Kessler out of line
Letter to the Editor
Brian Kessler was out of line in his Irish Insight column concerning Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun. It is embarrassing that opponents can walk away from Notre Dame and correctly point out that the student body has no class. It is embarrassing that so many fans write in to say how disappointed they are at how poorly the students of Notre Dame carried themselves.
This is not what Notre Dame is supposed to stand for. It's one thing to cheer on the Irish — and Matt Doherty has given us something to finally cheer about — but it should be done with respect for our opponents as well as our own teams. People have come to expect Notre Dame to stand for something that is a cut above the rest. In this day and age of trash talking that permeates sports and society, Notre Dame is expected to be better. It is expected in all aspects of the Notre Dame community. We expect the players and coaches to carry themselves with class. The students should do likewise. There has been a tradition of excellence handed down to us, the current student body, that has made Notre Dame mean something special to people across the country.
Events like Saturday's tasteless heckling are showing that we are not being good keepers of that tradition. Kessler's comment that equated Notre Dame students acting like a bunch of idiots to UConn playing physical on the blocks, which is part of the game, is simply ridiculous. There are not many here any more who had the opportunity to hear Lou Holtz address the students before the Ohio State game in 1996. One of the key points he stressed to us was that Notre Dame was not like other places. We are a great University that has great traditions and individuals that carry themselves with a great deal of dignity and class. We would do well to remember that in the future.
Matthew McCoyd
Senior, Off-campus
February 14, 2000
All Viewpoint Stories for Friday, February 18, 2000
