Letters

Notre Dame has chosen academics over football? The admissions director doesn't live to make coaches happy? Notre Dame sounds like heaven to me.
-Robert J. Bast, Knoxville, Tenn.

Dilemma under the Dome
I applaud Notre Dame for its strict academic standards (Irish Stew, May 1). I will be a freshman at Oklahoma State, but since I was 10 years old I had wanted to go to Notre Dame. If my 3.75 GPA, 31 ACT and 1330 SAT couldn't get me in, then why should some athlete with a 2.6, who can go almost anywhere in the country for free, complain about academic standards?
Eugene Moseley, Colby, Kans.

I hate Notre Dame. What I hate more is a bunch of dumb-as-doorknob jocks majoring in football for four years. Stick to your guns, Dan Saracino. I'd rather sleep at night than win a national title.
William H. Kennedy, Pinson, Ala.

Your article on the "demise" of Notre Dame's football program made me proud. I will sacrifice a few wins a year for the knowledge that the players can read and write.
John Oster, New Haven, Conn.

T.J. Duckett's father is quoted as saying that admissions director Saracino "made judgments about T.J. because T.J. wore a long leather jacket and jeans" to his interview. Earth to Mr. Duckett: Admissions directors at prestigious universities make judgments. T.J.'s decision to wear jeans to an interview speaks volumes about the mind-set of today's college and pro athletes: Pay me my respect, and to hell with your standards and values.
Bob Dee Jr., Potomac Falls, Va.

Notre Dame is now in U.S. News and World Report's top 20 academic institutions, it expects recruits to be able to spell their names in fewer than three tries, and Lou Holtz is gone. I'm sorry, what was the problem again?
Steve Needles, Newtown, Pa.

I've figured out why it's hard to like Notre Dame: When the Irish aren't telling you how good they are, they're making excuses for why they aren't as good as they say they are.
Stephen Davis, Natick, Mass.

The Dec. 17 NCAA announcement that disclosed violations involving the provision of extra benefits to student athletes did not include any suggestion of lack of institutional control on the part of Notre Dame. When NCAA Committee on Infractions chairman Jack Friedenthal was questioned on that issue, his response was "we didn't find any.... They were not charged with lack of institutional control."
John Heisler
Assistant Athletic Director
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Ind.

Northern Exposure
Thanks for the cover story on Vladimir Guerrero (Expo 2000, May 1). We should be thankful that he is humble as well as talented. The biggest misfortune is that Guerrero and Les Expos get virtually no exposure. It's intriguing to imagine what he could do surrounded by a strong cast of players on a high payroll team.
Colin Crowley, Newton, Mass.

Being an Expos fan, I hope that Guerrero's emergence as one of the best players in the National League will help to solidify the future of baseball in Montreal.
Stephen J. Naclerio, Hartsdale, N.Y.