<p>Seeing that I actually was no longer bored at work, I was going to let this nonsense go. But I’ve changed my mind.</p>
<p>“'I’ve noticed several times in this topic that you guys think undergrads at NU can take classes at Kellogg, but that isn’t true. I was there today talking to an admissions officer in the MBA kellogg program and she told me that undergrads don’t take any classes at the kellogg school besides the finance certificate, which aren’t even through the kellogg school, they just helped set up the program and somewhat guide the program. i just wanted to clear up this little inaccuracy i noticed”</p>
<p>That’s not an inaccuracy. As a practical matter, I have no idea where the physical location of the class is, but it simply does not matter. A Northwestern undergrad can get a certificate (not in finance, it is a general certificate in management/business) from Kellogg, one of the most prestigious business schools in the country.</p>
<p>[Kellogg</a> School Certificate Program for Undergraduates - Kellogg School of Management - Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/certificate/index.htm]Kellogg”>http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/certificate/index.htm)</p>
<p>“I know we don’t want to appease him, but he wants answers so I’ll give them”</p>
<p>No, I didn’t ask for answers. I asked why I was being attacked as uninformed (or worse) while not a single person bothered to address, let alone disprove, a single statement I made. You, sir, have continued that tradition.</p>
<p>“No, maverick is not a rector in a dorm at Notre Dame.”</p>
<p>Care to prove that statement? Stating a presumption as if it is a factual assertion does not make it true. In fact, all you managed to do is prove yet again that the ardent ND supporters on this board trend towards presumptuousness. </p>
<p>"The Catholic Church administers 25% of the AIDS therapy to people in Africa. That probably doesn’t redeem the institution though.</p>
<p>And, according to the cute kid in Jerry Maguire, the average human head weights 8 lbs. So what? This doesn’t disprove anything I said. Furthermore, to many of us non-Catholics, it does not redeem the institution. You cannot blow up my father’s free clinic, rape my child and torture my great grandfather in the name of “God” and consider yourself redeemed by giving me a cookie.</p>
<p>“Some of mavericks peers at Chicago allegedly got a BA/MA in economics in four years.”</p>
<p>Are you saying I’m mistaken, or that I’m a liar? Again, care to back that statement up? The fact is, almost a decade ago (when I actually attended the school), getting the 5-year dual B.A./J.D. at the Law School was competitive, the 6-year dual B.A./M.D. at Pritzker was VERY competitive, but the dual B.A./M.A. in econ was not. In fact, two of my close personal friends completed that program.</p>
<p>“Some how in a later post this morphed into students at Northwestern can get BA/MAs in four years.”</p>
<p>I don’t know whether or not Northwestern students have the same opportunities as Chicago ones. Both being major research universities, however, if I had to wager I’d say that they do. But note I never claimed that I knew that for a fact: I specifically stated “possibly even obtain a dual ba/ma in 4 yrs.” The key word in that phrase is POSSIBLY.</p>
<p>“The problem with this is that I’m willing to bet that neither school gives BA/MAs in economics in four years unless you are a genius. In such a case the student wouldn’t even be competing with undergraduates for jobs because he or she would be at Harvard or MIT or Princeton getting a PhD.”</p>
<p>You can bet, but you’d be wrong. One of my friends that did the dual B.A./M.A. in econ at Chicago went on to become a professor. The other went straight into the private sector, working at McKinsey (which, coincidentally, doesn’t even recruit at ND, or at least it didn’t when I was there). Both are bright guys, but I doubt they’re certified geniuses and they’re definitely not uniquely bright in relation to my other peers from that school.</p>
<p>“Maverick is right, talking about theology doesn’t change past actions. He got that one. Nice.”</p>
<p>Gee, thanks.</p>
<p>“Some women’s dorms have lay women as rectresses. Give him a half-point for that.”</p>
<p>Thanks again, but I’m not sure if that changes my point at all.</p>
<p>“Opposite sex visitors are not allowed in dorm rooms after midnight Sunday - Thursday and after 2 am on Friday and Saturday. Each dorm has a 24 hour lounge.”</p>
<p>Again, doesn’t disprove anything I previously said, nor does it change my point.</p>
<p>“Undergraduates can take graduate level courses at Notre Dame, provided that they have an academic justification and room in their schedule.”</p>
<p>At least at Chicago, but I’ve been told by Northwestern grads that there as well, there is no “academic justification” needed to take graduate level courses. The point you miss is that, at UChicago at least, there really are no undergraduate or graduate programs. There’s the College, through which you take your Core Curriculum classes (even though the professors are the same as in graduate department; no one is allowed to be a dedicated graduate or undergraduate professor, and all are required to teach undergrads), and then the departments, where you take your concentration courses. The vast majority of these concentration courses are dual-listed with both an undergraduate and graduate course number. In other words, instead of getting taught BY graduate students, you are taking the same classes WITH graduate students as your peers.</p>
<p>“What are the drinking rules at Northwestern might I ask? At Notre Dame you just can’t have anything over 14% in your room if you are 21. And no games, of course, you just have to keep the door closed. (Domers correct me if I’m wrong)”</p>
<p>I have no idea what the current drinking rules are at Northwestern. I know at UChicago, they actually had free booze at school-sponsored parties (ahh, blues and ribs, how I miss you). My dorm was not only co-ed, we had co-ed bathrooms (boy, you haven’t grown up until you’ve heard the cute girl you had a crush on from afar fart in the stall next to you). But that’s not the point. My point is that Notre Dame legislates its version of morality onto its students. It discourages underage drinking, and it discourages premarital sex. For those that believe in these Catholic principles, that shouldn’t bother you. For the rest, that is something to keep in mind. You can’t have it both ways: it’s either a Catholic school or it’s not. Stop pretending it can be both.</p>
<p>“And hey one more thing, yes the Church does oppose premarital sex. Come to think of it, if no one had premarital sex, wouldn’t that eliminate STDs?”</p>
<p>Does this address any point I made? No. But to answer your question anyway, no, it wouldn’t eliminate STDs. Some STDs can be transmitted sexually, despite originating organically (e.g., b.v.). Others are transmitted sexually but can also be transmitted non-sexually, such as HIV. Again, more flawed reasoning.</p>
<p>The fact is, the reason why people like me come on here and antagonize you folks is that ND supporters, on a whole, are over-zealous and just a little (unjustifiably) full of themselves. They do stuff like cite undergrad business school rankings to justify unfounded statements like “Of course ND is a better choice than Northwestern if you want to go into business,” but then decry how useless rankings are when you mention that Northwestern, UChicago and WashU are ranked higher than them in the undergraduate rankings. It’s also a fact that, while Notre Dame focuses on what they think they are supposed to be teaching, other universities are busy experimenting, writing and otherwise creating the theories and ideas which those ND professors will be teaching. Would you rather read about the Big Bang Theory, or be a research assistant on the team that first espouses it? Would you rather read about archaeology, or go on an archaeological dig with the guy that discovered the process of radio carbon dating?</p>
<p>The fact is, ND focuses on teaching. They teach young men and women to be good, educated human beings…but from a Catholic perspective. If that’s what you’re into, than so be it. But like I said before, it’s not for everyone. For some, including myself, we consider this a glorified extension of high school.</p>