DC022212 by The DC

INSIDE

Mother-daughter open bakery Leave bumper stickers alone Basketball previews

Downtown Dallas’ newest planned park

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WEDNESDAY

FEBRUARY 22, 2012

Wednesday High 76, Low 52 Thursday High 79, Low 45

VOLUME 96 ISSUE 63 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS

Greyhound adds cheap option to Houston

TASHIKA VARMA Assignments Editor tvarma@smu.edu

Greyhound, the largest intercity bus transportation, is bringing the Greyhound Express to the Lone Star State. Greyhound Express provides short-distance nonstop or one-stop service to and from major Greyhound service hubs including New York, Washington D.C. and now Dallas. Following its one-year anniversary, Greyhound Express will be expanding its service by adding routes between Dallas and Houston. SMU students who want to visit Houston can now take the Greyhound Express instead of driving or flying. Greyhound is the first company to bring a premiumlevel, low-fare intercity bus service to Texas. “[The] expansion into Texas signifies that Greyhound Express is rapidly becoming the type of service customers prefer, covering four major regions of the United States — Midwest, Northeast, Southeast and South — and also in Alberta, Canada,” Dave Leach, Greyhound president and CEO, said in a press release. “Last month, we celebrated our one-year anniversary by launching service in Florida. We’re proud nearly 1.3 million customers have experienced this new premium service since it launched,” Leach said. “Greyhound Express has proved to be a service that our customers truly appreciate.”

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Intercity buses, like Greyhound, are actually the safest mode of transportation over cars, trucks, trains, plans and other commercial vehicles. The Greyhound Express buses come with improvements. Customers get a guaranteed seat as well as free Wi-Fi, power outlets, extra legroom and leather seats. The buses seat 50 passengers. They currently have 88 of these new buses running the express route. “Since Greyhound made a lot of improvements to their buses, the trip would be worth a try,” junior and Houstonnative Ryan Cole said. The express trip from Dallas to Houston will take four hours and eight minutes each way. Dallas native Sameen Ali thinks the Greyhound Express will be a great addition to Dallas. “The buses are an economically convenient alternate choice if people don’t want to drive,” she said. The bus would leave from 205 S. Lamar St. in Dallas and arrive at 2121 Main St. in Houston. “I’d love to try the Greyhound’s new service,” junior Jacqueline VelasquezRoss said. “The drive to Houston is four hours, and it’d be nice to enjoy the ride.” Ross travels back and forth from Houston many times

PROGR AM COUNCIL

Student body responds to spring concert SARAH KRAMER Editor-in-Chief skramer@smu.edu

SPENCER J EGGERS / The Daily Campus

Greyhound plans on offering $1 tickets from Dallas to Houston.

a semester to visit family and friends. She thinks that this will give people another option for transportation since gas prices and plane tickets are on the rise. Service from Dallas to Houston and vice versa begins Feb. 29. Ticket fares begin at a dollar and are now on sale at www. mygreyhoundexpress.com. Greyhound customers can now buy their Express ticket online for discount pricing. Then they can either print their ticket at home or pick it up at a self-service ticketing kiosk. “I would definitely try the Greyhound, especially if I didn’t have a car,” senior Allie Feldman said. “Flights to Houston are about $70 each way, so this is a really great deal.”

BY THE NUMBERS Automobile

$88 SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

$168 GREYHOUND BUS

$72

Program Council didn’t ‘Nail’ it this year. After announcing the artists for the spring concert last Friday, students were quick to voice their opinions. While Program Council boasts that Gavin DeGraw and David Nail are well-known artists, much of the student body would disagree — at least about the latter. “Compared to the last couple of artist like Guster and Girl Talk, even though he didn’t play, this year was a big disappoint,” senior Pierce Jordan said. “I don’t even know who David Nail is.” Jordan’s discontent with this year’s choice resonated amid the majority of students. “I don’t know who David Nail is and I don’t care for Gavin DeGraw,” William Floyd, a senior, said. “I don’t think many people will go.” “It’s a horrible choice,” junior Toshica Rathore said. According to Rathore, DeGraw isn’t a favorite among SMU students. In her opinion, a pop-artist would be a better fit. “I would like Drake,” she said. “I think Program Council needs to bring in some hip-hop or pop.” Though Program Council did not get the rap artist Drake for the spring concert, he will be performing at University of Texas at Arlington on March 2. Last year, when Program Council announced that Ke$ha, who most would categorize as a pop artist, was performing, both faculty and students were

hesitant to have a “popular” artist at SMU. “People complained about how trashy and ‘talentless’ Ke$ha is,” senior Tori Spickler said. Due to her reputation and controversial lyrics, Evening Programs Initiatives Contributions (EPIC) denied funding for last year’s spring concert. EPIC belived that Ke$ha would promote activities that are against its goals, such as drinking. Program Council has applied for EPIC funding this year, but does not expect to hear back from them until next week, at the earliest. They did, however, receive less money from Student Senate than previous years. A smaller budget is only one factor when it comes to coordinating schedules with artists. “It’s hard getting artists no matter who it is,” Spickler said. Though Spickler wasn’t overly thrilled about the artists, she is still looking forward to the concert. “I like Gavin DeGraw, but I don’t know of David Nail,” she said. “It should be fun anyway — It’s cool finding new music.” Junior Corinne Matthews agrees. “I think people are generally pleased about this year’s choice,” she said. “They’re not overly excited, but nobody seems incredibly disappointed.” Yet, the number of students who have said they are attending the concert on Program Council’s Facebook page is significantly smaller than last year. Currently, only 294 students have responded ‘yes’ compared to the 2,520 people who said they were attending Ke$ha last year.

