INSIDE
Team Miley impresses at Sing Song
Dallas gets low marks for health
PAGE 2
Response to LGBT petition
PAGE 4
Continuing the countdown
PAGE 5
PAGE 6
monday
april 14, 2014
MONday High 70, Low 37 TUEsday High 63, Low 41
VOLUME 99 ISSUE 80 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
Students lead in TEDxSMU
International
Meredith Carey Contributing Writer mbcarey@smu.edu
When TEDxSMU presented Inside SMU last week to celebrate creative thought of campus leaders, professors and alumni weren’t alone on the stage. Students presented TED talks of their own, highlighting their innovation and originality. Chris Carillo, Mariah Cowley, Brittany Harrington and Arnaud Zimmern presented on everything from water and Maslow’s Hierarchy, bassoons in pop music, origami and digital humanities. And how did they get this opportunity? “As much as we complain about receiving too much SMU email garbage, this was one of those mass-invitations you’re actually happy to receive. The application process, which was linked to in the email, was simple and the rest was just a long wait,” said Zimmern, a senior studying French, English and mathematics. Dean and Lyle professor of engineering innovation, Marc Christensen, said that the ideas the students presented in these applications belonged on the TED stage, which is known for its inspirational thinking. “When you think about it the current students far outnumber everyone else on campus and they are in a mode of grabbling with ideas every day. It should be no surprise that some of the best ideas around area going to
Courtesy of AP
Armed pro-Russian activists pose for a photo after they occupied the police station in the eastern Ukraine town of Slovyansk.
Ukraine to launch anti-terror operation ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLAIRE KELLEY / The Daily Campus
Engineering major Mariah Cowley explains her Giant Origami interactive art project.
come from them,” Christensen said. “The TEDx format has the ability to inspire people to think bigger on how they can impact the world, but the students we had on stage were already there — that is why they were chosen to speak.” Harrington, a Performer’s Diploma graduate student, said that her experience on stage speaking about her involvement in thinking outside the box with the bassoon was completely different from her past times on stage. “Typically when I am in front of people, I am playing my
instrument so to do a talk was a new and exciting endeavor,” Harrington said. “My talk was about the ways that my quartet has made the bassoon relevant to pop music...My hope is that people will look at what we have done and bring some creativity to their projects and lives.” Zimmern was not only impacted by his time on stage, saying his experience was “in one word: exhilarating,” but also as an audience member listening to his fellow students. “I discovered a new favorite actually at the TEDxSMU
event: it was Mariah Cowley’s,” Zimmern said. “Her talk [spoke] on the value of merging what one does with what one loves for the sake of those we love the most. “[She showed us] that our projects, giant or small, can always be recycled and repurposed to bring greater joy and greater peace to those around us. It was, in the finest sense, a moving talk,” Zimmern said. When given a stage for “Ideas Worth Sharing,” TED’s motto, student leaders like Zimmern, Harrington, Cowley and Carrillo surely stepped up to the task.
CAREERS
Jumping from intern to employee Dacota Taylor Contributing Writer dtaylor@smu.edu Many SMU students are in the final stages of interviewing and, hopefully, selecting and committing to a summer internship. After a semester — and for some, even longer — of applications, phone interviews, let downs and final decisions, plenty of students may ask themselves, “Does interning really pay off ?” For many students, it certainly does. Some students get internships that end up leading to jobs with their companies. Some go from internship to internship within the
same company until they’re hired. According to Southern Methodist University’s Kim Austin, the executive director for Cox’s Career Management Centers, it’s not uncommon to see interns hired directly into the company they were with. “Companies like to hire from within, and if they’ve helped train an intern to work the way they prefer, it’s sometimes easier to just hire the intern upon graduation rather than look elsewhere,” she said. Students normally hunt down an internship their junior and senior years, start working for a company for free, learn a few job skills and then end up finding a job with the same company or a similar company
after they graduate. The Dallas Morning News’ Julie Fancher interned with the newspaper for a year, starting in 2012, while studying journalism at SMU. “To be able to start my career at such a well-known, well-regarded place was almost like an opportunity I couldn’t give up,” Fancher said. The biggest change between her intern title and her employee title is she now can enjoy benefits, something companies can avoid giving workers if they’re just interns. “There was always a chance that it wasn’t going to work out and that I was going to have to go somewhere else,” she said. Austin explained the chances of getting a job are better as a
graduating senior than as someone who interned post-graduation and then started looking for work. “Multiple internships with the same company is fine,” Austin said. “If they keep asking you back, that’s a good sign.” “If it’s a company you want to be with, definitely get an internship there,” Fancher said. “And if they extend your time there, [that’s ideal]. Do everything you can whenever you can.” That’s what happened to Carol Shih with D Magazine. Although Shih interned four times, two while in school and two after graduating from Duke
INTERNSHIP page 3
WORLD
US looking into Syria toxic gas reports ASSOCIATED PRESS The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Sunday that reports of a poison gas attack in a rural village north of Damascus were so far “unsubstantiated,” adding that the United States was trying to establish what really happened before it considers a response. Both sides in Syria’s civil war blamed each other for the alleged attack that reportedly injured scores of people Friday amid an ongoing international effort to rid the country of chemical weapons. The details of what happened in Kfar Zeita, an opposition-held village in Hama province some 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Damascus, remain murky. Online videos posted by rebel activists showed pale-faced men, women and children gasping for
Courtesy of AP
This image provided by Shams News Network, a loosely organized antiAssad group and is consistent with independent AP reporting, shows a child crying as he sits on a bed with others, in Kfar Zeita, Syria.
