Reasons to serve
History, West Point, and 9/11 memorial inspire ND ROTC students in New York
About two dozen seniors in the Notre Dame Army ROTC program were impressed with the mealtime rituals at the United States Military Academy at West Point: the corps formations with drums and bugle, the historic Washington Hall that reminds visitors of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, and the efficiency and precision of feeding 4,000 cadets in a matter of minutes.
But when the Notre Dame students in school gear waded into the cavernous mess hall with the gray-clad Army cadets, a chorus of boos erupted.
James Lindell, a senior from Hawaii who wore a Notre Dame Glee Club jacket, said he didn’t mind. He expected it on the Thursday before Army faced Notre Dame in a football game at Yankee Stadium in late November.
“I understood it was all in the spirit of competition,” Lindell said. “Once we all sat down at lunch, I got to meet the cadets I was sitting with. The football rivalry was quickly an afterthought to learning about each other’s college experiences.”
Latest ND News Wire
- U.S. Ambassador to the EU visits Notre Dame as second Nanovic Forum Diplomat in ResidenceMark Gitenstein, U.S. ambassador to the European Union (2022-25), will join the University of Notre Dame between March 22 and April 4 as the Nanovic Forum Diplomat in Residence at the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, part of Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs.
- Opponents, exonerees to take part in inaugural Death Penalty Abolition Week at Notre DameNotre Dame Law School will host Death Penalty Abolition Week from Monday to Thursday (March 24 to 27) at the University of Notre Dame, featuring a series of talks from exonerees and opponents of the death penalty.
- Acclaimed scholar and author Danielle Allen to speak at Notre Dame Forum eventDanielle Allen, the James Bryant Conant University Professor and director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at Harvard University, will deliver a public talk as part of the 2024-25 Notre Dame Forum at 4 p.m. March 27 in McKenna Hall, Rooms 215/216, and via livestream.
- Brandon E. Roach appointed vice president and Robert K. Johnson General CounselUniversity of Notre Dame President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., announced that Brandon E. Roach has been appointed vice president and Robert K. Johnson General Counsel effective June 1. Roach’s appointment follows an extensive national search.
- Adm. Christopher Grady, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to deliver Notre Dame’s 2025 Commencement addressAdm. Christopher Grady, the Vice Chairman and Acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be the principal speaker and receive an honorary degree at the University of Notre Dame’s 180th University Commencement Ceremony on May 18, Notre Dame President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., announced today. Grady, currently serving as the 12th Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the nation’s second-highest-ranking military officer, graduated from Notre Dame in 1984 and received his commission through Notre Dame’s Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps.
- Asian American journalist and activist Helen Zia to speak at Notre DameHelen Zia, a pioneering journalist, author and activist, will present the Asian American Distinguished Speaker Series lecture at the University of Notre Dame at 5 p.m. on March 19 (Wednesday) in the Smith Ballroom at the Morris Inn.
