Anniversaries,...

It's been four years of fun!

... several anniversaries, are being celebrated today. First, today marks the 4th anniversary of the creation of Notre Dame's most insightful, preferred, and cherish residence hall blog- "The Gentlemen's Monthly!" Like the gospel light that must be put on a lamplight to give light to all so too with this blog... it must be put on the internets and shared with all who love Notre Dame's oldest and most storied residence hall- St. Edward's Hall. On the Gentlemen's Monthly, Fred Schoenhut, Steds dad and true friend of St. Edward's, said, "It's a monthly so good, you get it daily!" Indeed you do Fred... indeed you do!

Still yet, it is the anniversary of a dear friend of St. Edward's. Today marks the 6th birthday of the former St. Ed's Hall's pet dog, "Edwina."  Though her time at St.Ed's was brief, too brief, Edwina has gone on to a truly pampered life in the country.  When asked about life in the country with her own pool, Edwina was heard saying, "Ruff, ....ruff ruff."  Whatever that was... indeed, Edwina, indeed it is!

Happy Birthday Edwina!

Everyday is my day, but especially today!

Today is the Feast Day of St. Edward the Confessor, King of England and patron saint of the Founder... Fr. Edward Sorin, CSC. Since its inception, the University has celebrated  this day as "Founder's Day." Back in the day, students had the day off from classes, "iced cream" was served, games were played, and St. Edward's residents sent "congratulatory" cards to Fr. Sorin. Matter of fact, one lucky resident was selected to recite a poem, especially penned for this auspicious day, to Fr. Sorin himself! On this special day, Fr. Ralph, Rector of St. Edward's Hall, said, "We CONTINUE not to get the day off as they did in the past, but nevertheless, I encourage every man of St. Edward’s to take it off! Well, do this AFTER your last class today.”

Also to note...

Despite occurring last during Founder’s Week, but in keeping with tradition, the Order of Gentlemen recipient is announced this day. Today, Brandon Ruggles '17 is the 2017-2018 inductee into the Order of Gentlemen, an award given for service to Hall and King.

Congratulations Brandon!

Tour de Steds.

Gambardella, Susco, Andrade, and Isakson chilling

Our Tour de St. Edward- a weekly tour of resident rooms, study lounges and popular hangouts in Notre Dame’s favorite residence hall- continues. Our today’s tour stops by room 406, a freshmen quad for Josh Gambardella, Chris Susco, J.P. Andrade, and Nick Isakson. Here's what they had to say about Steds living...

St. Ed: What did you think when you received your housing assignment placing you in St.Ed’s?

Susco: The first thought that came to my head was an excessive amount of testosterone. I had never had an experience with a roommate, much less three of them. I immediately thought of a crowded room with two sets of bunk beds and the four of us squeezing by each other every time we wanted to leave the room. I honestly thought that all of my roommates were foreign exchange students because they all had some pretty exotic last names that I could barely pronounce. I was not looking forward to a year of hand gestures and speaking in a loud voice all the time. However, it turned out all good in the end because now we only have to use the hand gestures.

            Now Steds was a completely different train of thought. I asked two of my cousins, both of whom had graduated from Notre Dame, how St. Eds was and if I had to start thinking about transferring dorms after the first year. One had lived in Keough and the other had lived in Morrissey, but they both had no idea how Steds operated. I was intrigued because my cousins know a heck of a lot about Notre Dame so I assumed that Steds was the black ops sector of Notre Dame residence halls. So, I had to go in Welcome Weekend with a blank slate with no insight to what I was getting into. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that Steds was more about traditional ops instead of black ops.

 St. Ed: How’s “loft living”?

Isakson: At first, loft living seemed like it would be a pain.  You have to climb all the way up to the bunk to sleep every night, you can’t fully sit up in bed due to the ceiling, and trying to get air conditioning up that high can be difficult.  However, it actually has not been that bad. The close proximity of the bunks lets us all hold hands while we sleep. The lofts also allow for more space to do whatever we want below them. There’s plenty of room for a couch and television which is really nice when you are really stressed and just want to lay down and watch TV.  I love coming back from classes to see my roommates cuddling on the couch watching the Bachelor or Dance Moms. The lofts are also great places if you want some privacy to study or if you are just trying to hide from roommates. Nobody will ever find you if you’re playing hide and seek and hiding in the loft!  As for the heat, we have adapted and gotten multiple fans up to the top bunks to keep us cool.  It makes it much easier to sleep and it isn’t even that difficult to get power up to the loft.  Loft living in Steds has definitely been good for our room because we have so much more space and it gives us a nice place to lay down and not be bothered.

