That's just as bad when they terminated the Carroll Hall Haunted House. The university administration really needs to lighten up A LOT!
As an alum of the University I always enjoyed the Dillon Pep Rally. It was always a class event done by Notre Dame MEN.
You stay classy Dillon and GO IRISH!
Men of Dillon, unite behind George's support of you. Have a midnight meeting with your scripts and carry on the tradition. Who cares if there are no special VIP guests? Just do your thing. Heck, if the drummers can bang at midnight, so can Dillon.
The Dillon Pep Rally was one of the events that kept me on campus for 3 of my 4 years. It was a great tradition and needs to be restored.
Please unite and have this event off campus. Let everyone know that the "Powers That Be" cannot act like this with no student backlash. Be civil, but get the message across.
And also...please bring back the death march.
I spent my four years at ND living in Dillon. I dedicated my last year there as a RA. I know this is not an issue at the dorm level, but at the administration level. I've seen Fr. Doyle pissed about the Pep Rally many times. He told people to make changes, they were made, and the show went on.
The only way this is going to change is if the students, not just those in Dillon, stand up for themselves. Start with making the Pep Rally happen in whatever way possible, but don't stop there.
And like Pat said, please bring back the Death March. It's a good time.
Give 'em hell, boys.
Every chance you get, whether youre from Dillon, Alumni, Keenan, Zahm, Stanford, or wherever. Remind them all that this is your campus, and you aim to take it back.
Let me add a few sentimental bits to the DPR story.
I have a few vivid memories from the freshman edition of the Rally. I remember running up the front stairs to the 3rd floor post-show thinking about how fortunate I was to live amongst that group of Dillon men. After all the strageness of Frosh-O and the first week or so of classes, I finally felt that I was at home.
For the next 3 years, I came to see that Fr. Doyle crowdsurfing, Teenwolf Teenwolfing, and the "BREAK DOWN ... Big Red!" cheer lose their originality over time. I saw how 'preparations' for the pep rally consist of 1 or 2 summer emails and a week and a half of frantic nights and script re-writes. And I noticed that junior year's rain-out after only 20 minutes wasn't really missed by too many, once football season, classes, and section football got underway.
But the first outcome, that looking around to people with some whom you will share a bathroom for 3 years and others whom you will share the rest of your life with needs to happen.
If the University wants to continue the tradition of having dorms represent far more than buildings, events like the Pep Rally must have a place on campus. Otherwise, Dillon is an old old building with small rooms and radiators with minds of their own.
Under no circumstances should you let the fun police believe they are getting the upperhand. In recent years, they have cracked down on much of what is/has been sacred at ND. Give them an inch, they'll take a mile. Stand up for yourself, and take the fight to them. It's times like these that call for incredibly bold, some might say stupid, yet most importantly, entertaining gestures. You're in college for God's sake, this is the one time you can chalk things up as "learning experiences". If you don't something about this now, you're going to regret it for the rest of your lives.
Don't go out with a whimper, go out with a crash. Be creative, make some noise and have some fun doing it. Your voice and discontent needs to be heard - and what better way than by making sure the show goes on. It's these type of memories a lot of folks down the road will say that they wish they had.
GO IRISH.
Don't give in. You give 'em an inch, they'll take a mile. There's nothing that they can do, constitutionally, from meeting together for an event. Free assembly means keep it going!
I'm gone for 1 year, and everything goes to s**t.
Knowing a bit about Fr. Doyle, he's not exactly the type of man to sugarcoat things, and he would have no qualms calling out the students if either they or their scripts were the reason for the Pep Rally cancellation. Hate to be a conspiracy theorist, but this does smack a bit of intervention from the higher-ups...though, if what our rector says is true (and I'd like to think that it is) this should be a one-time hiatus rather than a permanent ban.
My recently-graduated friends hailing from other undergrads can't understand why I spent all four years in a dorm...I tell them it was a no-brainer; you have the rest of your life to live in an apartment, but only four years to live in a place like Dillon. No doubt, the people who reside in the dorms are first and foremost what makes those dorms such an important part of campus life; at the same time, the admins have to take care not to completely choke the life (read: fun) out of those dorms, or else face a potential upperclass exodus, thereby robbing campus of exactly what gives Notre Dame its unique flavor.
