A Tale of Two Rallies

A far, far better thing they used to do

In 1924, thousands of members of the Ku Klux Klan, which was immensely powerful in Indiana at the time marched in South Bend, the home of the University of Notre Dame.  School leaders urged students to stay on campus, but the students did not listen.  They rallied in the streets, stealing robes and hoods from Klan members. In the three days of mayhem that followed, the students scored a victory for dignity, honor and our shared humanity. 

Nearly one-hundred years later, in 2023, approximately twenty Neo-Nazi demonstrators marched through the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s campus.  Some students warned each other to stay away.  After the fact, the chancellor offered a carefully worded condemnation.

The difference between these two rallies is striking.  When you teach people that words are violence, the people who believe that find themselves ill-equipped to deal with those who use violence as violence and know words are words.  The students of Notre Dame knew the difference, unflinchingly confronted evil, and lived up to their ideals.  Would that we all could do as much. 

Timothy Cordes

University of Notre Dame 1998

University of Wisconsin-Madison 2004, 2007