Tag Archives: Notre Dame

Cheating? No way!

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I’m miffed that My Favorite Domer can’t come home for Christmas Break until Friday, the last day of Final Exam Week.

Obviously, somebody has to stay and turn the lights out. And upperclassmen have prepared enough schedules so they know which class times will get them home for the holidays early.

Not so First-Years.

They pretty much take “pot luck.” I doubt many, if any, checked to see when finals would be before putting their schedules together with their counselors.

Not that it would have mattered.

When the original exam schedule came out, it looked like MFD, too, would finish early. We were kind of looking forward to “beating the holiday traffic,” doing some last-minute shopping, etc.

Now he says he has to stay until Friday so everybody can take their Chemistry final on the same day.

What?

Yep, apparently they were told the final was moved “so they wouldn’t cheat.”

Cheat? At Notre Dame?

C’mon, really? You’ve got to be kidding!

These kids must complete an Online Honor Code Orientation before they even enroll. Not only that, but they all sign a student pledge that they will adhere to the Academic Code of Honor.

“Giving or receiving unauthorized aid on an exam or quiz” violates the Code.

ALL undergraduates know this.

They also know the penalties for violating the Code (in a repeated offense, the standard punishment is suspension from the University, with no opportunity for readmission).

Tough?

Sure, but like I’ve said before, rules are rules, and without them, we have no orderly society.

In a time when so many kids admit to cheating, at least the University is trying to address the problem.

So it’s not the Code, it’s the knee-jerk reaction that disturbs me.

Granted, I wasn’t privy to the decision (or the reasoning) to move the final, and MFD on occasion has been known to misquote things, but if this is true, I’ve got to ask:

Does it make sense that anybody would be foolish enough to cheat on a final exam?

Really.

Let’s say I take my final on Tuesday and yours isn’t until Thursday. Why would I give you any answers, any help, anything, knowing then you’d get a better grade than I, and in the process, you’d ruin the curve for everybody??

Back to Notre Dame

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I just got back from re-settling My Favorite Domer in his dorm at Notre Dame, and I’ve got to say — whew, what a harrowing trip!

Having not traveled over the Thanksgiving holidays for many moons, I’d forgotten how nightmarish traffic can be. It was literally bumper-to-bumper — cars, semis, big SUVs, big manly trucks, people dragging stuff, people moving stuff in U-Hauls, people with stuff stacked atop their vehicles — all flying down the interstates in an effort to get someplace.

Don’t they realize they’re jeopardizing not only other drivers but also themselves??

Topping it off, permacloud was back, this time with a driving rain. So let’s see — we’ve got slick roadways, early darkness, deer cautionary signs, people weaving in and out as they seek to find the “fast lane,” people jamming on brakes so they won’t go careening into the “slowpoke” in front of them, people hungry and tired and angry — gee, sounds like a recipe for disaster to me!

When we got to campus (which, by the way, seemed eerily quiet and vacant!), we noticed a huge evergreen completely covered with tiny white lights outside Hammes Bookstore. It was breath-taking! There’s another one covered with multi-colored lights over near the Basilica. And the individual dorms, not to be outdone, are putting up decorations as well, so it won’t be long before campus will be spectacular.

Rather than just drop MFD off and run, I decided to get a hotel room for the night. I’m glad I did.

It was so much easier traveling early on a Monday morning in clear conditions! And, it gave me another chance to spend some quality time with MFD.

You know, when your kids are little, you think the diapers and colic and nighttime feedings, etc. will never end. Then you blink your eyes, and your kid is off to college. I guess that’s why everybody always told me to enjoy every minute with my son.

I have, and I continue to do so!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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I traveled to South Bend yesterday to pick My Favorite Domer up for the Thanksgiving holidays (First-Years at Notre Dame aren’t allowed to have cars, so he’s “grounded” unless/until I fetch him!)

I’ve already done three loads of laundry (did I really send him off to college with that much stuff?), and he’s been “chill-axing” with his favorite video games, texting friends (both near and far), and listening to music while playing on his laptop. Not much has changed, right?

Wrong.

I’d already mentally prepared myself for a “new” son this time around. After all, it wasn’t all that long ago that I was a college freshman returning home for the big turkey-day feast — and oh, how I chafed that nobody recognized the “new, grownup me”!

So I steeled myself NOT to hover, NOT to ask nit-picky questions, NOT to demand he get a haircut (though he did, and on his own!), and NOT to expect him to keep my schedule.

Good thing, too.  Nothing worse than a “helicopter parent.”

It’s immensely gratifying to see how well he’s acclimated to ND. So many young people find themselves straddling both worlds, home and college, when they go away, and that’s tough — on them and on their parents. Many others are completely miserable with their choices and can’t transfer fast enough to a school that’s a better fit.

MFD announced that if he could move his family, video games, and “stuff” to South Bend, he’d probably never come back to the town he grew up in.

Interesting.

I suspect many of his new friends feel the same. Notre Dame is already “home” to them; they’re happy, and happiness is what we parents want for our kids.

It’s said that “familiarity breeds contempt.” If so, maybe these kids should swap hometowns for one visit. They would see different communities through new eyes and gain an appreciation for the fires of home.

In the meantime, we’ll just enjoy the brief vacation he has — Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Lifelong learning

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Let’s get one thing out of the way upfront — I’m not a Notre Dame alum.

Heaven knows, I wish I were, but all I am is the mom of a Domer — that, and a huge fan!! Shoot, I’ve even considered the possibility of enrolling in, say, the Graduate Program in Creative Writing, just so I could be a Domer, too!

I’ve always had a passion for education. I was one of those “weird” kids who simply loved school, not just because my friends were there but because in school, you learned stuff. I love the smell and feel of a book; I love being able to string words together so when folks read them, they go, “Yeah!”

When I was a kid, every week in the summer I’d go to the Library and check out a stack of books — as many as I could carry — then hurry home and immerse myself in wonderful, magical stories. Even today, there’s nothing better than getting lost in a novel and forgetting there’s a world with problems outside.

My undergrad education was at Ole Miss, the University of Mississippi (Go Rebels!!), and my feelings for Alma Mater run oh so deep. I had a four-year Band scholarship, so participating in halftime shows and supporting the Red-and-Blue became deeply ingrained. Perhaps it’s the growing-up one does during the four years between 18 and 22; perhaps it’s the friends one makes at college. Whatever, I (and most of my fellow Rebs) feel an intense pride, unwavering loyalty, and profound gratitude to Ole Miss.

As the late Frank E. Everett Jr. (a UM alum) put it: “The University is respected, but Ole Miss is loved. The University gives a diploma and regretfully terminates tenure, but one never graduates from Ole Miss.”

When My Favorite Domer was in elementary school, I returned to college (community college, this time) to pursue a new career in Web Design. I found, to my surprise, that I was an even better student than during my first go-round as an undergrad. I seemed to have an intuitive awareness of what material was important for me to learn, how to study and budget my time, how to access the help I needed, and I wasn’t afraid to approach my instructors, spend time in their offices, and soak up their advice.

 

Today’s buzzwords are “lifelong learning.” Yep, I’m a firm believer in that. As a Web Designer and Writer, I often run into something I’m unfamiliar with, and I constantly find myself having to learn new code and techniques or new ways of solving old problems. I pity people who don’t find learning enjoyable, or who think that once they’ve got a sheepskin, they’re finished.

So, while right now I can’t justify returning to academia for another degree, don’t count me out — I just might, one day!