WEDNESDAY
FEBRUARY 13, 2013
Wednesday High 61, Low 37 Thursday High 69, Low 43
VOLUME 98 ISSUE 57 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
crime
SMU police expect charges in alleged assault julie fancher Assignments Desk Editor jfancher@smu.edu
Courtesy of AP
President Barack Obama, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, gives his State of the Union address.
Obama delivers State of the Union Katelyn Gough News Editor kgough@smu.edu President Obama delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday night, setting the tone with a quote from John F. Kennedy’s address decades earlier: “The Constitution makes us not rivals for power, but partners for progress.” Themes of unification, compromise, and responsibility wove much of his address through the evening as Obama asserted that “America moves forward only when we do so together.” “The American people… expect us to put the nation interests before the party,” Obama said about Congress working toward compromise. “It is our unfinished task to make sure this government works on behalf of the many.” The president laid out his plan for “a rising, thriving middle class” to be rebuilt after more than a decade when “wages and incomes have barely budged.”
With the statement that both parties “must embrace the need for modest reforms,” Obama spoke to reforms on healthcare, changes in Medicare payment and bipartisan tax reforms. “Our government shouldn’t make promises we cannot keep, but we must keep the promises we’ve already made,” Obama said. He addressed the much discussed plan to reduce the deficit, to which the president explained that reducing the deficit alone was not an economic plan. Rather, growing an economy that creates jobs “must be the North Star that guides our efforts.” In a three-part process, Obama’s goal is to bring more jobs to shore, create training and education to employ at those jobs and thus ensure Americans have access to make a “decent living.” One of the key aspects of attaining such, according to Obama, will come once the country “[invests] in the best ideas,” citing the Human Genome
Project as a prime example of the possible success. Spiraling from that into the topic of independent sustainability, President Obama called attention to recent growth and the need for a growing future in natural resources, and the need to do more to combat climate change. “We are finally poised to produce our own energy future,” Obama said. “Let’s cut in half the energy wasted by our homes and businesses over the next 20 years.” Among the other changes Obama called for, education reform was one of the most prominent, with a key goal being to work “with states to make high-quality preschool available to every child in America.” “Let’s give our kids a chance,” Obama said. In light of recent discussions and reminiscent of his Inaugural Address, Obama touched on immigration reform, as well women’s right to “earn a living equal to their efforts.”
“Everybody is willing to work hard and have the chance to get ahead,” Obama said, summing up much of his discussions surrounding equal employment opportunity. Obama plans to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act this year, as well as raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour. “Let’s tie the minimum wage to the cost of living, so it finally becomes a wage you can live on,” Obama said. Sure to include what is being said to be one of his biggest issues for his second term, President Obama shared personal stories of victims of gun control, driving home his firm call for votes to gun control. Obama bookended his address citing his dedicated determination to bring troops home this year and end the war for good. “America will achieve our objective of defeating the core of al Qaeda,” he said. “After a decade of war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home.”
abroad
SMU-in-Spain explains program changes Erica Robbie Nighttime Copy Editor erobbie@smu.edu “Atencion estudiantes: the deadline to apply to study in Spain for the summer or fall is March 1,” SMU-in-Madrid program director Olga Colbert, and study abroad advisors Lea Sarodjo and Cori Hill, reminded SMU students at the SMU-in-Spain information session Tuesday in the Blanton Building. Aside from promoting the program and addressing students’ concerns, one primary purpose of the meeting was to inform students of a major change in the curriculum—the option to take Spanish 1402 and 2401 while abroad. In the past, students were required to have already taken two full years of Spanish at SMU. This requirement limited the number of students eligible to apply. Now, students are able to not only take their lower level Spanish classes in Madrid, but they also receive credit for both two courses in just one semester. The curriculum is designed so that students take Spanish 1402 during the first half of the semester and 2401 at the second half, earning
eight total language credits during a single semester. In addition to Spanish, SMUin-Spain offers a variety of courses including business, marketing, art history and more. Course requirements and credits were a mutual concern for students at the meeting, so after a thorough explanation, the conversation grew livelier: what is Madrid like, where do students live and how is the food? “Madrid is a fantastic, vibrant city, with lots of life, art and culture,” Colbert said. She added that the location of the capital city is perfect because it is in the center of the peninsula. This, combined with Madrid’s “wonderful transportation,” makes it easy for visitors and locals alike to travel to other Spanish cities, which SMU students who study abroad do. Students who study in Madrid travel all over the country visiting other cities, such as Barcelona, Seville, Granada and Toledo. “Think of Madrid as a home base,” Colbert said. This is an appropriate way to think about it because SMU students live in the homes of Madrid families
ERICA ROBBIE/The Daily Campus
Students hear about the SMU-in-Spain program Tuesday.
