Andrew ("Let's be fair," Mar. 3),
Firstly, I have many wonderful relationships with people at Notre Dame, none of which are strained by the idea that Saint Mary's students don't study. Everyone I know considers that a thoroughly antiquated idea.
Secondly, you state that Notre Dame is in a different league from Saint Mary's, but also reference the National Liberal Arts College ranking list. Hopefully, a student who goes to the No. 19 ranked university in the country would understand that these colleges and universities are in a list because they are comparable. Notre Dame and Saint Mary's are both four-year, Catholic, liberal arts programs. The curricula of both of our schools have a strong focus in developing general knowledge and intelligence. I am sure that you can see the how your Fighting Illini/Chicago Bulls analogy is inappropriate in this situation because they are really from two different leagues, while our schools are not.
Thirdly, maybe you did perform "simply extraordinary feats" in academics or athletics to get into Notre Dame (or maybe you were a legacy), but so did other students all around the country. It is clear that humility was not a factor in your acceptance.
Cheers,
Catie Salyer
senior
Holy Cross Hall
Mar. 3
