Upperclassmen give Mustang Corral tips
INSIDE
Arnold Dining Commons opens
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Read about the Meadows fall lineup
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Football forecast for the season
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TUESDAY JULY 1, 2014
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Courtesy of SMU News and Communications
Thomas DiPiero will become the new dean of SMU’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences on Aug. 12. RYAN MILLER / The Daily Campus
The newly dedicated residential complex — consisting of five new residence halls, a dining commons and parking garage — will house 1,250 SMU students. The Residential Commons program will transform all 11 residential housing communities — old and new — beginning in August.
Residential Commons program promotes community for students CLAIRE KELLEY Chief Copy Editor cakelley@smu.edu Large living rooms, luxurious locker-room style baths, a brand new dining hall with outdoor seating and more. This is what the new building complex of the Residential Commons will offer students who reside there starting this fall. The new complex, a $146 million project, was dedicated May 9 and will provide housing for 1,250 SMU students. The term “Residential Commons” refers to all 11 residence halls, not just the five new ones located on the southeast
side of campus. The Residential Commons system was designed by Residence Life and Student Housing officials, faculty, administrators and students to promote a sense of community, and the new complex is a reflection of that effort. “The hallways are designed for more community space,” said Student Body Vice President Monica Finnegan, who will be a resident assistant (RA) in Crum Commons this coming year. “You have more tables and lounges and you cannot walk down your hallway without seeing people.” Finnegan and 17 other students
were involved in the designing process, along with Director of Residence Life Jennifer Post. This group studied the University of Oxford’s residence model last summer and incorporated many of those characteristics, such as having a unique crest for each hall, into SMU’s Residential Commons system. Post said she hopes the new system will help students feel more comfortable in their dorms. “Right now, even though all of our first-year students live on campus, sometimes it feels dead on the weekends,” Post said. “It’s designed to be home.” Sophomore Sam Doctor, a soon-
to-be resident of Armstrong Hall, is excited about the new building for reasons other than its novelty. “It’s right next to the gym, the new dining hall is awesome, and the new quad looks amazing,” Doctor said. “Me and my roommate chose the new dorms over living in somewhere quiet for the same reason I chose to live in Boaz last year: we want to be where the people are.” Some students are skeptical about the location of the new complex and the size of its rooms. Sophomore Sarah Huff is looking forward to her brand new
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ACADEMICS
New dean encourages intellectual diversity MEREDITH CAREY Assignments Desk Editor mbcarey@smu.edu For new dean Thomas DiPiero, leading Dedman College is a welcome challenge. “There’s such tremendous goodwill and interest in improving research and education,” DiPiero said. “The students I met were bright and engaged. What more could you ask for?” Moving to SMU from University of Rochester, DiPiero will be bringing a strong background in interdisciplinary education, a skill in a school like Dedman which offers more than 39 baccalaureate degree
programs and more than 50 minors. “I’ll bring knowledge of transdisciplinary work,” he said. “At University of Rochester, I led a program that was half engineering and half humanities. I hope to develop those kinds of programs that bridge bigger spans than one might normally seek and push that education to the next level.” DiPiero, who specializes in 17th and 18th century fiction, is no stranger to SMU. He spent a week at SMU-inTaos in 2011 teaching English graduate students. “I didn’t know what to expect,” DiPiero said. “The environment,
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SPORTS
UC changes in the works CHRISTINA COX Managing Editor clcox@smu.edu Students can expect to see changes in the University Curriculum (UC) when they return to the Hilltop in the fall. According to Dedman College Senior Associate Dean and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Peter Moore, a number of recommendations from the UC Monitoring Committee (MC) have already been implemented. “At the request of the MC, the University Curriculum Council (UCC) reversed its vote on about a dozen courses it had removed from the IIC (Institutions, Individuals, and Cultures) Pillar,” Moore said. Because of this change, students will receive pillar credit for these courses in the fall. In addition to the MC, the Provost created a Student Learning Outcome (SLO) Review Committee in midMay to evaluate the goals of the UC and present their recommendations to the UCC this summer. Moore said he believes this will encourage faculty to propose courses to count toward requirements. Recently, modifications were made to the assessment of SLOs in Proficiencies and Experiences in the classroom. Moore said he hopes this will transfer to experiential learning. “Associate Provost Harold Stanley and I have begun conversations with Student Affairs’ staff to find ways for students to complete Proficiencies and Experiences outside the
