I love just about everything about the University of Notre Dame, but am very unhappy and disappointed about the stadium’s policy for children. Children are free until at least two and often until they are three everywhere my wife and I have been with our 17-month-old son: Disneyland, Major League Baseball games and every flight we have taken. We surprisingly encountered the ND policy last year when we came for the UNC game, that all children need a ticket regardless of age. We were required to purchase a full-price ticket ($80) for our 5-month-old infant who was carried in our arms the entire game and slept through most of it. This policy is absolutely absurd for a Catholic university touting itself as a ‘family’ and promoting alumni to bring their families to experience the university and share its values. I don’t know if I have ever been so infuriated and, quite frankly, embarrassed to be apart of the Notre Dame ‘family.’ We were reminded of this again when we brought our son back this past weekend for the USC game (what a great game).
As a legacy myself, I will continue to come back to relive the memories created as a student and teach the tradition to my family, as my dad taught me, with the hope that they will have a chance to attend this great University. But this is a terrible policy that should be changed immediately. We are, after all, a non-profit organization.
Steve Sweeney
alumnus
class of 2006, MSA class of 2007
