page 4 Students use rallies, dorm events to bolster spirit one hundred percent." By KATHERINE GALES Hall presidents are working News Writer diligently to keep students enthused and supportive of Though many students are the Irish this season. disheartened by this year's "The Cavanaugh girls go to football season, pep rallies the pep rally together for the and dorm events try to revive one we host - this year is the student spirit. first one," said Valerie Ralph, "The football team is not a sophomore and co-president performing," said David of Cavanaugh Hall. "It's frus­ Guthrie, a Sorin freshman, trating, as a president, to put "and our spirit is lagging together groups to go when because our team is strug­ spirit isn't high and large gling." turnouts are rare. It's hard to Justen Cheers, a Knott plan to get spirit act together freshman, had a different per­ when people are so disap­ spective. pointed." "I go to the pep rallies Matt Kinsella, a junior and SOFIA BALLONffhe Observer because they're fun," he said, co-president of Keenan Hall, Cheerleaders pump up the crowd at last week's pep rally preceding the Florida State game. This "and even though the team is week's pep rally In the Joyce Center begins at 6 p.m. down I'm still behind them see RALLIES/page 4 page 2 The Observer+ PAGE 2 Friday, November 7, 2003 INSIDE COLUMN QUESTION OF THE DAY: WHAT'S YOUR PREDICTION FOR THE FOOTBALL GAME THIS WEEKEND? True fans stand out Try listening to 80,000 people jeer as you struggle to get your game back on track. Try dealing with instant celebrity and crushing pressure when, as a fresh­ Agustin Gargalo Mark Bescher Peter Langer Rachel Endress Zach Ortiz man, you become quarterback of one of Senior Senior Sophomore Senior Sophomore the most recogniz­ O'Neil Sarin Alumni Pangborn Carroll able college football teams in the nation. Try playing "'We're going to ''Navy is going "'! think we are "'Our men in .. Cold with a ,, hard-core, top­ to sink.·· going to win uniform are slight chance of ranked teams in wzn. the middle of a sea­ two to nothing. " going to beat Carlyle.·· son that has been their men in far from the best, uniform.·· boasting nothing more than injured Sheila Flynn players, glaring mistakes and a coach still getting Assistant his feet wet at the Managing University. Editor I've heard a lot of students say that they could do better on the field than the IN BRIEF current Notre Dame football team. They claim the players aren't trying- one of Watch the women's volley­ their flimsy excuses for lea\ling the ball team take on Miami Stadium early in disgust. Sunday at 6 p.m. in the Joyce So you try it, I say. I'd like to see you do Center Arena. better. Yes, our football team has been disap­ Stop by the Clarke Memorial pointingly atrocious this season. They and watch ROTC members know it. we know it, and anyone who fol­ perform the Tri-Military 24- lows college sports knows it. But that hour Vigil in honor of doesn't mean they're not trying. The Veterans' Day. The vigil begins majority of these guys waited their whole at 4:00 pm on Monday and lives to play Notre Dame football, and, ends on Tuesday at 4:00 pm. A for them, it hasn't lost its mystique, Veterans' Day Ceremony will appeal or honor. They're trying their best be held upon completion of the for the school that they love - unfortu­ vigil, with University President nately, their best is not good enough at Emeritus Father Theodore this point in time. Hesburgh as the guest speaker. But that weakness motivates some fans - not the true ones - to lose faith in the Ralph Wood of Baylor legacy that is Notre Dame. One terrible University will give a lecture season has separated, quite obviously, entitled "Why Jesus Throws the fair-weather fans from real ones. The Everything Off Balance: fair-weather fans leave. They boo their Flannery O'Connor and players. They shirk the Notre Dame Catholic Culture." The lecture sense of family and support that differen­ SOFIA BALLON!fhe Observer will be held Monday from 7:30 tiates our University from all others.