INSIDE
Pedal your way to perfection 24 Hours to make a play? Why the GOP needs Ron Paul
Meadows does Mozart
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WEDNESDAY
FEBRUARY 1, 2012
Wednesday High 72, Low 52 Thursday High 72, Low 61
VOLUME 96 ISSUE 54 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
Politics
Associated Press
Hello Sunshine
Romney wins Florida RAHFIN FARUK News Editor rfaruk@smu.edu
SPENCER J EGGERS / The Daily Campus
Peace Corps Southwest Regional Manager and SMU graduate Mike McKay speaks over the past, present and future of the Peace Corps at the 50th Anniverary celebration luncheon in the Hughes-Trigg ballroom Tuesday.
Peace Corps turns 50 CHARLES SCOTT Contributing Writer clscott@smu.edu In 1960, then-Sen. John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their nation in the name of peace by working and living in developing countries. His goal became a reality in 1961 when he became president and established the Peace Corps. Faculty, students, alumni and returned Peace Corps volunteers alike filed into the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Ballroom Tuesday afternoon for a celebratory luncheon to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps. Peace Corps is an independent U.S. government agency that provides trained volunteers to countries requesting assistance. Today, the Peace Corps serves to promote peace and friendship by helping interested countries meet their need for volunteers and by encouraging both a better understanding of the American people and the people served by America. Ceci Hutchings, an SMU senior, attended Tuesday’s luncheon and said she’s considering joining the Peace Corps after she graduates. According to the Peace Corps
website, “For Americans interested in service, Peace Corps is a lifedefining leadership opportunity.” Since its inception, over 200,000 Americans have served in the Peace Corps, spanning 239 countries around the globe. Today, Texas ranks third with the highest number of Peace Corps volunteers. In the past, 111 SMU alumni have served in the Peace Corps and currently eight SMU alumni Peace Corps volunteers are working around the world. Paul Ludden, SMU provost and vice president for academic affairs who spoke at the luncheon, said, “[Peace Corps] not only builds bridges between people but among countries.” Thomas Tunks, professor of music at SMU, began recalling his experience while working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Columbia, South America in the late ‘60s by forming a V sign (peace sign) with his left hand to engage the audience’s attention. Before joining the Peace Corps in 1968, Tunks said he was an isolated individual. Unlike many of his peers he adamantly opposed the Vietnam War. He didn’t want to go to Canada and hideout. Instead, he said he wanted to do something
he thought was worthwhile for his country. He heard about the opportunities Peace Corps offers. “I thought, you know, this sounds like a real possibility. I can do something worthwhile and learn something [too]. So I joined, and it turned my life around completely,” he said. As a senior at Yale University, Dennis Cordell, a history professor at SMU, decided to join the Peace Corps—the same year as Tunks. Cordell served in Chad, Africa until 1970. He said he thought the opportunity sounded like something new and spectacular. “If you’re thinking about what to do next, I urge you to consider the possibilities of the Peace Corps. You very well may end up with the hardest job you ever loved.” Susan Kress, director of SMU Engaged Learning, had the opportunity to attend graduate school at Chicago Art Institute but decided she didn’t want to stay in the Midwest. “I applied on a whim,” she said. Her application was approved and she found herself working in Malaysia, Southeast Asia, where she engaged in community building. At the luncheon, she wanted to thank the Peace Corps for giving her the opportunity to be “a citizen of the world.”
Allison Hannel, senior brand marketing manager at AT&T and SMU ’04 alumna joined the Peace Corps in 2005 and worked in Honduras, Central America in the town of San Juancito until 2007. There, she opened San Juancito’s first restaurant in an old school bus in the middle of town; it was even open on weekends, serving eight combinations of rice, beans and tortillas. “The measure of success for me was that two to three months after our restaurant opened, more opened,” she said. Mike McKay, Peace Corps Southwest regional manager and SMU alumnus, said, “We’re one of the few organizations that can say the experience changes lives. It’s changed the lives of the countless people served, and if you let it, it will change yours.” Today, more than 50 years after Kennedy’s initial call to service, the Peace Corps is more important and relevant than ever. Issues like poverty, disease, HIV/AIDS, illiteracy and hunger are all now combated by Peace Corps volunteers. According to McKay, what began on a college campus in 1960 has changed the way America sees the world and how the world sees the United States.
