Off to the...

Fans of Hansen... not the band

...races... track and field races of course! Stedsmen et al came out to see their fellow Stedman, Kirk Hansen, run the race of his life, literally and figuratively. Running in the 800m, Hansen need to finish like he has never done so before in order to qualify for the upcoming ACC track and final tourney. Whatever it was because of his training to something in the water that day, to Jupiter ascending, Hansen ran like never before, shaving a full a second from his time! On seeing his fellow Stedsman race, Sam Bradley said, "We were expecting to see a good race, but we didn't see much of anything considering how fast Kirk flew by."

Still, Hansen said, "Going into my race, I was hoping to qualify for the ACC Indoor Championship Meet. My personal record wasn't too far from the standard, so I felt confident I could do it. But when I finished and saw how fast I actually ran, I was so excited and full of adrenaline that I ran all the way back to my teammates giving everyone high fives and jumping around. I ran my best time by almost 1.5 seconds, which is pretty hard to do in the 800. Not only did my time qualify for ACC Indoor, but it will also set me up well for the outdoor season and the goals I'd like to achieve by the end of the year."

Congratulations Kirk Hansen!

VIDEO: SEE HANSEN'S RACE BY CLICKING HERE.

McCarthy, Kirk "The Running Man Hansen," Cervantez, Bradley, and Wentzel

Your Sunday picture...

Shining brightly in the night

...from Notre Dame. Here's a twilight view of Mary. Unfortunately, this picture doesn't do her justice as she and the golden dome shine more brightly against a sky like tonight's. As the sun sets on Sunday, may you enjoy your last remaining moments of rest before Monday!

Saturday's Squirrel.

Sweet victory

The recent snow storm has once again made foraging difficult for a furry friends. It was particularly difficult since it was a heavy, wet snow. Still, the need to eat made our friends scamper about campus looking for whatever they had "squirreled" away earlier. When finding something to eat in the snow, this squirrel non-verbaled, "Don't worry. Found it."

Gone but not...

Requiescat in pace!

...forgotten. Today is the one year anniversary of the death of Fr. Ted Hesburgh, C.S.C. Buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery on the north side of campus, Fr. Ted is buried with other members of the Holy Cross community from Fr. Sorin, the Founder, to Fr. Ned Joyce, Fr. Ted's right hand man when he was president. After making the trek to the cemetery to pay respects and offer prayers as well as share a cigar on the way back to Steds, Stedsman Bryan Keve said, "I couldn't have spent the afternoon in a more fitting way!" 

Absence makes...

Call me if you assemble in L.A. next year

...hearts grow fonder! Indeed, it does. This weekend, Stedsmen living in New York had the pleasure of hosting a handful of weary travelers, Stedsmen from Chicago and Los Angeles. This mini-winter reunion was truly a special one, as the "crew" was, after a long absence, able to once again assemble together. The reunion was all very much like Jake “Joliet” Blues “putting the band back together”…and yes, that was a Blue Brothers reference. On the reunion, the Class of 2014, said with generous love, “A word of advice to Stedsmen present: appreciate all the small moments of your life and enjoy your time at Our Lady's University, as it will all create and influence the most meaningful relationships of your life from there on after!” 

Field Trip: India.

Cricket: A sport for the seriously bored

Several Steds seniors joined their fellow Steds senior, Vaishnav Murthy, when he returned home to India during the Christmas Break. Suffice it to say, it was a trip that was filled with so many things… first times for this and that, gastronomical delights, and of course, fun memories. Through a weekly posting entitled “Field Trip: India,” we have the pleasure of hearing about some of the adventures and experiences had this past December. Today we have the pleasure of hearing from Vaishnav. 

While many around the world would contend that America’s pastime of baseball very well could be the most boring sport known to mankind, I, on the contrary, would like to posit that it is NOT baseball but rather cricket that is most boring and nonsensical sport known to the universe. On the matter of cricket, Vaishnav said, “Not so. This is a picture of us inside the Eden Gardens - the BIGGEST cricket stadium in the world. This was the first time any of my guests had seen a cricket game before, but being gentlemen, they took to the gentleman's game like a fish to water.”

Whatever Vaishnav... whatever indeed!

Something new...

Name coming soon!

...at Notre Dame. Here's a picture, also taken from 10th floor of Grace Hall, showing one of the two new residence halls that will open in the fall of 2016. Located on the east side of "Mod Quad," these two new halls, one for women and one for men, have yet to be named and are in the collegiate gothic motif. On the new residences halls, a Stedsman, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said, “When completed, these two new halls will go a long way to hide the mistake that is Mod Quad.”

