Where have I heard this before? College kid has some harmless fun, ND's ResLife finds out, he gets suspended for a semester, and away he goes.
Such was the case with Will Yeatman, when he was unreasonably given a red card when caught with booze, and such is the case with Joseph Fauria. The rumor mill is saying that Fauria was caught streaking, though I haven't been able to confirm that at this point. If that is the case, then ResLife whiffed again.
This speaks to two issues. The first is how unreasonable the Office of Residential Life is at Notre Dame. I'll let Fauria explain how unreasonable himself, since he did a pretty damn good job of it:
"The people who are close to me know what it is, and they couldn't believe this is happening. I'm a good guy, a fun-loving guy. I have a 3.0 GPA. My team won Bookstore Basketball. I had moved up to No. 2 tight end. I was on Cloud 9. And then it all came apart. They punished me without knowing who I am. And then when they said, 'No appeal.' Wow, even murderers get to appeal."So Fauria is banned from campus until after Christmas, not that it makes a difference since we just lost our backup tight end to a Pac 10 school (most likely UCLA). We lose a kid that loved the University, who dreamed of playing for the Irish growing up, and who had tears of happiness when he committed to ND. The kid freakin' loved the school as much, if not more, than the most die-hard fans, and ResLife kicked him out.
The second issue this brings up relates to recruiting. Notre Dame is given plenty of negatives by other coaches in recruiting high school players. Most of the time these accusations are false or stretched greatly. In one instance they are not. There are some great things related to the lifestyle on campus at Notre Dame, but they are very different than the entertainment options for recruits at schools like Florida, Texas, and Southern Cal. The more mature fan sees what ND has to offer and falls in love with it, while the 17 year old kid sees the party/celebrity lifestyle at these other schools and can't turn away. So you have the option of being one of the pack at ND, where the communal atmosphere is where you get your kicks, or you get to be a borderline celebrity at a huge school. Remember, the kids are 17... what would you have chosen?
ResLife is only making this issue worse. Recruits will hear the stories of Yeatman and Fauria from opposing coaches and simply turn away. Yeatman was caught drinking and kicked off campus? I wouldn't go to a school with that strict of an alcohol policy. Fauria was caught streaking and kicked off campus? UCLA has an undie run that's basically school wide and basically school sponsored. Which sounds like the better situation to you?
I have to say that I admire the way Fauria handled this all on his way out. You could tell they took him out of school kicking and screaming, like a cat with it's claws dug into the ground. He still holds a love for Notre Dame, was very complimentary of his coaches and fellow players, and was genuinely sad with regards to having to leave.
And he didn't pass up the opportunity to take shots at ResLife, which is certainly his right, and I applaud him for it. Here's what he told Irish Illustrated's Pete Sampson:
"They don't take character into account. It's the letter of the law, but not the spirit of the law. It's a Catholic environment, but there's no Catholic spirit in the process, no spirit of Notre Dame. It's all just trying to knock somebody down. It's terrible... If anyone knows me, they know I'm not some malicious person, not some predator. I'm a fun-loving guy. (Residence Life) didn't see that."Bravo to Joseph Fauria. I wish him the best of luck and hope he sees great success on the football field and in life. We should want to have more people like him at Notre Dame instead of getting rid of those who love the school.
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19 comments:
The situation involving Joseph Fauria will haunt the ND Football program for a long time. TDS is absolutely correct in stating that opposing coaches will use the Yeatman and Fauria situations to influence why a 17 or 18 year old high school athlete shouldn't consider Notre Dame.
It is time for the university to take a careful look at itself. To not even permit an appeal flies in the face of basic rights that should be accorded students at Notre Dame.
Pathetic!
I don't have a problem with the general implications of this blog, but it may be important to be more accurate about Yeatman. I don't remember the precise details, but before the incident of him being "caught drinking and kicked off campus," wasn't he caught drunk driving along the sidewalks of campus? However we might ultimately judge the case, this goes a bit further than standard college fun-loving.
When I was at ND they had the "Dillon Run" where guys from Dillon would run through the girl's dorms in underwear or less - Don't think any of them got booted from campus - at that age, everyone thinks this is hilarious, harmless fun...Too bad the administration has gotten so uptight! What a ridiculous reason to lose a good student athelete.
