A
black-robed Grand Inquisitor who interrogates "the summoned" from
atop a tennis umpire's chair.
A mute assistant who drinks what appears to be gasoline straight
from the can and gets his math advice from a brick.
Speakers compelled to swear an oath on the Notre Dame football
media guide -- held between their knees.
These are all elements of the Irish Inquisition, an often zany,
sometimes thought-provoking program that debuted on campus fall
semester.
Here's how the program is designed to work:
Through a website, students can summon faculty, administrators,
even coaches to periodic mock-medieval ceremonies (Inquisitions),
where the summoned will be asked to contribute their thoughts
on a predetermined discussion topic. (At the first one, the topic
was, "What are the first things you'd do if you were president
of the United States?") The speakers are led, handcuffed, into
a chamber (the Oak Room, above the South Dining Hall), seated
in a Chair of Truth (a ratty old recliner) and then given five
or so minutes to speak their minds in supine comfort.
After that a Tribunal of three students in monk's robes asks
questions and takes a playful vote on whether to award the speaker
a T-shirt reading "I was condemned as a heretic at the Irish Inquisition"
or one declaring, "I got off on a technicality at the Irish Inquisition."
The program's organizers say the idea is to bring students together
with faculty and other members of the campus community to share
ideas, opinions and fun outside the traditional lecture hall setting.
Student Government sponsored the program's launch but is looking
for co-sponsors to keep it going. Notre Dame Magazine
and Notre Dame Building Services chipped in to underwrite the
second show. The largest expense is free food and drink for the
post-adjudication reception, at which audience members can mingle
with the acquitted and condemned.
(January 2004)