breath at what appeared to be a field hospital. They suggested an affliction by some kind of poison — and yet another clouded incident where both sides blame each other in a conflict
that activists say has killed more than 150,000 people with no end in sight. “We are trying to run this down,” said Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United
Nations, during an appearance Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “So far it’s unsubstantiated, but we’ve shown, I think, in the past that we will do everything in our power to establish what has happened and then consider possible steps in response,” she said. In the Syrian capital, Syrian President Bashar Assad said the conflict in Syria was shifting in the government’s favor. “This is a turning point in the crisis, both militarily in terms of the army’s continuous achievements in the war against terror or socially in terms of national reconciliation and growing awareness of the true aims of the attack on the country,” state-run Syrian television quoted Assad as saying. He spoke to a group of students and teachers
SYRIA page 3
Ukraine is launching a “large-scale anti-terrorist operation” to resist attacks by armed pro-Russian forces, Ukraine’s President Oleksandr Turchynov said on Sunday in a televised address. The authorities in Kiev will use the army in order to prevent Russian troops from moving in as they did in Crimea, Turchynov said as he pledged amnesty to anyone laying down arms by Monday morning. “The Security Council has made a decision to begin a largescale anti-terrorist operation with participation of army forces,” he said. “We’re not going to allow Russia to repeat the Crimean scenario in Ukraine’s east.” Ukrainian special forces exchanged gunfire with a proRussia militia in an eastern city Sunday morning, with at least one security officer killed and five others wounded. It was the first reported gunbattle in eastern Ukraine, where armed pro-Russia men have seized a number of government buildings in recent days. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has described such attacks as “Russian aggression.” He said in a Facebook post Sunday that special forces of up to 12,000 people will be drawn from volunteers in their local areas in a bid to resist attacks from pro-Russian forces. Russia’s Foreign Ministry was quick to dismiss Turchynov’s decree as “criminal” and accused Ukrainian officials of using radical neo-Nazi forces.
Turchynov said a Security Service captain was killed and two colonels wounded in a gunbattle outside Slovyansk, where the police station and the Security Service office were seized a day earlier. An Associated Press reporter found a bullet-ridden SUV on the side of the road and a pool of blood on the passenger seat where the gunbattle was supposed to have taken place. Vladimir Kolodchenko, a lawmaker from the area who witnessed the attack, said a car with four gunmen pulled up on the road in a wooden area outside Slovyansk and opened fire on Ukrainian soldiers who were standing beside their vehicles. Both attackers and the Ukrainian servicemen left soon after the shooting. Unrest has spread to several municipalities in eastern Ukraine, including the major industrial city of Donetsk, which has a large Russianspeaking population. Donetsk was also the support base for Viktor Yanukovych, the Ukrainian president ousted in February following months of protests in Kiev, the capital, that were ignited by his decision to back away from closer relations with the European Union and turn toward Russia. Ethnic Russians in Ukraine’s east widely fear that the new proWestern Ukrainian government will suppress them. The regional administration in Donetsk issued a statement, confirming one dead and saying
UKRAINE page 3
Campus
Studio to be named for Belo chair Pederson Courtney Cox Contributing Writer cecox@smu.edu Last summer was filled with renovations in the journalism school. Renovations that, in a few weeks, will be dedicated to the Belo Foundation Endowed Distinguished Chair in Journalism Pederson. Lucy Scott, broadcast journalist in residence, believes this ceremony will give credit where it’s due. “Naming the studio after our chair, Tony Pederson, acknowledges the work that he’s done in advancing and building the journalism division. Raising the money to upgrade the server and the control room and to a great degree, the studio,” Scott said. The dedication will take place April 23 in the journalism wing of the Umphrey Lee Center at 4 p.m. The broadcast studio is due to be named the “Pederson
Broadcast Studio.” The funds for the donation were given by a family, which wishes to remain anonymous. The family told Pederson last year that they approached the dean of Meadows and wished to name the studio in his honor. “I was stunned, and still am, but at the same time very deeply honored that they would do it so we’re going to have a dedication ceremony in a couple weeks and it’s going to be great fun,” Pederson said. The journalism students are getting to work with equipment that even some small-market news stations don’t have. Rebekah Tate, who aspires to become a producer, appreciates having access to this equipment. “The new broadcast studio gives us really great experience in the newsroom. It’s helping prepare us for the internships and jobs we’re trying to get,” Tate said.
