I agree with all of the comments of Mike Schafer, Class of 1982, regarding the JACC pep rallies. I am the class of 1981. The JACC pep rallies are just horrible now. They were much better during the Holtz era, and the Stepan pep ralies during the Devine era were even better. (I watched the Stanford pep rally on the web, and was actually embarrassed by what I saw.) Do EVERYTHING Mike Schafer, as well as the gentleman from Sorin last week, have suggested!
The thing I hate the most about the way Notre Dame handles certain events is its unwillingness to change. And the students seem to be given very little power to change things, e.g., the format and timing of Junior Parent Weekend. The students are crying out for a change in the pep rally format to the ways of yesteryear. And we 50+ year old alumni agree, so don't use that as an excuse for not changing. Use the JACC or the Stadium, if you must (i.e., so senior alumni have a place to sit and so you can fit in more people), but that is all I would retain regarding the current pep rally format. The team should occupy the seats at one end of the court (e.g., the student section area for basketball games), and the students should be standing on the floor, with spillover of "late arriving" students and alumni into the balance of the seating area.
I suspect this format will also allow more people to attend the pep rallies, which has also been a problem in the past.
Jim Blase
alum
Class of 1981
Oct. 9
