INSIDE
Mardi Gras food in Dallas SMU dancer goes global Weekend basketball results
Examining Obama’s new budget
PAGE 2
PAGE 4
PAGE 3 PAGE 5
MONDAY
FEBRUARY 20, 2012 MONDAY High 63, Low 42 TUESDAY High 67, Low 50
VOLUME 96 ISSUE 62 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
SPORTS
Swimming wins big at conference BROOKE WILLIAMSON Sports Editor kbwillamson@smu.edu
SPENCER J. EGGERS / The Daily Campus
University of Maryland EntouRAAS group perform a dance routine during the Indian Students Association’s Raas Rave and Bhangra Blitz.
ISA hosts huge dance event BEN ATEKU Contributing Writer bateku@smu.edu
Rainy skies did not deter an enthusiastic crowd from packing the more than 2,300seat McFarlin Auditorium for the Raas Rave and Bhangra Blitz event Saturday night. Twelve teams from universities across the U.S. competed for trophies and prize money. The University of Maryland’s EntouRAAS team won first place in the Raas category, while Michigan State University won first place in the Bhangra category. Both winners bagged $1,500 each in prize money. Texas A&M won second place in Raas, while the University of Michigan took the second spot in Bhangra. Both teams won $1,000 each. The event was hosted by SMU’s
Indian Students Association. Bhangra originates from music and song of the Indian Punjab. Raas is a traditional folk dance featuring men and women dancing in two circles with sticks in their hands. Each dancer holds two sticks, referred to as “Dandiya.” Opposite sides hit the sticks at the same time, creating a rhythmic musical sound. One circle moves clockwise and another counter-clockwise, or may form rows. Both of these energetic, fast-paced dances are associated with the time of harvest. Each team artfully integrated lights in their shows to enhance their performances. The dancers whirled and moved their feet and arms flawlessly to the tune of music. The teams wore traditional colorful costumes that
magnified their fast-paced movements. Music, lights and dances were synchronized to offer flawless presentations that received applause from the packed hall throughout the four-hour presentation. Presenters Nimesh Patel and Usama Siddique did more than just usher groups to the stage. Their comic appeal kept the crowd laughing throughout the event. The iPhone was featured prominently in most shows. “Maybe it is because of Steve Job’s death,” Indian Student Association’s Sidra Anees said after the show. “But we were constantly texting during the show to ensure everything worked efficiently.” The panel of judges was comprised of leading Asian Raas and Bhangra dance practitioners and administrators in Dallas/
Fort Worth area. Dancer Natasha Dhuldhoya from Texas A&M University was ecstatic about her team’s second place win in the Raas category. “It feels amazing to finally win a national competition, competing as a young team,” Dhuldhoya said after the event. She said the team practiced two hours daily since the school year started. “We could never have expected this outcome, but our hard work paid off,” added Sonal Patel, another dancer from Texas A&M. Amy Faltisko, third year law student at SMU, praised the performers for their creativity. “They were fantastic and disciplined, considering they are students,” Faltisko said. ISA member Anees said plans are underway to host a local talent show in March.
campus
Vagina Monologues comes to campus COURTNEY QUINN Contributing Writer cquinn@smu.edu The Women’s Interest Network put on a benefit performance of “The Vagina Monologues” on Friday in the Hughes-Trigg Theater to raise awareness about “V-day.” This episodic play was written by Eve Ensler and has grown in popularity since it started. V-Day is a non-profit movement that raises money for women’s anti-violence groups around the world. “Until the Violence Stops” is the motto, and new monologues are added each year to represent a different struggle that has arisen among women around the world. In addition to ticket sales, WIN sold T-shirts, lollipops, buttons and stickers with the phrase “I Respect Vaginas” to raise money. The play started with members of WIN randomly scattered in the audience. One by one they stood up and said a collection of different slang terms for vagina. Soon all 17 women, both college age and older, were on stage and ready to speak. They all wore shades of red and black, the colors of the V-Day logo. The monologues were each introduced with a real-world crisis
or struggle experienced by many women. “My Angry Vagina” was a comedic rant about the injustices of what a vagina has to go through, such as tampons, thong underwear and OBGYN instruments. “My Vagina Was My Village” was a serious compilation of testimonies from Bosnian rape camps. “The Little Coochie Snorcher that Could” was about a woman who explains a traumatic childhood of sexual abuse and how she had a healing sexual experience with an older woman who helped her realize she is still a good person. Another monologue, “Reclaiming Cunt,” talked about how to use this particular word in a positive manner, unlike the negative connotation it normally has. “The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy” was a story of a tax lawyer turned sex worker and included a vocal demonstration of a triple orgasm. “Because He Likes to Look at It” was about a woman who thought her vagina was ugly and not a place of admiration until her sexual experience with a man named Bob who loved to look at it and said it was beautiful. “I Was There in the Room” was
SPENCER J EGGERS/The Daily Campus
Jessica Barner delivers a monologue entitled “My Angry Vagina” during Friday evening’s performance of “The Vagina Monologues” in Hughes-Trigg.
