Tradition defines many aspects of life at Notre Dame. The dorms are key parts of these traditions and, over the years, the Manor has established a few of its own. These traditions represent a key part of Morrissey Manor's identity.
Christmas Formal
The Manor holds two dances each school year, one having a Christmas theme, and the other having a Spring theme. The legendary Christmas SYR was forced to adapt to various on-campus rule changes, but remains one of the Manor's most entertaining, spirited, and unifying events. The excitement for the dance builds all semester, as it is typically the first Morrissey-sponsered dance of the school year. Santa Claus personally delivers invitations and candy canes to all of the lucky ladies (living on-campus) who have been asked to the dance. The day-long festivities take place on the Saturday before the final week of classes each Fall and culminate in a dance that is attended by nearly every Manorite. This dance is one of the highlights of the year in the Manor and it garnered honors for being the Best Men's Hall Dance in 2005, 2006, and 2008.
Morrissey Fight Song
The story goes that “Fight On for Morrissey” was “created” just before the Interhall football semifinals against arch-rival Dillon in 1972 by Bill Murphy '74. In 1970, the Manor lost the Inter-Hall Football Championship to Dillon when the final game was tied and they were awarded the title based on amassing more first downs. In 1971, the Manor lost the title game to Dillon on a snow-covered Moose Krause Field in a tiebreaker format (ball on the 10, first team to score and stop the opponent from scoring). In 1972, the Manor needed an extra edge -- so a pep rally was held and a fight song created, using what Murphy thought was the tune to the second-greatest college fight song [USC]. It was huge and hundreds of people turned out to sing at the game as Morrissey beat Dillon in the semifinals and then beat Stanford in the Stadium for the title. The fight song was even more popular that winter as Manorites incessantly sang their way to the Interhall hockey title. The Morrissey Fight Song lives on today and is one of the first things that Freshmen Manorites learn.
The Breakfast Club
While this tradition shares its name with the Brat Pack 80's cult movie, the similarities end there. This tradition is very similar to the Polar Run in that it is a traditional run around campus in boxers. The difference? The Breakfast Club convenes at an ungodly hour of an undesignated home football game here at ND. The group of Manorites proceed to run around campus (in their boxers and “whitie-tighties”, of course) singing the Morrissey Fight Song as loud as they can in an attempt to wake up everyone in the other dorms. The Manor freshmen's first game day is always begun with this tradition, as the upperclassmen make sure to wake up all the young Manorites so they join in on this game day fun.
Morrissey Manor Madness Week
Morrissey Manor Madness week is a week dedicated to celebrating dorm spirit. Events typically include a competitive eating contest, the Gallon Challenge, a Poker Night, Morrissey Unplugged, and the Morrissey Manor Mattress Marathon. The Manor Madness Week occurs in the week leading up to our Fall signature event, the Manor Oktoberfest.
Manor Medallion Hunt
Each spring, the Manor Medallion Hunt sweeps the Notre Dame campus by storm. During a week long campus-wide search for a single three-inch medallion, daily riddles are printed in the Observer to help direct treasure hunters to the medallion. The lucky one who finds the medallion wins a prize of $250.