Well said Stedsman speaking on the condition of anonymity… well said indeed!

When ESPN GameDay came…

Kempf, Ruggles, Macke, and Olmanson representing Hall and Univeristy

…Steds was front and center! Where else would we be? Organized and lead by the Hall’s Vice President, Brandon Ruggles, the Steds showing at GameDay on North Carolina weekend was unique to say the least. With crowns, body paint, and homemade kilts, the Gentlemen poured into the JACC on that Saturday morning braving cold temps and the everyone else who decided to show up for the spectacle. Without doubt, it was one of those memorable college moments that won’t be forgotten anytime soon. On being escorted to the front of the masses, through hoi polloi, Ruggles said, “When the GameDay handlers saw us, they quickly moved us to the front row. Was it because we showed a little skin? Most definitely! Kilts! Kilts work every time…every time!”

VIDEO: WATCH GAMEDAY TV INTRO WITH STEDS, CLICK HERE.

AND THERE'S MORE...

Doing their part: Rashid, Moyo, Gayheart, Sherman, and Trzaska while...

...Olmanson (far right) got dissed by a shout out on Twitter.

Your Sunday picture...

Spring is coming!

…from Notre Day! Here’s a view of the St. Edward statue. Originally located in the Basilica, the statute was moved to St.Edward’s Park after the addition of the Lady Chapel. Whether it was moved to make space at the Basilica or to reinforce the Hall’s claim on the park, who knows, but one thing that we do know is that we are all winners for seeing such a beautiful statue throughout the four seasons! Enjoy your Sunday wherever you may be!

Saturday's Fowl.

The American Coot: A national treasure

Besides squirrels, Notre Dame’s campus is teeming with wildlife, and someone who is keenly aware of this is Fr. Terry Ehrman, C.S.C. When he is not in the classroom teaching theology, science, and creation, Fr. Terry is pursuing another passion- botany and bird watching. Recently, Fr. Terry came across the American Coot (Fulica americana), who is a year round resident of the Ss. Joesph and Mary's Lakes. On seeing the American Coot, Fr. Terry said, “They are there now, and I thought it fitting to introduce this bird because spring baseball training has started.  Why is this important? Well, another more common name for this bird is the “Mudhen” which is also the nickname for the Detroit Tigers' AAA club in Toledo.  Some of you many remember Corporal Klinger from MASH talking about his home town team the Toledo Mudhens… or Toledo American Coots.” 

And now in this corner, from…

                                            A triumphant Rahill             *picture by Dan Rahill

…off campus and St. Edward’s Hall, Patrick “Child Sparer” Rahill! Wednesday saw a number of Steds boxers advance to the second round of Bengal Bouts, Patrick Rahill, Steds senior. Suffice it to say, the second round tested his skills and techniques as well as his smarts. Apparently, during the second round of his match, Rahill lost both his contact lens so that in third round he was just aiming for anything that moved, and some say that was Rahill’s best round! Still, on seeing his brother in the ring, Collin Rahill, Steds freshman AND the 4th Rahill brother during Fr. Ralph’s tenure, said, “ Despite losing both contact lenses and a battered nose that would not stop bleeding, Pat fought on to a second round win in true Steds fashion. Without question, it was a true Rocky moment for the lefty!”

VIDEO: WATCH PATRICK IN THE RING, CLICK HERE.

 Continued good luck to you Patrick!

Steds Hockey.

Steds Hockey Team

The hockey season has come and gone, and it has been a fairy tale story for the Steds squad. The previously winless squad (winless for a number of years) was clearly hungry for a win this season, and this hunger drove them to win not just one but two games! Still yet, the two wins propelled the squad to the inter-hall semi-finals! As they say, when it rains, it pours. Suffice it to say, whether you were on the ice or in the stands, Steds hockey players and fans were, as say they say in German, ausgezeichnet.

On the recent hockey wins, Dan Meehan, Steds senior and goalie, said, “After finding out that was the first win in (recent) Steds history, I said, ‘Oh, my.’ After our playoff clinching tie against Keough, I said, ‘If you told me before the game that letting in 9 goals would be good enough, I would have laughed then cried then laughed again. But that's how I usually feel about my goal tending anyway.’ After the gutsy playoff loss against the 1 seed, I said, ‘Tough loss, we played well, But we must move forward. The team has a bright future. Hopefully we can bring in a few more Minnesotans to fill some of the holes left by seniors. As for my replacement, who knows. Maybe we'll get an actual goalie. Or maybe we'll need one more Stedsman to step up and put on the mask. As Bruce Wayne once said, 'As a man, I'm flesh and blood; I can be ignored, I can be destroyed. But as a symbol... as a symbol I can be incorruptible. I can be everlasting.'’’

