INSIDE
Spring break movies
What to wear during Spring Basketball’s early exit PAGE 3
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Campaign finance debated
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FRIDAY
MARCH 9, 2012 Friday High 48, Low 45 Saturday High 54, Low 50
VOLUME 96 ISSUE 70 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
women’s symposium
Matlin inspires all to dream big, defy barriers YOLONDA BATTLE Contributing Writer ybattle@smu.edu
MICHAEL DANSER/The Daily Campus
Former SMU quarterback Kyle Padron, now transferring to Eastern Washington, carries the ball during a play against TCU Sept. 24, 2010 in Ford Stadium.
Padron to leave SMU
QB follows Bo Levi Mitchell to Eastern Washington BILLY EMBODY Contributing Writer wembody@smu.edu After leading the Mustangs to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl and the Armed Forces Bowl his freshman and sophomore years, Kyle Padron will be transferring to Eastern Washington. Padron lost lost his starting job to J.J. McDermott in the opening game against Texas A&M his junior and final year as a Mustang. With two early interceptions in College Station, Padron was benched for the remainder of the game and the season as the team responded with McDermott as the starter. McDermott’s reign began
when SMU went on a five game winning streak after the A&M loss, including the TCU overtime thriller, before tailing off and losing four of their last seven. Padron decided to transfer a few weeks after the season because he wanted a change of scenery and has decided on Eastern Washington, the same school that former SMU quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell transferred to and won the 2010 national championship. “It’s going to be different. It’s a quiet town. It’s strictly football and school,” Padron said about his new school where he will enroll in the fall. “I’m a Dallas kid so it will be nice to get out of my comfort zone,” Padron said of his
new opportunity. He’s excited about learning from two coaches that have great track records with quarterbacks: Head Coach Beau Baldwin, who coached Jon Kitna and then coached Eastern Washington’s quarterback coach Zak Hill at Central Washington. “Their system has more control at the line. Identifying the Mike linebacker, adjusting protections and changing the play at the line are some of the new responsibilities I’ll have,” Padron said of his new offense. Padron is focused on being a better overall quarterback and hopes to take what he has learned from the run and shoot to help coordinate with the EWU offense
and coaching staff. His ultimate goal is to get a chance in the NFL before concluding his foot career in Washington. During his time on the Hilltop, Padron has amassed more than 5,900 passing yards and 41 touchdowns putting him as the fourth all-time for passing yardage by an SMU quarterback. His mark on the SMU program cannot be ignored as one of the most important reasons for SMU’s reemergence as a football team. The run and shoot offense of Head Coach June Jones helped Padron do this and he enjoyed the options the offense gave him.
See PADRON page 3
kony 2012
Barrier-breaking, Oscarwinning actress Marlee Matlin delivered a message of tenacity and perseverance Wednesday at SMU’s 47th annual Women’s Symposium. “It’s been 25 years since a columnist proclaimed my Academy Awards win a pity vote,” Matlin said. “Yet I’m still here.” Notably known for her appearance on Donald Trump’s “The Celebrity Apprentice,” “Dancing with the Stars“ and the new hit series “Switched at Birth,” Matlin has made major strides for the hearing impaired community as an actress and advocate of change. As the director of SMU’s Women’s Center, Karen Click was delighted to have Matlin as the keynote speaker for the Women’s Symposium. Click felt the hurdles of Matlin’s life and the work she does for deaf inclusion embodied the vision of the symposium’s founder, the late Emmie V. Baine. “We chose Matlin as our speaker because the total of her life spoke to our theme, ‘Women as Agents of Change,’” Click said. “We wanted to come together and celebrate, reflect and honor those women who have really transformed the planet.” As Matlin approached the podium microphone, she signed
with her hands, “I don’t need this, Jack does.” Jack Jason, her longtime friend and interpreter, accompanied her to the podium where she provided the audience with glimpses of the unglamorous obstacles that made marks in her life’s journey toward success. “I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, and life in our house was like an episode of ‘The Brady Bunch.’ You had to keep on, keep on, keep on proving yourself,” Matlin said. Proving to the world that a hearing impaired girl born in the suburbs of Chicago in 1968 was capable of becoming a successful actress despite the ridicule from others and the unsettling emotions she felt about her own impairment. “I battled a drug addiction from the time I was 13 to 21 years old,” Matlin said. “I received my [Oscar] nomination while I was in rehab.” After accepting the nomination and completing rehabilitation, 25 years later Matlin is still sober and still a working actress. What many do not know is that Matlin was not born deaf. She was capable of talking and hearing until she was 18 months old when doctors diagnosed her as profoundly hearing impaired. “What happened, no one really knows,” Matlin said. “My parents were devastated. How could they raise a deaf child?” Doctors then told her parents
