INSIDE
Personalize your workout When will the primaries end? Akil Simpson stands out
Is ‘The Grey’ any good?
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WEDNESDAY
JANUARY 25, 2012
Wednesday High 55, Low 46 Thursday High 55, Low 39
VOLUME 96 ISSUE 51 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
Technology
President uses Google+ to reach young Americans STEPHANIE BROWN News Director stephanieb@smu.edu
SPENCER J EGGERS / The Daily Campus
Lee Cullum discusses the financial crisis on Wall Street with author Michael Lewis during Tuesday evening’s Tate Lecture in McFarlin Auditorium.
Lewis talks economic greed RAHFIN FARUK News Editor rfaruk@smu.edu Best-selling author Michael Lewis brought his wit and humor to McCord Auditorium on Tuesday as a part of the Tate Lecture series sponsored by the Omni Hotels. He explained complex economic topics like the European debt crisis and the subprime mortgage crisis in
everyday language. The New York Times once said of Michael Lewis, "He can make anything interesting." His interviewer, Lee Cullum, a senior fellow of the John G. Tower Center for Political Studies at SMU, asked a series of challenging questions. The discussion started off with Lewis' first book, "Liar's Poker." The book discusses Wall Street culture in
the 1980s. "I thought it was the last time I was going to write about Wall Street. I didn't think that Wall Street could get any crazier," Lewis said. At the time, Wall Street was expanding at a rapid pace and often relying on risky deals to turn profits. "But, then it all changed. Wall Street could set all the rules for itself and yet it failed to generate money,"
Lewis said. "How can a casino cheat itself ?" After asking himself this question, Lewis decided to use an investigative strategy that he has used ever since: gather primary sources. "I started knocking on the doors of the people who had lost large amounts of money. And surprisingly, they talked to me," Lewis said.
See TATE page 6
It’s not every day that Americans hang out with the president of the United States—but that’s all about to change. After President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address, he will be “hanging out” on Google+. The president intends to answer questions about the address, which will allow him to interact with the inquisitors on a live video chat. “I’m interested to see how this works for Obama in terms of what it could mean for his campaign by increasing his presence in social media,” William Smith said. “I believe it could be pivotal for him going forward.” This will not be the first time President Obama has interacted with an audience. He has submitted responses to YouTube town halls after his last two State of the Union addresses. The decision to “hang out” is to take the social media platform a step further, allowing him to communicate more directly
with the American people. Many of the Republican candidates vying for the presidential nomination have a strong presence on the social media front. President Obama was among the first to utilize Twitter and other social media tools in order to enhance his campaign in 2008. He has continued to build his presence since then. Similarly, a past U.S. president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, also enjoyed interacting with the American people. President Roosevelt began delivering his beloved fireside chats in 1933 in the midst of the Great Depression. At the time, radio was the cutting edge technology that allowed for the furthest reach of a message. He opened these chats with his signature greeting, “Good evening, friends.” President Roosevelt used this vehicle to reach the American people as the then means of social media. Interestingly, President Obama intends to answer questions for 45 minutes after his address — the same length as President Roosevelt’s fireside chats. Coincidence?
Entertainment
ME ADOWS
Associated Press
Jennifer Lawrence and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak announce the Adapted Screenplay nominations for the 84th Annual Academy Awards on Tuesday. This year’s Academy Awards will take place on Feb. 26 in Los Angeles. KIM RITZENTHALER • photographer
Will Power gives advice to a group of theater students after his speech at SMU’s Greer Garson theater.
