When Notre Dame upset top-ranked Clemson in South Bend last season, the students allowed into Notre Dame Stadium stormed the field. With COVID-19 doing the worst of its damage at the time, this action immediately drew criticism on social media, and Notre Dame’s president, the Rev. John Jenkins, wrote a letter to students about how “disappointing” it was to see this happen and called for widespread testing. Considering Jenkins was coming off his own positive COVID-19 test shortly after participating in a high-profile activity, many saw the letter as hypocritical. However, Jenkins sang a different tune as commencement wrapped up at the scene of the storming:
Fr. Jenkins at graduation: “I want to publicly say that rushing the field at that Clemson game was exactly the right thing to do.”
Agree with you on that one, chief
— Barstool Irish (@BarstoolIrish) May 23, 2021
It’s easier to say that now with the virus having less of a stranglehold on our lives than it did in the fall. Heck, the fact that commencement was able to be held in person this year shows how much progress has been made in the fight against this dreaded disease. If it helps the new alumni leave Notre Dame with a clean conscience, it’s all good. It’s a time to celebrate, so you might as well feed into that celebration.