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Sunday, March 29, 2026
The Observer

Opinion





The Observer

The importance of a collective voice

For four years, I voluntarily lived on Notre Dame’s campus, serving as a member of hall staff my senior year. I can confidently say that the decision to require three years of on-campus housing will be a dangerous addition to the pressing, systemic issues that Notre Dame’s housing system has; I have seen them affect the lives of my peers, lived through them myself and even tried my hand at fixing them, but by the end of it all, I found myself exhausted, disillusioned and severely disappointed. This choice to change Notre Dame’s policies will ultimately have a larger impact on the marginalized populations of our campus by forcing them to be tied to a system that can be destructive and harmful. I fear what the Notre Dame campus will look like years in the future should this plan be implemented.