When a member wins an award, the entire dorm celebrates together. The other unique characteristic that drives the school's strong residential character is the rector system. From the very beginning, Holy Cross brothers and priests have lived with students and interacted with them in an effort to guide them on their passage to adulthood. That interaction is fairly intensive. Such attention, school officials say, is another reason many students see their hall as a home rather than simply a place to lay their head.
Students get the sense that they're in a place where they're cared about.
I think it helps students to become more engaged in their whole educational experience. If numbers are any indication, the students at Notre Dame by and large also favor the school's brand of residence life. Each year, the University's housing accommodations are at full capacity. That means the roughly 1,300 students who move off campus each year essentially have to leave in order to avoid a housing crunch. It's certainly on our radar screen as an issue, and one we want to address carefully, thoroughly and thoughtfully.