See SYMPOSIUM page 5
campus
Invisible Children brings viral video to campus AMANDA COLON, RAHFIN FARUK acolon@smu.edu, rfaruk@smu.edu An international movement for human rights has knocked on the doors of SMU. KONY 2012, an initiative started by the non-profit Invisible Children, wants to bring the actions of Joseph Kony to light. As the leader of Central Africa’s Lord’s Resistance Army, Joseph Kony’s recruiting tactics involve the heavy exploitation of abducted children — boys are forced into the military and girls are turned into sex slaves. “Where you live shouldn’t determine whether you live,” Jason Russell, Invisible Children’s co-founder, said in his film “KONY 2012.” The 30-minute production has sparked global interest in Kony. In just a matter of days, the film has received more than 5 million YouTube views. On Wednesday, the Invisible Children campaign stopped at SMU for an awareness screening of the video. “I think our generation is really hungry for activists… [The
movement] encourages college kids like you and me to go out and do something about it and more interestingly gives us an actual deadline to do it,” Ayen Bior, a junior, said. Bior was not the only student to react so strongly to the event. Whether they were unaware of the cause before the screening or not, the line to purchase KONY 2012 T-shirts, bracelets and posters was out the door. Among those who organized the event was a young African woman who served as a guest speaker from Uganda, a woman who saw her own uncle murdered by the Liberation Army. While sharing her story, she expressed her determination to raise awareness in America. The northern region of Uganda is safer now then it was years ago, but Joseph Kony and his rebels are still out there and it is just as important now for them to be stopped as it was years ago. “I think it was great to see how big of a turnout SMU had for the screening. There is a large support group for the Invisible Children at this university” Andrew Byrum, Invisible Children representative, said. The excitement for the cause
upon the conclusion of the awareness screening was prominent as students rushed to the tables to donate money and buy T-shirts. While skepticism of the movement exists, students seemed convinced the cause was worth the attention. In April, students are planning to plaster SMU, the Park Cities and other Dallas areas with KONY 2012 posters to increase awareness about an issue rarely discussed in international discourse. “This is what makes Kony such a critical issue. We are so focused on the here and now that we often forget about important global events that affect hundreds of thousands,” Tyler Douglas Anderson, a political science major, said. “The least we can do is act and let more of the politic know about Joseph Kony and what he represents.” But, not all students agree with Anderson. “We have to look at the whole issue. Is Invisible Children the best organization to donate to? Is mass activism really going to solve the problem? I think people should look at all sides of the issue,” Laura Chen, a sophomore, said.
SPENCER J EGGERS/The Daily Campus
Comedian Will Ferrell addresses an audience in the Hughes-Trigg theater Wednesday evening following a screening of his new Spanish-language film, “Casa de mi Padre.”
Humor on the Hilltop: Will Ferrell comes to campus SPENCER J EGGERS Photo Editor seggers@smu.edu Actor and comedian Will Ferrell visited SMU Wednesday evening to answer a few questions posed by SMU students directly after a screening of his new film, "Casa de mi Padre" in the HughesTrigg Theater. The event was put on by the Office
of Multicultural Student Affairs and the College Hispanic American Students (CHAS) in conjunction with Pantelion Films. Students, faculty and staff had the opportunity to view the new Spanish-language film before its release on March 16. Only two schools, SMU and U.C. Berkley, were granted the opportunity to screen the movie, and of those two, SMU was the only school to receive a
visit from Ferrell himself. Ferrell addressed a full house after the screening ended, discussing a variety of topics ranging from body piercings (or the lack thereof) to the possibility of a “Step Brothers” sequel. Audience members were given the chance to ask the "Anchorman" star questions.
See FERRELL page 5