Students who are caught bringing marshmallows into Notre Dame Stadium or throwing marshmallows or other objects during Saturday's game will again be ejected from the stadium and have their ticket books confiscated by stadium personnel.
"There is nothing different in our enforcement, we are still going to be the marshmallow sheriffs," said Cappy Gagnon, coordinator of stadium personnel.
Gagnon said the crackdown on the senior tradition of throwing marshmallows during half time began because students were throwing marshmallows with rocks, coins or other hard objects in them, in addition to throwing other objects. Gagnon said patrons were injured by flying objects in the past when and that NBC lodged a complaint that its camera equipment might be damaged.
Stadium personnel ejected between 12 and 15 students during the Michigan State game for either possessing or throwing marshmallows. Afterwards, some students complained that they were unaware that there was such a stiff penalty for marshmallows. To combat this problem, Gagnon said an announcement would be made during the game, probably before half time, stating that throwing objects is prohibited.
Gagnon said that his ushers, in addition to Notre Dame Security/Police officers, would be looking for "ringleaders" during half time - students who are throwing a large amount of marshmallows. However, he would not rule out the possibility that a student who threw just one marshmallow could be ejected.
"Might we get you in the round up even if you only threw one marshmallow? It's possible, we are concerned about injuries," Gagnon said.
"We don't want to be the anti-fun police, it is just getting worse and worse each game ... throwing stuff is just juvenile."
