Beginning this season, when the football game starts, tailgating
has to stop.
Under a new policy announced by the University in August, tailgate
parties will be permitted before and after games in Notre Dame
Stadium but not during. The University said the change was made
in response to the growing incidence of alcohol-related problems,
including public intoxication, drinking games, gambling, fighting
and vandalism.
Phillip A. Johnson, assistant director of Security/Police, acknowledged
that tailgating is a great tradition on campus, a time for reunions
of family, friends and alumni. "Increasingly in recent years,
however, some people have used football Saturdays as simply an
excuse to stage all-day drinking parties in the University's parking
lots, virtually oblivious to the games and to the best interests
of the great majority of our fans and guests.
"It is this behavior that we intend to address with the new
policy, and we will use discretion in its enforcement," he said.
People who come to campus on game days without tickets can often
purchase returned tickets at the stadium ticket windows. Another
option is to watch the game on television at any of several locations
on campus open to the public.
