DC 1/24/14

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INSIDE

Kennedy brings enthusiasm

Highlights of the local beer scene

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A call for campus carry

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A semester spent at sea

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friday

January 24, 2014 FRIDAY High 45, Low 21 SATURday High 64, Low 41

VOLUME 99 ISSUE 50 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS

SMU hosts Unity Walk Leah Johnson Assignments Desk Editor leahj@smu.edu Over 40 students faculty and staff gathered in the HughesTrigg Student Center Commons to celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Thursday. Others peered over the balconies of the second floor. Reflections by President R. Gerald Turner, Vice President for Student Affairs Lori White and students D’Marquis Allen, Tien Dang and Sorsha Huff kicked off the celebration. “We are in a wave of incredible intolerance,” President Turner said in his reflection about the current state of the United States and throughout the world. “We still have a ways to go and that’s why we march,” White said. At 12:30 p.m. participants took the celebration from Hughes-Trigg Student Center to the street to commence the unity walk around the Boulevard. Executive Director of Student Development and Programs Jennifer Jones led the group in six freedom songs including: “We Shall not be Moved,” “Wade in the Water” and “This Little Light of Mine.”

CHRISTOPHER SAUL / The Daily Campus

President R. Gerald Turner walks with students during Thursday’s commemorative unity walk.

Huff, a sophomore, said she was prompted to become involved in civil rights activities after she participated in the Civil Rights Pilgrimage at SMU. “[The Civil Rights Pilgrimage] was a really good call to action,” Huff said. “The work for human rights and civil rights is not done until everyone has them. Until

then, the march continues.” SMU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Paul Ludden said he aims to participate in Dream Week every year. “I believe in the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It’s an evolving story that requires participation of the community,”

Ludden said. A recurring theme present throughout Dream Week was the need to continue the work of Martin Luther King, Jr. “Let’s keep Dr. King’s dream alive [and] Pony up,” Dang said. To view pictures of this week’s events search the hashtag #SMUMLK14.

Simmons presents Luminary Award Kian Hervey Contributing Writer khervey@smu.edu

ELLEN SMITH / The Daily Campus

The Simmons Luminary Award recognized East Dallas Community Schools, the Texas Association for the Protection of Children, the Children’s Defense Fund and Stand for Children Thursday night. “We have just grown,” said Yolette Garcia, Simmons Assistant Dean for External Affairs and Outreach. “When we

started we had a decent turnout. Now we are over capacity.” Hundreds of educators, non-profit organizations and SMU supporters are drawn to the annual Luminary event to celebrate the achievements made by individuals in education. This year’s recipients work closely with children living in low-income areas, advocate

for Child Protective Services reform and focus on leaving “No Child Behind.” “All the recipients have been doing their work for decades-some more than 30 years,” Chard said. “Tonight we’re honoring literally the pioneers in the field.” All the honorees, personally

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Border patrol secures additional funding As temperatures hit the low 40’s Thursday in West Texas, participants shivered at an outdoor kickoff ceremony for a U.S. Customs and Border Protection project to allow private entities and local governments to pay for extra staffing at border crossings to cut wait times. “Just imagine that you are waiting as a pedestrian in line to cross. And you are waiting 15 minutes in this cold, I think that’s too much. Imagine waiting 30 minutes, or an hour or two hours,” said U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke of El Paso as he addressed local officials and Customs and Border Protection officers at a park near the Paso del Norte Bridge.

Gov. Rick Perry defended Colorado and Washington’s legalization of marijuana on Thursday, saying it was an issue of state rights, while touting initiatives in Texas as national models for keeping minor drug offenders out of jail. Perry’s comments during the World Economic Forum in Switzerland echoed his past comments on drug policy, but they caused a bit of a stir because of how publicly the Republican endorsed lesser punishments for non-violent drug offenders. His spokesman, Lucy Nashed, said the governor was promoting Texas drug courts, which offer treatment instead of jail time for non-violent offenders. But she sidestepped questions about whether Perry supported decriminalizing marijuana in Texas — where having or selling small amounts are misdemeanors — saying only that drug courts have worked in Texas and should be an example to other states and countries. “He’s very much for rehabbing and a diversionary program (rather) than sending people directly to jail, and I think he’s been pretty clear about that during his time as governor,” Nashed said. “This is for non-violent offenders and, for a lot of circumstances, it’s the right policy.” Nashed didn’t have video of Perry making the comments, which according to U.S. News and World Report came during a panel discussion on drug policy that also included former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. But the governor did say that he couldn’t see Texas legalizing pot any time soon. “We certainly would never