St. Ed: Aside from your loft, what makes your room unique among the other rooms of St.Ed’s?

Andrade: Gambiarra - (n.) The Brazilian cultural practice of solving problems creatively in alternative ways, with low cost and lots of spontaneity, or giving unusual functions to everyday life objects; the use of improvised methods / solutions to solve a problem, with any available materials.

Other rooms in Steds may look cool with their fancy lights and stolen street signs, but only one of them has an expert Brazilian like myself to practice this fine art, for one does not simply create a gambiarra masterpiece on their first try. There are plenty of examples in 406 of gambiarra, some which have already fallen as anyone would have predicted them to. There will be new additions of gambiarra to the 406 scenery in the upcoming months, as we keep purchasing more and more things-that-we-have-no-space-for.

Yet the fact that we are the smallest quad isn’t all that bad. It is actually a way to bring us closer together, and allows for the fans to reach across the room. It also means there is less space to cover with Christmas lights.

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

  Susco: More light.
   Isakson: Air conditioning.
   Andrade: More space.
   Gambardella: A cardboard cutout of Jennifer Lopez

St. Ed: Say, the word in the hallway is that all of you want to transfer to another hall. Is that true?

Gambardella:  The only other halls I’d consider are Lewis and Cavanaugh. I mean I could definitely see JP in Walsh. For those who are less-informed, all three of these are female halls. But on a more serious note, I love it here in St. Edward’s Hall. The “Gentlemen” name certainly doesn’t get left at the doorstep. There truly is a mantra here of togetherness, community, manners, and respect. On top of that, nothing beats waking up at the crack of dawn on game days to go vandalize the reflecting pool (we call it floating. I’m sure Fralph will give you guys an article about that sooner or later. But Steds truly has it all. We have the best rector, the best traditions, and the best in-hall eatery. Nothing beats a chocolate milkshake from Ed’s. The Milkshake Mass at Dillon is actually an entire Sabbath Day dedicated to our milkshakes. It’s kind of humbling.

            One of the best, and certainly most underrated part of Steds is the lounge life. Our Sky Lounge is the site of some of the best conversations to be had. Sure, you won’t get any work done, but it sure is a heck of a time. I once tried to study in the Sky Lounge, huge mistake, and have since learned that it is a place to kick back and enjoy the brotherhood that embodies our Hall as a whole. Still, it was in our first floor lounge that we assembled before taking on our trip across enemy lines to visit the other school across the road. Loyal readers read about our trip to St. Mary’s. I had previously never had a conversation with a female before, so it was a big step for me. I owe it to Steds!

There you have it folks... room 406!

His fifteen minutes…

…of fame he has had. Yes, a Stedsman was on national tv, and maybe, just maybe, you saw him. Corey Gayheart, Steds junior and political science major, is not studying abroad but rather studying domestically in Washington D.C. this semester. Recently, Gayheart had the opportunity to be a part of CNN’s Town Hall with Nancy Pelosi. Held at CNN headquarters in D.C., the town hall covered a wide range of current topics. Going into the town hall, Gayheart knew that he might have an opportunity to ask a question, but he also knew there were no guarantees of it. Whether it was the stars being aligned or something more earthly like slipping someone a $20, Gayheart got to ask his question. What was his question? Here it is…

Gayheart’s question: My grandfather worked for the CIA, during the Cold War, and worked on military aircraft intelligence with the Air Force. I feel the sense of urgency and deep concern regarding the Russian interference in our election and or institutions that I am  sure he felt during the Cold War. I ask you, if my grandfather were here today, what would you do to reassure him that Russia will not get away with what they have done to destabilize and dis-unify our country?