Will Power shares his story CHANDLER SCHLEGEL Contributing Writer cschlegel@smu.edu
Will Power didn’t need an introduction Monday night in Greer Garson Theatre. Power came out rapping about his past and what inspired his work When his song came to a close, Meadows School of the Arts dean Jose Bowen sat down with the playwright and performer. Power said he became interested in performing arts while growing up. Most kids in his neighborhood breakdanced, but he found his place in hip-hop music. “I just started to rhyme. It was a natural part of hip-hop to gravitate to,” Power said. “Since then, I mixed theater and hip-hop.” His early passion for the arts led him to perform in one-man shows while traveling across the country. His success has earned him fame in the performing arts field, and this past year, he was a recipient of the
Meadows Prize arts residency. For a few weeks, he spent time with SMU theater majors and imparted the knowledge he acquired from his experiences to them. He emphasized the importance of being well versed in many fields of performing art. “I encourage people to be selfreliant and self-sufficient,” Power said. “If you can do something on your own, you can do anything.” While he is proud of his accomplishments and continues to aim high, he makes an effort to reach out to people in need. “He has this really nice balance of his work and his personal time giving back which I think is really admirable,” sophomore Kelsey Smith said. Power also said that everyone should hold respect for community artists. In his experience, some actors that are more successful scoff at community actors, which he says isn’t right.
“We all think of community artists as someone not as good,” Power said. “Why can’t a community artist be someone who is really good?” This point hit home with Kristen Kelso, a sophomore theater major. “I thought it was really accurate what he said about looking down on community artists because that’s what I want to go into,” Kelso said. “I appreciated his humility and how he is helping others with their journey.” Leila Grothe, who organized the event, hoped that everyone walked away with something they found pertinent to their own lives. “What he was saying could apply to whatever your field is,” Grothe said. Power ended by showing off the skills he taught his SMU students by pulling them up on stage. “Having to improvise, freestyle on stage in front of an audience, for me, puts me in the moment,” Power said. “I trust the moment.”
Academy Awards announced CHASE WADE Managing Editor cdwade@smu.edu
“Hunger Games” actress Jennifer Lawrence beat the sunrise this morning as she announced the nominations for the 84th Annual Academy Awards. Lawrence, alongside Academy president Tom Sherak, delivered Hollywood’s most coveted nomination to the “oohs” and “ahhs” of a room full of journalists. While most nominations followed the format of earlier award shows like the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards, the Oscars had its fair share of snubs and surprises. After getting snubbed the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at the Golden Globes, funnywoman Mellisa McCartney was the morning’s first shock as she managed to grab a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. McCartney was nominated for her role as Megan in the female forward comedy “Bridesmaids.” McCartney’s co-star Kristen Wiig
was also nominated for the film in the Original Screenplay category. 2012 will be the first year that the Academy implements its new nomination strategy that determines the number of Best Picture nominees via math formula. Instead of having a lot of ten films nominated for the night’s biggest award, this years Oscars will only have nine. Those include: “War Horse,” “Midnight in Paris,” “The Decendants,” “Hugo,” “The Artist,” “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” “Moneyball,” “The Help,” and “The Tree of Life.” Even though the Academy recognized his film as a whole, Steven Spielberg was not nominated for Best Director for “War Horse.” Other notable snubs include Albert Brooks for his role in “Drive” and Elizabeth Olsen for “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” Proving that funny men can be serious too, former “Superbad” standout Jonah Hill picked up a Supporting Actor nomination for his role in “Moneyball,” Brad Pitt
was also nominated for the film in the Best Actor category. George Clooney continued his award season hot streak by picking up the nomination for Best Actor for his role in “The Decendants.” Clooney recently won at the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards. He will certainly be the favorite come Oscar night. Viola Davis and Meryl Streep are set to go head-to-head once again as the two leading ladies vie for the prize of Best Actress. Davis is nominated for her role in “The Help,” and Streep for her role in “The Iron Lady.” Davis took home the Critics Choice Awards while Streep won the Golden Globe. Perhaps the morning’s biggest surprise came from Martin Scorcese’s cinematic loveletter “Hugo.” The childrens movie garnered an impressive 12 nominations beating out the year’s favorite film “The Artist,” which was recognized with 11 nominations. The two films will compete for Best Picture when the Oscars air on Feb. 23 on ABC.