<p>Hi, I'm very interested in Notre Dame.. but I have a nagging concern. My mom attended, and overall she loved the experience, but I know there were certain sexist things that annoyed her about the university - for example, all the women were required to do their own laundry while all the men just had a laundry service. Of course, I know that today that has changed (after all, it's been years since my mom attended). But ND had this laundry problem at a time when many other universities had moved beyond those basic levels of sexism. Is there anything at ND that's still sexist? </p>
<p>The Catholic church itself is undoubtedly sexist, because only men can be priests. And if Notre Dame will only hire priests to be president of the university, then there will never be any chance for a woman to take charge of ND. Also, I recently saw some article online about an event called "Football 101," where basically they try to give the women training in the basics of football. I personally think that is kind of condescending, because I have been attending games my whole life and I certainly don't need a tutorial to explain the game to me!</p>
<p>I really WANT to like Notre Dame, because it seems like an awesome place overall. Can someone try to confirm or deny these doubts I have?</p>
<p>Seems like you are looking for a problem. If you look hard enough, you can find something you do not like. Something you consider sexist. Something you find condescending. Lots of people think the rectors in the girls dorms are stricter than the rectors in the guys dorms. There. If you are looking for a reason to complain, you have it. If you are looking for a reason not to go to ND, it should be because you like another school more not because you found a reason to call ND sexist.</p>
<p>I, too, think ND is an “awesome place overall”. At the same time, it is also imperfect in various ways for various people. What annoys me may be something you support. The campus needs to be big enough and diverse enough for both of us and I think it is.</p>
<p>Rather than complaining that Football 101 is condescending, maybe you could teach the class to show the sport can be fun for men and women spectators. You could explain that going to football games is a tradition for your family shared among mom, dad, brothers and sisters. You could teach the foreign girl on your hall the rules and make her your football buddy and take her to a tailgate party with your mom and dad. Before you graduate, maybe you will visit her home and she will teach you about rugby or cricket or hockey.</p>
<p>Go with what you like, let go of what you dislike. You will have fun here.</p>
<p>As far as Football 101 goes, it isn’t an event to teach women the basics of football, it’s an event to teach first year students about ND football traditions such as the Victory March, the Alma Mater, the Irish Jig, various cheers, etc.</p>
<p>Actually, Football 101 is a charity event run by the Kelly Cares Foundation (overseen by Coach Brian Kelly and his wife Paqui) that includes food, drinks, and football drills presented by the football coaching staff. It is indeed only open to women, but I think that is due to the fact that it is a charity event specifically designed for breast cancer awareness and prevention. As a guy, I’m actually a little jealous–the participants get to slap the famous “Play Like A Champion Today” sign in the stadium. </p>
<p>On a broader note, I think it’s unfair to characterize Notre Dame as sexist simply because it is Catholic. Women participate fully in all aspects of academic, social, and spiritual life here (minus the priesthood, but that’s a much wider issue). We are blessed with an excellent Gender Relations Center, and there are many lectures and workshops throughout the year that highlight issues important to women (such as fairness in the workplace). Given all these resources and opportunities, I feel that gender relations have come a long way since when your mother was here. Is there room for improvement? Sure, but we’re making progress all the time. </p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. I don’t want to come across as paranoid (I really wasn’t just “looking for a problem”), but I’ve actually been reading a blog by a current student who thought that there was some sexism on the campus. That, coupled with my mom’s experience, just made me a little concerned so I thought I would just raise the question and see what people thought. But I think everything was explained well so I feel reassured now I agree that it was probably unfair for me to mention the Catholicism of ND as an issue - women can’t be priests, but that’s really a much wider issue outside of Notre Dame’s control. </p>
<p>I’m a senior at ND. I very rarely visit CC, but I logged in for this question.</p>
<p>I would respectfully disagree with the previous posters. The fact is that there ARE many gender relations issues here at Notre Dame, and that the enforcement of rules DOES seem vastly and unfairly different between men’s and women’s dorms. I raise these points not as a matter of “complaining”, or even as a matter of disagreeing with the rules here–in fact, I think there is merit to many of them. </p>
<p>What I have taken increasing issue with during my four years here is the fact that, while behavioral standards are the same for men and women on the books here, in practice, the enforcement is often very different. I could go on and on about how this affects life at ND (from the fact that women’s dorms are very empty on the weekends/most social gatherings are held in men’s rooms, to the atmosphere surrounding dating on campus, to the vastly different experiences/expectations for female vs. male residence hall staff, to the fact that in most men’s dorms, students can get off with a slap on the wrist for things like underage drinking or leaving dorms after parietals.) Again, I am not necessarily criticizing the standards, but the differential enforcement within the residence halls. It can create a very weird dynamic for female students.</p>
<p>A lot of the residential life/disciplinary standards have been revamped recently, so I have some hope that things will improve over time. I haven’t run into as many gender-type issues in the classroom or other sectors of campus. Some of the things I mentioned may not resonate with everyone’s experiences at ND (which is why I’ve tried to be pretty vague here.) But I think that giving a glowy perspective of gender relations and issues at ND is simply inaccurate. I have absolutely loved ND, but these issues have bothered me more and more over my time here. </p>
<p>My advice? Talk to current students, visit campus, and try to come to your own conclusions. I wish you all the best as you go through this process </p>
<p>You touch on some serious topics and I wish you could / would provide more detail about your observations and experiences for others to use that information to dig into the issues through conversations or visits to form opinions. </p>
<p>Without opening a whole discussion on single sex dorms, I am not surprised by stricter enforcement of certain rules in the girls dorms. Some specific examples would be illuminating. If my sister were at ND, I would want her to have the benefit of the added “safety” the girls dorms provide. I do not think any of the dorms are dangerous. At the same time, I trust her to use her judgement on when and how to enjoy herself.</p>
<p>I agree that the social scene at ND can be odd but I think many people have hopes, desires, and expectations for a college social scene that are not healthy or normal. At ND some students seriously aim for a “ring by spring”, there is a serious imbalance between women (ND + SMC) and men, many students have conservative views that guide their social choices, some students have looser standards, there are both men and women who are awkward as there are operators of both genders. </p>
I agree that it was probably unfair for me to mention the Catholicism of ND as an issue - women can’t be priests, but that’s really a much wider issue outside of Notre Dame’s control. </p>