By Heather Van Hoegarden

Ever wonder about life at another school? Well, wonder no more. SI on Campus.com has enlisted students at campuses across the country to give us a taste of life at their schools. This week, Heather Van Hoegarden checks in from Notre Dame.

Heather (left, in black shirt) and her friends unwind at Club Fever. Photo courtesy of Heather Van Hoegarden

For most seniors at Notre Dame, the weekend starts on Thursday at Club Fever, a new bar in downtown South Bend. Thursday at the Fever is Student Night, making it a popular and cheap option. With plenty of room and a big dance floor, it is the closest thing that South Bend has to a dance club.

Friday

On Friday, a group of us went to the Notre Dame-Marquette men's basketball game at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. We took two cars so everyone could attend their classes. We finally arrived around 5:30 p.m. after traffic and a snow storm turned the ride into a four-hour affair. Two of the four friends I went with have siblings at Marquette, so we were able to stay with them on Friday night. Before the game, we went to The Corner on Water Street. It was $5 for all you can drink, which we thought was a pretty good deal.

As you can see in the photo below, our seats were very high up. To the left is the Marquette student section. The announced attendance of 18,874 was the largest crowd ever for a college basketball game in the state of Wisconsin, and the game was a good one, although the Irish lost 67-65 on a Steve Novak buzzer- beater. The Bradley Center was a great place to watch a game.

There were a decent amount of Notre Dame fans on hand. Notre Dame students love traveling to see their teams play. Many, especially seniors, went to the Fiesta Bowl in January. All football season, there were students at every game, including Pittsburgh, Purdue, Michigan ... even Stanford.

Not the greatest seats in the world, but where did you expect Marquette to put the Notre Dame students? Photo by Heather Van Hoegarden

Road trips are a popular activity. In 2003, students flocked to Indianapolis to see the men's basketball team play in the Sweet 16. Much of our social calendar revolves around Notre Dame sports.

After the game, we went back to The Corner., which was filled with a lot of Marquette students. For the most part, we were left alone. When we were taunted for being Fighting Irish fans, my friend answered back by asking: "How's your football team?" That shut them up pretty quickly. After hanging out at The Corner for a little while, we went back to where we were staying on campus.

Saturday

Despite being in enemy territory, Heather and her friends were generally treated well during their evening at Marquette. Photo by Heather Van Hoegarden

We drove back from Marquette after lunch on Saturday. Without traffic or snow, we made it to South Bend in about three hours. At around 5:30, we headed to Rolfs, the campus rec center, to play a little basketball. There were about 50 people playing pickup on all three courts, a popular thing to do in the afternoons and early evenings. Fighting Irish students love playing sports as much as watching them.

That evening, we went to the Linebacker Lounge. The "Backer," as it is affectionately known, is one of the most popular and famous Notre Dame bars.

One of the perks of being 21 and living in South Bend is being able to go to The Linebacker Lounge. Photo by Heather Van Hoegarden

The Linebacker is a hotspot on Friday and Saturday nights loaded with everyone from seniors to grad students to residents of South Bend. On football weekends it is packed, with tents setup outside to help handle the crowds. The Linebacker is located just off campus, within walking distance of Turtle Creek and other apartment complexes. It is filled with sports memorabilia, plenty of it related to Notre Dame, obviously, and TVs. The 'Backer is probably one of the best parts about turning 21 at Notre Dame.

It's worth noting that a lot of kids also hang out in the dorms on the weekends. There are house parties, etc. This was just a typical weekend for a bunch of seniors who live off campus.