Like most football fans at Notre Dame, last Saturday's performance brought my spirits down and left me sulking. Notre Dame football has been a part of my fall Saturdays since I was very young, and that won't change anytime soon.

But you'll read plenty of analysis, whining, and disgust from just about everyone else on campus that writes for any publication, so football will not be the emphasis of this column. Instead, I want to center my attention on the neglected aspects of my being which have taken a backseat to football for so long. I want to explore my appreciation for the arts and help to improve the creative atmosphere on campus. In short, I want to start a Notre Dame Renaissance.

As a business major, such an endeavor might not excite the artsy folks on campus. I do not, however, have any less right to speak for the arts than the 7,000 or so football experts around here who have to tell us how much better they could coach the football team. And, like the high school heroes-turned-analysts running around, I too have many suggestions.

First of all such an endeavor on my part would have two central goals. The movement must typify everything that has made Notre Dame and America great.

Additionally, it must serve as a sense of pride for students, and must allow for a "hands-on" approach at times. And in this spirit, I formulated a few ideas that might be helpful, as we strive for a new era in Notre Dame culture.

If any single ingredient facilitates the entire movement, it is inspiration. We must have models to emulate. We already have the resources with movies at the Snite and the literary festivals and readings already popular on campus. The current showings do not inspire the unselfish devotion and patriotism so utterly lacking on campus.

We must familiarize students with Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Eastwood, and the other artistic geniuses who receive very little fanfare from the more snooty folks around here. Taking a lesson from these legends counters the Ally McBeal-ites out there who already infested our sacred University.

These menaces have the theme song from "Party of Five." We have the masterpieces from "Conan the Destroyer" and "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." Speaking of literature, it also might be a good idea to invite Tom Clancy back to campus every year for the Sophomore Literary Festival. Now that we have the direction and the motivation, all we require is the opportunity to create. We have a wonderful art department, and I do not wish to take away from them. But this movement involves the mainstream, bringing a wide variety of artwork to campus.

Every month we could allow a new student, preferably from engineering or business, to create a new sculpture/metal thingy to display in the quad. Maybe something to block the sidewalk from the sprinklers at night. Other community projects might include "Paint Your Favorite Imperialist" so that each month would see new murals in the Main Building. And don't forget that the library has three sides without artwork.

Once we involve the entire community in this project, we will experience an artistic era like no other, resulting in a better Notre Dame.

• Notre Dame Renaissance