Year
Built: 1947
Capacity: 245
Male or Female? Female since 1973
They Call Themselves: Farley's Finest
Named For: Father John "Pop" Farley, CSC, who
attended Notre Dame at the turn of the century and later returned
to serve as rector of Corby, Walsh and Sorin halls. Students affectionately
called him "Pop" because of his habit of referring to residents
as "my boys." It was said that Farley never missed an event in
which one of his hall's residents participated. The priest died
in 1939.
Distinguishing Features: Farley was built immediately
after World War II to help meet the needs of Notre Dame's growing
student population. Farley the dog, a Pekingese, can often be
seen sitting outside on the quad providing entertainment and comfort
for all who stop to pet her. This pooch, a former stray, has lived
with the hall's rector, Sister Carrine Etheridge, IHM, for the
past four years. She sports jerseys and winter sweaters on football
game days.
History Made There: Farley, along with its neighbor
Breen-Phillips, was one of the first halls on North to house women
after Notre Dame made the switch to coeducation in the early 1970s.
Father Hesburgh, CSC, '39 was an early rector of Farley, and his
desk, acquired from military surplus, is still in Sister Carrine's
office. In the late 1960s, Farley was the test-case for the "stay
hall" system, in which undergraduates remain in the same building
all four years. After the system's success in Farley, the University
took it campuswide.
They Lived There: Hesburgh, as a rector in the
1940s; Sister Jean Lenz, OSF, '67 M.A., vice president of student
affairs, as Farley's first female rector, 1973-83; she remains
in residence. The following lived in Farley as students: Father
Malloy, CSC, Notre Dame president; Ann Williams '75, U.S. Circuit
Court judge; Tracy Key '78, Texas District Court judge; Martha
Vazquez, '75 '79J.D., U.S. District Court judge;
Dan Saracino '69, Notre Dame director of admissions; Bob Arnot,
M.D., '70, NBC foreign correspondent; Nancy Cox Epstein '78, associate
professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago.
Lore: One night in the 1970s Sister Jean received
a phone call warning her of a group of men heading toward Farley
with plans to streak through the hall. Intent on keeping them
outside, she stood guard at the south entrance. When the men reached
Farley, she stopped them at the door, yelling, "You're not coming
in here like that!" The embarrassed and naked young men
hid from the nun behind every bush, bike and tree they could find
until they admitted defeat and moved on to Lyons. The fondly remembered
"Farley Motel" was set up in the 1970s as a place where the girlfriends
of guys living in the male dorms could stay when they visited
for the weekend. Located in the hall's cellar, the space could
accommodate 36 people at $1 per night. Every so often there was
a bit of confusion though, and Sister Jean once received a phone
call from an executive at Ford Motor Company looking to make a
reservation for the new campus motel facility.
Traditions: After the advent of coeducation,
the men of Farley asked the dorm to carry on the traditions of
their running club, the Farley Striders. The club was famous for
its route that led them to Saint Mary's and for sending its club
T-shirt to the Pope, Johnny Carson, the emperor of Japan and the
president of the United States. Every January the women of Farley
host Pop Farley Week, which includes such activities as salsa
dancing, skit night, hall decoration and a winter dance. In 2004,
Farley created a "Men of ND" calendar, which features fully clothed
male students who are not only good looking but actively involved
in campus life. The first calendar raised more than $4,000 for
Hannah's House, a safehouse in South Bend for pregnant women.
(January 2005)
