Broader issues need student recognition
Letter to the Editor
The Campus Life Council, Founder's Day, football ticket distribution, ND/SMC student relations and social/24-hour space. These are the concerns that The Observer decided were most pressing to the student body here at Notre Dame and upon which they based their views with regards the upcoming election. Excuse me, but when exactly did I get to be so vapid?
My apologies if I am completely wrong in this (and I sincerely hope that I am not), but I refuse to believe that the Notre Dame student body is so self-centered. Yes, I do realize that there are problems surrounding all these issues. I have spent as much time as anyone else complaining about parietals or about football tickets. But I think these are far from being the most important issues here. In addition, the problem with trying to address things like parietals is that they will probably continue to exist year after year and all these "solutions" won't really do much of anything. In light of this, maybe the average Notre Dame student would like to think about larger issues.
Here, I'm afraid that my personal feelings about this election are going to intrude, but so be it. The biggest problem I see around here is that Notre Dame seems to have lost its sense of community. One of the things that really attracted me to this school was that it was supposed to be like a family, a Notre Dame Family (as they say every week at Mass). But what kind of family excludes so many of its family members?
What I am getting at here is that too much of the time we complain about our own minor problems and think of what would make us happy while ignoring those of someone who might have more serious problems. I believe that many of the candidates fall prey to this mentality. For example, there are many of us who aren't Catholic, yet it is suggested that more student body masses would somehow help strengthen our community. Or what about the problems with race and gender relations that divide us (and yes, they do exist — why else would we have offices for dealing with these problems)? Why are these issues not considered in your evaluation of the candidates?
This having been said, what about the fact that we are part of a larger community, a community that we largely ignore? Did you ever wonder why most of South Bend has signs up for Indiana Basketball, but not for Notre Dame? We here on campus tend to be a bit full of ourselves (with good reason — it is Notre Dame, after all) and as a result, we mistreat the community that has to deal with us. This bond with the people of South Bend is something that I feel needs to be re-established, and this can only be accomplished through interacting with the people of South Bend and giving back to them.
For me, the only ticket that cares about such issues is Demetra Smith and Yogeld Andre. The Observer's coverage of the election dismisses their platform because it doesn't cater to "issues of broader appeal to students." But so what if they don't talk about things like Founder's Day? How many of us really went to that anyway? Perhaps they feel as I do, that there are larger issues at stake than whether my life here is as easy and carefree as possible. They want to push me to be a more caring person and a better part of this community. They want to make sure that our Notre Dame experience is something that we can be proud of.
We are blessed to be here at Notre Dame, but I think that making the most our years here depends on more than whether parietals are abolished or not. Perhaps I am being too naive in my idea of what students here will care about. I guess this election will prove me right or wrong. But if you think it's about time for student government to lead us somewhere for a change, vote for Smith and Andre on Monday.
Mikey Angtuaco
senior
Knott Hall
February 8, 2001
All Viewpoint Stories for Monday, February 12, 2001