Courtesy of AP

Governor Rick Perry

jump out in front of the parade,” Perry said, according to the news magazine. A staunch defender of states’ rights, Perry has often advocated for states setting their own policy on a number of potentially thorny issues — and has sometimes gotten himself into trouble in conservative circles for doing so. The governor has long said that it was fine for each state to set its own same-sex marriage policy — but while running for president in 2011, he clarified that he personally opposes it. Possession of less than four ounces of marijuana is a misdemeanor in Texas, as is selling less than seven grams of it. Many urban counties, meanwhile, only issue a ticket for possession of less than two ounces of marijuana without making arrests. Prosecutors often use drug courts to divert people out of the criminal justice system, where a conviction can lead to longterm unemployment and greater drug abuse. Texas has been at the forefront of diverting people convicted of non-violent drug offenses into treatment programs rather than jail. Even an influential conservative Austin thinktank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, has a 3-year-old “Right on Crime” initiative to decrease the number of criminal laws across the country and reduce the number of non-violent criminals in prisons.

David Chard, dean of Caldwell-Simmons School of Education, speaks at the award ceremony.

State

Associated PRess

Perry defends Colorado on pot Associated PRess

Academics

When The Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development was first created, Dean David Chard was challenged to build a different kind of school. Taking cues from medicine and research, his executive team and faculty decided to build a program based on empirical data — finding tangible and measurable solutions to education. “Other fields have been evidence based for decades,” Chard said. “Back in the 1900s, we used leeches in medicine and after years of research, we know that doesn’t work. Education [needs] that.” Chard and his team in the newly-developed school created The Simmons Luminary Award to honor local, regional and national organizations making a meaningful, measurable impact on students and education. In its fifth year of celebration,

Politics

The five-year pilot project will allow private companies and local governments to pay for overtime at El Paso ports of entry as well as Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, the City of Houston Airport System, South Texas ports of entry and the MiamiDade County ports of entry. These locations include all CBP land, sea and air operations. Starting Sunday, CBP will add inspection agents to passenger and commercial vehicle and pedestrian lanes at two border bridges during peak hours. The city will give about $1.5 million a year to CBP to pay for the overtime, said El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser. The goal is to keep wait times under 15 minutes, said Hector Mancha El Paso Port Director.

Nearly 22 million people cross every year in the El Pasoarea bridges, about 1 in 13 of the national total, said David Higgerson, CBP Director of Field Operations in El Paso. U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, whose district includes ports of entry at Laredo and McAllen, said that in addition to the new legislation allowing the federal agency to receive money from private entities, another 2,000 CBP agents will be added in the next two years. Also, in the appropriations act passed this year, he said, they introduced language to allow public-private partnerships to also fund infrastructure. One example, he said, is the Anzalduas Port of Entry, which had $7 million to

improve the border crossing but no legal framework to do so. “This provides an alternative,” he said. Sam Vale, president of the South Texas Assets Consortium, said that the plan is to add two lanes to the bridge and in 2015 begin construction of southbound inspection facilities. The South Texas Assets Consortium is a group of ports of entry in Laredo, Rio Grande City, Pharr, McAllen, and Cameron County. Houston Airport Intergovernmental Relations & Protocol Manager Zeljka Momirovic said overtime money will be used to pay for additional staffing at peak hours and seasons. However, they still need to discuss the issue with airlines and CBP.

Student Life

Chaplain leads retreat for committed SMU couples Avery Stefan Contributing Writer astefan@smu.edu In today’s western society, it is safe to assume that the average college student is not married. In fact, marriage counseling on campus is a somewhat foreign idea. But take a moment to consider the number of students who are in serious relationships and perhaps even embarking on a path headed toward future matrimony. What in the way of couples counseling is made available to them on campus? SMU’s “Growing a Healthy Relationship” retreat will aim to address this dearth of resources in a two-part event held in HughesTrigg Ballroom Feb. 7 and Feb. 8, and at an off-campus location Feb. 27. Betty McHone, Assistant Chaplain and Coordinator of Religious Life, is facilitating this year’s “Growing a Healthy Relationship” retreat through the Office of the Chaplain, and believes that it provides a truly needed service to couples. “The event filled up within

about three or four hours of sending out the e-mail,” McHone said. “That tells me there is a real need and desire for this kind of information on campus. We just don’t normally think about it because traditionally our undergraduate students are not all getting married.” This year, about 20 couples from the SMU community will participate in the seminar. The “Growing a Healthy Relationship” retreat is sponsored by Center for Relationship Enrichment via a grant awarded to the Office of the Chaplain. The Office of the Chaplain is hosting the seminar for the second year in a row to guide couples, whether married, engaged or seriously dating, and give them the tools to grow as a team. During the retreat, speakers, activities and a follow-up event will aim to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to build loving, satisfying and ultimately lifelong relationships. Although the retreat is based on Christian values, it is open to any SMU affiliate — students and staff

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