2
HEALTH
MONDAY n APRIL 14, 2014 he alth
Five reasons why Dallas might be bad for people’s health eastan croson Health and Fitness Editor ecroson@smu.edu No city in America is perfect, and each has area-specifc problems that affect the health of their residents. Everything from air pollution and communicable diseases to obesity rates and substance abuse are health issues for cities. Unfortunately Dallas is no different. Here are some of the harmful risks posing a threat to wellness in North Texas. Air Pollution When it comes to pollution, Dallas has a few a problems at hand. Precisely 70 percent of pollution is caused by emissions associated with cars, airplanes, trains and construction equipment according to Shannon Stevenson, program manager for the air-quality planning and operations team at the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG). Due to the excessive amounts of vehicles on the roads and Dallas being part of a metro area, this poses a challenge in regulating many jurisdictions. Being located in North Texas doesn’t help the city’s pollution problem either. Houston has the benefit of coastal winds, but those winds blow Houston’s pollution to Dallas. Regardless of
where the pollution is coming from, it’s still this city’s problem to solve. As for as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is concerned, the pollution level in Dallas is still above federal standards. In 2010, the city’s ozone levels were worse than in Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, Washington, D.C., and New York. Dallas has made some great improvements over the past decade in progressing air quality. The ozone levels have improved by 15 percent between 2000 and 2012. Although Texas has made strides toward having cleaner air, but Dallas still had a long way to go according to WebMD.com. The website ranked Dallas the eighth worst smog city in America in 2013. The main suspects causing the city’s problem are traffic, extreme heat and frequent droughts which worsen the unhealthy ozone. Local governments are implementing policies that will improve transportation emissions levels. Only one other metro area in the nation has higher amounts of electric vehicle charging stations based on population density. The NCTCOG also offers subsidies to businesses to replace older vehicles with ones that are low-emitting and cleaner. Water Quality
MONDAY
TUESDAY
Mantra Percussion in the Atrium, Taubman Auditorium, noon. Verlaine Trio Recital, Caruth Auditorium, 8 p.m.
CUL Cookout, Fondren Library West, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Mr. SMU Bodybuilding and Mrs. SMU Fitness Figure Competition, McFarlin Auditorium, 5:30 p.m.
Due to local tracking sites, the water quality of surrounding local communities are becoming a major concern. The University of Texas at Arlington surveyed privates wells across 13 counties in Arlington, Fort Worth and other areas just west of Dallas. The researchers discovered some disturbing and potentially harmful findings. The closer people live to drilling sites, the greater chance they have of having unsafe levels of arsenic in drinking water. Arsenic is linked to many health concerns including cancer and neurological development defects. UTA’s report hopes to persuade the companies behind the fracking to develop better practices. Although this is a problem for areas near drilling sites, Dallas’ overall water quality currently meets all federal requirements. The 2013 Water Quality Report by the Dallas Water Utilities (DWU) reports that Dallas’ drinking water not only meets, but exceeds requirements and is safe to drink. The DWU is considered to be a superior water system by the TCEQ. Alcohol Consumption With an active nightlife scene, Dallas knows how to party — maybe partying too hard and drinking too much. According
WEDNESDAY
April 15
April 14
THURSDAY April 17
Master of Fine Arts Qualifying Exhibition, Pollock Art Gallery, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Meadows Jazz Orchestra, Bob Hope Theatre, 8 p.m.
April 16
CUL Cookout, Fondren Library West, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. M.S. Programs Lunch and Learn — Lockheed Martin, Lockheed Martin Bldg. 200, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
FRIDAY April 18
University Holiday — no classes.