TECHNOLOGY

Lecture

Twitter partners with Russian search engine

Author discusses new book

STEPHANIE BROWN News Director stephanieb@smu.edu Twitter has enhanced its microblogging empire by signing its first search deal with Russian search engine Yandex. This deal will allow Russian users to yield Twitter search results on Yandex’s blog section in real time. The most crucial aspect of the deal is the far reach that Yandex provides Russia. Yandex is Russia’s search engine of choice over Google for web users. This appears to be a strong move since Twitter has an estimated one million users in Russia and does not have any competitors within the country. “Twitter’s ability to tap into this emerging market will significantly enhance its popularity with Russian users as well as potentially grow their Russian user base,” SMU junior Luke Johnson said.

Graphic by Spencer J Eggers/The Daily Campus

Twitter has previously held agreements with both Microsoft’s Bing search engine and Google. However, Twitter’s agreement with Google expired last July. Since the expiration, Google and Twitter have not struck up a second deal. According to England’s The Daily Telegraph, Google and Twitter have had some disagreements over the details

of a potential new deal, and thus nothing has come about since the last deal’s expiration. Twitter continues to hold partnerships with Bing and Yahoo! Search, providing access to its public feed of tweets. The monetary components of this deal involving licensing agreements have not yet been released, nor have the time constraints surrounding the deal.

RUTHIE BURST Contributing Writer rburst@smu.edu

Dr. Sebouh David Aslanian’s new book, “From the INDIAN OCEAN to the MEDITERRANEAN: The Global Trade Networks of Armenian Merchants from New Julfa, Isfahan,” focuses on the history of trade and the key components to the success of certain merchants. “My newly published book is a detailed study of the economic global network of these merchants,” Aslanian said. Aslanian’s Stanton Sharp Lecture revolved around his book and his studies of Julfa trading networks. He said the aspects that made Julfa successful were the level of trust between the merchants and the master and their level of multi-cultureless. “The larger question is how merchants, before the age of the Internet, established networks of trade,” Aslanian said. Aslanian shared his studies and beliefs to a crowd of about 30 people at SMU in the McCord Auditorium in Dallas Hall. “Living in the United States, we

are so limited in our perspective. I love it when they bring in speakers like this,” Andrea Boardman, a member of the audience, said. Aslanian was born in Utopia, studied in several parts of the world, speaks seven languages, has written several articles and has recently published a book. Aslanian shared his thoughts at the lecture Tuesday evening. The Stanton Sharp Lecture Series is associated with the SMU Department of History and tends to draw a crowd consisting of SMU alumni and students interested in history. “I think this lecture series is wonderful and this lecture was unbelievable. I went in there with a totally blank slate and came out with so much more,” Mary Marshall an SMU alumna said. Aslanian’s book emphasizes how Julfan trading networks began and survived in the 1700’s. His studies stress the importance of establishing and maintaining trust. Julfan trust was constituted through contracts and longdistance partnerships. Both the master and the merchants exhibited a high level of trust. “If you’re really smart, you

will find mechanisms to have trust,” Aslanian said. Aslanian believes that the merchants remained loyal because when they traveled, they realized they left their families behind. This meant, if a merchant left town with the master’s money, his family would be put in danger. “There always needs to be something that establishes trust,” Aslanian said. Aslanian also expressed two reasons why the Julfan community should be important to world history. “First is that they are arguably the only Asian community that simultaneously operated all major empires at that time,” Aslanian said. The Julfan community controlled the Gunpowder Empires including Ottomans, Safavids, Mughals and others. Julfan settlements were scattered throughout these empires. When asked about the most interesting piece of information from the lecture, John Mears an SMU professor of world history said, “The geographical extent and diversity of the trade network

SeeTRADE on Page 6

HEALTH

The Daily Campus

WEDNESDAY n FEBRUARY 22, 2012 alcohol

nutrition

Binge drinking: A thing of the past? PARMINDER DEO Staff Writer pdeo@smu.edu In April 2011, the National College Health Improvement Program (NCHIP) launched the Learning Collaborative on HighRisk Drinking. The innovative initiative combines comprehensive evaluations and measurement methods to pinpoint and implement effective ways to combat the problems of excessive drinking. More than 30 colleges and universities have joined with NCHIP’s efforts based at The Dartmouth Institute of Health Policy and Clinical Practice (TDI), and SMU is one of those universities. For SMU, joining the NCHIP was a result of the 2007-08 President’s Task Force on Substance Abuse Prevention. The Task Force has now changed to The President’s Commission on Substance Abuse Prevention, after initial findings and reports. The Commission is composed of students, faculty and staff. Meetings are held regularly during the academic year to monitor and assess substance abuse prevention strategies. “I see our membership in the Learning Collaborative on HighRisk Drinking as an important part of the work of the President’s

Courtesy of Wholesome Foods Bakery

Wholesome Foods Bakery located at 718 North Buckner Blvd offers a variety of gluten-free baked goods.

A bakery loses the gluten ANNE PARKER H&F Editor annep@smu.edu Associated Press

Mardi Gras celebrations are notorious for centering around excessive drinking and partying.

