June 23, 2017 by The DC

VOLUME 103 â&#x20AC;¢ ISSUE 1

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Weekly CELEBRATING 100 YEARS 1915 - 2015

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JUNE 23, 2017

FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS

T-YEARS

D N A

HITTING THE BOOKS

BOOKSTORE PRICES MORE COSTLY THAN AMAZON PAGE 3

OPINION

NEWS

SPORTS

Make the most out of AARO

New, familiar faces in admin

Latest transfers round out roster

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NEWS

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SMU bookstore fights back with Amazon prices CHARLEIGH BERRY Contributing Writer cberry@smu.edu Most students think going to the book store for textbooks is a tribulation. Battling long lines and cramped shelves is not a fun start to a semester, especially to find out the book you bought was $200 more from the store than it was online. For Evan Webb, a sophomore finance major, this was not only time consuming, but frustrating. “Hopefully, the bookstore will lower its prices or find a way to truly ‘price-match’ its competitors,” Webb said. For the 2016-2017 school year, College Board predicted students at private, four-year institutions, like SMU, would end up spending close to $1,230 on books and supplies. At SMU, this holds true. Webb and other students have said they spend close to, if not more than $1,000 a year on textbooks. “I spent a total of around $1,000 on books both semesters combined,” Lauren Philpott, a freshman said. While textbooks are necessary and required for most courses, they can add up very quickly. The traditional college bookstores typically charge higher prices for books than online outlets such as Amazon.com. As a result, some students have turned to Amazon.com instead of the SMU bookstore for their textbooks. “Amazon is where the books are the cheapest, and

it only takes a day or two for delivery,” Webb said. Mary Mebus, the general manager from the SMU bookstore, said although the competition is tough, they do everything possible to stay relevant to the student body. “When we first started here we used to sell books as the campus bookstore and within the past five to seven years, the online competition has made it tough,” Mebus said. Barnes and Noble College, a subsidiary of Barnes and Noble Education (BNED), is incorporating online learning initiatives, as well as social aspects into their college bookstores to combat the current Amazon trend. Michelle DeMaio, the Barnes and Noble Education senior corporate communications specialist, said that through open educational resources (OER) they are able to introduce online BNED courseware. “Our courseware helps drive affordability and easier OER adoption for the schools we serve, and provides dynamic digital content such as self-assessments and videos to improve learning for students,” DeMaio said. At SMU specifically, they have incorporated the price match program, the rental program and a new platform for EBooks for students. Clayton McKinley, the assistant manager at the SMU bookstore, said the EBook platform is an affordable resource for textbooks. “Yuzu is a software platform for EBooks that

College Board

Students at private universities, like SMU can spend upward of $1,000 per year on books.

is free for students. It’s one of the better resources for EBooks,” McKinley said. As an undecided major, Philpott took courses for the usual first-year, and was required to have about eight books each semester. “I bought most of my books from the bookstore online out of convenience, however I did buy my English books from either Half Price Books or Amazon,” Philpott said. However, the initiatives by Barnes and Noble do not affect textbook pricing, which is what affects students the most. Beth Newman, a literature professor in Dedman, said while it’s true Amazon can sell books cheaper than the bookstore, it isn’t comparable to the amount the bookstore would spend to compete with those prices. Amazon’s third-party seller program allows them to simply facilitate the buyer/ seller process, instead of paying for the books like the bookstore does. “If a student wants to go

to Amazon and buy from a third-party seller a cheap copy of a book, I get that, I do it all the time. But, don’t hold the bookstore responsible for the fact that they can’t meet that price. It makes no sense for them to do so,” Newman said. While the prices speak for themselves, the bookstore implements many initiatives and a sell-back program in order to keep prices fair and to help students in any way they can. McKinley said they will take back books that the SMU store doesn’t specifically need for 25 to 30 percent of the sale price. “We buy back used texts from students. If it’s a book we need, we pay back 50 percent of purchase price,” McKinley said. Some teachers require students to get their books directly from the SMU bookstore. Others understand that buying online can sometimes save students money. For most teachers, they

just want their students to get the correct edition of the text. “I’ve taken classes and I understand how expensive this can all get,” said Lee Gleiser, a sports law professor in the applied physiology and sports management program. “The only thing I ask is that they get the right edition.” It’s a common concern among faculty in different disciplines. Newman said the correct edition is important for students to have in order to actively participate in class. “If the page numbers are wrong, it’s hard to follow along in a discussion,” Newman said. “So, I really want students to have the same text I do, and sometimes it has explanatory materials I think are useful.” Buying textbooks from the bookstore cuts out the risk of getting the wrong edition, but can cause other concerns. In some cases, books are back ordered, which causes students to fall behind in class. “When I get frustrated is when they run out of the book

