SOUTH BEND, Ind. ÷ Don't be alarmed by that sound you hear; it just might be gunfire.

Starting yesterday, hunters began to reduce the overabundant deer population on Saint Mary's campus, hunting in the cornfields and around the nature trail. Although the hunters will not be on campus every day, these areas will be off limits through November.

"We ask students to avoid the area for the next month," Lindsay Evans, a Saint Mary's representative to Notre Dame campus life said at Monday's Executive Cabinet meeting.

Problems with the deer population began three years ago, when an environmental study of the campus was conducted and found that the deer population was growing at an alarming rate. Over the past year the deer population has doubled and it is estimated that there are currently 80 to 100 deer around campus.

"A hunt was conducted last Christmas vacation, but it was not a successful hunt," Judith Johns, Sisters of the Holy Cross environmental director said. "One of the best times to hunt is while the deer are in rut and are in small groups, instead of herds."