#78: Feeling Strongly About New Jersey

 One of the best things about Notre Dame is the school’s unique ability to draw students from a variety of regions and states around the country.  As a well-known national university, students don’t just come from nearby Chicago (despite #47), but from places as far away as California, Texas, and Florida.  None of these home states, however, is as infamous amongst students as the Garden State of New Jersey.

As a group within the student body, those from New Jersey are proud of where they hail from and the reputation that comes with it.  They’re dedicated fans of The Boss and The Sopranos and proudly cheer for either of the two NFL teams that call their state home.  They have trouble pumping their own gasoline, but easily distinguish themselves by their exit on the New Jersey turnpike.  Students from New Jersey are proud of all these things.

To a certain extent, the pride and loyalty that New Jerseyans have for their state stems from the negative impression and reputation that is perpetuated by students from other states.  These students have their own strong opinions about the state, and convey these opinions by touting stereotypes that everybody has heard and pointing out when their friends from New Jersey meet these stereotypes from time to time (or all the time). 

Because of this process, students from New Jersey will embrace the good things about their state, and the successes that have come from their state, while those from the rest of the country will only use this to focus their jokes and criticism. 

These feelings about New Jersey were exemplified last fall when students embraced MTV’s Jersey Shore as a way to not only quench their thirst for high-quality non-scripted television, but to also bond over their strong feelings about the state and the stereotypes that are associated with it.

For those not from the New Jersey, the show helped to reinforce their perceptions of the state, and give them more fodder for jokes.  Meanwhile, those from New Jersey were actually proud of the show and hail the characters as heroes of their state (ironically despite the fact that only one member of the show’s cast is actually from the state of New Jersey).  One way or another, Notre Dame Students liked the show because of their strong feelings about the state; and while Notre Dame Students come from a lot of places, New Jersey is the only one that creates feelings this strong and divisive.

#69: Love, Actually

Notre Dame Students love Christmas movies.  They love Elf for its contemporary nuttiness, oftentimes repeating quotes such as, “Bye Buddy, hope you find your Dad,” when somebody leaves a party or small circle (see #24).  They love It’s a Wonderful Life for its classic story and timeless Frank Capra themes, and they love Home Alone for its childhood memories of high jinks (as well as tiring debates about how many times Marv and Harry should have died over the course of the film).  While many people of different ages around the country love each of these movies (as well others) there is one movie that Notre Dame Students love so much more than it is typically loved.

That movie is the ‘Ultimate Romantic Comedy’: Love, Actually. 

Notre Dame Students love Love, Actually because it is a movie that brings together the joy of the Christmas season with the satisfaction of a good romantic comedy.  Not only do they love Christmastime (see #66), but Notre Dame Students also love romantic comedies because they love to love.  Notre Dame Students love their families, they love their roommates, they love their friends, they love their girlfriends/boyfriends, and they love their school; so it makes sense that they would love a movie that is ostensibly about love.

Love, Actually is that movie. 

What Notre Dame Students love about the film is the fact that everybody can relate to a different story in it (except the one with the guy who’s in love with his best friend’s wife; that’s just sleazy).  Some students love Sarah’s (Laura Linney) storyline because it shows a person that needs and loves her family over anything else.  Others love Jaime’s (Colin Firth) storyline because it shows how love can triumph over immense barriers like language.  Still others count Karen’s (Emma Thompson) and Harry’s (Alan Rickman) story as their favorite because it depicts a love for children.

While everybody loves Sam’s story (mainly because it ends with a rousing rendition of All I Want For Christmas Is You (see #39)), and few dislike the hilarious antics of Billy Mack (Bill Nighy); one of the more beloved storylines in Love, Actually is the story of the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant).  While the details of this tale are satisfactory, the climax of the story is when he gives the speech touting everything that is great about Britain.  Not only is this a great speech in the vein of Rockne and Holtz (see #15), but it also plays to the Anglophile sensibilities of most Notre Dame Students.

Overall, the storylines of Love, Actually make it a film that Notre Dame Students feel comfortable watching with their parents, with a group of friends in the dorm, with members of the opposite sex that they are just platonically friends with, and with members of the opposite sex that they are attempting to ‘Notre Dame Hook-Up’ with right before parietals (see #21 and #63).  Because of this, it has become an unlikely classic amongst Notre Dame Students and a film that they continue to treasure and love (of course) every holiday season.

#66: Christmastime

Like most good Catholics (or Protestants, or uncomfortably jealous Jews for that matter), Notre Dame Students love Christmastime.  They love this period between Thanksgiving and the end of finals when they get to celebrate the holiday season on campus with all of their friends, and they love all of the festivities that come with it.