because then students have no local resource to pick it out,” Gleiser said. “Then, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t get it online, because they can’t get it here.” However, the back order issue is sometimes on the students themselves. Mebus said students often don’t return their rental books, which are necessary for students to use in the following school year. The bookstore is aware students choose cheaper outlets for their textbook needs. DeMaio said college bookstores offer more than textbooks for purchase. It can offer a social environment for students. “It is our mission to enhance that experience by providing not only the most affordable, quality course materials, but also a vibrant social hub where students can gather to study, eat at our cafés, chat with friends or enjoy the events we host,” DeMaio said. As part of the initiative to make the SMU bookstore a better resource for students, they are expecting a remodel that will allow for more study areas, apparel, trends and a revamped textbook and supply section. “There’s a big push every day to bring in new merchandise to keep it current,” Mebus said. “We included the Nike shop which increased Nike sales 25 percent. We want to make this a place where people and students keep coming.”

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Cultural initiative works to fight the racial elephant in the room

HANNAH ELLISEN Contributing Writer hellisen@smu.edu The racist pamphlets found in SMU residential commons in fall 2016 made Meron Metaferia, an SMU junior majoring in human rights, realize not only the prejudice on campus, but also people’s unwillingness to talk about it. During a discussion on current news in her political science class, Metaferia mentioned the pamphlets to spark a conversation on injustices in the SMU community. “When I mentioned it, it was like pin-drop silent

and nobody wanted to talk about it. The class just kept going on,” Metaferia said. “I brought it up because I thought, people in the class are geared towards making change in the world. “It was a course about women, gender and world politics and I thought people were open-minded and always talking about injustices in other countries and what they can do to help. “I wanted to bring it back to something happening in our own community and they did not seem very receptive to that.” Situations like this inspired Maria Dixon Hall, an SMU communications

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professor, to lead an initiative to create a culturally intelligent campus. “We are all walking around in these bubbles where we can see each other but we can only hear ourselves,” Dixon said. “So our job is to try and make sure that we have some straws in between the bubbles, so we can hear each other.” Typically, when adminis trators and professors work to address issues of diversity, they aim for students to get along and value human differences. Dixon says this goal is impractical with the current lack of cultural knowledge throughout campus. In an effort to change this factor, Dixon began the Cultural Intelligence Initiative, CIQ@SMU, which launched Aug. 1, 2016. “What cultural intelligence says is that, just like you and I have intellectual intelligence, where we can read a book, and we get smarter on a particular subject and continue to develop that skill and that knowledge,” said Dixon. “The same way can happen about cultures.” In the 2016-2017 SMU undergraduate student body, 26.7 percent of students are minorities. Some say the current efforts being made to unify the campus, though, do not provide students with the skills that can help address issues of diversity and inclusion on campus. “I think that people just do not understand cultural differences,” said Will

Hagens, a communications major and student leader for the initiative. “That’s not through anybody’s fault, but when our campus is as affluent as it is and as white as it is, it’s hard to understand other than what we know.” Metaferia thinks people need to consider what makes people the way they are, and work to understand them. “I don’t think its necessarily about people not caring, it’s about people not understanding, and not understanding the severity of the problem and how their silence and apathy can contribute to that issue.” Hayley Halliburton, an SMU junior majoring in political science, emphasized the power and strength a person’s actions have on the reputation of a group. “Sometimes people can feel victimized, offended or hurt by the discrimination or carelessness they have experienced from one or a few people,” says Halliburton. “It becomes easy to let that incident or those incidents speak for a larger majority who don’t carry those sentiments.” The initiative’s efforts are not limited to only spreading cultural intelligence about minority communities. The initiative leaders recognize that not everyone knows how to talk about “whiteness.” “The way we typically talk about it is, we talk about white privilege,” Dixon said. “We don’t recognize that many students of color — whether they