Commission,” Lori White, vice president for student affairs at SMU, said. “I look forward to joining forces with our peers to find ideas and answers about binge drinking.” NCHIP reports that four out of 10 students are affected by binge drinking. Binge drinking is defined as four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men over a period of two hours. It can also be any form of drinking that leads to impairment. How does NCHIP work? Collaborative teams spend 18 months working with TDI researchers to come up with new

health solutions and methods. The teams to discover which programs work best depending on the specific campus of the university. Notable schools involved in the initiative include Yale, Cornell, Wellesley, Stanford, Princeton, Duke, The University of Vermont, The University of Minnesota, and The University of New Hampshire. SMU is currently the only university in Texas participating. SMU’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Staff at Memorial Health Center consists of John Sanger, director; Jan McCutchin, coordinator; and Galen Laprocido; health educator. The team is also comprised

Campus Events

of Assistant Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Student Retention Anthony Tillman and Vice President for Student Affairs Lori White. The student member is Nick Jehlik, a junior marketing major at SMU’s Cox School of Business. “This learning collaborative shares information, concepts and measurement techniques that can help decrease high-risk drinking on campus. Ultimately, this effort can help save lives,” Jehlik said. “Given my proximity to the effects of high-risk drinking I believe I can represent the SMU student body in helping to make our campus safer.”

Police Reports FEBRUARY 18

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY February 23

February 24

CIA Information Session: Students will learn about CIA job opportunities in the Huitt-Zollars Pavilion at 5 p.m.

Latin American Music Queer Festival: A showcase of movies that deal with representations of gender in McCord Auditorium at 6 p.m.

Medicine and Physics Connect: A discussion of new radiotherapy techniques in Fondren Science 153 at 2 p.m.

Immigration Symposium: A forum on immigration and its implications in McCord Auditorium at 5:30 p.m.

“Big Love” by Charles Mee: A modern retelling of Aeschylus’s story in the Owen Arts Center at 8 p.m.

Meadows Wind Ensemble: A collection of Meadows musicians and composers will perform a series of pieces in the Owen Fine Arts Center at 8 p.m.

February 22

Does a bakery that is glutenfree, soy-free, all-natural and organic seem too good to be true? If you have a food allergy, this probably seems like a dream. Anne Hoyt and her daughter, Taylor Nicholson, both have celiac disease and are lactose intolerant. Tired of the tasteless options offered to people with gluten allergies, they created Wholesome Foods Bakery. “We have anything from snacks to baked goods you would ever need, and it is all glutenfree,” Nicholson said. One of their main goals is to make sure that everything has a delicious taste and texture. “The pumpkin muffins taste exactly like a regular pumpkin

muffin,” SMU student Mallory Presutti said. “But I did not feel as bad eating it.” From cupcakes, brownies, cakes and breads to muffins, snack mixes and special Foodbars all of their baked goods avoid any unnecessary added ingredients such as fatty additives and refined sugars. Their food includes a mix of complex carbohydrates, protein, fiber and heart healthy fats to keep customers satisfied. However, not everyone who eats at Wholesome Foods Bakery suffers from a food allergy. “About one-third of our customers have no food allergies,” Nicholson said. “They just want to eat as clean and organic as possible.” In March, Wholesome Foods Bakery will undergo an expansion. They will offer even more options such as sandwiches, pizza and take away foods but all will remain true to being organic, gluten and soy-free.

FRIDAY

No criminal incidents or fire alarms were reported.

february 19 1:40 a.m. Off Campus/2709 Elm Street. A student was arrested by Dallas Police Department and referred to the Student Conduct Office for being intoxicated in a public place. Closed.

2:32 a.m. 3200 Binkley Avenue. Two students were referred to the Student Conduct Office for underage drinking. Closed. 2:22 p.m. Crow Building/6210 Bishop Blvd./Georges Auditorium. Water flooded the lower level of Georges Auditorium. Closed. 7:35 p.m. 3300 Mockingbird Lane. A non-affiliated man was arrested and booked into Dallas County jail for driving with an invalid license and for possession of marijuana. Closed.

10:55 p.m. Theology Lot. A student reported her unattended vehicle was struck by an unknown person who failed to leave contact information. Open. 11:21 PM. Moore Hall/5810 Hillcrest Avenue. Officer responded to a trashcan fire. Upon arrival the fire was out. A lit cigarette may have caused an egg carton to catch fire. UP Fire Department was not dispatched to the scene. Closed.

Hilltop News at Your Fingertips

Visit us online at smudailycampus.com

The Daily Campus recreation

Cassandra robison A&E Editor cassandrar@smu.edu

Kitchen Dog Theater’s ‘Collapse’ production pleases audiences Alex hoskins Contributing Writer ahoskins@smu.edu

Photo courtesy of The Park

An artist’s rendering shows The Park, which will soon cover Woodall Rogers Freeway in Downtown Dallas.

the Dallas Arts District museums. Jaquey Rodriquez, admission and information employee for the Crow Collection of Asian Art, said the museum anticipates a large increase of visitors. “The Crow has pushed their hours later to accommodate future guests from the park,” Rodriguez said. “We think the Crow will be extra attractive because it is free and open to the public.” One of the most intriguing, yet questionable, characteristics of Klyde Warren Park is its construction overtop of the Woodall Rodgers Freeway between Pearl and St. Paul streets. With a concrete base, trenches will be designed to allow tree growth. As far as the grass, there will be 40,000 square feet of lawn and 12 inches of topsoil. Ali Akbar, information employee at the Dallas Museum of Art, believes the park is essential for Dallas’ environment.

