You may have noticed new chain-link fencing go up around the Notre Dame campus this week as the 11th-ranked Fighting Irish football team prepares to host top-ranked Miami on Saturday.
Workers were seen putting the fencing up Monday. It came nearly two months after a violent night off campus Sept. 19, the night of the Michigan State game, with two shootings, one of them happening at Eddy Street Commons.
At a press conference this week, a reporter asked Mike Seamon, Notre Dame’s vice president of university operations, events and safety, about the fencing. Seamon didn’t mention the shootings.
“On that south part of campus, given that we have our sculpture park near the Raclin Murphy Museum and our Irish Green festivities, given the high volume of pedestrian traffic we’ll be inundated with on Friday and Saturday, we’re directing everyone to the roadways,” Seamon said.
Seamon said the university thinks keeping pedestrians walking on sidewalks along streets will be safer, while noting the fencing likely will stay up the rest of the season.
He said the university expects up to 150,000 visitors.
“So our recommendations, as always, is plan ahead, plan on arriving early, and just expect a very crowded campus," Seamon said. "But again, we’ve been working on this for months, we’re looking forward to it. This is a great day for Notre Dame, it will be a great day for our local and regional community.”
