What defines a successful football season? A national championship? An ACC championship? A winning record? For many students at Boston College, the answer to the question is a victory over Notre Dame's storied Fighting Irish. Maybe that's why every time there is a game between these two Catholic school rivals, BC students flock to South Bend. This Saturday, hundreds of BC students and alumni traveled to South Bend, Ind. to see the 6-0 BC Eagles take on the 1-5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
This year's trip to South Bend was organized entirely by students, with minimal involvement from the school. Dean for Student Development Paul Chebator said that the trip to Notre Dame is a student-run and student-organized activity that is not sanctioned by the University.
"The school has taken no action academically. The choice to miss class is between a student and his or her professor," said Chebator.
A large number of students had to fly to South Bend to avoid missing class. John Maloy, A&S '11, said, "I'm flying out on Friday [afternoon] so I don't have to miss my classes. I'm fired up for it."
Others decided to miss class entirely and to attend the game. Shane Goodfellow, A&S '10, said, "I'm taking a party bus out to Notre Dame and the school hasn't helped at all. They haven't given me extensions on my papers; I've had to figure it out all by myself."
Other students could not make it to the game due to academic requirements. Yamato Kui, A&S '11, said, "I really wanted to go to the game at Notre Dame. I had a ticket and everything, but I just couldn't miss a test."
While some students ran into trouble balancing their work and plans for the game, it depended more upon the individual teacher or department. While some classes refused to move a paper or test due to a football game, others - such as the Spanish department - required that a student only turn in the required work.
One area where the school has made its voice heard is when it comes to the students' safety. Chebator said, "We have tried our best to communicate our safety concerns with the students going." He cited his letter that was published in The Heights on Oct. 11 concerning student safety and his personal conversations with two students driving RVs to the game. "I spoke to two students I have a lot of respect for, and told them just to be careful," he said.
When asked about his biggest concern for the students driving, Chebator said that students driving RVs for the first time is always a nerve-wracking experience. He said that most of the problems stemming from these trips are RVs losing sideview mirrors on the Massachusetts Turnpike or getting stuck under low-rise overpasses.
Chebator read an e-mail sent to him from the BC Police Department detailing an accident that happened on College Road the night of Oct. 11. An unnamed student lost control of his RV that he was going to drive to the game and it rolled over the front of a parked Toyota.
While the University is not explicitly against students who decide to travel to a football game, it certainly does have a strong interest in student safety. BC has done little in the way of helping students go to the game, but the school has made sure that students understand how to stay safe.
While a football game may not be as important to some as academics, the school spirit is undeniable. After talking about the students' academic concerns and safety issues, Chebator predicted that the Eagles would win at Notre Dame by the score of 35-14.
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