are African American, or whether they are Latino, Hispanic or Asian — have never really learned anything about whiteness other than what they see on television, what they have read on the news or what they have encountered in what I call ‘typical acts of micro-aggression.’” Halliburton says her involvement with activities such as Greek life, Student Senate, and intramural sports surrounds her with people of different races and cultures. She says she has never been uncomfortable talking about race in class discussions, but there are definitely people who feel differently. “I think that feeling uncomfortable when race is brought up may actually be part of the problem,” says Halliburton. “I feel like the day when no one, of any background, in a room feels uncomfortable when race is discussed is probably the day that race is no longer a social issue, but rather just a fact of life.” The initiative not only hopes to spread cultural intelligence, but also build and maintain relationships among different communities. Dixon says the initiative is planning on incorporating lessons into different PRW courses. “We can create a college culture in which we know how to work, study and live together respectfully, and how to talk to each other and engage each other in a way that we can create shared meaning. For example: communicating,” says Dixon. “Because communicating does not

happen until we have shared meaning.” This communication is not just for students, but the entire campus community. Danaysia Jones, a junior majoring in applied physiology and sports management, feels some professors do not know how to react when conversations come up involving race that make other students feel uncomfortable. “Students will say how if they have something going back and forth between them and another student, because someone is being racially insensitive, the professor just doesn’t really say anything or address it,” says Jones. “They don’t really handle it.” Jones talks about the vast potential professors have to influence their students, because their profession provides them with the opportunity to contribute to a student’s cultural knowledge. “You’re the leader of the class. You are pouring into me. You’re a teacher, so that should be a part of your job,” says Jones. “Not only just teach me this material, but teach me how to be a person. Teach me to open my mind, that is what college is for.” Micro-aggressive culture is formed through acts of unintentional and indirect discrimination. Jones blames this culture and unwillingness to learn for the racial insensitivity on campus. “It’s just very much like ‘This is me. I’m me, and

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Cultural initiative CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

I don’t really care about you,’” says Jones. “I get this a lot being the only black girl in a lot of my classes. People will be like, ‘Oh your hair is so beautiful, let me touch your hair.’I am not an animal. Don’t treat me like one.” In an effort to help individuals find places of common language with one another, the initiative is going to teach different cultural languages in a series Dixon is calling “Ask Us Anything, Seriously.” Leaders in the initiative will survey the questions that people want to know about each other. “I think people always have these kinds of questions in the back of their head, but they are too afraid to ask because it’s the kind of question you are not really supposed to know the answer to,” Hagens said. “But, if we can’t ask uncomfortable questions we won’t ever go anywhere or learn anything.” The series’ questions will be answered by members of those communities, and no

set of questions is off-limits. “Everybody comes to college to learn something and not everything we learn is going to be a comfortable experience, but I think it’s still an important one,” Hagens said. “If you can learn the answers to those questions in a safe environment it reduces tension.” Dixon’s motivation for the initiative came after working with the Oklahoma University Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter after members of the fraternity were filmed chanting a racist hymn associated with the fraternity. “The influence they had on me was the fact that they really didn’t know,” said Dixon. “We think they should have known, but this idea that ‘we do know’ when we don’t talk about it as a society. We talk around it, we yell at each other, but we don’t provide each other the knowledge.”

Turner’s contract extended through 2022; new VPSA named KYLIE MADRY Editor-in-Chief kmadry@smu.edu During the Board of Trustees’ quarterly meeting May 5, current SMU President R. Gerald Turner agreed to a five-year extension of his contract, meaning President Turner will continue serving until at least 2022. The renewal of Turner’s contract signals trust in his leadership from the board, according to Chair Michael M. Boone. “The Board’s goal is to continue SMU’s momentum and its rising prominence at this historic time,” Boone said in a press release. Turner has served as president of SMU since 1995. Under Turner’s tenure, SMU completed a $1 billion gift campaign and brought the George W. Bush Presidential Center to campus, among other achievements. Prior to joining SMU, Turner served as chancellor of University of Mississippi from 1984 to 1995. At the time, Turner was among the youngest

university presidents and made headlines for firing football coach Billy Brewer after allegations of recruiting violations. The newest ex-officio members of the SMU Board of Trustees are Paul Krueger, mechanical engineering professor and president of Faculty Senate; Alumni Board Chair Doug Smellage; and Student Trustee Andrew Udofa, a 2014 alumnus and current doctoral student. At the end of May, Kenechukwu (K.C.) Mmeje was named as the new Vice President of Student Affairs. Mmeje (pronounced MAY-jay) will take office July 17, after serving as assistant vice president and dean of students at Loyola University Chicago since September 2014. In his new position, Mmeje will oversee a large portion of student life including residence life and student housing; the women’s and LGBT center, multicultural, volunteer and leadership programs and student activities.

