Students imperfect, not that bad
Cappy Gagnon
Cappy's Corner
For the past week, readers of both The Observer and the local daily newspaper have been treated to various stories, commentary and (that dreaded of all current newspaper scourges) letters to the editor, about the infamous "waterboy" caper. As usual, the slant of the stories is further proof that Notre Dame students are (insert your own puerile description here).
As an old alumnus (Class of 1966) working on campus, I take exception to these attacks. Our students are not perfect and will continue to fall short of that standard, as long as we recruit from the human race or until someone does something about original sin, but they are pretty darn good. For my money, our students are the best in the country. My colleagues in campus law enforcement from around the country have convinced me this is true.
Nearly all members of the Notre Dame family are proud of our students. Don't be upset that some people choose to write whining letters decrying student conduct. Don't be upset that there is no balance in the coverage of "waterboy-type" incidents. This is the fact of life in "journalism" today — selling papers (ads actually, but that's another story) seems to require looking for negatives.
Letters to the editor, which should represent the vox populi, actually represent the vox gasbag. Just look at all the frequent flyers who write and the breathless prose of many of them. Responsible publications try to show contrasting views in their "letters" sections. Responsible publications strive to show all sides of issues when selecting their features. Unfortunately, this has not been true, for the past several years, for our local parakeet cage liner.
A few days ago, a local reporter wrote a feature on the head of one of our campus groups. The story had four themes: 1. The student claims to be a Marxist; 2. The student has unruly hair; 3. The student claims Notre Dame students are apathetic; and 4. The student wants to be an "activist" when he grows up.
I would like to examine each of these in detail.
First of all, I, too, am a Marxist. Groucho has always been my favorite, but Harpo had some brilliant moments of mime. He was also excellent on the harp. Chico was a good supporting member of the act. Zeppo, Gummo and Karl never showed me anything.
My hair, also, has been described as unruly —— mainly because of dual cowlicks —— but my daughters tell me not to worry about it, since my two growing bald spots may soon obliterate the problem. Thanks, kids.
The complaint about apathy seems a little off base. Granted, we seldom burn down buildings here, and you'd go broke if you owned a placard store, but I think there's another side to this issue. I challenge any college in the country to equal the active contributions to its community which are made by Notre Dame students to a community they will live in for such a short time. Each year, in excess of 80 percent of our students volunteer in some manner, in this community which is foreign turf to them. Approximately 15 percent of our seniors spend the first year after graduation in a volunteer service project. Many go to Appalachia on spring break. Several hundred compete for limited positions in the A.C.E. program, which pays a minimal stipend to teach school in impoverished areas of the South.
For 25 years, the Center for Social Concerns has worked to coordinate community service for our students, assisting them in finding placement in 70 social agencies and Notre Dame sponsored programs. Thirty years ago, when I served as Director of Big Brothers of St. Joseph County, we could not have operated without Notre Dame students (including football All-American Clarence Ellis). The local Legal Services Program has traditionally relied upon students for more than a third of its staff of intake workers.
The Athletic Department's Life Skills Program, run by Jennifer Crittendon, also coordinates some outstanding and caring work in the community, with the elderly, the disadvantaged, the homeless, the physically and mentally challenged, and young school children from all backgrounds. Soccer players Meotis Erickson and Reggie McKnight, Ricky Buhrman of the tennis team and footballers Rocky Boiman, Grant Irons, Bobby Brown and Lamont Bryant are among the hundreds of players who quietly donate their time. Bobby Howard, who is on everyone's list as one of the most inspirational people they have met, still volunteers to help, on his frequent return visits to campus. Local school teachers have told me many heart-warming stories about our athletes participating in STARS (Student Athletes Read for Success), reading to children in grades K-7.
Even though our local paper has been unable to uncover any of these heart-warming stories, and even though some out-of-touch alumni may occasionally complain that today's students are not living up to Notre Dame's ideals, that lack of recognition does not cancel out this outstanding record of service.
Finally, I have some suggestions for everyone aspiring to be an "activist." Get a job which serves your community. Be an entrepreneur and hire people. Raise a family. Be a good citizen. Help others in your spare time. Don't look down on others because they choose to do those things.
Most importantly, be careful when you claim to be a Marxist. It was the great man himself (Groucho) who said, "I do not choose to be a member of any club whose standards are so low that they would accept me," and I think most people would agree that Groucho would run a better country than brother Karl.
Cappy Gagnon, '66, oversees 50 outstanding Notre Dame students employed in the Security/Police Department.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Viewpoint Stories for Thursday, March 9, 2000
