As a Notre Dame student, I cannot help but respond to the letter from Mr. Lushis printed in the Viewpoint on Wednesday. In "Where's the Spirit?", the Notre Dame student body was deemed insulting, disrespectful and sad for not returning to the USF game after the rain delays.
I would first like to point out that while the play of the game undoubtedly influenced the students in their decision not to stay for the full game, the weather was the biggest factor.
With temperatures lingering in the 90s all afternoon and the onset of storms that had no foreseeable end, students decided to eat for the first time in several hours or perhaps simply rest their feet. This was not done to spite the team, band or remainder of the Notre Dame family but instead to remedy our exhaustion.
I cannot deny that the student body is dissatisfied with the football team. The class of 1977 saw a national championship season and a record of 38-8, if my calculations are correct. The class of 2012 is sitting at 21-18.
My experience of Notre Dame football is marked not by national championships but by frequent coaching changes. How can you scold students for being dissatisfied when our athletic program is the paradigm of dissatisfaction? How can you expect students to respond when coaches have a five-year shelf life?
Finally, for Mr. Lushis to say we no longer have the greatest student body in the world because of this one game is insulting to me. We have been through many tragedies in recent years and even weeks, and we come together in a way only Notre Dame students can. Yet, because some of us decided not to return to the game after two rain delays, our spirit isn't good enough? Our spirit also shows outside of the football stands.
We are more than football, Mr. Lushis, and we deserve better.
Erin Scott
senior
Off campus
Sept. 7