the finale. Eve Ensler describes the birth of her granddaughter. The stories made the audience laugh, cry and cringe. This play was not designed to make one feel comfortable. It intends to take one out of a familiar zone and make one listen and hear stories and experiences one normally tries to avoid. “This is the first time I experienced such openness about the word that society usually considers a private matter,” SMU
student Cicely Hoelscher said. The cast got into their roles and looked like they were having a great time on stage. WIN was happy to see such a great turn out and they were thankful for the money raised to support abused women everywhere. According to WIN, V-Day is an important cause to spread awareness about, and “The Vagina Monologues” is the perfect attention-grabbing outlet.
The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will bring the ConferenceUSA title back to Dallas after a hard fought battle in Houston this past weekend. In addition to winning the title, the women swept the medal stand in the 200-yard breaststroke. First-year Rachel Nicol qualified for the NCAA Championships coming up in March becoming the first Mustang to do so. SMU’s women’s swimming team won a total of 16 out of 22 events to claim the conference championships. SMU swimmer Therese Svendsen was named Swimmer of the Meet while SMU’s coach, Steve Collins, was named Swimming Coach of the Year. Collins won the award two
previous times. The women’s highlight of the meet was when the 400yard freestyle relay team set a meet record completing the race 3:16.19. The relay team consisted of Isabella Arcila, Genny Konicke, Therese Svendsen and Nina Rangelova. The men took over the medal stand in the 100-yard freestyle starting with Mindaugas Sadauskas winning the event. Junior David Larsson came in second-place while sophomore Ryan Koops came in third. On the diving platform, SMU continued to take the top three finishes. Freshman Devin Burnett earned his third gold of the meet and Hayden Hodges placed second. SMU sealed it with junior Richard Cornelius coming in third. The successes in the pool and on the platform were recognized by all, and the team will continue the season with a little extra hardware around their necks.
renovation
Students confused by Dedman’s construction RUTHIE BURST Contributing Writer rburst@smu.edu When planning on going to the gym, expect to get an extra workout. Instead of parking in front of the gym, Dedman members have to park at a different location and walk a little bit farther. Renovations are currently taking place around SMU’s Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports. The parking lot located on Airline Road is no longer available. All Dedman members now have access to park in the Moody, Binkley and Meadows garages. William Ehling, the executive director of recreational sports, said the closure of the parking lot is due to exciting renovations for the construction of five new residence halls. The five residence halls are part of an ambitious plan to expand the university’s academic community. The first halls will open in two years. SMU student Lucia Carr doesn’t mind going the extra distance to get to the gym. She thinks the five new residence halls are important for SMU to have on campus. “I’m excited to see the new residence halls. It doesn’t bother me that the parking lot is closed. I used to drive, but now I run to the gym and enjoy the extra workout and extra time outside,” Carr said. However, some students have raised concerns about walking back from the gym at night. “I know it’s an oxymoron that I drive to the gym when I’m there to workout, but I feel uncomfortable walking back to my house in the dark,” SMU sophomore Jilian Rossow said. While some students question their safety walking to and from the gym at night, Ehling said that safety will remain a top concern at SMU. He suggested that students take advantage of Park ‘N Pony’s
Giddy Up service for late night rides. In situations of danger, he recommended that students call university police. Tori DeClaris, an SMU student who lives off-campus, is not happy with the closing of the parking lot. “I paid for a student parking permit for the sole purpose of being able to park at the gym without knowing that it would be closed for half the year,” DeClaris said. She believes that Park ‘N Pony should have done a better job of informing people about the renovations before construction started. The outside community that pays for a membership at Dedman is increasingly frustrated. But, there are alternatives for these members. There is a new Dedman shuttle service that is free and runs on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. The shuttle transports Dedman members from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. to and from the Dedman Center entrance and the Lloyd All-Sports Center. The shuttle stops at each location about every eight to 10 minutes. The shuttle also picks up members from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to and from the mustangs statue, the Dedman Center entrance, the Lloyd All-Sports Center, the Main Quad flagpole and the Owen Fine Arts Center. The shuttle stops at these locations about every 15 minutes. For those not used to SMU accommodations, any service is seen as a positive. “Wake Forest didn’t have these shuttle services. I think it is really nice that SMU offers them, and it’s a great way for Dedman to accommodate their members during the renovations,” Ashley Anderson, an SMU transfer student, said. While the closing of the parking lot has been problematic, Dedman and other SMU organizations have done their best to accommodate those who want to work out as long as they don’t mind a little walk.