“Besides the garden within the Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas is all concrete. We need a large green garden within the city,” Akbar said. The pro-environmental park will have many LEED or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design factors. It will use LEED lighting, conserving approximately 94,000 kilowatts of energy per year, in addition to a high-efficiency capillary irrigation system that will be dispersed over 80 percent of the park. Public transportation is another aspect that is both environmentally sound and enjoyable for park visitors. Parkgoers can travel to the central locations via trolley rides, bike routes on the Katy Trail or DART rail services. This park predicts these modes of transportation will aid the central connectivity of the park, as well as environmental awareness.

theater

Arts District welcomes new park By fall of 2012, Dallas inhabitants will be connected to Uptown, Downtown and the Arts District by one central location: The Park. Downtown Dallas’ current lofty, but eco-friendly, project is to create a grand metropolitan park that will match the stature of New York’s Central Park and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Publicly released by the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation on Sunday, the official name of Dallas’ public green space will be Klyde Warren Park. Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren decided to name the park after his 9-year-old son. Jody Grant, chairman of the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation Board, announced publicly that Warren tremendously aided in creating Dallas traditions. “A father naming the park after his son sends a strong message that this park will be a green oasis for all children to play, dream and learn,” Grant said. “We are honored to enter into this partnership with Kelcy and his family.” Features of the Klyde Warren Park will undoubtedly be enjoyed by families, as well as others such as environmentalists and dog lovers alike. Since its initial construction date in October 2009, a performance pavilion, restaurant, dog park, children’s park and walking trails have all been calculated for in the 5.2 acres the park encompasses. Another compelling component of the Klyde Warren Park is the Arts Boulevard. The object behind this region of the park is to create a welcoming Arts Terrace and Harwood Plaza, which eventually leads the way to

ARTS

WEDNESDAY n FEBRUARY 22, 2012

The Klyde Warren Park will be owned by the City of Dallas and the extensive maintenance will be managed privately by the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation. The park will therefore be a public and private partnership. Other construction projects — such as the new Perot Museum of Nature and Science opening in 2013 and the Museum Tower apartments’ completion in 2012 — allow the Klyde Warren Park launch to establish a beneficial downtown collaboration. Klyde Warren Park exhibits a 24-hour web cam to show the construction and cultural growth. President of the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation Linda Owen said during the Park’s primary public release, “The park will be a joyful and memorable gathering place and will reflect the bold collaboration of people from throughout our region to create a public asset for the entire community.”

When things start to collapse in our lives, we jump to action; try to keep things together, try to get some sense of control. Taking action seems like the logical solution, but when chaos has taken over, how much control are we left with? This is the premise of Kitchen Dog Theater’s most recent production. “Collapse” is a new 80-minute drama by Kitchen Dog Theater member Allison Moore. “Collapse” deals with the desperate human compulsion to seize control of a situation when something goes awry. Hannah, played by Leah Spillman, undergoes a chaotic shift in her life: her husband, David, played by Michael Federico, is too sick to go to work. On top of that, her job is in jeopardy and her bizarre sister, Susan, played by JaQuai Wade, has now taken up residence in the middle of her living room. As the protagonist frantically gropes for some element of control as her life collapses around her, it becomes apparent to the viewer just how little control we have in our own lives. The basic premise of an individual grasping for control of his or her life is one we are all familiar with. However, it may not necessarily be apparent that the play deals with the

struggle for control until late into the production. While characters discuss their various problems from the very beginning of the play, the focus is not on control until Hannah’s main problem — her fear of the collapse of her marriage — is revealed. The actors’ performances work very well for Kitchen Dog Theater’s most recent dramatic production. Wade does a nice job portraying the character Susan. Her quirky style and refusal to sit still will eat at your patience just as much as it does Hannah’s. Federico and Spillman, as David and Hannah, have little chemistry onstage, but that works perfectly for a story about a marriage on the rocks. The production also benefits from the fact that characters deliver lines realistically. Bill Lengfelder portrays the recovering sex addict, Ted, and brings comic relief to “Collapse.” Lengfelder brings a unique energy to the play. Laughs abound in the audience when Ted has something to say. “Collapse” may not be perfect, but it’s an eye-opening reminder of just how human we are and how much control we really have in our lives. The play “Collapse” runs at Kitchen Dog Theater on McKinney Avenue now through March 3. Tickets may be purchased at the box office or by calling Kitchen Dog Theater.

OPINION

Daily Campus debate: Foreign Policy

Editorial Staff Editor-in-Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Kramer Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chase Wade SMU-TV News Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stephanie Brown, Meredith Carlton Assignments Desk Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tashika Varma Online Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Murphy News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rahfin Faruk Arts & Entertainment Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cassandra Robinson Associate Arts & Entertainment Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Katelyn Hall Sports Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mercedes Owens, Brooke Williamson Associate Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathryn Roden Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spencer Eggers Style Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shelby Foster Health & Fitness Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anne McCaslin Parker Food Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kate Petty Opinion Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brandon Bub Copy Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan Anderson, Laura Murphy, Meghan Sikkel, Katie Tufts Video Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summer Dashe, Eric Sheffield, Kent Koons

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Column

Associated Press

A Santorum bumper sticker at a tea party rally.

