The use of electronic devices of any kind, including laptops, cell phones, and personal digital devices, is prohibited in my classroom!
ADVICE FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS
Welcome to Notre Dame! You can be justifiably proud that you have arrived at this great university. Now is the time to get to work.
Allow me to share some principles that will help you to make the most of your educational opportunities over the next four years.
First, high school is history. The chances are good that your secondary education was based upon two pedagogical principles: description and memorization. Now, everything changes. In my class, I emphasize analysis and understanding. Thus, I will take for granted that you can learn lots of facts. I am interested in how you analyze political facts and assess their importance.
Second, you have a big problem. You have been admitted to Notre Dame because you are smart. Big deal. Everybody around you is smart, too. And, frankly, smart is boring. So what do you do? I want you to acquire the tools and the disposition to carve out your own niche in the world. I want you to be interesting.
Third, why Notre Dame? American college students are masters of self-selection. There must have been something special about Notre Dame that led you to choose it over other institutions, such as The Ohio State University, USC, and various finishing schools on the East coast. Did Notre Dame's status as a great Catholic university shape your thinking?
Finally, along with great privilege comes great responsibility. University education is a privilege that few people in the world experience. It is up to you to work hard on your papers, attend class regularly, do your readings, and visit your professors during office hours. Your four years at Notre Dame will speed by. Suddenly you will find yourself in a work-a-day existence that is typified by the cubicle, the vehicle, and the receptical. Who knows why each of you has been given this blessing of having the time to cultivate your minds? Time is the luxury of the affluent classes. You are morally obliged to make the most of it.
One of my favorite passages in the Holy Bible is this: "No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, that those who come in may see the light" (Luke 11:33).
I am glad you are in my class. I look forward to meeting each of you.
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