April 14, 2014
Courtesy of DFW Freeways
Dallas is a popular city that still has its hidden dangers for students and lifetime residents alike.
to the most recent data from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Texas drank more than 606 million gallons of beer in 2011, which is roughly 10 percent of the nation’s total beer consumption. An average Texan drink less wine than the average American, yet Texans are drinking twice as much wine as they drank back in 1977. The consumption of wine has noticeably increased within the past few years as well. In total, the average Texan in 2011 drank more than two gallons of alcohol. Texans may drink enough, but what is considered to be one too many? Well NIAAA said more than seven drinks for women and more than 14 for men. Several consequences are associated with alcohol abuse, such as risk of death or injury due to motor vehicle crashes, violence, drowning and chronic diseases like heart and liver along. Excessive drinking can also result in cancer and a variety of mental health issues. Traffic Accidents Despite efforts to make Dallas more bike and pedestrian-friendly, it is clear to see that the city was built for driving. An one-way, daily commute is about 25 minutes on average, and as more people are
moving to the Dallas area there are more cars than ever on the roads. In the United States there are more than 6 million car accidents each year meaning that every 12 seconds someone dies in a car crash and every 14 seconds someone is seriously injured. With congested intersections and engrossed freeways, traffic accidents are a real threat to the people of Dallas. In 2011, there were 103 fatal car accidents involving a total of 226 people. There were also 30 pedestrians involved in fatal car accidents. Of those accidents, 40 percent are caused by drunk drivers while 30 percent are attributed to exceeding the speed limit and another 33 percent are a result of reckless driving. The majority of accidents could be prevented by simply driving more responsibly. This includes not doing other activities while driving like texting, talking on the phone and eating. The best piece of advice for staying safe while behind the wheel is to buckle up. Coming as no surprise seat belts save lives. In more than half of all fatal car accidents the victims weren’t wearing seat belts when the crash occurred, even though seat belt laws have been enforced for years. Smoking
No matter the city, smoking is a bad habit and the No. 1 preventable cause of death in the nation. Still, it kills more than 450,000 people each year. In Texas, tobacco use contributes to one in five deaths. If the smoking rates in Texas continue, the state will have the highest number of children who become smokers and will die prematurely because of smoking, according to the Center for Disease Control just last week. The City of Dallas’ smoking ordinance states that there are no longer any designated smoking areas in public workplaces, restaurants and bars. The ordinance was to give co-workers the right to not be exposed to secondhand smoke. People who are exposed to secondhand smoke are 30 percent more likely to be diagnosed with heart disease and cancer while smokers have an 80 percent increased risk. Currently there is a trend among smokers to quit, although kicking the habit can be easier said than done. Less than 10 percent of people who quit cold turkey are able to stay away from using tobacco and 30 to 40 percent of people who use medicine are successful. Many people have to try and quit several times, but the key is to want to quit and to have a support network.
monday n April 14, 2014 INTERNSHIP Continued from page 1
University, her fourth and final internship was with D Magazine. After proposing an idea the company loved, they brought her on board permanently. “I interned four times. Once at Al Jazeera D.C., once in a PR company, once at a magazine in Austin called TRIBEZA, and finally here at D Magazine,” Shih said. “Through those four internships, I really learned to work with my peers.” Austin said that the junior to senior year internships are often called “high stakes” internships. “They’re your last chance before you graduate,” Austin said, referring
SYRIA Continued from page 1
from Damascus University. His comments follow a string of government triumphs against rebels, particularly around the Syrian capital. Assad’s forces also have struck local cease-fire agreements with the opposition in a number of neighborhoods, where weary rebels have turned over their weapons in exchange for an easing of suffocating blockades. Opposition groups, including the main Western-backed Syrian National Coalition, said the
UKRAINE Continued from page 1
nine were wounded. It did not identify them, but said one person was shot outside Slovyansk. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement late Sunday afternoon accusing “the Russian special service and saboteurs” of fomenting unrest and pledging to present “concrete evidence” of Russia’s involvement at the Ukraine summit in Geneva on Thursday. Ukrainian lawmaker Oleh Lyashko said Sunday afternoon that Ukrainian forces in Slovyansk
to companies that prefer to hire graduating seniors. “My second internship with The [Dallas] Morning News was what really helped me move into a position to get a job there,” Fancher said, “It gave me the opportunities to do work I’m interested in. I wouldn’t have the job without the second one.” The only worry Fancher had was one any long-term intern would have. She worried about whether or not she’d be there the next day, whether they would keep her as an intern or even hire her at all. “The [Dallas] Morning News doesn’t always hire people out of internships, but sometimes they do,” Fancher said. “I wouldn’t do anything differently I think.”
