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Oscar nominated actress stars in CIA themed thriller
VOLUME 96, ISSUE 85
Student Stud den models the runway hit th Saturday for Sat S Retail Club Re
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A SIDE OF NEWS
By LAURA CATHERINE MURPHY Contributing Writer lmurphy@smu.edu
Japan searches for bodies Nearly a month after Japan’s 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, officials have begun searching for bodies in the area around the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Around 1,000 police officers and soldiers began the search, covered from head-to-toe in protective gear. Officials say 15,000 people are still missing in Japan and about 4,200 are from the evacuation zone.
Ivory Coast conflict continues Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo continues to refuse to step down to the man who was democratically elected to succeed him. Though predictions said he would fall on Wednesday, Gbagbo remains holed up in his presidential compound in Abidjan. French forces rescued the Japanese ambassador Thursday because his residence was being used as a vantage point for Gbagbo’s gunmen.
Gaddafi writes to end war Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has asked President Obama in a three- page letter to act to stop NATO’s campaign against his regime. In the letter he addressed Obama as, “Our dear son, Excellency, Baraka Hussein Abu oumama” and said he backed the president’s reelection campaign. Gaddafi called NATO’s campaign “unjust” and requested a cease-fire. The White House confirmed receipt of the letter but gave no indication that it intended to act on it.
YouTube to become Internet TV Google is set to begin the overhaul on YouTube so it’s a better fit for Internet-compatible televisions. The website will introduce “channels” to its homepage that group videos under cate-gories like arts and sports. Some channels will include professionally produced programming and Google plans to invest $100 million in commissioning original content.
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MICHAEL DANSER/The Daily Campus
Vice President-Elect Alex Ehmke, from left, Secretary-Elect Martha Poole and President-Elect Austin Prentice pose for the Daily Campus Thursday evening.
Prentice, Ehmke win in runoffs Student Body Officers finalized for 2011-2012 By MEREDITH SHAMBURGER Online Editor mshamburge@smu.edu
Austin Prentice and Alex Ehmke were elected Student Body President and Vice President Thursday evening after initial balloting forced a run-off election. Run-off elections are held when no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote. Prentice, the current Student Body Vice-President, won the SBP office over current Student Body Secretary Katie Perkins. “The first thing that went through my mind was just thanking those that supported me and thanking Katie for running a great race,” Prentice said. “I’m just really excited to see what this produces for SMU next year.”
Prentice garnered 257 more votes than Perkins, with 1,179 votes to 922. He says right now his plan is to do the things he put on his platform. “That’s also just reacting and just listening to the student body of SMU, but I’m going to do what I said I was going to do,” Prentice said. Ehmke, a current Dedman II senator, won the SBVP office over former Membership Chair Roza Essaw. Ehmke received 273 more votes than Essaw, with 1,213 votes to Essaw’s 940. Ehmke said he was “eager to do the things that are important to the student body” and that he was “really excited about getting to work.” Prentice and Ehmke join Student Body Secretary-Elect Martha Pool as
Vote Count President Austin Prentice
1,179 Katie Perkins
922 Vice President Alex Ehmke
1,213 Roza Essaw
940 the 2011-12 Student Body Officers. Essaw won a seat in the general elections, which means that she will
PERSONAL FINANCE
Playing it safe with identity theft By MARK AGNEW Contributing Writer magnew@smu.edu
Whether or not you’ve been a victim of identity theft, everyone can do a few things to stay on guard to protect their finances. It happens all the time – you’re out at a bar or a party and the next thing you know, you can’t find your wallet. There’s nothing worse for a man than the feeling you get in your stomach when you realize you were stupid enough to put your wallet in your back pocket. If you decide to take the full-blown bi-fold, be sure to keep it in your front pocket. And ladies – take a wristlet and don’t let it leave your person. This will prevent you from dumping your valuables and forgetting them wherever you decide to sit down for a conversation. Better yet, why not just take your ID and cash when you go out? While you may lose some cash in the worst case scenario, you won’t have to endure the headache of cancelling cards and replacing them. This may not be the most realistic option, but it’s probably the safest. It is a good idea to keep a photocopy of all your IDs and cards in the case of theft. Scan the document and make it password protected. If anything
be a 2011-12 Meadows Senator. Perkins did not seek a general election seat. Prentice thinks Ehmke “is going to do a phenomenal job as Vice-President.” “I think he’s passionate,” he said. “I think he’s really driven to make sure Student Senate runs efficiently and communicates what’s going on with the student body.” Ehmke also had kind words for Prentice. “I’ve looked up to him as VicePresident this entire year really,” Ehmke said, “and I’ve always thought that he and Jake were a fantastic team. I think that he and myself and Martha will make a fantastic team as well.”
