The Fourth Floor...

Broom Ball- not for the faint of heart

...did it again. Yes, the 4th floor won the intra-Hall, inter-floor Broom Ball Tourney by a score of 10 to 2. Playing on the center ice of the Compton Ice Arena, the 4th floor took down 3rd, 2nd and 1st floors with amazing broom ball skills, namely, advanced sweeping techniques and superior ball control. Of Stedsmen against Stedsmen, Daniel Wrapp, Steds junior and game announcer, said, “They all played with amazing passion, but they left it all out on the ice like gentlemen.”

VIDEO: OPENING SWEEPING

VIDEO: BROOM BALL ACTION

PHOTOS: BROOM BALL GALLERY 

Laissez les bon temps roulez...

Founder's Week- A Week of Gentlemenly Fun

Stedsmen, let the good times roll! Happy Founder's Week- our week long celebration for the Founder of the University and first Rector of St. Edward's Hall, Fr. Edward Sorin, C.S.C. As you can tell, the week is jammed packed with history, tradition, and FUN. More to report as the week unfolds, but in the meantime, Stedsmen everywhere, may the Founder smile upon you always!

The video that...

The last Steds Float- with water that is

you all wanted to see of last week's Float is NOW working. Yes, I admit it. The world of the Internet is all new to me, and so, it should come as no surprise that there will be some technical difficulties from time to time. Embarrassing, yes, but as I continue to move forward in this new digital world, I'll not be alone. I will be aided by a technical support team, and thanks to their help, the problem with the video has been fixed. So, without any further ado, I give you…

VIDEO: THE LAST STEDS FLOAT (WITH WATER)

Only two days away...

The 3rd Classic

The Broomball Classic kicks off every Stedsmen favorite week, Founder's Week. Played this Sunday at the Compton Ice Arena, the Classic will see campus co-ed teams battle it out on the ice and raise funds for the Hall's charity, Lake View High School. Without doubt, the highlight will be the intra-hall, inter-floor battle. I am sure that Steds will win that one...

A new look….

Toby, a Golden Doodle, with Stedsmen Neil Sielski 

Thanks to Neil Sielski, Steds junior and dog lover, the Hall has a completely new webpage. With a smart, new look and easy navigation, the Internet has never seen such a sharp looking webpage. Let's chat with the Stedsmen who brought the magic and made it happen…

St. Ed: What was your muse for creating the new Steds website?

Sielski: Wrecking Ball.  The site needed to be rebuilt from the ground up so I just sat down, collected everything that the front page would need, and gave it the most basic organization. Plus, I'm pretty lucky that minimalism, this less is more stuff, is in now.

St. Ed: You are also the Hall’s photographer and videographer. Do you ever feel left out of the picture?

Sielski: I personally don't even though my parents often ask, “Where’s Neil in these photos?”  They're right. So, I am not making any promises, getting all of your hopes up, but you never know... there might be an album of just selfies in the near future. As you know, I #yolo pretty hard.

St. Ed: What's wrong with the Obamacare website?

Sielski:  I didn’t make it.

St. Ed:  But if I like the website that I got now, I can keep it, right?

Sielski: Yes you can…

Yes, I will Neil. Yes, I will…

Thoughts from abroad...

"ZED-ACH" Daniel in the Australian Outback- “no rules, just right.”

Zach Daniel, Steds junior, is studying in “down under” Australia. Let’s hear what’s going on in the land of koalas, kangaroos and kookaburra birds…

St. Ed: Is Australia a lot like going to Canada but just longer to get there, warmer and prettier?

Daniel: Definitely. They just say "cheers" instead of "eh" and ride kangaroos instead of moose. They still spell things wrong here, like “colour”, and if that wasn’t enough, they have different alphabet letters. Here, the letter “Z” is ZED, and so, my name is not ZED-ACH.

St. Ed: Could you describe the Australian education model? Is it similar to that of the U.S., demanding, rigorous and competitive? 

Daniel: Australia’s educational model can be embodied by Outback’s restaurants slogan…”no rules, just right.”

St. Ed: Speaking of the Outback, do they have Outback restaurants in Australia?

Daniel: The state that I'm in (Western Australia), doesn't have one, but they have 7 in a state that I'll be in! Soooo, throw some shrimp on the barbie matey!

St Ed: What do you miss from home?

Daniel: I miss... Chipotle, Whataburger (a Texas thing), ESPN, and driving on the right and CORRECT side of the road. But the one thing I miss the most is St. Ed's. I miss my Steds family- a shoutout to all my brothers and even the freshmen I haven't met yet, Father Ralph- dopest rector on campus by far, and Maem- my mom away from home. I miss NDH and would kill for some good stir-fry.

Really? But he’s can at a REAL Outback??!!! Oh, well… thoughts from abroad.

Tour de St Edward...

Looks like there's a lot of monkey business going on in 417.

Our Tour de St. Edward—the weekly tour of resident rooms, study lounges and popular hangouts in Notre Dame’s favorite residence hall—continues with room 417, a room with a great Dome view and home to three Steds juniors.

Here’s what Michael Ahlers, Spencer Edman and Andrew Whitney had to say when I stopped by:

St. Ed: With three people in the room, isn't it a tight fit?

Juniors: This room has plenty of room not only for three people but also for a couple of futons, a couple of visiting Navy Midshipmen, and a lot of big dreams for the future!

St. Ed: How would you describe building your loft?

Juniors: As juniors, we had been around the block a couple times before and so this wasn't our first time at the rodeo. We designed this loft and set it up a little different than others because of the room’s dimensions. It took maybe four hours… plus or minus five hours.

St. Ed: What do you wish that your room had?

Juniors: We wish the Hall room had more electrical outlets. Apparently, for some reason, they didn't think about electrical outlets when they built St. Ed's. What were they thinking?

St. Ed: What do you like most about your campus home, Steds? 

Juniors: It’s hard to pinpoint the thing we like most because there are so many. Yet, if we had to choose, it would be the tradition of our Hall. Everyone understands that Steds is a special place from the moment they enter as a freshman, and our annual events—from Founder’s Week to the Yacht Dance—carries on that tradition into the next century.

Well, there you have it folks… thoughts from room 417.