Zahm Hall (University of Notre Dame)

Infobox_University
name = Zahm Hall


established = 1937
type = Residence Hall
rector = Corry Colonna
campus = North Quad
city = Notre Dame
state = Indiana
free_label = Undergraduate residents
free = 229
country = USA
colors = Red/Black
mascot = Ignats the Moose
motto = Come Get Some!
website = [http://www.nd.edu/~zahmhall/index.html Zahm Hall Website]

Zahm Hall is one of the 27 residence halls and one of the 14 male dorms on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. Zahm is situated between Cavanaugh Hall and its rival hall Keenan Hall on the North Quad, just east of the famous Golden Dome. Zahm houses 229 undergraduate residents in 107 rooms on four floors in addition to a basement.

Hall History

Built in 1937, Zahm Hall is home to 229 men who proudly refer to themselves as Zahmbies. Zahm is named for the Holy Cross priest, Father John Augustine Zahm, CSC, who graduated from Notre Dame in 1871. Zahm was one of the first residences at Notre Dame, and since it was erected at the northern end of campus, Zahm was the farthest hall from the center of campus and the majority of academic buildings. In the early days of the University, rooms were picked by students with the highest GPAs first, and Zahm's remote location made it a traditional last pick. For that reason, Zahm became home mostly to students with the lowest GPA's who, not so coincidentally, also maintained reputations as the more "social" students on campus. That, coupled with the Hall's distance from the school's rule-enforcing authorities, made Zahm an infamous locale for debauchery, a rarity at an otherwise austere university.

In the 1960s, the University dropped academic requirements for first housing picks, and students were henceforth assigned randomly to residence halls and houses before they arrived on campus their freshman year. Regardless, Zahm has maintained its reputation, perpetuating traditions in the forms of secret initiation rites and ceremonies that continue to this day.

Zahm is well known for its tight-knit community and "open-door" policy. Few halls have as much spirit or as deep a commitment to loyalty and brotherhood.

During the years of 1997-1999, Zahm Hall had the distinction of being the champion of the campus-wide broom-ball tournament for Late Night Olympics. This miraculous three-peat has yet to be topped by any other dorm. In 2008 Zahm's hockey team, Fear, capped an undefeated season with a championship win.

Zahm is also known for its longstanding tradition of community service. Residents used to volunteer with a program called There Are Children Here (TACH) that enables youth from troubled homes to escape from their domestic situations by going to a camp outside of town. All of the profits from Zahm's Foodsales (a pizza kitchen located in the basement) used to be donated to TACH. Unfortunately, in late 2006, due to time constraints with the program's director, TACH had to temporarily halt weekly activities, but still hosts children from nearby Chicago for weekend trips. In the school year of 2006-2007 Zahm began to give its Foodsales profits to the Hannah and Friends Foundation, founded by Notre Dame's football coach, Charlie Weis.

On March 27, 2007 the Notre Dame student senate finally passed the frequently proposed resolution to officially recoginze Zahm Hall as "Zahm House," a nickname that had been applied to the hall since 2003.

Ignats the Moose

Ignats the Moose is the official mascot of Zahm. In the 1970s, a few residents of Zahm Hall were on a trip in Canada when they came across a ski lodge that was in the process of closing down. Ignatus, the owner of the lodge willingly gave the men a mounted moose's head for free. The boys strapped the animal to the roof of their car and drove back to University of Notre Dame. The dorm immediately accepted its new mascot and it was named "Ignats" in honor of its former owner. Ignats was mounted in the Lounge of the dorm's basement and has hung there ever since, keeping watch over various dorm activities from hall government to dances. Although Zahm residents are referred to as "Zahmbies" and their football team is named The Rabid Bats, the moose is the official symbol of Zahm. Various likenesses of Ignats can be seen on dorm T-shirts as a man with a moose head, and in the dorm's unofficial seal as moose antlers.

Soon after the new mascot arrived, Ignats was soon brought to Notre Dame's Basketball games. A pattern developed when Ignats was brought to a game, the team would win. However, one game, one of the ushers refused to allow Ignats into the arena and the Irish lost the game that night. The basketball coach at the time, Richard "Digger" Phelps, found out about the incident, and made sure from then on that Ignats would be allowed in any basketball game. Today, Ignats is bolted to the basement wall of Zahm in order that Keenan Hall, Zahm's rival dorm, or any other dorm does not steal or vandalize the beloved mascot. It has become a tradition that whenever it is a girl's first time in Zahm's basement, she is obligated to stand on a chair and give Ignats a kiss.

Famous past residents of Zahm Hall

*Film & Television
**Phil Donahue - Talk show host
**Regis Philbin - famous television personality
**George Wendt - film & television actor

*Football
**Paul Hornung
**Johnny Lattner
**Joe Montana
**Brady Quinn
**Joe Theismann
**Courtney Watson

*Basketball
**Bill Laimbeer

*Business
**Matthew Szulik - CEO of Red Hat
**Steve Odland - CEO of Office Depot
**Edward J. DeBartolo - Businessman, and former owner of the San Francisco 49ers

References

"Zahm Hall Profile," University of Notre Dame. [http://orlh.nd.edu/halls/zahm/index.htm Zahm Hall Profile]

"Zahm Hall Website," University of Notre Dame. [http://www.nd.edu/~zahmhall/ Zahm Hall Website]