TechNOLOGY
Facebook looks to go public with IPO Social networking site valued in the billions
STEPHANIE BROWN News Director stephanieb@smu.edu Facebook has spoken. Its long-anticipated filing of the preliminary prospectus, which confirms its intent to go public. However, more coveted details of the offering have been disclosed. Since Facebook has reached over 500 private shareholders, it is required to disclose its financial progress. This spurred conversations about an IPO, and The Wall Street Journal announced Friday that Facebook
would file on Wednesday. “I’m looking forward to see the valuation of Facebook as we near closer to May,” senior Ryan Scott said. “It will certainly set a record within the tech industry. I’m just excited to see what the number will be.” However, the company aims to raise half of what they initially reported, which was $10 billion; therefore expecting to raise $5 billion in funding. Do not underestimate this cautionary slice in fundraising. Even with the intent to raise $5 billion, Facebook is still on
track to be the biggest tech IPO in history. Online tech website Mashable received information from a report that suggested that though Facebook is starting out with a more conservative base for funding, it could decide to increase the currently set $5 billion. Furthermore, Facebook has made “friends” with Morgan Stanley, who will serve as the lead bank for their IPO. Behind them, other book runners include Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital and
JP Morgan. With the IPO on the horizon, Facebook announced last week that it would begin to roll out Timeline to all users as the common user template. “I’m not at all looking forward to the new Timeline template because I think it looks too much like a MySpace profile,” junior Bridget George said. “I just wish Facebook would slow down its process of changing its layout.” Facebook is expected to offer shares to the public sometime in May.
Mitt Romney decidedly won a once close Florida primary on Tuesday, running past the rejuvenated Newt Gingrich and re-establishing himself as the forerunner for the Republican presidential nomination. Before 7 p.m., members on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook predicted that Romney would secure a victory. An hour later, nationally recognized media organizations like The New York Times and The Washington Post declared that Romney would win Florida by more than 12 percent of the vote. Just 10 days ago, Romney looked fallible as he lost appeal among evangelical and bornagain Christians. His counterpart, Gingrich, was coming off a South Carolina victory that caused many analysts to doubt Romney’s long-term electability. Political analysts have predicted that the Florida race will put Rick Santorum and Gingrich in a corner.
Santorum has already started running negative campaign advertisements against Gingrich in Nevada and Colorado. Because Romney has a large campaign team and an even larger resource base, Republican candidates have been forced to fight for limited portions of the GOP demographic. Gingrich, however, has vowed to march on and remains optimistic about his chances. “We were dead in June and July, but we came roaring back and we will again,” Gingrich said to a crowd on Monday. Gingrich’s chances of bouncing back as a presidential nominee hopeful for the third time in four months seems highly unlikely. The former Speaker of the House will have to compete in a geographically and socioeconomically diverse group of states where he has little funding and grassroots support. In states like Colorado, his views on drugs, immigration and foreign policy will hurt him
See GOP on Page 6
SPORTS
SMU track athlete models for Puma CESAR RINCON Staff Writer crincon@smu.edu SMU Mustang track and field worldwide phenomenon, Kristine Eikrem-Engeset, is back, taking first place awards. The junior led the SMU track and field team to the 3,000-meter title by earning first place at the Red Raider Invitational last weekend. The Norway native did not display interest in athletics growing up, but she changed her mind as soon as she hit the teens. She started her athletic career playing football until her coach recommended she try long-distance running. EikremEngeset had then found her true passion and decided to focus all of her attention into track. She then found herself competing nationally in the Junior World Championships in Beijing for the 1,500-meter steeplechase in 2006. EikremEngeset qualified for the finals but finished in at 12th place. Eikrem-Engeset then went on to compete in the 2007 Junior European Championships for the 3,000-meter steeplechase and earned herself a silver medal. She also started attending the University of Stavanger during this time to study religion.
The people would call her the “New Golden Girl of Norwegian Athletics,” as she attracted great attention to her fans across the world of track. Quickly rising as a track star, big-name brands such as Puma, signed Eikrem-Engeset to be the new face of Puma’s running campaign alongside Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt. Eikrem-Engeset then transferred to SMU, where she quickly began earning titles for the Mustangs. As a freshman, EikremEngeset was named to the NCAA South Central All Region Team, USTFCCCA AllAcademic Team and competed in the NCAA Championships. Eikrem-Engeset ’s best achievement as a sophomore was claiming the silver medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Conference USA Outdoor Championships. Her time, 10:28.71, was the second best outdoor time by a C-USA runner in 2010. The track and field season is just starting and EikremEngeset is vulnerable to reach ,if not surpass, her old stats. She just set the school record for the mile run at the Arkansas Invitational. Her time of 4:47.56 is just 0.14 seconds faster than the mark set last season by the junior Mustang Mary Alenbratt.