Nation
NEWS
3
3 dead after suburban Kansas City shooting ASSOCIATED PRESS Three people died Sunday after shootings at a Jewish community center campus and retirement community in suburban Kansas City, and a 15-year-old boy is in critical condition. Overland Park city spokesman Sean Reilly said two people died at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City campus in Overland Park and one was killed at Village Shalom, which is a retirement community that is several blocks away from the center.
A 15-year-old boy who was brought from the scene is in critical condition, Overland Park Medical Center spokeswoman Christine Hamele said. One person of interest is in custody, Overland Park Fire Department spokesman Jason Rhodes said. Authorities didn’t immediately release further details about the shootings, including whether the center and retirement community were targeted because of religion. Overland Park police received multiple calls at about 1 p.m.
Sunday, public information officer Gary Mason said in a news release. A news conference is scheduled for Sunday evening. The Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City in Overland Park posted on its Facebook page Sunday afternoon that a “shooting incident” happened near its White Theater entrance. A second, later post said that no shooting occurred inside, but in a parking lot. “Everyone participating in JCC programming has been released to their homes,” the center said on Facebook.
St. Louis resident Kristy Straeb, 47, said her sister-in-law was swimming at the center with her children on Sunday and told Straeb that guests were told to hide in the family locker room during the shooting. There is a heavy police presence at the campus, which spans several acres in an affluent area of Johnson County, Kan. The entrance to the campus is blocked off. Police have also taped off the entrance to Village Shalom, and several patrol cars and a crime scene unit van are parked in front.
poison gas attack at Kfar Zeita hurt dozens of people, thought it did not identify the gas used. State-run Syrian television blamed members of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front rebel group for the attack, saying they used chlorine gas to kill two people and injured more than 100. It did not say how it confirmed chlorine was used. Chlorine, one of the most commonly manufactured chemicals in the U.S., is used to purify drinking water. But as a gas, it can be deadly. Adham Raadoun, an opposition activist on the edge of Kfar Zeita, said government
helicopters dropped a number of barrel bombs on the village that appeared to carry the toxic gas, killing one person and choking about 100 people, many of them in their homes. Quoting eyewitnesses, Raadoun said the gas had a thick, yellowish color that smelled of chlorine. The videos documenting the attack were reminiscent — albeit on a much smaller scale — of an Aug. 21 chemical attack near the capital, Damascus, that killed hundreds of people. The U.S. and its allies blamed the Syrian government for that
attack, which crossed a “red line” that President Barack Obama had said would bring harsh consequences. The attack nearly sparked Western airstrikes before a negotiated diplomatic settlement saw Assad’s government agree to give up its chemical weapons. Damascus denied the charges and blamed rebels of staging the incident. About half the weapons have been removed from Syria so far. The Syrian government has missed several deadlines, blaming the delays on security concerns. The opposition also has claimed other, limited use of
chemical weapons or poisonous gas attacks near Damascus in recent days. Power’s comments came as heavy fighting raged Sunday across many parts of the country. In the war-shattered northern city of Aleppo, activists said at least 29 people were killed over the weekend. The Britain-based Observatory for Human Rights said that at least 16 rebels were among those who died in the overnight combat. At least 13 civilians also were killed when government aircraft dropped barrel bombs on the city’s rebelheld districts.
Another activist group, the Syria-based Local Coordination Committees, said Assad’s warplanes launched fresh airstrikes there on Sunday. Aleppo, Syria’s largest urban center and its one-time commercial hub, has been a key front in the civil war. The fighting has been in a stalemate for months. Both activist groups also reported airstrikes on rebel positions in a village in the oil-rich Deir el-Zour province near the Iraqi border. The Observatory said the strikes killed at least four people and wounded scores.
