In the past, Notre Dame students have generally not been known for large-scale activism. With so much schoolwork, it's hard to pay attention to much else. But then an organized response to the proposed South Bend "party ordinance," boldly led by student government heads Liz Brown and Maris Braun, defied that reputation of complacency.
Brown and Braun didn't stop there, though. On Friday, they brought us together yet again, this time clad in green t-shirts, to stand in solidarity with our Irish football team. As their campus-wide email instructed, hundreds of students showed their spirit and proudly "battl[ed] the adversity of an 0-3 start" by wearing The Shirt a day early.
Friday's day of football solidarity proved that Observer columnist Andrea Laidman was wrong several weeks ago when she claimed in this newspaper that Notre Dame students only get organized and active when our social life is threatened ("You gotta fight for your right," Sept. 3). Cynics like Laidman must now find a way to explain how - if Notre Dame students are indeed so apathetic and politically inactive - such a day of solidarity was so successful.
It might be too early to tell, but it appears that solidarity, activism and battling adversity together will be this student government's legacy. Brown and Braun should be praised for their forward thinking and tireless pursuit of unity and justice.
Mike Laskey
senior
Dillon Hall
Sept. 23