during their stay. Colbert believes this living arrangement is a major benefit to American students, as it serves as a “gateway into their culture.” Another gateway into Spanish culture? Popular Spanish food, called “tapas,” which Colbert brought to the meeting to give students a literal taste of Spain. Given America’s current economic state, along with Spain’s, students’ final concern is
expectedly finances. However, Hill said that any financial aid students receive through SMU will transfer over to their tuition abroad. “Had I known that when I was in college, I would have been all over the country,” Sarodjo said. For more information, visit abroad.smu.edu, or visit the SMU study abroad office in the Blanton Building.
Recent police investigations into the Feb. 10 alleged assault at the Sigma Phi Epsilon house have uncovered several new pieces of information. SMU police expect Class A misdemeanor charges for unlawful restraint and assault to be filed against several SMU students, based on the investigation thus far, according to an email from Kent Best, Executive Director of News and Communications. A student, who is not affiliated with Sigma Phi Epsilon, reported to SMU police that he was held against his will and struck numerous times. Following the alleged assault the victim sought medical attention where he was treated and then released. Due to the continuing investigation SMU has placed Sigma Phi Epsilon on temporary deferred suspension. This prohibits the fraternity from hosting activities, among other sanctions. “SMU takes seriously any allegations of student misconduct
and also will pursue this matter through its Student Code of Conduct process,” Best said. “In addition, the national Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity has ordered the SMU chapter to cease all activities for an indefinite period of time.” The Daily Campus has reached out to current Sigma Phi Epsilon President Billy Hightower for comment. Hightower has not responded to the emails, but did send a prepared statement to The Dallas Morning News Tuesday morning. The statement read: “Multiple members of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Chapter at Southern Methodist have been implicated in a series of inappropriate activities that occurred on Sunday, February 10. As a chapter, we cannot support any actions that do not reflect our Fraternity’s mission of building balanced men. All members involved, including those who were bystanders to the incident, have been suspended from the chapter pending an ongoing criminal investigation. The chapter and its members will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities.” Check smudailycampus.com for updates on the investigation.
speaker
Dr. Bernard Franklin speaks in recognition of Black History Month Lucy sosa Video Editor lsosa@smu.edu Dr. Bernard Franklin, highly regarded urban rights leader and one of Kansas City’s most influential African Americans, spoke to about 15 people in the Hughes-Trigg Ballroom Tuesday about Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s character and legacy. As part of a day-long lecture series honoring Black History Month, Franklin’s fascination with Dr. King’s brilliance, fearlessness and sacrifice stand out from the traditional tale of his civil rights accomplishments. “This is not just some guy we gave a holiday to,” Franklin said. “This is a man who stepped right into the midst of hell to defend a group of people who in many cases were not given equal opportunity.” Impressed by Dr. King’s demand for change as a 25-yearold African American in deeply segregated Montgomery, Ala., Franklin tried to understand how the famous civil rights leader found the nerve to confront hatred. “How could you walk into that and with such courage and such conviction, but he did, he continued to,” Franklin said, as disturbing images of executed African-American men hanging from trees projected on the screen. While Dr. King dedicated his life to rallying support and fighting for equality, Franklin believes today’s society fails to stand up against racial discrimination. Intertwining the civil right leader’s rhetoric with his own, Franklin warned about the silence
of bystanders. “We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends … your silence on my behalf is deafening,” Franklin said. He urged the crowd to stand up for him when he is not present to defend himself. Franklin attributes the silence of today’s generation to the difference of living well and dying well. In his opinion, Dr. King died well because a young man who’s from the north and risks his life to fight for racial equality is only worried about leaving behind a legacy. Today, according to Franklin, people are more concerned with living well and building bigger lifestyles than bigger legacies. As the floor opened up to questions, Ray Jordan, coordinator of the Civil Rights Pilgrimage Ray, questioned Dr. King’s admiration of good samaritans but his hesitance to be one. Franklin responded by addressing the role of charity and justice as a tool for fighting racial discrimination. Audience member Simone Daneille asked for advice on how to change people’s perceptions and notions of racial discrimination. “The men in my life have a history of what we’ve lived, so I have this passion to say I know black men are more than this. And I know there’s something I need to do,” Daneille said. Franklin encouraged Daneille to tear down the notion that “black men are broken” and explained the importance of being open to help instead of looking for it.