Don't look...

Careful: What goes up...

...down! This past weekend, the St. Edwards Ice Climbing Team took on, some would say, the insignificant mountains of Michigan. Outside of Ann Arbor, Gentlemen climbers, Ethan LoCicero (pictured above) and John Clark (pictured below), ascended this mountain of ice, conquering it multiple times in the span of six hours. Their secret? Yes, you guessed it. Never look down!  On the ascent, LoCicero said, "It took us a little while to figure it out, but apparently the trick with ice climbing is to go up, rather than down or sideways. Sometimes diagonal is acceptable, but never slantways. Once we got the hang of that it was pretty simple. Also, most people don't realize it, but ice is actually just a frozen form of water. All in all, truly an amazing day for all of us."

...must come down.

Notre Dame Day...

Steds gym: Looking good

...funds at work! As funds continue to be dispersed, improvements are being seen around the Hall. Another improvement thanks to Notre Dame Day funds is one of the wall in the Steds gym. Working with a local company and using a resident's, John Wetzel, design, the west wall of the gym now has a sharp and smart looking wall. On the improvement to the wall, an unnamed Steds gym goer said, "That new wall is going to make me exercise more!"

A homecoming.

Does that thing have a plug?

Scott Feister '09, Stedsman, francophile, and musical engineer in his free time, recently returned to campus. A doctoral student in physics at Ohio State University, Feister return to calibrate something that only his Alma Mater had... something that he needed to do to finish his program. On returning to campus and on what exactly he was doing, Feister said, "At the invitation of my undergraduate advisor, I came back to ND to calibrate our electron spectrometer using an on-campus van de Graaff particle accelerator, shown above. The accelerator is the football. My physics Ph.D. dissertation is using high-intensity lasers for 'unconventional' electron acceleration in plasma, and I needed a reliable electron source as a benchmark.” 

Of course. Got it... thanks Scott!

To learn more about what Feister is doing at OSU, click HERE.

To learn more about the above machine, click HERE.

Your Sunday picture...

Waiting patiently for spring...

...from Notre Dame. Here's a view taken from the 10th floor of Grace Hall. If you the discoloration in the upper left hand corner, you might think that there was a problem with my phone's camera. Not so, not so! It's actually the sun trying to break through! Only if were successful. Enjoy your Sunday wherever you may be!

Saturday's Squirrel.

I think we're alone now... there's nobody around

Where is this furry friend? Well, certainly not in a tree! This squirrel was actually found taking a breather in one of the construction barriers outside the new Crossroads Project. While not the prefect place to be, it was better than being in the snow. On being in a construction barrier, this squirrel non-verbaled, "Move along. There's nothing to see here. Move along..."

Notre Dame Day...

It's tougher than it looks!

...funds at work! Finally, last year's Notre Dame Day funds are being dispersed, and there are a number of improvement projects that residents want those funds to be directed to and improve this or that. Thanks to you there are plenty of funds to go around! Still, we have to start somewhere, and improvement project number one is the Steds Hall gym. While there are a number of upgrades to the gym, from a sound system to benches, one upgrade is increasing the number of dumbbells to include dumbbells to up 75lbs. Great, but that meant getting a new dumbbell rack. Who built it? Yup, you guessed it- Fr. Ralph and Dawson. Indeed, many thanks to them both, and on the new rack, Albert Oh, Steds freshman and frequent gym goer, said, "You raise me up so I can lift the mountains!"

Gentlemen Boxers.

Don't underestimate the power of class

This Sunday marks Valentine's Day AND the start of the Bengal Bouts. As Preliminaries get underway, St. Edward's will be well represented, fielding EIGHT gentleman boxers, who, like the Hall Bengal Bouts ad says, bring class to the fight. Knowing this AND how this would make for a great Valentine's Day date, fellow Stedsmen are rushing to buy tickets from their fellow boxers. On participating in the 86th Bengal Bouts, John Wetzel, Steds senior and boxer, said, "In St. Ed's, we are all gentlemen, and boxing is certainly a gentleman sport. Once we step in the ring, there will be nothing but class from us...as long as we win. We also want to thank all of the many generous Stedsmen and friends !who have supported the Holy Cross missions in Bangladesh by supporting us in our fights." 

