What a difference a century makes...

Oft repeated phrase at Notre Dame: "They've been doing things the same way around here for one hundred years..." Well, this article tells me that things indeed got better before I graduated (although, I'll bet the Class of 1900 still got to have kegs in the dorms...). I particularly enjoy the part about drinking and football, two things that apparently are phenomena of recent times:

Most of today's seniors learned early (read: freshmen disorientation) how easy it is to disregard the drinking guidelines on campus. Back in 1900 though, any use of "intoxicating liquors" was grounds for expulsion. Perhaps the Sisters at Saint Mary's assumed all women there were of high virtue, for the catalogue for students for 1900 has no mention of drinking, smoking or other immoral acts. Instead, it has provisions for the procurement of proper ladies — students were required to write home at least once a week, there were regular hours kept every week for sewing so women could keep their wardrobes in order, all pocket money was turned over to the treasurer and detailed records of expenditures were sent home to parents monthly, etc. Saint Mary's women were not allowed to bring "frivolous" jewelry with them.
Visitors were only allowed from 1:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, as the Sisters felt all other time should be devoted to studies. And you thought parietals were tough!

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Though students paid considerably less, they spent considerably more time at either school. Imagine a sojourn spent confined to campus property with no fall, winter or spring break, no Easter holiday and only two months for summer. With examinations every other month and as many as nine classes in a session, it is hard to imagine the students of the illustrious centennial class having any time to socialize. Never fear though — school spirit for Notre Dame athletics was just as strong then, though the University made it clear then as they do now that "undue attention to athletics at the expense of study will not be permitted." In the 1899-1900 issues of Scholastic, fervent rally cries are made for the students to fill the quads and support their teams. The football team had a great year in 1900, finishing with a 7-2-1 record (maybe Bob Davie should visit the Notre Dame archives to see if he can't find some coaching tips from days of yore). Baseball also finished strong, ending their season with an impressive 15 wins and only five losses.