Leave our bumper stickers alone MICHAEL GRAVES mwgraves@smu.edu I find bumper stickers absolutely fascinating. Walking around campus, one can see stickers that display slogans like “NoBama2012” and some just the opposite. Pro-life, pro-choice, yay for gay and “family values” stickers also adorn car trunks letting everyone know what the driver supports and professes to. The displays are often comical. These stickers are also a great way to exercise one’s freedom of speech. I’ve noticed lately, however, that that freedom is being infringed upon by other people. I read a Facebook post the other day from a friend who had a sticker ripped off of her car by another person. Not only did she seem upset because someone vandalized her property, but her bumper sticker supported the rights of many of her friends. She’s not the first. Over the past few months I’ve heard from several friends who have had stickers written on, ripped off and scratched out. No matter what the sticker said on it, this is just wrong. Where I’m from, people place Confederate flags all over trucks, cars and vans. And although I am often enraged at my neighbors’ choice to do so, I understand that it’s not my job to tear that symbol off of their vehicle. I expect the same courtesy from others for my own car. I’ve often thought about putting my political stickers on my car. Maybe my Obama 2012 campaign sticker, or my Human Right’s Campaign sticker. I openly profess to be a flaming liberal, just as some of my friends will profess to being tea party members. We respect each other. Therefore, I have one message to those who are ripping bumper stickers off of cars: Don’t touch my car. Don’t try to mutilate my belief statements. And, most importantly, stop being a coward. If you disagree with me, come talk to me. Then we can have an intelligent conversation and compromise or agree to stand apart. There is no need to bring my car into the middle of the conflict. We are part of a great academic institution that promotes the exchange of ideas, no matter how extreme they may be. Let’s use this privilege and exchange those ideas in a tactful manner. I do not stand for ignorance, and I do not stand for hate. I do, however, stand for discussion and education, compromise and well-intended confrontation. So let’s get to talking. Michael is a sophomore majoring in communications studies and religious studies.

POLICIES The Daily Campus is a public forum, Southern Methodist University’s independent student voice since 1915 and an entirely student-run publication. Letters To The Editor are welcomed and encouraged. All letters should concentrate on issues, be free of personal attacks, not exceed 250 words in length and must be signed by the author(s). Anonymous letters will not be published and The Daily Campus reserves the right to edit letters for accuracy, length and style. Letters should be submitted to dc@smu.edu.

The Daily Campus

WEDNESDAY n FEBRUARY 22, 2012

Guest columns are accepted and printed at the editor’s discretion upon submission to dc@smu.edu. Guest columns should not exceed 500-600 words and the author will be identified by name and photograph. Corrections. The Daily Campus is committed to serving our readers with accurate coverage and analysis. Readers are encouraged to bring errors to The Daily Campus editors’ attention by emailing Editorial Adviser Jay Miller at jamiller@smu.edu.

DEMOCRAT MICHAEL WILBURN mwilburn@smu.edu There are many foreign policy issues facing the United States right now. Europe is trying to get its financial troubles under control, there is going to be new leadership in China, poor Arab-Israeli relation, tension surrounding the Iranian nuclear program and the list goes on. Yet there is one issue that the United States should act on immediately. That issue is working to stop the abuses President Bashar Al-Assad is committing against the people of Syria. The situation in Syria is dire. The U.N. said more than 5,400 people were killed in Syria last year, and the number rises daily. In addition, 25,000 people are estimated to have sought refuge in neighboring countries and more than 70,000 are internally displaced. The government is sending tanks into cities to quell unrest. The government has shelled cities with mortar fire. NPR reported, “Wissam Tarif is an Arab world campaigner with Avaaz, an organization trying to smuggle medical supplies into places like Zabadani. He says the army’s objective is simple: to bring enough hurt on the civilians in these cities that they will stop protesting and stop supporting the Free Syrian Army.” The Syrian government is sieging towns to stop protests. If action is not taken, history will categorize the Syrian uprising with Rwanda and other atrocities in which action was avoided. The United States needs to lead an effort to stop the human rights abuses occurring. A lead from behind strategy implemented through a regional alliance, like

the Libyan intervention, needs to be implemented. The United States can push for action and contribute without making too much of a commitment. The Arab League is active in working to oust Al-Assad and their plans could be the basis for action. Whatever the specific details would be, the United States would have to take a role in acting, even if it is a small role. A call to action in Syria is not an overreach of power. The intervention in Libya shows an example of a successful human rights intervention by the global community. The Libyan people recently celebrated the one year anniversary of their revolution. We should not decide on intervention based on criteria such as oil production, but instead intervene where extreme human rights abuses warrant it. The United States has made some bad foreign policy decisions in the Middle East lately. If the United States does not put more effort into stopping the crackdown in Syria, it will add another blunder to the list. The United States was an early champion of human rights. If the United States wants to keep its tradition as an upholder of rights, it must act. Even if you think that getting involved in Syria is a mistake, I find action in this circumstance better than inaction. As Kofi Annan said, “If one is going to err, one should err on the side of liberty and freedom.” Michael is a freshman majoring in human rights and political science with minors in Arabic and religious studies.

REPUBLICAN TUCKER KEENE tkeene@smu.edu For more than a year now, protesters in Syria and other parts of the Middle East worked to overthrow oppressive governments, and have been met with fierce opposition. The U.S. government intervened in Libya on behalf of the protesters, where the long serving dictator Moammar Gaddafi was using military force against them. This has started a dangerous precedent, for while it seems as though overthrowing these dictators would be a smart move given the apparent democratic sentiment of some of the protesters, we could end up with more oppressive, less democratic dictators in place of these secular regimes like Bashar al-Assad in Syria and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. Overthrowing dictators may seem like an excellent idea, but in many cases, the devil we know is better than the devil we don’t know. We already saw this with Mubarak in Egypt, where in the first “democratic” elections after Mubarak was overthrown, radical Islamists such as the Muslim Brotherhood were able to secure a strong majority. Mubarak was an ally of the United States. The Muslim Brotherhood most certainly are not. What is going on in Syria is terrible. The human rights abuses are deplorable, and it would be great to have them stopped. But just recently, evidence surfaced that Al Qaeda affiliates have joined forces with the Syrian protesters, and the protesters are now flying the flag of Al Qaeda. To intervene in Syria, at least

