About Us

Mascot, Motto, Coat of Arms, and Colors

Dunne Hall is the home of the Sentinels. Since our hall is located near the east gate into campus, a guardian or watchman is a fitting symbol to represent us. Our motto is Potentia Videre, Fortitudo Agere, which translates to "the Competence to See and the Courage to Act." The motto comes from the Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross. For us, it means that in Dunne Hall we grow in our ability to recognize injustice and understand life's challenges, and then we work to make the world a better place, supported by our brothers. As a watchman, a sentinel must keep vigil, alert for danger and ready to act when necessary to protect others.

Our coat of arms (shown above) includes references to our dorm and history. The top of the image has crenellations which allude to an architectural feature of our building and that the Dunne family of ancient Ireland were known to be castle builders. The Cross and Anchors in the upper left reflect our Holy Cross heritage from which we draw our motto. The lower left has five white stripes representing the five college roommates and lifelong friends for whom the gift for the dorm was given. The upper right has six white stripes for the six sections of the building. The helmet in the lower right resembles a Sentinel helmet. A "D" for our Dunne family benefactors sits in the middle.

Dunne's colors are Quad Green, Hesburgh Blue and Stonehenge Gray. They embody our identity and mission. Quad Green reflects our brotherhood forged as we enjoy sports, cookouts and music on the lawn in front of our hall. Hesburgh Blue calls to mind the blue waters of the reflecting pool outside of the Hesburgh Library and represents the wisdom and knowledge our residents gain as they study there, developing the "competence to see." In our short history, Dunne has already produced multiple valedictorians and boasts a strong alumni network across industries throughout the world. Lastly, Stonehenge Gray echoes the bravery and sacrifice of the men and women who are memorialized in the Clarke Memorial "Stonehenge" Fountain inspiring us to have the "courage to act."

Traditions

Although still a young dorm in Notre Dame history, Dunne has already grown to embody a host of student led traditions in addition to our signature events, which are described in the "Dorm Life" Tab. These traditions include Tuesday night Pizza Mass, Third Floor Core, Fourth Quarter Skins, a dorm-wide costume for a football game, the Grotto Gang, Winter Dunnederland, Sentinel Cinema, painting ourselves green for the Irish Wear Green football game (pictured above), and many more. Because we are a younger dorm, our traditions are still forming, so each successive class of students enjoys the opportunity to take part in our existing traditions while improving them in unique ways and starting new traditions to be carried into Dunne's future.

History

Dunne Hall opened in 2016 as one of the cofounding dorms of East Quad, alongside neighboring Flaherty Hall. Since then, Johnson Family Hall and Graham Family Hall have joined the quad community. Shortly after Dunne's opening, the Sentinel was chosen as our official mascot. Initially, the Sentinels convened for Hall Government each Wednesday night and for Mass each Sunday at 4 PM, though Hall Gov now takes place on Tuesday Nights and Sunday mass starts at 4:30 PM. In these inital meetings, Dunne's first leadership team was elected, and throughout the first year, they led Dunne, creating new events and traditions many of which still continue to this day.

Each spring two elections are held to establish the next year's administation. One election determines the dorm's senator and the other determines the president and vice president(s) who will lead the dorm for the following year. For the 2025-26 year, we will be led by President Noah Lim, VPs Henry Kellen and Gordon Oatman, and Senator Kyle Lauckner, who are sure to continue the success of all the previous administrations.

Dances have long been a staple of dorm life, and in our own history, they've been prevalent since our founding. Dunne’s first year of events got off to a good start, with two SYRs: “Famous Couples” and “Aspen in the 80s”. Since then, Dunne has pivoted to having one SYR (an informal dance) in the fall and a formal dance in the spring, and each year, a new theme is selected for the SYR. In it's first edition, the Aspen in the 80s SYR was followed by a dorm-wide ski trip to Swiss Valley in Michigan, and although the second SYR no longer takes place, we continue to enjoy a full day on the slopes as a dorm community. Next year, in addition to our two annual dances, Dunne has earned the rare honor of a dance under the Golden Dome for winning Golden Hall of the Year last year.

Each year we look forward to welcoming the newest sentinels into our community and adding another chapter to the history of Dunne Hall!