What would Jesus do?
as a streaker from the 1970's when EVERY campus had mass streaking events.....this is nuts! Why not just make him live off campus but stay enrolled??? People ND is trying to run a multi million dollar sports business here. we CANNOT lose our best assets thru idiotic admin decisions. he is a college kid--NOT a criminal.
I highly doubt it was streaking considering the fact that just this past semester Zahm held their bun run and they all ran naked covering only their faces through the student center three times. None of them were suspended.
Notre Dame Football is over. This Fauria thing is insane. The Catholic Church's treatment of Clergy child sex abuse victims was less severe. Trust me - the minute NBC pulls the TV football contract the blackrobes will be fine with football players streaking on campus. The dollars - it's always about the dollars (Casino). I was going to Mass tomorrow - now I'll sleep in. Dona Nobis Pacem. Greenman
JOSEPH FAURIA,
I hope will read this. The Lou Holtz book "Wins, Losses and Lessons" has some great inspirational passages. One of them being that life is not fair and most times out of your control. What you do when dealt an unfair hand is in your control. If you overcome it, it may help you and others later in life. No one would be mad at you for leaving including me. What better way can you get back at ResLife then to come back after the fall semester and ultimately have an impact by maybe changing things.
THE TEAM NEEDS YOU, YOUR COACHES NEED YOU, WE NEED YOU,
PLEASE come back.
It wasn't streaking and the problem was he was punished for one incident, then committed another. Both were stupid and on their own wouldn't have resulted in the semester suspension, though the second was about as disrespectful as anything one could do at Notre Dame.
I just love those of you who have all the answers. Did he not break the rules? What about all the kids who always follow the rules. Quit making excuses for "the kid".Do you recall the Browner and Fry incident? They were suspended but they had the "guts" to return and face the scrutiny they would be under. Yeatman, also came back to face the scrutiny, but unfortunately he was unable to control his problem. If this young man really wanted to be a "Domer" he could have returned.
I love the comment about the Clergy sex offenders. Why? Because it is TRUE! We have a former one who is pastor of our church. He was humbled, and asked for forgiveness and was given a promotion by the bishop. We "love" this guy and have also forgiven him. He was found to have much to contribute to our community. Should ResLife have done that for Fauria because he has much to offer his "community"? I think so. By the way, Fauria was not a child molester.
I had the first response post, and I just finished reading the others which have appeared. Many excellent thoughts have been offered.
We do not know what happened, but it is difficult for me to understand why the ORL banned Fauria from campus until after Christmas. That is the part I do not understand.
Suspending him from the football team for the semester would have been one thing, but from continuing his academic pursuits was quite another. Placing him on probation might also have been an outcome for his behavior...whatever that was.
What would Joseph had done if that had been the course of action taken by Notre Dame? I guess we will never know.
I agree...Joseph, if you read these responses, for the most partthere is a common thread. We urge you to come back the university you appreciate so much.
Will got busted twice. The first time he parked his car on the sidewalk on campus. I'm not trying to defend ND's actions against the players at all, esp. against Conrad. It makes ND look too strict and I can say that if I was 17-18 yes old I would have some serious reservations about choosing a school that punishes kids for being kids.
Fauria came up behind a male tutor and simulated sex. That was his first offense. He was punished, and it fit the crime.
The problem was he continued and committed a second infraction, this one a minor sexual act against a university official.
Thus, the suspension.
There was no streaking. Just stupidity on the part of Fauria. There is nobody else to blame.
There was a statement about "What about those kids who always follow the rules". Those kids that "always follow the rules" will be fine. They'll most likely be working for those kids who break the rules some time. Conformists aren't the ones who advance society. Granted, conformists are necessary for a functioning society, but a society comprised entirely of conformists will eventually collapse. There has to be some sort of discipline short of booting kids out for minor offenses. When I was at ND, there was a lot more leeway for acting up- and a word to the wise usually kept things under control without draconian punishment.
The comment from June 28th at 12:57 is correct. Joe simulated an inappropriate action with a male rector, and later accosted a member of the faculty in an elevator, within a week. This was nothing to do with streaking.
Thank you Res Life. There will be something extra in your stocking this year.
Good luck against SC.
Rick N.
I am very close to Joe. And i know the whole story. The first offense, he invaded a tutor's personal space but didn't touch him. The second he slapped his rector on the bottom. A rector who he thought he had a good relationship with. Suspended for a semester for that?! C'mon guys! Notre Dame needs to change some things! Wish you were still at ND Big Joe! You're gunna kill it at UCLA
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