INSIDE
When acrobatics meet yoga
Grilled cheese, please
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January must-see movies
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Why Google Glass failed
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friDAY
January 23, 2015 FRIDAY High 52, Low 34 SATURDAY High 59, Low 39
VOLUME 100 ISSUE 48 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS 1915 - 2015 CAMPUS
NEWS Briefs
OE2C begins Procurement initiative
World
christina cox Assignments Editor @_christinacox_
YANGON, Myanmar— UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has called Myanmar to condemn Buddhist nationalist monk Ashin Wirathu for making sexist comments about UN member Professor Yanghee Lee. SAUDI ARABIA— King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, age 90, died Thursday after suffering from pneumonia. The King was admitted to the hospital Dec. 31 but his condition was said to have improved a few days later. He is to be buried Friday afternoon.
National LOS ANGELES— Four Los Angeles residents have sued the Department of Water and Power due to allegations regarding that the utility overcharged them and made other errors during the rollout of the new computer billing system. The complaints led to two lawsuits. If the plantliffs prevail, they are entitled to refunds plus interest. GLENDIVE, Mont.— A major oil spill of about 50,000 gallons was detected along the Yellowstone River in public water supplies Monday. Preliminary tests indicated oil from the river infiltrated the city’s water supply. Truckloads of drinking water are now being delivered as a precautionary move before hearing further test results within the next few days.
Texas ROMA — One person was killed in a Border Patrol shooting on the U.S. side of the border Wednesday. Agents were investigating suspected drug smuggling and encountered a group of people in the desert carrying packages of drugs when the shooting occurred.
Courtesy of Park Cities Blog
President R. Gerald Turner joins students attending the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Walk Monday.
Simmons honors education advocates with Luminary Awards christina cox Assignments Editor @_christinacox_ Three education advocates were honored Thursday evening with the Luminary Award for their work in education. Michael Sorrell, president of Paul Quinn College; The Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders at Scottish Rite Hospital for Children; and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America were recipients of the award. “This year’s awards show the power of individuals,” said Leon Simmons Endowed Dean David Chard in a press release. “We see
mentors give of themselves as they become a consistent presence in the lives of boys and girls who need them. We find teachers and doctors taking extra steps and care to treat children with learning disorders. And lastly, we look to a true leader in higher education who rebuilds confidence and direction in a historically black college.” The Luminary Award was created by the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development in 2009. The award is given annually to three recipients: local, regional and national. It honors organizations and individuals who have demonstrated a commitment
to education. Sorrell has served as president of Dallas’ Paul Quinn College for seven years where he has brought new recognition, programs and funding to the school. Some of his developments include creating a community garden to support food banks and building a new residential center with a $4.4 million donation from Trammell S. Crow. While improving Paul Quinn College, Sorrell continues to study for at the University of Pennsylvania to receive his executive doctorate in higher education management.
SIMMONS page 6
Social Media
The Operational Excellence for the 2nd Century Campaign (OE2C) moved into its second stage for the Procurement Initiative, exploring new ways to cut printing costs throughout SMU. “A preliminary assessment indicates this is an area where we can achieve significant savings,” the OE2C website announced Wednesday. According to SMU, the university spent approximately $150 million on goods and services like food and office supplies. SMU plans on saving $11 million to $15 million annually through changes within the Procurement initiative. SMU installed an application “PaperCut” throughout the campus Wednesday. The application will aggregate print data and evaluate the campus’ printing needs. By calculating the total number of print jobs and paper usage, the university will have data to reevaluate the campus’ printing needs. Only aggregate data will be used and PaperCut will not record the contents of the documents printed. The SMU community is encouraged to continue their printing needs as usual throughout the application’s data gathering.
NE WS
Provost presents awards to notable faculty Lauren aguirre Editor-in-chief @laurencaguirre
Courtesy of ICF International
Social media apps like Tinder are the newest form of online dating.
Social media lets online relationships become reality Shabnam Amini Contributing Writer samini@smu.edu The prevalence of social apps is helping make meeting new people more efficient, but the question is if it leads to long-term relationship success. More than ever, young adults today are using social apps to meet strangers online and then even taking it a step further and meeting them in person. Tinder, a smartphone app, is the latest big addition to the online social meet-up world. Tinder is simply a source that helps you meet people based on distance from you, age, and gender. All of these three factors
can be adjusted based on personal preference. “It is a new normal,” said Steve Lee, SMU Adjunct Lecturer in social media and app development. “If you start to think about it, we are all strangers at some point and time. That’s how we meet people, we meet strangers. In controlled situations, we don’t just meet them in the streets.” Tinder’s growth has been exponential over the last year as young adults look for alternative ways to meet people. In February, the company claimed to have over 750 million swipes per day, up from just 5 million in December. Today, Tinder manages to have more than a billion swipes resulting in some 12 million
“matches” each day, according to www.marketwatch.com. “Meeting someone through a social app is adventurous, it can be fun, but there is also an aspect where you need to be careful with it.” said Elizabeth Lockett, junior and Accounting Major at SMU. “It could go really well or it could be dangerous and go really badly, and the badly part is unfortunately a part of my personal experience.” Lockett decided to go on a “Tinder double date” with a close female friend recently. She recalls her friend realizing the guy she met on Tinder was not what she expected in real life. “Apps make it easy for us to connect and communicate,” said
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Provost Paul Ludden presented several awards to remarkable professors during the first Faculty Senate meeting of 2015 Jan. 21. President R. Gerald Turner, Faculty Senate President Jody Magliolo and Chaplain Steve Rankin were also in attendance. Three new University Distinguished Professors were announced. Randall Griffin, professor of Art History in the Meadows School of the Arts; Suku Nair, chair of Computer Science and Engineering in the Lyle School of Engineering; and Santanu Roy, chair of Economics in the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences. These faculty members were all nominated by their respective deans and recommended for appointment by a selection committee, which includes current endowed chairs and University Distinguished Professors. These recommendations are then approved by the Provost. Only 10 University Distinguished Professors are allowed on campus at one point in time. Ludden also presented a pretenure and a tenured professor with honors. Assistant Professor Blake Hackler, from the Meadows Theatre division, received the 2013-14 Golden
Mustang Award. Associate Professor of Law Meghan Ryan received the 2013-14 President’s Associates Award. Both awards recognize the advancement of teaching and learning in a faculty member. Lastly, two Provost’s Teaching Recognition Awards were delivered. This award honors fulltime non-tenure-track faculty that strive toward excellence and are dedicated to teaching and learning. Andrea Adams, professor of Chemistry, and Debra Branch, senior lecturer and advisor for Sociology, were both recipients. Ludden also discussed the goals laid out in the Centennial Strategic Plan, which will come to a close this year. The Provost was very pleased with the progress the faculty has made toward these goals, and is looking forward to the completion of the plan. Some of these goals include increasing diversity of faculty, staff and students, supporting student-althetes and international students, designing and implementing the new University Curriculum, and integrating the Residential Commons program into university life. Ludden said that he cannot think of a single goal that SMU has not made significant progress toward completion.
FACULTY page 6