Graduation brings freedom to choose
Nick Linstroth
senior
I think I slipped through the cracks. I transferred into Notre Dame as a confirmed, believing Catholic. I expected challenges that encourage intellectual growth, spiritual progression and maturation. What I found proved to be disheartening.
Coming from the University of Michigan, I looked for conservatism, Catholicism and intelligence. Before thinking of the Wolverines as your mortal enemy, consider the idea that the students of that university are just as eager and driven as Notre Dame students, despite a conflict that involves football of all useless scenarios for comparison.
In spite of U.S. News and World Report rankings that judge Notre Dame among the top-20 universities in the country (above Michigan), I will submit to you that Notre Dame is losing in its pursuit of becoming more academically challenging. Ever heard that while the hardest grade to achieve at Notre Dame is an A, an F ranks as the second-hardest? Believe it.
Why do we bother to fill out TCEs? Look at NDToday.com and see how many incompetent professors remain available for classes next semester. Why would it be necessary for students to have their own outlet for teacher evaluations if the administration were concerned with student input on teacher performance and education? It makes sense that our school has recently introduced an increased dedication toward research while employing those with publishing credentials. The actual learning and feedback of the students is overlooked.
"You had better come to class, Mike, or you will face the penalty of losing 3 points for an unexcused absence." Sound familiar? I am not sure about you, but I considered unexcused absences ridiculous in high school. If a relative dies, I am required to get a note from the Office of Student Affairs in order to be excused while I am away at the funeral? I was required. I guess there is a possibility that I could've been lying because I hadn't done my homework. Student Affairs was there to check on me and keep me in line. Give me a break.
Furthermore, one might imagine that Notre Dame would be an ideal place for a practicing Catholic to pursue an education, but I submit to you that this is not the case. Instead of deciding for ourselves the way in which our Catholic faith may shape our lives, we are forced from the moment we arrive to accept the Catholic teaching imposed by the administration. Deciding that non-Catholics may attend Notre Dame, the administration sets the table for diversity and discussion, but the sad fact remains that we are left hungry at the table — literally.
Whether or not red meat appeals to the student body, we should have a right to eat it on any day we please, regardless of liturgical season. Why not offer Catholic teaching but, at the same time, offer a choice? If the University intends to offer multiple points of view by admitting culturally and religiously diverse students, then Notre Dame must accept the idea that some of its students can and will choose to follow their own beliefs as far as their overpriced meal plans and faith journeys are concerned. Those of us who have received the sacrament of Confirmation are seen as adults in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, but are we really left to make decisions that reflect such a status?
Parietals suck. They suck because they continue to deprive students of the right to make sound, adult decisions. Catholics should know by the time they enter college that premarital sex goes against traditional teaching, so why is there a rule? Arguing that parietals increase comfort for some students by offering a single-sex living environment is ludicrous. All of the dorms do not have to be co-ed. Those students who favor parietals and a single-sex environment should be allowed to choose their housing restrictions just as those who want a realistic setting may opt for co-educational living arrangements. There comes a point in a parent's life when one must rely on nurture and virtue to guide offspring through a course of difficult, yet independent, decisions. Notre Dame fails to recognize the maturity of its student body as well as its independence, seeking to institutionalize its students in a cave that doesn't even reflect the real world.
Thanks, Notre Dame. Thank you for holding my hand through my academic career. You were always there to make sure I went to class. The comfort of TCEs allows me to sleep at night. Thank you for making the holes in Catholic teaching far more evident. Thanks for imposing your beliefs and ideals into my life while I am left stranded without a choice. What will I do after graduation when I am confronted with an issue and du Lac no longer applies? How will all of the Catholics who are graduating keep themselves from eating meat on Fridays during Lent without the help of the dining halls?
I guess now that we are graduating we are mature enough to handle these choices. Too late. The last several years here have made me realize that I do not want to be a Catholic. I want the freedom to make my own choices about the way in which I will live my life. Life, after all, is our most precious asset; treat it as such because, no matter what your faith, this life is all that we are guaranteed.
I leave you with words of Bob Marley: "Most people think great God will come from the sky, take away everything, and make everybody feel high. But if you know what life is worth, you would look for yours on earth. And now you see the light, you stand up for your right, yeah." I implore you to ask questions, be yourself and live for what you are — not for what you hope. One love.
Nick Linstroth
senior
Alumni Hall
May 14, 2002
All Viewpoint Stories for Friday, May 17, 2002