With any luck, the Pep Rally will be back next year, complete with two years' worth of jokes and a renewed interest from the student body and the Men of Dillon.
As a former DPR teenwolf, I have to say that this is a spirit crushing announcement, and kills a little part of the fun memories I had as a Dillonite.
Don't ever give up, Men of Dillon, find someway to have the rally this year, and make sure you get all your ducks in a row for the next go-round. Don't let Poorman and the fun police try and wrest away from you one of the great on campus traditions at ND. We've all seen what happened to the Wake, don't let that happen to us.
Remember the Father Doyle, "My Virginia" skit. Oh man that was hilarious and I lived in Alumni. (By the way, Dillon Sucks...what, old habits die hard...unless Bill Kirk says so). RIP fun at ND. They can still drink in the dorms right?
weisgipper - as a participant in carroll hall's final haunted house, I can assure you it was given the axe for good reason
As much meaning as the event had for the Dillon men, did we really need more jokes about Holy Cross or some guy breaking plates on his face and head? I think the writing was in desperate need of sophistication, and I hope whichever form the new DPR takes will be on a higher plane of comedy. Good luck, Dillon.
And try as hard as you can to get something going for this current season. Don't let traditions die, and blow them out of the water with the next DPR.
those aholes in the main building couldnt stop the raptor run through the keenan revuehaus 6 years ago..
What a rip.
Look, guys, as has been stated universally, Fr. Doyle is no Dean Wormer. I haven't read of a "No more fun of any kind!" edict. Knowing him a little, I can assure you he is not your enemy here.
Herein lies the good news....Fr. Doyle is an ally. Please approach him with humility and ask for his assistance. Given the tremendous reputation he has earned on campus, across all strata, I'll be shocked if the DPR isn't renewed.
Go Irish!
Despite what some of the admin. would like you to think, Notre Dame is not Disneyland. If you think the pep rally should go on, then do it!
As a former Dillonite who has a first year daughter at ND, I'm tired of the nonsense. Restore the pep rally, kill the vaginalogues.
fellas -
I'm totally upset about the pep rally, but I'm hard-pressed to find someone whose judgement i trust more than doyle's. at the end of the day, if he believes that you have the dorm's best interests at heart, he trusts you. looks like that didn't happen.
I think i'm saddest about the fact that this year's juniors won't have the pleasure of making people try out for teen wolf. Some poor freshman won't have to sweat a bucket in calculus class wearing a full hairy wolf suit. breaks my heart this tradition won't happen this year.
I guess I'm also sad that Dillon kids won't get to write hilarious skits. Writing the virginia monologues sketch was one of the best experiences of my life (props to Raff, Pagnani and Ruehlmann too).
KBraun and Angelo - I'm damn proud to see you on a dillon message board.
go big red
DY
total crap. take it off campus and keep it off campus, could end up beinf more fun anyway. if you need a place to host it i might be able to help, send me an email.
What about Crackhead? I'm sure he could crack some sculls if necessary...
As a current Dillonite, Father Doyle's announcement took the air out of the entire dorm on Sunday. We were literally speechless. I don't want to speculate, but the lack of specifics given by both Father Doyle and our dorm president have led us to believe that this was not their call. After talking with some of the upperclassmen, there was definitely not a lack of people willing to do whatever it took to get the Pep Rally done right, but we were never given that chance.
The sad thing for me is that the freshmen this year, my next door neighbors, won't get a chance to experience the DPR. I would love to move the rally off campus, away from the NDSP and everything that comes with it. It was a great memory for me and its sad that a new class doesn't get a chance to experience it.
Can someone post the script from the Virginia monologues? As a former Dillonite, one so proud that he named his first born dog after it, I would love a chance to read about it. Maybe on Facebook or the BR of NDNation?
Stay strong Dillon. Dillon Hall, Dillon Hall, Rah Rah
As everyone knows, Fr. Doyle is a great guy and would take the fall for the misdeeds of someone else if he thought it was in the best interests of Dillon and Notre Dame. Frankly it seems to me that the University wanted some sort of assurance that the pep rally wouldn't be as risque or as critical of certain aspects of Notre Dame as it had been and Fr. Doyle couldn't provide them with any such assurance. Maybe they took offense to the "My Virginia" skit (which was probably about the dirtiest, yet funniest, skit in the history of Notre Dame)... Anyway, it will be interesting to see what happens with the Keenan Revue. I suppose if there is a crackdown on that we'll know who the real culprit is.