SMU Public Affairs

K.C. Mmeje

Mmeje replaces the late Pamela D. Anthony, who died in January after a battle with cancer. Associate Vice President and Dean of Student Life Joanne

Vogel has been serving as vice president ad interim. Prior to his promotion to assistant vice president, Mmeje’s eight-year career at Loyala included time as associate dean of student life from 2010 to 2013 and assistant vice president of student life from 2013 to 2014. Mmeje graduated with a bachelor’s in sociology and Black studies from University of California-Santa Barbara, followed by a master’s from the University of Vermont and a doctorate from University of Southern California in educational leadership.

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SMU Campus Weekly

SPORTS

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University of Tennessee Athletics

Former University of Tennessee defensive end Dimarya Mixon (right)

SMU makes Power Five recruiting splash PHIL MAYER Assoc. Sports Editor pmayer@smu.edu Tennessee. Texas A&M. Oregon State. SMU football recruited transfers from three Power Five schools in May, bolstering its squad before the start of the 2017 season. SMU Football Coach Chad Morris picked up from where he left off last offseason, when he landed two SEC transfers in former Arkansas quarterback Rafe Peevey and former LSU receiver Trey Quinn. Both players will debut for the Mustangs this season, and could play a large role in SMU’s offense. This year, Morris nabbed two SEC players to help his defense, and turned to the PAC-12 for a key offensive addition. The first of these Power Five recruits to choose SMU was defensive end Dimarya Mixon from Tennessee. Mixon spent the 2016 season

backing up Derek Barnett, who was a first round NFL Draft selection by the Philadelphia Eagles last year. Mixon finished his career as a Volunteer with 19 tackles in 37 games, over three seasons. He recorded 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack, which came last season against Tennessee Tech. Mixon is originally from Compton, Calif., but went to West Mesquite High School near Dallas. Coming to SMU is something of a homecoming for him. Mixon will graduate from Tennessee this summer, and play his final year of eligibility for SMU in 2017. SMU’s second power-five pickup this offseason was former Texas A&M linebacker Richard Moore. Moore made solid contributions in his twoyear career at Texas A&M, making 68 tackles, 9.5 of which came for a loss. Like Mixon, Moore is also from the Dallas area, as he played at Cedar Hill High

School. Moore will redshirt for the 2017 season, and have two more years of eligibility remaining. SMU also secured a commitment from former Oregon State offensive tackle Will Hopkins. Hopkins battled mono and injuries throughout his career at Oregon State, appearing in 17 games for the Beavers and starting two. He will play for SMU in the 2017 season for his final year of eligibility. Hopkins’ journey to SMU will also be a return to Texas, as the 6’7”, 295-pound tackle is originally from Austin. Hopkins will bring muchneeded size and experience to SMU’s young offensive line. Morris has consistently added to his high school recruiting classes with transfers from big-name schools. As SMU looks to make a bowl game for the first time since 2012, these transfers could be true difference makers.

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SPORTS

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Georgetown transfer Agau commits to SMU PHIL MAYER Associate Sports Editor pmayer@smu.edu Georgetown graduate transfer forward Akoy Agau announced at the end of May that he was committing to SMU. Agau averaged 4.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last season at Georgetown. He missed the 2015-16 season with a torn ACL. Before entering Georgetown, Agau played at Louisville, where he signed out of high school. With Sterling Brown, Semi Ojeleye and Ben Moore leaving the team, the Mustangs needed a frontcourt player who could step in and play immediately. They found that player in Agau. The 6’8,” 235-pound forward will be eligible for the 2017-18 season. He is also currently applying for a sixth year of eligibility, which will allow him to play in the 2018-19 season as well.

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Georgetown University Athletics

Former Georgetown forward Akoy Agau.

Agau picked SMU over a host of schools, including Washington State, Illinois, Cal State Northridge, Maryland and

Old Dominion. Agau joins former Duquense forward Isaiah Mike as the second transfer nabbed by SMU this spring.