had managed to take control of the city hall, the Security Service’s branch and the police station in Slovyansk. This could not be immediately verified. Earlier in the day, the police station was surrounded by a reinforced line of barricades, but unlike on Saturday the men patrolling were largely unarmed. On the main road into the city, a checkpoint was guarded by armed camouflaged men. In a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry “expressed strong concern” that the attacks “were orchestrated and synchronized, similar to previous
attacks in eastern Ukraine and Crimea,” according the State Department. The Russian Foreign Ministry denied Kerry’s claims, while Lavrov blamed the crisis in Ukraine on the failure of the Kiev government “to take into account the legitimate needs and interests of the Russian and Russian-speaking population,” the ministry said. Lavrov also warned that Russia may pull out of the Ukraine summit if Kiev uses force against “residents of the southeast who were driven to despair.” Two rival rallies in another regional capital in eastern
Ukraine, Kharkiv, turned violent. At the end of both rallies, a group of pro-Russian protesters followed several pro-Ukrainian activists, beating them with bats and sticks, Interfax Ukraine reported. A video on Espresso TV showed one activist with blood on his head and hands waiting for paramedics on the steps of the underground passage. Several men and women came up to him and started kicking him. Interfax quoted Kharkiv authorities saying that 10 people were injured at the rallies. In Slovyansk, the mayor said Saturday the men who seized the police station were demanding
a referendum on autonomy and possible annexation by Russia. Protesters in other eastern cities have made similar demands after a referendum in Crimea last month in which voters opted to split off from Ukraine, leading to annexation by Russia. The interior minister also reported an attack on a police station in the nearby city of Kramatorsk. A video from local news website Kramatorsk.info showed a group of camouflaged men armed with automatic weapons storming the building. The news website also reported that supporters of the separatist Donetsk People’s Republic have
occupied the administration building, built a barricade with tires around it and put a Russian flag nearby. Regional news website OstroV said three key administrative buildings have been seized in another city in the area, Enakiyeve. In Mariupol, a city south of Donetsk on the Azov Sea and just 50 kilometers (30 miles) away from the Russian border, the city hall was seized by armed masked men. Local news website 0629.com.ua said 1,000 protesters were building a barricade around it while unknown armed men raised the Russian flag over the building.
4
OPINION
monday n April 14, 2014
quote worthy
crime
“I’m thrilled and grateful that CBS chose me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go grind a gap in my front teeth.”
Pennsylvania school stabbings: Why?
—Stephen Colbert on replacing David Letterman as the host of the “Late Show” “All talk, it’s all bull—-.” —Donald Trump, expressing his frustration with politicians response
Tolerance, not conformity lee downen Contributing Writer ldownen@smu.edu Imagine for a moment that we are a newly renamed SMU in, let’s say at random, 2084. SMU, now known as “So Much Unity,” (because “Southern Methodist University” was inherently discriminatory of other geographical areas, religions and levels of education) is a now place of perfect unity, diversity and tolerance, and to think otherwise is a thought crime of the highest offense. Now imagine that to question the ideal of tolerance, which no longer means accepting people as equal but rather means accepting all world views as valid, is the only unforgivable sin. To not do so is to come under the eye of the Student Department of Truth, which is responsible for ensuring that all students are on the “right” side, or the “forward” side, of history. Anyone who questions this aim is a hateful, backwardsthinking bigot who must be immediately transferred to SMU-in-Love, an away campus that offers students the exceedingly pleasant experience of reevaluating their misguided thoughts and correcting them. Does this sound like a better SMU? No. It is a dystopian SMU where all thinking must conform to the newspeak of the day, including the oftenundefined notions of tolerance and rights. Relatedly, to use the phrase “right side of history” is to revive the pre-World War I idea that history moves in a predetermined, inexorable path towards greater progress and human enlightenment, and that to oppose this inevitable future is anti-intellectual and perhaps even immoral. The problem with this view of history, though, as worldrenowned scholar N.T. Wright said, is that “how does [someone] know what ‘history’ will do? And what makes [them] think that history never makes mistakes? The spirit of the age is in any case notoriously fickle.” Every day, doublespeak, that is, distortive rhetoric, is used to ignite emotions and limit rigorous thinking about issues on campus. The clear bigotry of a prospective SMU student’s mother — as referenced in Friday’s opinion piece in favor of the LGBT seat — is implied as being characteristic of all who do not support the LGBT seat, which is neither honest nor helpful in the discussion regarding the legitimacy of the seat. The problem with the criticism offered by supporters of
the seat lies in a redefinition of tolerance, or “sincere regard and respect.” Whereas tolerance used to mean that one might disagree with another’s worldview but still respect and even love them as a person, it now means that one must accept all world views as equally valid. This idea, known as relativism, is neither intellectually honest nor satisfying. As John Piper, a notable theologian, said, “Relativists don’t pursue truth. They make the denial of truth serve them.” This means that, under the guise of humility, relativists claim that we cannot really know truth, which sounds humble, but, “in claiming to be too lowly to know truth, they exalt themselves as supreme arbiters of what they can think and do,” Piper said. Thus, relativists conclude that there is no absolute moral standard binding on them. Their conclusion, though, falls apart when proponents, such as the writer of the opinion piece from last Friday, make statements like, “We need to be on the right side of history, the forward side. And, we need to tell those people who are on the wrong side that they aren’t welcome here.” They claim that they are about “making students feel safe, valued, heard and understood,” but it is very clear that this claim only applies to those who hold the same views as them. All others are not welcome here. On a more fundamental level, the notion that all truth is relative and that no one can truly know what is right and what is wrong collapses when we realize that the notion is itself an absolute statement. That is to mean, in saying that there is no absolute truth, one makes a claim of absolute, or ultimate, truth. Since all moral claims, whether true or false, are absolute, there must actually be an absolute, objective standard outside of us. While sincerely regarding and respecting all people, we must be allowed to engage in honest conversations about erroneous world views. Since the referendum for an LGBT seat failed, there is a petition going around that, if supporters garner enough votes, will result in a fly-bynight referendum. Vote as you will. But think first. Ask questions. Weigh arguments, not groundless emotional appeals, and then decide. Downen is a sophomore majoring in marketing.