classroom,” Moore said. Currently, the university offers 1,343 total classes that fulfill at least one aspect of the UC. In Fall 2014, 267 of these courses will be available for students, with almost half fulfilling multiple pillars and/or proficiencies. However, there is still an issue for students in Cox School of Business and Lyle School of Engineering, where few classes provide credit outside of major or minor requirements. “The biggest concerns in my opinion would have to be some classes having more pillars and such than others,” sophomore Meredith Matt said. “A lot of the pre-health firstyears are worried about graduating in four years.” Matt worries that, despite the new changes, she still will not finish the UC in four years and will have to take summer and January term classes. Issues have also arisen with students who wish to double or triple major. “SMU markets to prospective students on the possibilities for students to accomplish such goals and this idea is often why students choose SMU over other competitive schools,” sophomore Alex Silhanek said. “However, I have heard many double major students express concern of how this can possibly be done with this new curriculum.” Both Matt and Silhanek are members of the UC Concerns Committee within Student Senate. Both agree that the UC still needs some fine-tuning, but believe progress
is being made in their areas of concern. “The UC has somewhat improved,” Matt said. “Now there is retroactive credit so if a class gains a pillar after you have already taken it you’ll still get the credit.” “The retroactive credit concept is a huge accomplishment,” Silhanek said. And more work is still being done. Possible changes in the fall include credit for the Philosophy, Religious Inquiry and Ethics Pillars in computer science and electrical engineering classes that involve logic. “Additional structural changes are being discussed as well, but it is too early to report on them,” Moore said. Silhanek and Matt said they believe a structural change will reduce the stress of completing the UC. “Narrow down some of the proficiency and/or pillar requirements, add more classes that meet UC requirements and the whole concept of the UC will be perfect,” Silhanek said. According to a preliminary report on the UC, students are on track in completion of Pillar 1 requirements and Foundations. Remaining areas of concern are Pillar 2, Ways of Knowing and Proficiency requirements. “This is where our efforts will be focused,” Moore said. Any additional changes to the curriculum will be announced to students and faculty as they are approved.
Courtesy of SMU News and Communications
Athletic, university officials hope alcohol sales will boost attendance at home football games.
Alcohol sales to kickoff in Ford Stadium this fall CLAIRE KELLEY Chief Copy Editor cakelley@smu.edu This fall, for the first time since its opening in 2000, alcohol will be sold at Gerald J. Ford Stadium during football games. The decision was made in an effort to increase attendance at games and fill as many of the stadium’s 32,000 seats as possible. Many believe that alcohol sales will encourage students and alumni to leave the boulevard sooner and cheer on their Mustangs in person, rather than watching the game from their
tents on the lawn or not at all. Alcohol sales were introduced at basketball games in Moody Coliseum in January, and so far, the results have been positive. “We were deliberate in setting the plan for Moody, and it was safe and successful,” said SMU Athletics’ Brad Sutton. “This process will also be carefully designed and vetted before we roll it out.” There are benefits and disadvantages to consider, but to junior Elliot Bouillion, the pros far outweigh the cons. “After seeing the positive reaction that we had at Moody, I feel like this will bring more fans to the game and promote a healthier gaming style by having more support from the
student body and alumni,” he said. Junior Noelle Hunter, another supporter of the decision, recognizes the problems that may arise in the fall. “It could also cause problems with people being drunk in public,” she said. “People may go too far.” Sarah Bennett, a 2011 SMU graduate, believes that raucousness is nothing new in a college football stadium. “Some people may be concerned about rowdiness at games,” said Bennett, “but the people who already go to games are the passionate ones, so I’m not too concerned about it.” Ford Stadium will be selling alcohol Sept. 20 during the season’s first home game against Texas A&M.