On being CNN's Town Hall, Gayheart said, "I got to ask my question, AND they sent a car to get me!"

The set...

...Gayheart in a choice, front row seat...

...yes, the car that collected him for the town hall.

Founder's Week...

A sweet ending

...is truly over. Yes, following Mass and the distribution of the St. Edward's medal, there was a social in the first floor lounge. Amid the sharing of stories from Founder's Week- and the frustrations of Sunday Fantasy Football- various treats and cider were served. Indeed, it was a sweet ending to the sweetest of all weeks for the Gentlemen of St. Edward's. On the closing of Founder's Week, Fr. Ralph said, "It was magical week for all Gentlemen, and we shan't another like it until next Founder's Week. And I am okay with that... I think that we're all a bit tired." 

...many treats, but a cookie cake...

...makes it complete!

For love of the game!

North Quad has never seen so much fun

Three years ago, they said that it couldn't be done, but nevertheless, under the direction of the Trzaska Administration, the Shuttlecock Showdown continues! While the temps were agreeable, there was something Shuttlecock players never had to contend with in the history of the Showdown… a strong and driving wind from the south. Without any doubt, the wind was the rise and fall of many shuttlecocks as well as teams. Thankfully, there were no injuries, but there were a number of bruised egos. As expected, the competition was spirited and fierce, and the play was finessed, controlled, and, yes, even refined at times. In the end, there could be only one winner, and the championship game was reminiscent of David’s victory over Goliath… a complete surprise. Surprisingly, a team of upstart freshmen- Josh Gambardella and Dan O’Brien- took down a team of seasoned juniors- Chris Brady and Mark Miclean. Congratulations to our winners and those who participated!

Thoughts from losers and winners...

Albert Oh, junior and loser, said, "What can I say? I got cocky, and now, I have this green ribbon."

Jack Olmanson, freshman and third place winner, said, "It was an honor to be able to play our hearts out for the love of the game. I am counting down the days to the opportunity for redemption next year."

Peter Haley, freshman and fellow third place winner, added, "It felt good to take some hardware home, but overall we're not satisfied and we will use this as motivation for next year. I'm proud of our heart and effort out there, but it just didn't turn out the way we had hoped. We'll be using this as motivation for next year and the years to come."

Chris Brady, junior and second place winner, shared, "On a day like this, most teams battle the wind, but Mark Miclean and I used it to our advantage, securing the 2nd place finish we desired. As we all know. First is the worst, second is the best."

Mark Miclean, junior and fellow second place winner, commented, "Chris Brady and I were able to use the sun and strong wind to our advantage. We have to continue our legacy of excellence at the Shuttlecock Showdown that we set forth our freshman year."

Josh Gambardella, freshman and first place winner, remarked, “The gale force of winds were blowing at tornado speeds, managing to knock me over twice. We also discovered quickly that you can never underestimate the power of the Indiana sun in October. We battled hard and shuttlecocked even harder. In the end, nothing beats the feeling of Hall President, Joe Trzaska, bestowing upon us a ribbon for our victory.”

Dan O’Brien, freshman and fellow first place winner, said, "It really all boiled down to teamwork. As avid shuttlecocker Martha Stewart once said, 'practice like you've never won and play like you've never lost.' That's what we did and it worked out alright."

Fr. Ralph said, "Today, the Founder smiled upon us all... winners and losers... and even those like myself who didn't play at all!"

Time to play: President Trzaska gives the signal

Who goes first: Play a game of rock, paper, scissors 

Food

Schelble and Meadowcroft enjoying victory

Digenan and Davis enjoying the comforts of defeat from their chairs

Fr. Ralph consoling Oh in his loss 

The loser's ribbon

Olmanson and Haley taking third place

Miclean and Brady receiving second place

Proud winners: O'Brien and Gambardella

Your Sunday picture...

Looking better than ever...

...from Notre Dame. Here's a beautiful view of the south facade of the Hall. With a busy Founder's Week, jammed packed with tradition, fun, and gentlemanly diversions, we all need some rest this Sabbath day. Your enjoy Sunday wherever you may be!

Thus concludes yet another Founder's Week... and what a week it was! May the Founder continue to smile upon this hall and all who love it!