The following editorial appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Thursday, April 10: In the midst of shock and sorrow, there is bewilderment. The mass attack Wednesday morning at Franklin Regional High School near Pittsburgh –with 19 students and a security guard stabbed or slashed, including at least one critically – leaves a host of unanswered questions. While the shrieks and sobs still echo, all the questions boil down to one: Why? What possessed the suspect, 16-year-old Alex Hribal, to attack students before classes had begun? Why did he choose to use two 8-inch kitchen knives? Why did this occur at Franklin Regional, which until Wednesday seemed as safe a school as any? More profound still, what explains the mass violence that stalks America’s schools, this example different only in its horrific details? Some of the answers should come over the next few days and they will provide a guide to answering perhaps the ultimate question: Can such a terrible event be avoided or are all children in America involved in a deadly game of chance, just potential random victims in a violent society? Murrysville on Wednesday, God knows where in the months ahead. Parents and the wider society naturally want to have their fears
alleviated, and into the vacuum left by the absence of facts will come theories, often informed by political thoughts not yet imbued with wisdom. Someone will say: See, they want to ban guns but now they will have to ban knives. And someone else will say, thank God this kid didn’t have guns, 20 people might be dead. And so it will go, on and on. But now is not the time. Now
we must praise the assistant principal, Sam King, who tackled the suspect, and the student, Ian Griffith, a senior who helped him. We must applaud Gracey Evans, a junior, who applied pressure to contain a friend’s wound, and Nathan Scimio, a sophomore, who pulled the fire alarm when chaos was breaking loose. More actions by the staff
and students, not to mention emergency responders and medical personnel, will come to light, showing courage and duty under pressure. A community was attacked and a community rallied to the challenge, and that is cause for hope at the end of an evil day. It is a time for prayers – prayers for the wounded and prayers for greater understanding.
cartoon
Courtesy of MCT Campus
perspectives
Student finds ways to cope in times of struggle demetrio teniente Sports Editor dteniente@smu.edu Life is a funny thing. You aren’t really sure what you are going to get from it when you wake up in the morning. At times, it can be exciting. Other times, it is downright frightening. The trouble with not knowing what will happen is that you can’t always be prepared for what comes out of the day’s events. When the day brings sadness and pain with it, it can be hard to know how to deal with it. Quitting is something I find hard to understand. If you look at sports, you can see bad teams quit all the time. The way I see
Copy Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hanan Esaili News Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jehadu Abshiro Sports Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Billy Embody Staff Photographer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grace Guthrie Editorial Staff Editor-in-Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Katelyn Gough Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W. Tucker Keene SMU-TV News Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . Haley Thayer, Parminder Deo Assignments Desk Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leah Johnson Online Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lauren Aguirre Associate Online Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Allison Zoranski Arts & Entertainment Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jordan Moore Associate Arts & Entertainment Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . Myca Williamson Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Demetrio Teniente Associate Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sam Snow Style Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelsey Reynolds Health & Fitness Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eastan Croson Food Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Genevieve Edgell Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ellen Smith Associate Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ryan Miller Opinion Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Trevor Thrall Chief Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christina Cox
Courtesy of AP
Brett Hurt, 16, a sophomore at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pa., and a victim in the stabbings that took place the school on April 9, sits in a wheelchair next to his mother Amanda Leonard during a news conference at Forbes Regional Hospital, Thursday, April 10, 2014, in Monroeville, Pa. Authorities have charged Alex Hribal, 16, with four counts of attempted homicide and 21 counts of aggravated assault in the attack.
