Typically at this time of year, thousands of families flock to South Bend to watch their loved ones graduate from Notre Dame. But like at every academic institution, 2020 commencement was a virtual affair. And it wasn’t only the graduates who were robbed of something. Hotels, restaurants and other businesses in and around South Bend didn’t see the money they usually would.
The South Bend Tribune published a story that mentions the local revenue taken in during graduation weekend is the equivalent to what comes in during a home football weekend. With Notre Dame officials expecting games to be played this fall but with limited attendance and tailgating, a further, more sustained blow to the community is expected. The estimated 7,700 local hospitality workers already are facing significant losses thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak. Nothing close to the normal sellout crowds that fill Notre Dame Stadium will make it all the more devastating.
If you live in the South Bend area, please do whatever you possibly can to support the local businesses that have been severely hampered the past two months and surely will be for the foreseeable future. With unemployment higher than during the Great Depression, this is the time to help people keep their jobs. We don’t want this to community to be a shell of what it’s been when this pandemic is over.
