Notre Dame Travel Plans May Include Thanksgiving

Even though the Boston College football game against Notre Dame is 51 days away, many students are well into the process of figuring out their travels to South Bend. This year's game, which is the weekend before Thanksgiving, poses a scheduling dilemma for students who are simultaneously making plans for the holiday weekend.

The athletic department had not released information regarding the student ticket lottery when this article went to print, but students planning on going to the game have already made plans anticipating that hotels and transportation may sell out or become too expensive for a student budget when such information becomes available.

The logistics behind this trip to the Midwest involve not only travel and overnight stays, but also the dates of traveling.

Colleen Considine, A&S '12, traveled to South Bend for the football game as a sophomore and is repeating the journey this year. Like two years ago, she and friends will be taking an RV for the trip.

"I decided to travel to add to the experience," she said in an e-mail. "We have rented an RV from Cruise America to travel from Boston to South Bend. We plan on leaving Thursday evening and returning on Sunday. Once at Notre Dame, there is a huge lawn where all the RVs park, which was one of my favorite parts sophomore year. Traveling together only brings all the fans that much closer."

The camaraderie and tradition behind the Notre Dame – BC football game are two very important reasons that most students decide to make the trip that covers approximately 900 miles. For those who RV to South Bend, playing Notre Dame is more than just a football game or a tailgate, there is a 14-hour mobile celebration to add to the adventure.

Eric Strobel, A&S '12, is from Chicago and already made his plans to travel to the Midwest both for the game and for Thanksgiving.

"I've done the drive before and I'm sure it will be fun, at least for the first couple hours," he said. "It will be an especially long Sunday trip back after you've had a pretty good time the night before. Three friends and I are flying to Chicago Friday after class, staying at my house and driving into South Bend Saturday morning before the game. Unlike my friends who live in Massachusetts, my return ticket is probably going to be booked for after Thanksgiving."

When asked why he decided to still go to the game even with the complicated traveling logistics and missing class, Strobel said that it was not a difficult choice. "I've looked at my syllabi and nothing is due on that Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Having the extra time at home will be really nice and I could not miss this game. As a fan of the football program, the Notre Dame away game is a bucket list must."

Beyond just convenience, students have to factor in the flexibility or inflexibility of their upcoming week before the Thanksgiving break. In past years, the most popular means of traveling to South Bend was a motor home or RV, but for this year's game flying is becoming an increasingly popular option. Students like Strobel are able to incorporate the game into their already existing Thanksgiving travel, while others see flying as enabling them to return to the East Coast in a timely matter.

Zack Kaplan, CSOM '12, is from the Boston area but is planning on flying to and from the game to make it back in time for class and other commitments on Monday.

"I need to be back on Monday and if I took an RV I wouldn't be back in time for class Monday morning," Kaplan said. "Plus, I'm in the area so I'll be here for Thanksgiving, [flying] is just easier."

With only two days of class between the away game weekend and Thanksgiving break, the administration and professors are aware that some students are planning on skipping these classes. Some classes have scheduled exams and made deadlines during those two days before Thanksgiving to mandate attendance, and some professors gave explicit statements the first day of class that class will be held the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving and attendance is expected.

Clare Dunsford, associate dean of A&S, recognizes the tension between travel plans for Thanksgiving and for the away game but stated that academics must be students' priority.

"The semester is very short in many ways and each class is very important, especially those classes that only meet once a week," Dunsford said. "The deans cannot condone skipping Monday and Tuesday classes plain and simple. The deans' office will be scrutinizing requests for dean notes for excused absences those days very carefully."

Dunsford said that the University must be stringent with attendance policy due to the federal government's own scrutinizing across the nation of whether university credit hours are actually equivocating the amount of hours in the classroom.

"We have to be accountable to the students," Dunsford said. "I sympathize with the conflicting desires and the experience of the game and road trip but we must encourage students to meet their obligations as a student."

"Sophomore year I had a blast, minus the loss," Considine said. "It was so incredible to be surrounded by so many BC fans ... especially away from Chestnut Hill. The camaraderie and fanhood was truly remarkable. I still insist that our BC student section was louder than the rest of the Notre Dame stadium."