Observer the
The Independent Newspaper Serving Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s Volume 45 : Issue 1
SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2011
ndsmcobserver.com
Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s welcome freshmen Class of 2015 excels in academics, service outside the classroom
Incoming class profile boasts strong grades, unique achievements
By MEGAN DOYLE
By CAITLIN HOUSLEY
News Editor
Saint Mary’s Editor
“When I’m a teenager, my big plans are to be smart and to go to Notre Dame.” A fourth-grade student in an elementary school classroom wrote those words in an essay more than eight years ago. This past spring, her mother sent her fourth-grade paper to the Office of Admissions as they considered her application. The Office of Admissions said this girl will join over 2,000 freshmen and 154 transfer and readmitted students this weekend at Notre Dame for the fall semester. As one of many incoming students who dreamt of Notre Dame since childhood, her story showed that with a lot of hard work and a little help from mom’s scrapbook, getting
A Unites States figure skater, a Taekwondo black belt, a Civil War re-enactor, and an awardwinning novelist all share very different interests, but are now tied by a common bond. These women are part of the 396 students that make up the Class of 2015 at Saint Mary’s this fall, said Vice President of Enrollment Management Mona Bowe. “It’s a great class. Academically, it’s a little bit stronger than the last three classes, but very similar, and still exactly the kind of students that we want coming to Saint Mary’s,” Bowe said. Director of Admissions Kristen McAndrew said her staff reviewed 1,453 applica-
see ND/page 5
BRANDON KEELEAN | Observer Graphic
see SMC/page 6
Freshmen arrive on campus Four new rectors join
campus residence life By SARA FELSENSTEIN Associate News Editor
SARAH O’CONNOR/The Observer
Freshman Katie Privateer, clad in “The Shirt,” and her family unload her belongings and carry them into McGlinn Hall on Friday morning during move-in.
By MARISA IATI News Writer
Vans loaded with boxes and furniture clogged campus entrances Friday morning, but the air buzzed with excitement as the freshmen class arrived at Notre Dame. Freshmen Maggie McGonigle and Allie Anderson met for the first time as the roommates moved into their Lewis Hall
INSIDE
TODAY’S PAPER
room. “I’m most excited about figuring out about why everyone is so excited when they hear that you go here,” Anderson said. “The fact that when you see someone from Notre Dame you want to go up and talk to them, why everyone loves the school so much. I just want to know when I’ll become like that.” Anderson, a Sacramento, Calif. native, said although she
does not have a family tie with the University, she really liked the feeling of community on campus. “I went to a small [high] school, and it’s really nice knowing a lot of people,” Anderson said. “Everyone’s very family-orientated [here]. The football was a big part of it. I like spectator sports.” McGonigle, from Minnetonka,
see FRESHMENpage 5
Incoming freshmen are not the only new residents on campus this semester as four new rectors prepare to lead Duncan, Fisher, Howard and Lyons Halls in the fall. Vice President for Student Affairs Fr. Tom Doyle said the biggest factors Notre Dame considers when choosing a new rector include past leadership experience, experience with college-age students and an overall love of learning. “This is an educational institution [so] we want people who are intrigued and motivated by ideas,” he said. “We look for people who are sort of intellectually engaged and curious.” Residence halls are the heart of the Notre Dame experience, Doyle said, so a rector should be prepared to remain in the position for a number of years — long enough to welcome an incoming freshman class and then see that same class graduate. Te r e n c e F i t z g i b b o n s , t h e
new rector for Duncan Hall, returns to Notre Dame from his most recent position as Overseas Lay Minister for the Congregation of Holy Cross in Jinja, Uganda. In Uganda, he served as a teacher at an undergraduate Catholic seminary and a primary school. He said he looks forward to helping Duncan take the next step in building dorm traditions and community. “Duncan Hall no longer has the excuse that ‘we’re a new dorm.’ Our senior class is the f i r s t c l a s s o f f o u r- y e a r Highlanders,” he said. “My goal is to take Duncan to the next level of our development. We want to lay stronger connections from our academic lives to our social lives to our liturgical lives.” The new rector said he had one other essential goal: “I’d l i k e t o d o m i n a t e a l l m e n ’s interhall sports.” Fitzgibbons earned a bachelor’s degree in 2004 in political science and Arabic studies from Notre Dame. He was a resident advisor in Alumni
see RECTORS/page 6
New venues at Eddy Street page 10 ◆ Viewpoint page 11 ◆ Freshman year checklist page 14 ◆ Football: Defense builds swagger page 28