in the same way we did in Libya, would not be a very smart move if our major goal is to defeat radical Islamic terrorism. Israel would be put further in danger if Assad was overthrown and an Al Qaeda-affiliated government was installed in his place. Stopping human rights abuses in the short term is almost certainly not worth creating a government that will in all likelihood be abusing human rights for many years. So while the Syrian government is a supporter of terror and a horribly oppressive dictatorship, at least we know to what degree they support terror and just how oppressive they are. But if these incredibly religious protesters are given a government of their own, right next to Israel, there is no telling what could happen, and that is not a desirable outcome. Not all of the Arab Spring is bad, however. When it first started, with the “Green” movement in Iran over the summer of 2009, it was clear that the protesters did have that democratic spirit that we assume is present in all the other Arab Spring protests. And yet, this is the protest that Obama couldn’t bring himself to support. He was chronically unable to come down on either side of that protest, and Ahmadinejad was able to steal another election there. He credits his “Cairo Speech” in May of 2009 for beginning the Arab Spring, but I’m beginning to wonder if he should instead be blamed, not credited, because this has been a huge mess. Tucker is a sophomore majoring in political science.

Keep America pro-science PAUL KROEGER OPINION EDITOR pkroeger@smu.edu Last week I was listening to the BBC’s “World Report,” which discussed how Americans tend to reject science. When it comes to areas of science like global warming, stem cell research and evolution, a large percentage of Americans refuse to believe the scientific community. I was particularly disturbed this summer when reading about a report from the Yale University Project on Climate Change Communication. The group polled Americans on whether or not they believed in climate change. What makes this survey unique is that they also asked what percentage of climate scientists believe in climate change. The result was shocking. Only 13 percent of Americans answered correctly; 97 percent of scientists believe in climate change. To make matters worse, the study found that American citizens are less likely to believe in climate change today than they were five years ago. Before I go any further, I want to point out that the number of scientists who accept climate

change, has risen over the past decade. Even extremely balanced, conservative and apolitical organizations like the National Academy of Sciences have ended up strongly affirming climate change. I have to say, I was quite embarrassed for America during “World Report.” Why do our citizens reject science? I believe that a substantial portion of the responsibility for this willful ignorance lies with conservative politicians. In an effort to appeal to a conservative Christian voter base, the educated men and women of the GOP take a public stance against the scientific community. With the exception of Jon Huntsman and possibly Mitt Romney (whose views on climate change are decidedly on the fence), none of the other Republican candidates agree with the scientific community that humans are contributing to global warming. Newt Gingrich in particular has willfully put his head in the sand in order to appeal to his voters. He appeared in an ad with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a campaign against climate change, but promptly backpedaled from his position when he entered the

presidential race. It’s a problem when potential leaders of the world reject science. And I’m not just talking about climate change. Stem cell research has potentially lifesaving effects, we just need to let scientists research. When it comes to “believing” in evolution, we have had 150 years to accept it and the majority of the scientific community has. But when our leaders publicly reject scientific research and consensus, they not only damage the communication of scientific information, they also hurt the world. If our next president refuses to admit that the earth’s rising temperatures and changing weather patterns are a problem, then there will not be debate on how to address climate change; there won’t be any debate at all. Our president should be aware of climate change and take action to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, or at least be aware of the problem. Especially as a visible public figure, our leader can influence education, research and environmental policy. Regardless of how the election progresses, the Republican party cannot and should not allow

itself to become associated with anti-science ideas. Our current trajectory is too dangerous and unsustainable for our nation to reject scientific consensus. Furthermore, I strongly hope that it is politically untenable to take an active stance against science. I know that there are many economically and socially conservative people on SMU’s campus who are educated enough to see climate change as a very real problem. The Republican Party cannot afford to alienate these educated voters. By rejecting science, Republican politicians dumb down their party, recklessly misinform the public and set our nation and the world on a dangerous path to obsolescence. It’s time for America to get on board with the people who know what they are talking about when it comes to science: scientists. Let’s leave the debate about whether or not climate change exists behind, and debate how to address it instead. Paul is the Opinion Editor. He is a junior majoring in voice performance.

The Daily Campus

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY n FEBRUARY 22, 2012 MEN’S basketball

Mustangs look for win against Tulane Wednesday AUSTIN MANIERE Staff Writer amaniere@smu.edu

SPENCER J EGGERS/The Daily Campus

Sophomore guard Jeremiah Samarrippas protects the ball from a Tulane defender during play on Feb. 9, 2011 in Moody Coliseum. The Mustangs will face off against the Green Wave at home Wednesday evening.

The men’s basketball team will play the Tulane’s Green Wave Wednesday in Moody Coliseum. The Mustangs are in need of a win as they wrap up a three-game homestand that has resulted in two SMU losses so far. SMU’s struggles are far more reaching than just that. The Ponies have dropped 10 of their last 12, beginning with a home game against Rice on Jan. 11. If there was an important time to win for SMU, now would be that time. The Mustangs are currently last in Conference USA standings, with a conference record of 2-10 and an overall record of 11-16. This conference record is just below the records of both East Carolina and Tulane, who each

have a 3-9 C-USA record. Houston is just above ECU and Tulane in the C-USA rankings, with a 4-8 conference record. If everything goes right for SMU in their last four games, they could potentially jump three spots in the rankings to No. 9. However, this is much easier said than done. After playing Tulane at home, SMU will go on to play away at Houston, who despite a poor conference record, is 11-5 at home this season. Things don’t get easier for the Mustangs after Houston. The Ponies continue their road games with a trip to Hattiesburg, Miss., to play the Southern Miss team. They rank first in Conference USA standings. Not only is Southern Miss 22-5 overall, they are a perfect 13-0 at home. Following Southern Miss, SMU will play UTEP at home.

