600 students gathered to protest proposed alcohol policy changes
JASON McFARLEY
News Writer
To the chant of "We need a voice," hundreds of Notre Dame undergraduates marched to administrators' doorstep Wednesday, flooding a student demonstration in protest of proposed changes to the University alcohol policy.
The effort brought together more than 600 people, carrying "Save liquor" signs and lofting burning copies of Du Lac, the student handbook, in the air. The student government-sponsored event, billed as an all-campus town hall meeting, was students' first public movement against alcohol policy changes that University officials unveiled Monday.
"We've heard your frustrations, and we share your frustrations," Student Body President Brooke Norton said, flanked by class and residence hall presidents standing on a platform on the Fieldhouse Mall. "We still have time to stand together and affect this."
A boisterous crowd took Norton and other organizers' comments to heart, moving the protest from its North Quad location to Main Building — home to most administrative offices, including Father Mark Poorman's.
Poorman, vice president for Student Affairs, on Monday announced three changes that University officers are likely to approve this summer and enact in the fall:
u the outlaw of "hard" alcohol in undergraduate residence halls
u the ban of in-hall dances
u and the revision of tailgating rules to allow only drinking-age students to host parties in designated parking lots before home football games
Poorman said the changes were necessary prevent the campus culture from becoming alcohol-centered.
Protesters, however, claimed student social life wasn't rooted in drinking and were upset that students were shut out of the policy-making.
"This is about dorm unity," said Joe Muto, O'Neill Hall president-elect. "This is about a hell of a lot more than hard alcohol."
To which a man in the crowd interjected, "Like freedom!"
Muto was among several speakers who enlivened the already-enthusiastic group. He joined other hall presidents in condemning Poorman's proposal to cancel in-hall dances and popular signature events in dorms.
"If you want to take my Mardi Gras away, if you want to take my dorm unity away, then you'll have to pry them out of my cold, dead hands," Muto said, warning that he wouldn't be "pushed around by a bunch of celibate, white men," an apparent reference to priests in the administration.
Dorms that host well-known dances and events were best represented at the rally. Throngs of O'Neill Hall residents came to protest cancellation of Mardi Gras, and Alumni Hall attended to support their "Wake" dance.
Sophomore Ryan Schildkraut was worried about losing residence hall traditions. He decided to move off campus next year because of the changes.
"It seems like they're not trusting the students," said Schildkraut, who was wearing a hall T-shirt.
Stanford Hall freshman Greg Borchardt said, "I think students got a raw deal. This is our effort to show the administration how we feel about the policy and hopefully bring about change."
Student Body President-elect Libby Bishop, who takes office April 1, vowed to fight the changes. Bishop and Vice President-elect Trip Foley won election in February, campaigning on the idea promise that they would stand up for student rights and clear up confusion that surrounded tailgating rules last fall.
"Trip and I promise to continue this fight for students to have a voice in the making of this policy," said Bishop, whose position permits her to remain on campus this summer to work with University officials on the actual revision of the policy. "I personally will be at [Assistant Vice President for Residence Life] Bill Kirk's door every day to see that we have a voice in the writing of these changes."
Bishop encouraged students to attend Monday's Campus Life Council meeting, where Poorman will formally introduce the proposed changes to the body. The meeting is at 3:30 p.m. in the Notre Dame Room of the LaFortune Student Center.
Ironically, as organizers urged students to remain passionate about the cause and to lobby administrators, several people pointed to Poorman walking toward North Quad. Poorman came within 25 yards of the event then turned around in the direction of his office.
Minutes later, when student leaders invited questions from students, one man asked if they group could march to Main Building.
They gathered outside in front of the building's stairs. At one point, they directed chants of "Come downstairs" to Poorman's third-floor office window. One student set fire to a copy of the student handbook, and as the rally died down, set it on the ground to burn in front of the building.
Bishop and Foley said following the demonstration they were pleased with student turnout and zeal. They were confident that they could impact passage of the proposed changes.
"We need to keep the momentum going," Foley said. "It's important that students stay motivated and keep giving us ideas."
News Editor Helena Payne contributed to this story.
All News Stories for Thursday, March 21, 2002