Immediately upon returning from Thanksgiving break, Notre Dame Students will begin the process of transforming their dorm rooms or off-campus homes into their own private winter wonderlands.  Students will put up stockings and ornaments, and they will hang Christmas lights everywhere they can possibly hang them.  These lights will remain hanging in their rooms for the entire second semester.

The decorations that won’t remain into the New Year are those that students organize for the outside of their dorms.  While years ago these lights and decorations were simple and elegant, the competitive nature of Notre Dame Students has brought dorm decorations to new levels of excess while wasting away all the credibility of the University’s attempts to ‘go green’ (although, they do look pretty sweet).

During Christmastime, Notre Dame Students feast on the best dining hall meal of the year (the Prime Rib Candlelight dinner) and they oftentimes break out into Christmas carols on a whim.  They exchange gifts with their closest friends and watch Christmas movies as a respite from exam preparation.  They will watch Home Alone, Elf, Bad Santa, The Santa Clause, It’s A Wonderful Life, and Love, Actually (more on that later).

Students will then throw more Christmas parties than any rational person could anticipate.  Those living in the dorms will be booked with multiple SYRs on the lone weekend between Thanksgiving and study days, with certain dorms lucky enough to host their SYR around the Christmas tree under the dome.  These SYRs will undoubtedly feature hundreds of Notre Dame Men wearing the timeless combination of a suit and a Santa hat. 

Meanwhile, off-campus students will throw ‘ugly-sweater parties’ like it is their job.  Because every student has a desire to plan his or her own party (see #25), their social calendars will be booked with such events on every Thursday-Saturday for three weeks straight.  With egg nog, ugly sweaters, and the perfect Christmas playlist that will prominently feature Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas is You (see #39) and Do They Know It’s Christmas?(see #51) these parties will happen over and over again until everybody goes home for Christmas break.

#39: Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You

Christmas is a magical time of year at Notre Dame. In the period between Thanksgiving and the end of finals, Notre Dame Students have many Christmas dances and parties that they attend (see #25). At each of these events they will play countless holiday themed classics ranging from Bing Crosby to Britney Spears, and they will undoubtedly turn to All I Want for Christmas is You many, many times throughout the season.

Each time they play this song, Notre Dame Students will be sure to pull a Sam from Love, Actually (see a number to be written later) and point towards one of their peers during the chorus. During this section, Notre Dame Students will use extreme caution to make sure that things do not become awkward with the person they point towards.

If they have already achieved the victory of a long term relationship then this issue is a moot point, but if not then problems arise. Most females overcome this problem by pointing at one of their girls, while most males overcome the issue by pointing out into thin air. However, sometimes Notre Dame Men try to use this as an opportunity to make the first move towards what could result in a long term relationship. Typically, this ends in failure (or possibly a dance floor makeout).

Notre Dame Students love this song so much, that they play it year-round. Would any Notre Dame Student be surprised if the song was played at Finnegan’s in September? No; in fact this is expected. Likewise, no student would hesitate to put the song on at a party in April. Notre Dame Students love this song, and it has become an essential part of the Notre Dame Playlist.

#36: Saying that SDH Inspired the Harry Potter Movies

With today’s premiere of Harry Potter and the something or other, it is not only necessary but pertinent to discuss the love that Notre Dame Students have for all things Harry Potter. It’s not surprising that Notre Dame Students love a children’s book such as Harry Potter. While some students have organized Harry Potter activities, one Notre Dame Student apparently made lots of cash by developing a Harry Potter themed website*.

Notre Dame Students love Harry Potter so much that they incessantly claim that South Dining Hall inspired the Great Hall of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter film series. While this claim does have some valid points (such as both dining halls containing high ceilings, long tables, and chairs), Notre Dame Students repeat it far too much for their own good.

These students will tell anybody who will listen that their dining hall inspired Hogwarts. They tell their parents, they tell prospective students, and they tell anybody willing to go on a tour of campus that SDH inspired Hogwarts. However, this legend is completely false as it is well documented that Christ Church College at Oxford served as inspiration for the sets of Harry Potter.

Regardless, many Notre Dame Students will continue to believe that South Dining Hall inspired the Harry Potter series. These same students will continue to play mock games of Quidditch and they will continue to love this series of books and films.

*Apparently there is more money in a Harry Potter website than in a Notre Dame a website, but who’s complaining.

#30: Rudy

Duh.