On the internets...

In the interest of full disclosure: the red arrow was added

…the secret is out. Many people thought the “secret weapon” the Notre Dame Club of Miami was referring was student athletic manager, A.J. Meyer, a senior from Miami. But, NOT so! Stedsmen in Miami have given reassurances that the reference was actually a nod to someone else… Fr. Ralph! On seeing this on his “feed,” an unnamed Stedsman said, “Members of the basketball team have pointed to Fr. Ralph as their ‘secret weapon.’ When asked what they meant by this, they denied that it referred to any keen coaching acumen, outstanding leadership skills, or ability to hit the outside J. Instead, his contributions have come in the form of his down-home-right-off-the-farm Nebraskan attitude.”

It's official...

Verhamme (center) with his fellow Stedsmen

...they're married! With Fr. Ralph witnessing and a large Steds contingent present, Ann Marie Schweihs ’12 and John Verhamme ’12, former Steds resident, were married at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame. It was a beautiful winter day with plenty of sunshine, and it was only made more so by the radiant couple. On the new Mr. and Mrs. Verhamme, Eddie Brady, Steds sophomore and cousin of the bride, said, “Although the Morris Inn is no Mystic Blue, John and Ann Marie's wedding was an unforgettable day spent with the Steds family and of course, the extended Notre Dame family!”

Congratulations Ann Marie and John!!!

A celebration of...

Queueing up for Chinese... and no, there were no leftovers

...Chinese New Year and America! Always looking to keep it "fresh, real, and innovative," the Gentlemen decided to celebrate Chinese Year New AND America by having Chinese food DURING the Super Bowl. Fresh, real, and innovative indeed! JW Chen's Chinese food was served immediately following Lady Gaga's amazing and stirring rendition of the National Anthem. Suffice, it to say, everyone was ready for it and football. On the evening, a Stedsman said, "The Broncos may have won, but the real winners of Super Bowl Sunday were in the first floor lounge of Steds!"

Your Sunday picture...

Beautiful anyway you look at it...

...from Notre Dame. Here's an aerial picture of campus with St. Ed's in the lower left corner. On seeing this beautiful sight, Bryan Keve '10, Stedsman and taker of this picture, said, "Four of the five most iconic buildings at ND - Basilica, Dome, stadium, and of course, STEDS."

Saturday Squirrel(s).

The gig's up. I have been spotted...

What are they up to? Who knows...moreover who cares? If truth be told, we care... we want to know! Yes, what are they doing on St. Edward's Park? Usually, these squirrels are nomads, but today, they're in a small herd. Whatever it was, it quickly came to an end when I was spotted by one of our furry friends. On their running away, I non-verbaled, "Was it something I non-verbaled?"

It's raining...

No, not a magician...just a Girl Scout doing her duty!

...Girl Scout cookies! Thanks to Katie, Girl Scout cookies are pouring into Steds. The Gentlemen  ordered over 95 boxes, all of which helped Katie reach her goal of selling 1,000 boxes of cookies. Yes, 1,000 boxes! On "mission accomplished," Katie said, "Thank you for all your help, I couldn't have reached my goal without St. Ed's!" 

Once again, when you need something done, get the men from Steds on it and consider it done.

Oh, yes. Katie's had helper too...

Chase, Katie's little brother, doing his part for the cause

Steds Field Trip.

Attention equals smiles and plans to return

Recently, the first and fourth floors of Steds took a field trip to St. Mary’s dinning hall. Despite the cold, brisk weather, the trek was well worth it. While the “foodies” of the group were certainly disappointed, the new found attention, stardom really, of the group made up for any culinary disappointments. On the evening, Dawson Robinson, Steds senior and RA, said, “What the dining hall lacked in quality of food, it more than made up for in the hospitality of its patrons.”

What's he running...

Steds XC team: Oh, Yerkes, Clark and Arnold

...away from? Yes, that is what I asked John Clark, Steds senior and Steds XC member, when he wasn't running. On running, Clark said, "I used to run from the boogyman, cheesecake gains, and small midgets on tricycles. But as I have matured as a Gentleman of St. Ed's I have left those fears behind for the likes of Professor Schmiedeler's Analytical Dynamics, an insulted Chuck Norris, and the dining hall staff after taking an ice cream and a piece of fruit out of the DH."