INSIDE
The rise of cookie-cutter-Country
Keeping fit in winter weather
PAGE 2
A strong start for basketball
PAGE 3
“Bridgegate” won’t hurt Christie
PAGE 4
PAGE 6
Friday
January 17, 2014 FRIday High 57, Low 36 Saturday High 70, Low 37
VOLUME 99 ISSUE 48 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
Greek families grow
Politics
Dewhurst plans one final term Associated PRess
RYAN MILLER / The Daily Campus
The newest sorority women traditionally open their bid cards and race from Hughes-Trigg Student Center to their respective houses on Sorority Row, where current members and now sisters await with presents, jerseys and celebration. Often termed the “Bid Day Run,” it has been an SMU tradition for years.
RYAN MILLER / The Daily Campus
Delta Delta Delta sisters await their newest members on the front lawn outside their house on University Boulevard.
RYAN MILLER / The Daily Campus
Members of Kappa Alpha Theta anticipate the arrival of new recruits. Dance parties on the front lawns are an SMU Bid Day rite of passage.
Technology
Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst says he plans to serve only one more term if re-elected in November, allowing him to return to the private sector and replenish a fortune depleted by years of expensive campaigns. The Republican businessman, who has held his post for 11 years, spent about $25 million of his personal fortune on a failed U.S. Senate bid in 2012 and millions more on five previous statewide campaigns. “I see myself as serving one more term,” Dewhurst told The Associated Press. “People advise ‘never say never,’ but I’m leaner today than when I started in politics. I need to go back and earn some money.” That he’s willing to stay in office again might come as a surprise to some. Dewhurst, 68, took more political dings over the last 18 months than most legislators could survive. He ran for U.S. Senate as the anointed candidate who had paid his dues on the state level, only to be outflanked on the right by upstart Ted Cruz. Cruz forced Dewhurst into a runoff, then beat him in one of the biggest upsets in Texas politics in decades. Soon after that defeat, one of Dewhurst’s trusted campaign advisers was accused of pilfering as much as $4 million from his state campaign accounts. Then came June’s spectacle of the Texas Senate filibuster over abortion restrictions, led
Courtesy of AP
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst
by Democrat Sen. Wendy Davis. Hundreds of noisy protesters disrupted the Senate chamber and derailed a vote. A bewildered Dewhurst and his Republican colleagues desperately tried to restore order but couldn’t. The bill passed a few weeks later, but the damage was done. The filibuster turned Davis into a rising Democratic star — she’s now running for governor — and almost immediately some Republicans pointed the blame at Dewhurst, who they called a failed leader who wasn’t strong enough to use the GOP majority’s muscle to smother Davis and the Democrats. The fallout was a line of challengers for his job. State Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and Sen. Dan Patrick all are running against Dewhurst in the March 4 primary. Their goal is to get Dewhurst into a runoff and “Cruz” him again. “It is crass political posturing to say I created Wendy Davis, a case of obnoxious amnesia,” Dewhurst said. “I’m pleased with our success.... [Voters] don’t care if we
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Alumni create smart doorbell Katelyn Gough Editor-in-Chief kgough@smu.edu Facial recognition software is a fast-growing advancement in the security technology field. Now reaching past the law enforcement aspect is an invention by a team that includes two SMU alums — and a doorbell system that uses facial recognition software, reported to be 99.3 percent accurate, to offer top-line security and convenience. Former SMU football player Shaun Moore and international student Nezare Chafni, both graduates of SMU’s class of 2010, both co-founded CHUI with two other colleagues to create “an intelligent device that employs facial recognition and machine learning to deliver social intelligence.” Moore spoke with The Daily Campus on CHUI and gave his advice to SMU students eager to put their education to competitive, professional practice within today’s global economy. “Businesses now function across time zones, cultures, and languages,” Moore said of his first months navigating as an alumnus. “Looking back, I am thankful for the international education I received at SMU, where I learned to work with students from numerous countries.” Moore explained that Chafni — originally from Abu Dhabi — and himself met while in Cox School
of Business, and their collaborative work during their time as students graduated with them as they created CHUI. The idea was initially born while the two were in Casablanca reminiscing about projects and habits they had had as undergraduates. “We discussed how convenient — and safe — it would be if a camera doorbell would have been at one of our houses, or even allowed entry into the many buildings on campus that lock during night hours,” Moore said. Moore and Chafni put their inspiration to work. Within a few months, the two had filed a provisional patent and committed themselves to “think more about the potential of using facial recognition software in any environment.” Most recently, they took their achievement to the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas — an event boasting more than 150,000 professionals from the industry attending the exhibit. At the event, the CHUI team honed in on their invention’s consumer uses, specifically in home security — their catchphrase of sorts has become that CHUI is “Always on the lookout.” “It will send a picture of who’s at your door instantaneously to your phone,” Moore said. “We provide [consumers] with an unfalsifiable record of visitors and the option to leave personalized voice greetings that are activated
once a visitor pushes a button.” The facial recognition system can be used to monitor not only homes and apartments, but classrooms and businesses as well. As an “opt in device,” any visitor can choose privacy by not pushing the button that activates the camera—allowing for collaboration between security and personal privacy. Moore attributed much of his success to the education he received on the Hilltop, and has seen many lessons he learned at SMU replayed out in the professional business world. “My number one piece of advice for SMU students is to take advantage of every opportunity you can while at the Hilltop, and be open to fields and knowledge you may have never thought you’d pursue,” Moore said. He explained that he came to SMU as a football player interested in his finance heritage, but graduated on a very different path after four years of exploration. “I would have never dreamed of founding a company and introducing new technology,” Moore said. “It was through meeting people that I could work with and applying the theory and practice SMU taught me.” Moore said the team welcomes any ideas from students, which can be tweeted to them at @Get_CHUI, or shared on their Facebook page. More information can be found on getchui.com.
CHRISTOPHER SAUL / The Daily Campus
President R. Gerald Turner walks with students during last year’s commemorative unity walk.
SMU to celebrate Dream Week Leah Johnson Assignments Desk Editor leahj@smu.edu SMU Band, SMU Spirit, along with SMU multicultural organizations and SMU Black Alumni will honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Martin Luther King Jr. Dream Week 2014 from Jan. 18 to Jan. 23. The week long celebration kicks off Saturday. The city of Dallas will host its 32nd annual MLK parade. The parade will start at 10 a.m. at Dallas City Hall and proceed along Ervay Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and end at Fair Park. Monday, students and
faculty are welcome to attend community service with residents of the SMU Service House from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Potential participants are encouraged to meet at the Service House the day of the event. Students will have the opportunity to serve at the Nexus Recovery Center and Vickery Meadow Center, just to name a few. Breakfast will be provided. On Wednesday, the office of Multicultural Affairs in HughesTrigg will host Real Talk, where they will discuss the need for modern-day civil rights activists. The meeting begins in porticos BCD at noon, and lunch will be provided. Later that day and just
downstairs, there will be a screening of the movie “Standing on My Sister’s Shoulders” at 8 p.m. in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Forum. This Civil Rights documentary tells firsthand the stories of the Mississippi activists who fought for desegregation and the right to vote. Lastly, Jan. 23, President R. Gerald Turner and other students will participate in a commemorative unity walk around the Boulevard. The event will begin at noon by the flagpole. For more information on the MLK parade and campus events, visit www.smu.edu/StudentAffairs/ Multicultural/SignaturePrograms/ MLKDreamWeek.