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After the August arrests of six Notre Dame football players, reactions on campus included shock, disappointment, resignation — and of course, a lack of surprise.

David Haugh, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune captured the most common refrain when he wrote in a column two years ago, “Can Notre Dame compete for a national title without compromising its integrity? It has been the age-old question since Lou Holtz left town in 1996.”

But Scholastic wanted to know, is that true? How many Irish fans’ complaints are valid, and how many are bluster? What are the facts surrounding athletic disciplinary issues? In our cover story, Juan Jose Rodriguez reports on what these issues really mean for the team, and breaks the news that a new team rule was implemented after the recent arrests. Hunter Kuffel asks how we stack up compared to other marquee football programs. And Kevin Culligan explores disciplinaryissues of years gone by.

It’s all part of our new mission: Add to the conversation. We want to delve deeper into the issues that are driving the conversation on campus, and introduce the ones that should. I hope our deeply reported cover story will guide your conversations on campus, and open your mind to bigger questions.

Keep talking; we’ll keep listening.

Cassidy McDonald