WOMEN’S basketball

Coming up in SMU sports

SMU takes on undefeated UTEP Thursday KELSEY CHARLES Staff Writer kcharles@smu.edu The SMU women’s basketball team is headed to west Texas Thursday night to take on the undefeated University of Texas at El Paso Miners. The Mustangs, who are coming off of a tough loss this past Sunday at home to Rice, are looking to hand the Miners their first loss in conference play this season, but a win against them won’t come easy. “They’re playing very good basketball,” Coach Rhonda Rompola said after the game against Rice on Sunday. “There’s a reason why they’re undefeated,” she added. The Miners are 24-2 for the season and 13-0 in conference play. The lady Mustangs are going to need to avoid hitting another “scoring drought,” which Coach

Rompola cited as one of their major downfalls last game. “We just didn’t have anyone step up to put the ball in the hole,” she said describing the final minutes of the Rice game, when the Mustangs rallied, but came up short. Their technical game will have to be tighter than normal. This means fewer turnovers on in-bounds plays — SMU had 13 total last game. Also, more boxing out under the basket,especially during free throws, will help out the Mustangs. SMU had 21 defensive rebounds against Rice — a decent figure as long as they are able to capitalize and produce points off of the board. UTEP is stacked with talented players. Senior Gloria Brown and sophomore Kayla Thornton will be two to watch out for. Brown has averaged 11.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per

game, all while shooting nearly 80 percent from the line. Thornton is similarly dangerous with 9.8 points and seven rebounds per game. As a team, the Miners are 41 percent from the field, a comparable figure to SMU’s 38.5 percent. UTEP is decent from the three — shooting 29.7 percent beyond the arc. SMU is 31.2 percent from the perimeter for the season. This is an impressive stat for a team without many three-point shooters. Despite the Mustang’s strong appearance on paper, their figures have not produced wins on the scoreboard. “Bottom line is we’ve got to find ways to put the ball in the hole,” Rompola said. “We’re getting shots, we’ve just got to finish.” Tip off is set for Thursday at 8 p.m. at UTEP.

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Sudoku

Wednesday, Feb. 22 Men’s Basketball vs. Tulane, 7 p.m., Moody Coliseum Thursday, Feb. 23 Women’s Basketball @UTEP, 8:05 p.m., El Paso, Texas Friday, Feb. 24 to Sunday, Feb. 26 Women’s Tennis Blue Gray Tournament, Tuscaloosa, Ala. Saturday, Feb. 25 Men’s Basketball @ Houston, 7 p.m., Houston. SPENCER J EGGERS/The Daily Campus

Sophomore guard Raven Short delivers the ball to the SMU basket during Sunday afternoon’s game against Rice in Moody Coliseum.

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Focusing presently on Tulane, the Green Wave are led by freshman Ricky Tarrant this season. Tarrant leads the team in scoring with an average of 15.3 points per game, also leading in assists and steals. In SMU’s last meeting with Tulane this season, the Green Wave handed the Mustangs an 80-74 loss on Jan. 25 at Tulane. Tarrant scored 33 points that game, including five three-pointers, on 9-17 field goal shooting. SMU’s normally stingy defense was burned once by Tarrant, hopefully they’ll come out with a successful way to contain the guard. Other big names for Tulane include minutes and rebounding leader Josh Davis and junior guards Kendall Timmons and Jordan Callahan. The game tips off at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, and can be listened to on KAAM 770 AM.

ACROSS 1 ’50s-’60s Bronx Bombers nickname, with “The” 5 South Seas tuber 9 Oceans 14 Like the team before @, on schedules 15 Not much 16 Hotel courts 17 Best Original Song Oscar winner from ... Disney’s “Pocahontas” 20 Little one 21 __-tzu 22 On the calmer side 23 ... Disney’s “Aladdin” 28 Headache 29 WSJ headline 30 __ rock: music genre 31 Faux pas 33 Bars with hidden prices? 35 Evensong? 39 ... Disney’s “Song of the South” 43 Wed. vis-à-vis Thu. 44 Reed of The Velvet Underground 45 Expel, as lava 47 Western treaty gp. 50 Periods prec. soccer shootouts 52 Before, poetically 53 ... Disney’s “Mary Poppins” 58 French city mostly destroyed in 1944 59 Golf’s Woosnam 60 Tyler of “Jersey Girl” 61 ... Disney’s “Monsters, Inc.” 67 Athena’s shield 68 “__ chic!” 69 File’s partner 70 Actor Milo 71 Holiday tubers 72 __-Ball DOWN 1 Brolly user’s garment 2 __ Jima 3 ’20s White House nickname

By Gareth Bain

4 1997 ecological protocol city 5 Gustatory sensor 6 Blood typing abbr. 7 Sight site 8 Bilingual Canadian city 9 John who explored the Canadian Arctic 10 Openly hostile 11 Showy extra 12 Like tridents 13 Marquis de __ 18 Three-sixty in a canoe 19 Coyote call 23 Grain beard 24 Suffering from vertigo 25 Legendary skater Sonja 26 “Ixnay!” 27 Sgt. Snorkel’s dog 32 Covert __: spy stuff 34 Disney frame 36 Some mag spreads 37 Flat hand, in a game 38 __ Khan: “The Jungle Book” tiger 40 Elemental bit

2/22/12

Monday’s Puzzle Solved

41 Judgment Day 42 Blow away in competition 46 Pint-size 48 Low-pH substance 49 Crudely built home 51 Switchblade 53 Tables-on-thestreet restaurants 54 “__-Ho”: Dwarfs’ song

