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Gipper stems from a commonly echoed story that Gipp would often sneak into Washington hall when he had missed curfew and could not return to his residence. on one such night, Gipp could not get inside Washington hall and resorted to sleeping on its steps. he contracted pneumonia as a result of the harsh conditions of south bend, indiana and later succumbed to the disease.

The first reported sighting of the Ghost of the Gipper was in 1925, five years after Gipp’s death. many more stories followed in subsequent years.

Tom barkes, Washington hall’s manager in 1988, saw the stories as both fun and natural to the hall’s lifespan: “no self-respecting 107 year old theater should be without its ghost stories. Theater is magic to begin with, so it is a natural place for stories.” others take them far more seriously, such as the group of four students who snuck into Washington hall with an ouija board in 1985. They attempted to contact the Ghost of the Gipper only to have the board spell out “s…G” and then slide the planchette to “Goodbye.” after a second attempt that garnered the same result, the students hurried out of the hall. a security guard (sG) was seen making his rounds as they snuck out. such notre dame lore has persisted for hundreds of years and is sure to continue into the future. The question now is simply when, not if, the ghost of George “The Gipper” Gipp will next be seen in his old sanctuary, Washington hall.

Halloween: horrifying or hilarious?

Oct. 31, 1988 | Mark Ridgeway | Oct. 31, 1991 | Paige Smoron | Oct. 30, 1996 | Dan Cichalski | Researched by Lilyann Gardner even as the Ghost of the Gipper captured the imaginations of some students, the spirit of halloween and its holiday traditions were a topic of debate at notre dame throughout the late 1980s and well into the 90s. dan cichalski (‘98), assistant accent editor, took a strong stance in favor of making halloween an official national holiday, arguing that it would establish a day in which everyone would be able to celebrate those who have passed away while also allowing themselves to be someone or something else for a short while.

“With halloween officially recognized by the government though, people in such positions would be able to let their fun side go wild,” wrote cichalski. conversely, mark ridgeway (‘89), systems manager, argued that the meaning of halloween had been lost. ridgeway claimed that the celebration of the deceased surrounding all hallows’ eve and all saints day had been overrun by a dark side of violence, gore and evil. morbid curiosity and the thrill of adrenaline that stemmed from watching horror films and attempting to commune with ghosts have cast the origins of halloween into the shadows, according to ridgeway.

“as an adult, looking at the way halloween is today, i feel the true meaning of the night has been lost, but that the fun of the celebration has not been lost,” ridgeway wrote.

The observer and the University of notre dame were sure to maintain the playful nature of halloween with dorm decorations, pumpkin carving competitions and hypothetical seances.

Paige smoron (‘92), assistant accent Writer, interviewed students and faculty in 1991 to see which famous spirits should be conjured up at a halloween seance. elvis was at the top of the list, and other notable figures included marilyn monroe, Knute rockne, nikola Tesla, caspar the friendly ghost and Jesus christ. however, some students refused to entertain the notion of a seance at all due to its pagan origins.

The moral meaning behind these halloween traditions at notre dame may still be up in the air, but there is no denying that remembering the dead plays a role in more ways than one.

Beyond Halloween: Diwali and Dia De Los Muertos at Notre Dame

Oct. 30, 1997 | Bernadette Pampuch | Nov. 10, 2014 | Paul Stevenson | Researched by Thomas Dobbs halloween may garner the

Observer Archives, Nov. 10, 2014

A member of the Indian Assocation of Notre Dame celebrates Diwali, an ancient Hindu festival like “Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years combined into one.” Diwali is celebrated in October or November.

most on-campus attention this season, but autumn also marks a time to consider celebrations that hold deeper spiritual and religious significance. in order to emphasize global religious events on campus, in 2004 campus ministry began the Prayer from around the World series to offer “the opportunity for various faith traditions to share their forms of praying with the campus communities.” one such holiday, diwali, is a major five-day hindu festival occurring in october or november that celebrates the “triumph of good over evil, light over dark and knowledge over darkness.” nishant singh (‘17) recalled eating candies and sweets during the diwali festival as a child but emphasized that “diwali is much bigger than halloween. it is like Thanksgiving, christmas and new Years combined into one.” as evidence of diwali’s broad significance, Priscilla Wong, senior advisor at the graduate and multicultural student ministry, shared that she felt connected to diwali despite not practicing hinduism. Wong described celebrations of diwali at friends’ houses and with her daughter’s hindu spouse.

