As a freshman here at Notre Dame I had high hopes for strong, intelligent conversations and debates. I must admit that lately I have been severely disappointed by a certain debate going on in the University community among students and alumni. Unity and spirit are important to the Notre Dame community, but to argue over a shirt color from the Blue and Gold game straight up to this point in the year is getting slightly ridiculous. There are people along the Gulf Coast fearing for their lives, families and their homes. There are people fighting for freedom and their country all over the world. There are political issues both local and national to be concerned with, yet the debate that has been hottest on this campus is the color of "The Shirt." I think by this time we can acknowledge that some people disagree with the color choice, but I believe that it's time to stop disagreeing over such a small thing and come together for a better purpose. Instead we should come together to support hurricane victims both now and in the coming weeks. We should come together to support soldiers and military families. We should come together to usher in a new president of the University. We should come together to support a football team and coach.
It's time to move on. It's time to put energy into something that means more than the color shirt we wear. It's time to raise the bar on debates at Notre Dame.
Laura GodlewskifreshmanPasquerilla WestSept. 21