Women swimmers earn CSCAA accolades NORFOLK, Va. (CSCAA/SMU) – For the second consecutive term, the SMU women’s swimming and diving team set a program-high gradepoint-average en route to College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) team honors. The organization announced the Scholar All-America Team awards and six individual honorees June 21. To be selected as a CSCAA Scholar AllAmerica Team, programs must have achieved a GPA of 3.00 or higher over the

Thursday, May 17 through Friday, June 1 Only 11 class days

spring semester. Individually, to be selected to the first team, swimmers and divers must have achieved a grade point average of 3.50 or higher and have participated in their respective NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Honorable mention selections have similarly achieved a GPA of 3.50 and achieved a “B” time standard or competed at their respective qualifying meets. The Mustang women posted a 3.64 GPA, the 12th highest of 174 Division I teams eligible for the

award, during the spring semester, improving on the program-best 3.53 from the fall semester. Along with team accolades, six Mustangs earned individual scholar All-America honors, including Marne Erasmus and Matea Samardzic, who represented SMU at the 2017 Division I Swimming and Diving Championships, both competing in qualifying heats of their respective events. Anna Cheesbrough, Vicky Cunningham, Hannah Rogers and Erin Trahan were all recognized as well.

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ARTS & LIFE

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Five things for your SMU Bucket List RILEY COVEN Arts and Life Editor rcoven@smu.edu The sun is blazing, the bugs are buzzing and the foot traffic on the Boulevard is at a minimum. Summer is in session and while it’s a time of rest and relaxation for most of the student body, it’s also a time of eager exuberance for those that are about to embark on their college careers. The Class of 2021 is on its way to the Hilltop and to help them start their year of right, we put together a few of the best attractions SMU has to offer.

The Tanning Pool One of SMU’s seasonal attractions is the infamous tanning pool. Outside of Dedman Center, it’s an oasis covered with lawn chairs and students with a sparkling pool to wade in. A small waterfall cascades over the edge perfectly completing the serene scene. It’s a great place to get some homework done, chat with friends, relax after a workout and of course, get a tan.

Mac’s Place SMU has multiple dining options on campus, each with their own perks. None quite reach the popularity of Mac’s Place, the little bistro behind the McElvaney residential commons. The shop has a decent section of food and groceries, as well as freshly made burgers, chicken tenders, pizza and more. It’s convenient, fun and most importantly, tasty.

Meadows Museum One of the somehow underrated gems of SMU is the lauded Meadows Museum. Housing the largest collection of Spanish art outside of Spain, the museum has plenty of impressive works to spend hours enjoying. On the outside, it is surrounded by a gorgeous garden and modern sculptures. The museum is a can’tmiss feature of the SMU campus.

George W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum

Photo by Mollie Mayfield

The Boulevard is a quintessential part of the SMU experience.

Arguably SMU’s most famous installment, the Bush Library is an enormous and expansive building, highlighting George W. Bush’s time in office. There are multiple engaging exhibits, including a recreation of the Oval Office.

Boulevarding SMU’s most exhilarating pastime is known as “boulevarding.” In a sense it’s the school’s unique version of tailgating, but it’s so much more than that. Tents line the boulevard from Dallas Hall all the way to Ford Stadium, filled with alumni, students, local companies and fans of the opposing team. There are drinks, food, activities and more. It’s something that each student looks forward to every year.

SMU Public Affairs

The tanning pool outside of Dedman is perfect for relaxation.

Meadows Museum

The Meadows Museum’s collection includes Santiago Calatrava’s “The Wave.”

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OPINION

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Making the most of orientation KENNY MARTIN Opinion Editor kjmartin@smu.edu Editorial Staff Editor-in-Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kylie Madry Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrea de Angel SMU-TV Executive Producers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assignments Desk Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Emmy Berg Online Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jacquelyn Elias Interactive Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alexis Kopp Arts & Life Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Riley Coven Associate Arts & Life Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelly Kolff Associate Food Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Appleby Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Olivia Pitten Associate Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phil Mayer Sports Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jacob Prothro Fashion Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lisa Salinas Fashion Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Merrit Stahle Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Isabella von Habsburg Associate Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shelby Stanfield Opinion Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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Incoming first-years — you’re going to get a lot of advice in thve near future, from AARO to Mustang Corral to syllabus week and beyond. Some of that advice will be very good and some will be, to put it gently, less good. My own advice (whether good or bad, you be the judge) is to listen carefully to all of it. I also suggest, however, that you not take any of it altogether too seriously. Don’t get me wrong: you’re embarking on perhaps the most important time of transition, growth and learning of your entire life. You should take that more seriously than you’ve ever taken anything, period. You should take yourself — and what you currently think and believe and like and don’t like and even what you’re just not sure about — very seriously. You should be expecting those things (what we might call your ‘life of the mind’) to change at SMU, under the influence of your peers, professors and the things you will read. (Speaking of reading, the only ‘dirty survival tip’ I’ll give is this: read the common reading. Before Mustang Corral. Just do it. It’s pretty darn simple, if you ask me, and makes those first weeks of DISC go smoothly. Trust me on this one.) I remember being in your shoes, exactly three years ago. I remember being inundated with expectations, demands, far more free ‘swag’ than I ever could have wanted and yes, lots of advice.