While the sense of community is clear in diwali celebrations, familial connections form the foundation of another autumnal holiday: dia de los muertos. celebrated on the first and second of november, dia de los muertos may at first resemble halloween with its elaborate displays of skulls or candy offerings. but unlike halloween, dia de los muertos is a mexican holiday centered on reflection and the remembrance of “departed ancestors whose spirits visit the earth once each year.” some celebrate by setting up altars in their homes to welcome their ancestors, while entire families can “spend the day cleaning and repainting graves, decorating tombstones with flowers.” although fire precautions, untrustworthy roommates or engineering shortcomings may limit the construction of an altar here on campus, one can celebrate dia de los muertos with a simple “prayer [or moment of remembrance] for a deceased family member.”

While halloween parties and costume contests provide for an uncomplicated and amusing holiday, the concurrent celebrations of diwali and dia de los muertos elicit meaningful celebrations of family and renewal that are closely connected to the rituals themselves.

Contact Spencer Kelly at skelly25@nd.edu, Cade Czarnecki at cczarne3@nd.edu, Lilyann Gardner at lgarde2@nd.edu and Thomas Dobbs at tdobbs@nd.edu

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By PETER BREEN

News Writer

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published online Oct. 27.

As Holy Cross continues to see record application numbers, interim provost Michael Griffin said the College is turning toward trusted partners to foster student excellence.

Griffin identified the two networks through which the College will offer more scholarships this year: dependents of Notre Dame employees and families who participate in the SAGE scholars rewards program.

Half a decade ago, under former College President Fr. David Tyson, Holy Cross began covering the full cost of tuition and fees for those eligible for Notre Dame’s tuition benefit, Griffin said.

“Covering full tuition for Notre Dame employee children was one of the first things [Tyson] did to strengthen Holy Cross’ bond with Notre Dame,” Griffin said.

Starting this year, Griffin said, Holy Cross College is providing room and board costs for Notre Dame employee children who maintain a certain high school grade point average (GPA).

“Children of those whose parents qualify for the tuition benefit don’t pay anything for tuition and fees. That already exists,” Griffin clarified. “What is new is that for students whose high school GPA is 3.4 or above, we will also cover their housing if they choose to live on campus.”

Griffin said the grant, named the Hesburgh Housing Scholarship, is a recognition of the special relationship found among the tri-campus.

“Fr. Hesburgh was a very good friend of Holy Cross College and always was keen to point families who were interested in a Catholic education to come to the tri-campus,” Griffin said.

The financial source of the housing voucher, Griffin said, is a fund started in Fr. Hesburgh’s name.

“We have a Hesburgh Fund that some friends of Fr. Hesburgh began while he was still alive and that people still donate to,” Griffin said. “That is something that people can donate to kind of honor Father Hesburgh and the role he played at Holy Cross.”

Griffin expects the scholarship to benefit the academic performance of students from Notre Dame employee families, especially first-generation students.

“What we are finding is that living on campus is a real benefit to academic performance, and we want to make that possible,” Griffin said. “The research is clear that for first-gen students, it is a marked difference. It is a marked increase in academic success when they live on campus.”

Director of financial aid Rick Gonsiorek added that the scholarship’s underlying intent is to strengthen the College’s community.

“[The scholarship] removes a financial barrier from students to fully enter into that campus life,” Gonsiorek said. “Holy Cross College wants to offer as holistic an educational experience as possible.”

Though the range of people who qualify for the scholarship is wide, the housing grant will only affect a small percentage of Holy Cross College’s population, Gonsiorek said.

“The total number of Notre Dame dependents going to school here is a little bit less than 20,” Gonsiorek said. “As the word gets out, I expect to see more Notre Dame families take advantage of this incredible opportunity.”

Holy Cross College will also begin offering scholarships this year through the SAGE Scholars FastTrak pre-admission program, Griffin said.

“[SAGE] is a program that is run through employers where families and students can accumulate points by taking steps towards wellness, college readiness [or even] community service,” Griffin said. “We add scholarships to their sage reward points,” he said.

Gonsiorek equates FastTrak to “speed dating.” He said the program flips the whole admissions process around.

“This FastTrak Program is a new program that allows the colleges to reach directly out to the students and identify them on a number of admissible characteristics,” Gonsiorek said. “It’s like a private college search network.”

Gonsiorek said FastTrak is particularly useful for finding students who might otherwise think they would not be able to afford college.

“There’s a whole large group of students out there who are intimidated by the college admissions process,” Gonsiorek said. “They’re first-generation students. They’re scared to even apply to schools let alone a private school. It’s such a large price tag.”

Through SAGE FastTrak, Holy Cross can offer preadmission and relay guaranteed scholarship packages to prospective students whom the College believes would be a good fit on campus, Gonsiorek said.

“What we also are finding is that, when we identify pockets of really trusted partners like Notre Dame, like SAGE, by giving scholarships, more of them, one of the things is we get is more of the kinds of students who thrive at Holy Cross,” Griffin said. “That’s the win. We continue to increase our student excellence.”

Contact Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu

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