Larry Forness Letter After Nov. 8 Loss to Boston College

Gentlemen:

I have already read several of your emails tonight regarding the sickening performance of our team against B.C.

 
Like some of you said, I personally am not going to watch to, or listen to, another game until Weis is fired. Thank God I have season hockey tickets.
 
Weis's arrogance is only exceeded by the silence of the University leaders. I have written two letters and followed with a phone call and an email to Fr. Jenkins. Not one damn thing has been responded to, which should not surprise me.
 
In 1987, I wanted to establish a scholarship, through a trust, for the son or daughter of an ND grad who had died or would die in the future in the defense of this country. I didn't want some snot-nosed little pinko bastard to get the scholarship, so I required the recipient to sign a loyalty oath. I think the section I last talked to at ND was the Office of Deferred Giving, or something like that, and was flat told that I could not demand such a requirement. I was told, and I quote, “We'd love to have your money, but you can't tell us what to do with it.” Welllll fuck you!!!! Obviously, I never instituted the scholarship.
 
Almost a year and a half ago, Ironman Kent Durso comes back to campus for his '67 class reunion. I invite him over to my house. He say there are some dumbbells in the Rock' that used to be in Fr. Lange's Gym, and he'd like to see them taken out of there and some of us Lead Heads who lifted at Fr. Lange's get them. IT TOOK OVER 6 MONTHS of bullshit for me to just get a commitment from the idiots who run the Rock' to set a time/day for me to pick up the six dumbbells, and this is AFTER Durso had spent a comparable amount of time in frustration just getting anybody to say I could pick them up.
 
This past spring, another Lead Head, Dr. Paul Gill. M.D., told me that in the ground floor of the Admin Bldg. there are all kinds of pictures on the walls of supposed important men in ND history, but not one of Fr. Lange. At Paul's urging I wrote Fr. Jenkins simply asking why there was no pic' of Fr. Lange there, and who did I need to talk to, to rectify the situation. Two letters later, I STILL have had NO REPLY. Shittttttt!!!
 
At our '68 reunion, a bunch of us are coming out of the North Dining Hall, where we had the class dinner. One of my classmates was apparently having some ortho problems, and commented that he wished the University would supply us old dogs who needed them with a golf cart to get around. A campus security guy overheard it and said, “Sorry, we only have six golf carts for the whole university, and you don't rate one.” And fuck you very much, too.
 
I spend a fair amount of time going on campus for a variety of reasons. You ever seen the visitor's parking lots? Geezus, there's one postage stamp one at the far northeast end of the lot to the east of the library, and another one (which you have to PAY to use) has been moved from just off ND avenue way over to the southeast of Legends. Don't tell me about parking by the Eck Alumni Center. It's temp. It was put there deliberately, next to the Bookstore to make it easy for us to go there and spend ridiculous bucks on junk.
 
And, we get hit up every two weeks for more money from ND. I just got back from campus earlier today. I drove down ND avenue towards the Morris Inn. Most of the leaves are off the trees. The right (east)side of ND Avenue looks like a concrete canyon. Our once-beautiful campus is fast disappearing. Notice all the dorms (and the ones still planned). Know why so many? To get every damn student ALREADY ON CAMPUS their own room, but NOT a single new room brings one more student from off campus into a dorm. You ever been in a dorm room lately. I have. I was over in my old frosh dorm–Stanford. I couldn't believe it!!! Queen-sized beds, refrigerators, water coolers, clothes lockers, dressers, entertainment centers, televisions,  etc., all the stuff that is absolutely necessary to get a good education. Bullshit.
 
We used to have a real nice restaurant/meeting place, called the University Club on campus where alumni and faculty could go. That was torn down last year to make way for a new engineering building, and never opened anyplace else.
 
You know we got FIVE different locations on campus that have exercise equipment. Know how many the alumni get to use? NOT A DAMN ONE. I get repeated instances of where the University is telling alumni, to sit down, shut up, don't bother us, stay away, but keep sending your money.
 
Did you see the initial plans for the re-do of the JACC. FIRST PRIORITY is a new entrance and more shops to sell overpriced shit. Just what we really need. Our hockey team was LAST priority, until some super, anonymous donor pledged several million bucks on the proviso that a new rink be built at the end of this season.
 
Look, Weis should be fired, and don't let anybody tell you that contract is binding. If a college dean, head of security, whatever did, say have ONE instance of, say sexual harassment or racial/sex discrimination, the University would jump through it's won ass getting that person fired — immediately. I see the same thing in this regard as to football. Weis can go out an embarrass us year after year, but he stays. Anybody else embarrasses the University, and they go. What freaking hypocrisy.
 
Bottom line: The University leaders care NOT for you, but for your MONEY. Might I suggest you write Fr. Jenkins and tell him to get rid of Weis NOW, or he can kiss our money goodbye.
 
Last: Best potential coaches (and two of three are currently available, and I have NO idea if they'd even talk to ND) would be John Gruden, Jimmy Johnson, and Bill Cowher. I agree we need a new head coach that would come in, grab every player by the face guard,  lay down the law, start having practices where the blood flows, and make opposing coaches wish they'd never scheduled us. I have been in three wars. Appeasement doesn't work. PC doesn't work. The hammer does.
 
Thank you for your time, gentlemen.
 
Regards,
 
 

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