SMU’s curriculum will undergo a monumental redevelopment in just over one year. Come fall 2012, the current General Education Curriculum (GEC) will be replaced with the new University Curriculum (UC). Associate Dean for general education Dennis Cordell presented a report on the new curriculum at the Faculty Senate meeting Tuesday. The General Education Review Committee crafted the new proposal that focuses on preparing students for graduation in the 21st century. “The new curriculum really addresses some of the things that have been difficult for students,” said Vicki Hill, director at the Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center. “We’re interested more in what did you learn, not where did you learn it.” The new curriculum will allow students to satisfy general education, electives, majors and minors in a variety of places. “It will help encourage students to think in an interdisciplinary way so that what [students] learn in one course, can be thought about and applied in another course,” assistant dean for the University Curriculum Shelley Berg said. There will be a principle of double counting credits as long as the course meets the specified learning outcomes. “It takes away that wall that’s right now between GEC and your major,” Cordell said. The student learning outcomes have not yet been approved and are still being drafted. The Academic Affairs Committee also proposed to move toward change of proposed standing charges and additional charges of Substance Abuse Prevention and Education. Faculty Senate voted in favor of the changes. Academic Affairs also recommended changes in length of student probationary period. Currently, students on academic probation are allotted one semester to raise their GPAs to 2.0. This impacts students depending on the semester in which they are put on academic probation. Professor William Bridge proposed the academic probation period to be extended to one full calendar year. Senate voted all in favor of the change.
SING SONG
Student performance takes center stage By ASHLEY WITHERS
Per onal Finan e ever happens, you will have the information handy to communicate to your bank. Save the bank customer service numbers in your cell phone so you can take immediate action, assuming you don’t lose your phone. Typically it can take a few days to replace your card. Banks will often give you a temporary card, but you may want to keep a stash of cold hard cash handy at home. Another form of identity theft that could easily go unnoticed takes place online. Be sure to monitor charges and report suspicious activity to your bank immediately. Don’t save credit card information online. If you have credit cards, check out your credit history to make sure everything is accurate. You are entitled to one free credit report once a year. Go to www. annualcreditreport.com to see if there is anything fishy going on.
Associate News Editor awithers@smu.edu
A “Musical Medley” will fill McFarlin Auditorium Friday night as the annual Sing Song performance takes the stage. Each of the six teams had to choose a genre of music and write an original musical using songs from the category. “This year the groups had a lot more freedom. There were countless songs to choose from within each genre, so groups were not as confined as they have been in years past,” Kate Herman, the vice president of programming for Sing Song, said. “They really had to use their imagination to think of an original plot.” Beta Theta Pi and Alpha Chi Omega have created a story within the soundtrack genre; Beta Upsilon Chi and Tri Delta a funk piece; Gamma Phi Beta and the Lyle School of Engineering a jazz piece; and Kappa Alpha Order and Delta Gamma a Motown story. Sigma Phi Epsilon and Pi Beta Phi will give a Broadway performance and Senatus Populusque Romanus, a group made up of Virginia Snider residents, will perform a piece from the Latin genre. “I think each group holds the potential to walk away with first place,”
MICHAEL DANSER/The Daily Campus
Student members of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority and the Lyle School of Engineering perform “The Best is Yet to Come” during a dress rehearsal for the 2011 production, Sing Song Musical Medleys.
Sing Song Chair Jonathan Machemehl said. “This year the groups have made entertaining and original stories for the audience to enjoy.” Previously, judges have picked the winner of the competition, but Machemehl and his committee changed things up. “This year we have added audience involvement in the judgment process,” Machemehl said. “I cannot say exactly how this will be done until the show but
the audience’s opinion will be heard.” At the end of the night, the top three groups will walk away with a prize. The emcee for Sing Song 2011 is senior Nick Cains. Guest performances from the Mustang Mavericks and Trigg Magic will also take place during the course of the evening. Tickets will be sold at the door and are $12 with a student ID, $15 without. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in McFarlin Auditorium.