I have to agree with the other posters. The DPR is an integral event for the dorm every year. I participated in many aspects of it for two straight years. The experiences I had with the show are some of my fondest and possibly haziest memories. There are two points I would like to stress that some people disagree with. 1 Making fun of other dorms needs to happen. It gives the incoming freshman a landscape of the campus life. While these jokes occur almost every year, there are always new students arriving. This allows the stereotypes to continue, and I think that's a good thing. 2 This is a CAMPUS event. There's nothing like standing on stage and seeing thousands of students overwhelming the quad in front of our great dorm. If the event is held off campus, I think you'd be hard pressed to get the same turnout. This year it might be an inevitable situation, but please fight to keep this an on campus event.
For those looking to see the Virginia Monologues skit, I've included a link to the Dillon website where a video feed shows it live. On a sidenote, I was lucky enough to be involved with the DPR that year, and the original script was funnier and much more raw. Doyle told us we had to tone down some of it, and we DIDN'T have to cancel the show. I think this helps prove the decision came from above. I agree with Yeager in saying I truly respect Doyle's judgment as I've dealt with him extensively through various dorm activities.
Good luck Men of Dillon and fight to keep the tradition alive!
http://www.nd.edu/~dillon/photos.html
just graduated from nd and was a proud resident of Alumni. i went to the pep rally all four years and thought it was hilarious (i even managed to chuckle at the annual alumni slumber party choke). bring it back! its one of the better nd traditions (closely behind the wake)
As a Dillonite from class of '99, I'm very sad to hear the Pep Rally was shut down. One of my greatest memories was Father Doyle's First Pep rally where he crowd surfed for the first time, or his second pep rally where he dressed up as a ninja. Fight the good fight, and bring the Pep Rally back!
I'm a Dillon graduate and know the importance of the pep rally. I'm disappointed to hear this news. We must prevail and find a way to stage the rally! Go Big Red!!!
Good luck guys. Hope you can bring it back.
Seriously, WTF is happening to my alma mater?
As a four year dillonite from the early 90s, I am appalled when I read about this, the cancellation of SYR's, the haunted house, tailgating, gestapo, etc. Is it college or a monastery?
I'm a 2000 grad, and I was an RA in Dillon in '99-'00. I hope this gets straightened out, pronto. I can't believe Crackhead still comes to the DPR!?
Good luck, guys.
Another step in a long line of the administration weeding out independence from the dorms. Lord knows I saw it for four years at Zahm.
Fight the good fight, Dillon. Don't let tradition die.
Sounds like the men of Dillon got suckerpunched on this one. Sorry, guys, that sucks. Just remember what you're trying to do with the event, and maybe there's some way you can pull that off despite this. I'm cheering for you guys.
As a four-year contributor and performer in the Keenan Revue (graduated May '0
, I am absolutely pissed off. What the hell are we supposed to make fun of this year?
It wouldn't surprise me if this decision came from the top (ORLH or higher). Leave it to a few vocal idiots to complain about something, make it into an Observer Viewpoint controversy, and then watch the administration overreact. The real issue MUST be addressed before the Keenan Revue is "mysteriously" cancelled in a similar manner after all the skits have been written. (There is a new rector from Chicago in Keenan, which is Bad News Bears.)
We absoultely cannot allow this sort of thing to stand. Men of Dillon, please rise up and hold a Pep Rally of your own later this football season, whether sanctioned or not. If the Revue is also axed, we'll stir up a Viewpoint controversy of our own.
As an '04 grad and a Keenan resident I am saddened by the drop of the DPR. I echo 4yearKnight's thoughts about the Keenan Revue. Where else could I have dressed in all white and gyrated on the floor of the SMC stage acting like a sperm? nowhere else. Why does ND have to drive all the fun out of life. It started happening my sophomore year and seems to continue on. Men, fight the good fight, keep the normal people afloat at ND and go irish.
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