55 Non-mainstream film 56 Prefix with mural 57 Civil rights activist Medgar 58 “Farewell, cara mia” 62 Metaphor words 63 Skirt line 64 Asian plow puller 65 Vague pronoun 66 Hawaiian strings

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NEWS

The Daily Campus

WEDNESDAY n FEBRUARY 22, 2012 ENVIRONMENT

CAMPUS

Lori White recently named to National Sustainability Board

Student Senate finalizes plans for new seat

TASHIKA VARMA Assignments Editor tvarma@smu.edu Dr. Lori White, the vice president for student affairs at SMU, has just been appointed to the board of directors of Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). She will serve on the board for a term through December 2014. This national organization aims to empower higher education to improve sustainability on campuses. “I appreciate that AASHE defines sustainability in the broadest sense of the word,” White said about AASHE’s vision and mission. AASHE provides campuses with resources, professional development and a support network to help universities achieve advanced sustainability in all aspects. “The outgoing chairperson of the AASHE Board of Directors, Geoffrey Chase, who is dean of undergraduate studies at San Diego State University nominated me because he thought my work

PHOTO COURTESY OF SMU NEWS & COMMUNICATION

a Vice President of student affairs would bring an important perspective to the AASHE Board,” White said. “Dean Chase and I worked together when I was the Dean of Students at San Diego State University.” White feels that her work in higher education, more specifically her work with students, will encourage students to commit to sustainability at

SMU and after graduation. “SMU has an active sustainability committee made up of faculty, staff and students,” White said. “I have met with the SMU sustainability committee and hope to bring any information learned from my involvement in AASHE to the sustainability committee to help enhance their work.” AASHE hosts an annual sustainability conference for college students across the nation. Every year SMU’s Sustainability Committee funds attendance for a student representative and they plan to do so again this year. White’s new position puts SMU on the map for more opportunities for expanding the university’s sustainability. “SMU has already done some great things related to sustainability,” White said. “For example, SMU has LEED certification for new buildings that we build and encouraging students and faculty through various academic, service and research projects to use their knowledge and expertise to help make the world a better place.”

TRADE: Aslanian talks to students

Continued from Page 1

and the fact that he was talking about a trade network that we in the west normally don’t pay any attention to.” Aslanian believes another reason why the Julfan community is important is because, unlike most Asian communities, the Julfans left discrete documents for historians to examine. “They left 1,300 documents, 30 or so dispositions,” Aslanian said. These documents include information about the Julfan

trade network in Russia, Eurasia and the Mediterranean, Northwest Europe and across the Indian Ocean. “The Julfans language is indigenous to the Indian Ocean,” Aslanian said. Aslanian also said the merchants established colonies around the Indian Ocean partly because of the monsoon system. He believes the monsoon system is important in understanding why the communities were built in the first place. Aslanian said, “The trade

settlements were connected to each other and to the center in Julfa through circulation of men and things.” Specifically, the circulation revolved around the participation of the merchants, women, priests and other information such as commercial correspondence, trade manuals, printed books and more. Even though the Julfan community collapsed in 1747, they succeeded in the 1700’s by “accomplishing remarkable feet,” Aslanian said.

MARK AGNEW Contributing Writer magnew@smu.edu Student Senate approved legislation to amend the SMU constitution and add a new Graduate Affairs Officer by a vote of 34-3-1 Tuesday. If passed by the student body, the official will serve on the executive committee and act as a representative for graduate students. The Senate approval marks the first step in the amendment process. The constitution cannot be changed without a referendum. Therefore, the student body must vote on the legislation for this new position within the next three school weeks. Student Body President Austin Prentice said the process would be conducted just like general student senate elections where students vote online. The amendment will need three-fourths majority to pass. The new student body officer will have the same responsibilities of Senators who write legislation, debate and exercise their voting rights. Prentice described the new position as a liaison between graduate students and Student Senate. “It’s not a special interest seat. It’s an officer position,” Prentice said. It’s been an 18-month process to bring this legislation to fruition. Jason Sharp, a first-year law student, worked with Prentice toward a resolution to ensure the issues that affect graduate students are heard. A lot of the issues that graduate students face relate to the distinction between full-time and part-time status. Sharp gave the example of PhD students who

are working on their dissertations. These students are technically enrolled in zero credit hours but have full-time status. Given that they are enrolled in zero credit hours, they don’t receive access to Dedman Recreation Center, student health services, the Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center or sporting events. “Now, once this position is passed by the student body, we will have one point of contact,” Sharp said. This amendment will give one voice to graduate students who make up 44 percent of the student body. As of now, each academic school receives a minimum of two senate seats according to the student senate constitution. The Dedman School of Law and Perkins School of Theology are the only schools without undergraduates. Graduate students in other colleges must compete with undergraduates for Senate seats. Sen. Nick Bertasi did not vote for the legislation. He felt that graduate students should

run for Senate seats in their respective colleges. “I believe this is a super-senator position,” Bertasi said. Student Senate Vice-President Alex Ehmke noted that graduate students do not interact with most of the undergraduate students on campus. These individuals make up a large part of the student body but are scattered around campus. “They don’t have as many opportunities to build some sort of electoral coalition,” Ehmke said. Lyle Sen. Joseph Esau said when he spoke with his constituents, some of the undergraduates were for the legislation, but he abstained based on the fact that he felt he represented graduate students as well as undergraduate issues equally. “I didn’t want to give the message that current Senators in the chamber don’t represent graduate students,” Esau said. Be sure to look for emails from Student Senate in the coming weeks about voting for the legislation. More information can be found at http://smu.edu/studentsenate.