SMU Public Affairs

Orientation can be a lot of things: amazing, awkward or downright uncomfortable.

All of this was wellintentioned, no doubt, but it stressed me out in a big way. What I’ve realized is that in the hubbub of orientation, sometimes it’s okay to simply take a breath, step back and realize that no matter how many more complicated enrollment sessions or drug abuse prevention programs you have to sit through, you’re going to be just fine. Advice can help, but in the end you have to figure things out for yourself. That’s simply how good work, especially in college, has to get done. So, as you go through the orientation process, listen to everything and everyone, but maintain your own independence of thought. Be confident in your own way of doing things — after

all, it’s what brought you here to begin with, and that’s no small thing. I believe this applies on a larger scale as well — not just to college orientation, but to your classes, politics and even, yes, your fashion sense. It also applies to the ethos of this opinion page. I’m not always going to be right, and you may sometimes think I’m full of BS. That’s okay — I might think you are too. That’s the unique excitement and pleasure of an opinion page: the point isn’t to be ‘right,’ but to be intellectually rigorous, and to be open to new thoughts from those we disagree with. To that end, I’d like to personally invite you, incoming first-year, to submit your own opinions to this page, or to simply give me

feedback, about anything, at me. At a college newspaper, an opinion page that only showcases the editor’s opinions is hardly, in my book, an opinion page at all. So please, if you have something to say, submit it. This page isn’t mine; ait’s yours. My goal is to facilitate a public campus discourse that is respectful, fiercely intelligent and open-minded. One that listens to everything while maintaining an enduring diversity of thought. One that, most of all, takes very seriously the act of talking to one another, that treats our collective life of the mind as something to be fostered and protected, and as something to be proud of.

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SMU Campus Weekly

FASHION smudailycampus.com/style

Staying cool and stylish in the heat

Knee-length skirts are perfect to beat the summer heat.

LISA SALINAS Fashion Editor lsalinas@smu.edu Summer officially began June 20. But, if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a Texan, you know the scorching heat begins way before June 20 and will sometimes last to the beginning of September. Below are the top five summer trends that you can incorporate in your wardrobe to not only stay stylish, but as cool as possible in the heat, wherever you may reside. Palazzo pants Jeans are simply out of the question during the summer. An alternative? Palazzo pants. This â&#x20AC;&#x2122;60s pant trend is a perfect jean substitute. These cool, loose-fitting pants come in an array of colors and patterns and can be easily worn as evening or daywear. Try pairing the pants with your favorite band tee and twoinch heeled sandals for a day look and a silk lace-top and wedges for eveningwear. Palazzo pants are sold at

most fashion retailers, including Zara, Forever 21, Free People and Nordstrom. Short overalls Although denim is not ideal during the summer, denim short overalls can still keep you cool. This low-maintenance outfit can be paired with almost any tee or blouse and shoe style and is sure to keep you stylish this summer. Try a solid cotton tee and platform sneaker for a day outfit and wide-sleeved blouse with lace-up flats for the evening. Overalls are also sold at most fashion retailers including H&M and even Target. White-button down Even though the white button-down top is considered a staple item rather than trend, it a perfect piece to have this summer. Wear it at the beach over your swimsuit, at the office during your internship, or over denim shorts during brunch. White-button down tops can be found at any retailer, including Banana Republic and Target.

Off-the-shoulder tops An off-the shoulder top is a great piece to spice up your summer outfit and also get a nice shoulder tan. Pair it with palazzo pants, a wide skirt or shorts. This piece can also easily be worn during the day or evening. Off-the-shoulder tops are sold at any retailer, from Forever 21 to Neiman Marcus. Knee-length skirts Last but not least, a knee-length skirt is essential for a summer wardrobe; pair it with a basic blouse, lace silk top or even an off-the-shoulder top. And for shoe options? The limit does not exist. Pair this skirt with sneakers, sandals, heels, even wedges. Wear this piece for a night out on the town or during an office meeting. Kneelength skirts are sold at most retailers including Urban Outfitters, Zara and Banana Republic.

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