Senior Week registration online
Observer Staff Report
Notre Dame seniors can register for Senior Week activities — events held for the senior class during the week preceding Commencement — online for the first time this year.
Using a system similar to the online voting system student government employed during February's elections, seniors will be able to log on and register with their AFS ID and password from the class Web site (www.nd.edu/~class03) from April 23 to 27.
"The new online registration will help seniors avoid the hassle of long lines in the LaFortune Ballroom," said Jacqueline Browder, who co-chairs Senior Week with senior Don Woznica.
Prices, capacity restrictions and descriptions of each of the week's events will be posted alongside selection boxes on the registration Web site during the week after Easter break. Students will choose which events they want to participate in by clicking on the boxes associated with the activities, and the Web site will tally the cost of each student's activities to produce an itinerary and total amount each student is required to pay. The seniors are then responsible for printing that list and bringing it to the Eck Center from 3 to 6 p.m. on April 29 and 30 to pay for the activities they've selected and pick up their tickets.
"We sought to create a user-friendly solution to eliminate the tremendous hassle of registration in years past," said Matt Smith, senior class president. "With this new system, seniors can sign up at a time most convenient for them."
The Senior Class Council and Dome Designs created the online registration system with help from the Registrar's Office and the Office of Information Technologies.
The class council sought to separate the registration process from the payment process after seeing long lines of unhappy seniors waiting more than two hours just to sign up for events last year, Smith said.
This year's Senior Week activities include new events like a "Margaritaville" beach party similar to that which the senior class sponsored in September, a golf tournament and a final tailgate party before the Notre Dame baseball game against Butler University. More familiar activities include a Cubs game and daytrip to Chicago, a last visit to the Grotto, a formal dance and a service project during which a Salvation Army truck will visit popular off-campus student housing sites looking for anything students may be willing to donate as they move out of their homes.
"We thought it would be great to kickoff Senior Week with Margaritaville," said Browder. The event, which will be held May 10, will be bigger than last fall's party and accommodate 1,000 seniors at St. Joseph Lake with a deejay and a cash bar. The cost is $5.
The Chicago trip, which is "traditionally the most popular Senior Week event," according to Browder, will occur, May 11, when the Cubs take on the St. Louis Cardinals. Six hundred tickets are available.
"The game is already sold out," she said. "We were fortunate to purchase our tickets months ago." Buses will also take seniors to other Chicago attractions like Michigan Avenue and Navy Pier. The class council will also provide seniors with a list of popular bars, restaurants and museums in the area.
There is no limited capacity for the senior's last tailgate in the C lot at the Joyce Center May 14, which is also Senior Day at Eck Stadium.
"We're working with Sports Marketing to create a senior-themed day," Browder said. "We're planning to give away free Senior Day T-shirts and promotional items during the game."
Students who plan to bring cars to the tailgate — where brats and hotdogs will be provided for 50 cents each — can register their vehicles during Senior Week registration and bring their own coolers and BBQ grills, too.
"We're trying to make this as easy as possible for seniors to have a great time tailgating with their friends and also supporting the team during the ballgame," Browder said.
Browder added that seniors can expect more updates about registration and activities via e-mail and at the class of 2003 Web site.
"Our strong relationship with the Office of Student Affairs has allowed us to expand the traditional Senior Week schedule — adding new events to create a more meaningful and unifying week for seniors," said Smith.
All News Stories for Wednesday, April 16, 2003
