Students comment on parietals, protest
Paul Graham
sophomore
As students at Notre Dame, our freedom is constrained. Faculty Senate recognized this constraint when they tried to include an academic freedom clause in duLac. Similarly, Student Senate passed a resolution that would grant many forms of free speech to students and student organizations; these freedoms included leafleting, demonstrating and chalking campus sidewalks. Student Senate also passed a resolution to extend parietals by one hour on weeknights.
What came of all these resolutions? They went to the Campus Life Council (CLC), and — with the exception of the free speech proposal, which was tabled until the fall of 2001 — all the resolutions were rejected.
The results of these decisions are obvious. The administration refuses to grant students basic rights and freedoms. The ability to have a rally or protest is not a privilege, it is a right known as freedom of speech. Does this right exist on the Notre Dame campus? Only to a certain degree.
Bill Kirk, vice president of Student Affairs must approve all protests before they occur, or there will be serious repercussions for the organizers of the event.
Many students complain that parietals are a trivial matter, and that we should support nobler causes. But, we still have a few hurdles to overcome before we reach that point. For example, students must be able to sit-in without facing serious repercussions. The purpose of a protest or demonstration is not to do something where the participants face serious charges; it is to inform and organize people into a unified voice that those in power will hear and listen to. If we protest and are suspended from the University, the administration has even less cause to listen to us.
Do Notre Dame students have a voice? Of course we do, but nobody is listening. Just look at the CLC. They make decisions based on what they believe that we think we want. Liberty at Notre Dame? Not for a very long time.
Paul Graham
sophomore
Stanford Hall
May 1, 2001
All Viewpoint Stories for Friday, May 18, 2001