Advertising Staff Advertising Sales Representatives . . . . . . . . Devyn Pels, Drew Clevenger Classified Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kenneth Zon Marketing Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sean Gatz Sales Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sean Gatz Production Staff Advertising Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Riane Alexander, Kelsey Cordutsky, Caroline Betts Nighttime Production Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lauren Aguirre Business Staff Business Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nariana Sands The Daily Campus, a student newspaper at Southern Methodist University, is operated by Student Media Company, Inc.
sports, particularly basketball, if a team hangs 40 points on you in the second quarter and you are down 60-35 at halftime, the game isn’t over. If they can put up forty points in a quarter, so can you. Albert Camus wrote a lot about the absurdity of life. He talked about a time where one will undoubtedly look in the mirror and see a stranger looking back. In that moment, he says there are three things you can do: 1) accept the absurdity and feel sad or angry about it and do nothing to change your situation. 2) Rejoice in the absurdity, know that that is life and there is nothing you can do about it; it is better to be happy while suffering than to be sad. 3) Change your situation. The third option has been read to mean suicide by many people
over the years. It makes sense because Camus talks a lot about suicide. However, I like to think that that isn’t what he meant at all. Change your situation by refusing to accept that bad things will just happen to you and you are powerless to affect how your life will unfold. Whenever I am faced with a loss of any kind, I find comfort in the clicks of my keyboard. Being able to create and construct with my words allows me to feel a sense of control. I do my best not to sit and feel sorry for myself, because just as quickly as sadness has shown itself in my life, happiness can too. Over the years, what I have found is that sharing with other what I have written during those
Hughes-Trigg Student Center, 3140 Dyer Street, Suite 314, Dallas, TX 75275 The Daily Campus is published Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during the academic semester. For local, national, and classified display advertising, call 214-768-4111. For classified word advertising call 214-768-4554. Student Media Company, Inc. Staff Executive Director / Editorial Adviser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jay Miller Associate Director / Business Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dyann Slosar Advertising Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diana L. Denton Operations / Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Candace Barnhill The Daily Campus Mail Subscription Rates One year (Academic year) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $120 Order forms can downloaded at smudailycampus.com/dcsubscriptions/ To charge by VISA, Mastercard, Discover, call 214-768-4545. Send check orders and address changes to Student Media Company, Inc. PO BOX 456 Dallas, TX 75275-0456.
times of struggle helps me to deal even more. Saturday night, the clouds from Sunday’s rain took over the sky. I sat down on a porch and looked up at the moon and wrote this: I looked up at a starless sky. The moon shone white, but it was ghastly and faint. It was with a heavy heart that I looked at the night- hoping that someone or something would come and tell me that I was not alone, that this pain was temporary, it too would pass. I wanted them to tell me that I would be smiling again soon, that love would return to my life. But there are no stars tonight and there is a hole in my heart. Teniente is a junior majoring in journalism and English.
Entire contents © 2014 The Daily Campus. thedailycampus@gmail.com • http://www.smudailycampus.com SMU Box 456, Dallas, TX 75275 • 214-768-4555 • Fax: 214-768-8787 Daily Campus 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 thedailycampus@gmail.com. Guest columns are accepted and printed at the editor’s discretion upon submission to thedailycampus@gmail.com. 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.
SPORTS
MONDAY n APRIL 14, 2014 Top 25
5
Counting down the 25 greatest Mustangs Last year, around this time, the Sports Desk gave you a list of the top 10 Professional athletes in the Dallas/ Fort worth area. Our countdown was a
large success with our readers that we decided to bring you another list. Only this time, we will stay on the Hilltop and count down the top 25 athletes to ever wear the red and
blue at SMU. While you may recognize some of the athletes on our list, it is our hope that by doing this countdown, you will have better knowledge of
the rich athletic history of SMU. Once we narrow it down to the best of the best, we will give you the top five one at time until the semester is over.
Keep in mind, this list was compiled through numerous e-mails, complicated scientific formulas and talking monkeys. So, if at any point you think
we placed someone to low or if you would like to nominate someone for consideration feel free to shoot us an e-mail.
No. 15: Emmanuel Sanders Samuel Snow Associate Sports Editor ssnow@smu.edu Many of the people on this list had a stellar college career or a great pro career. Emmanuel Sanders is not one of those. Sanders followed up a career at SMU in which he led the team in receiving with 3,791, by continuing his solid play with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sanders caught 34 touchdowns during his SMU career while piling up at least 605 yards in each of his four seasons. He was the model of consistency during his college career. He endured back-to-back 1-11 seasons during his sophomore and junior years but was rewarded by pulling his team to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl his senior season. In his final two seasons for the Mustangs, Sanders was awarded AllConference honors. As a result of his illustrious career at SMU, the Steelers drafted Sanders in the third round of the NFL Draft. Despite not putting up gaudy numbers in his rookie season, Sanders still found a way to put up
For more SMU sports news be sure to follow @SMUSportsDesk @SMUSamuelSnow @BillyEmbody @Matt_Costalot and @Demo36
Courtesy of emmanuelsanders.com
Emmanuel Sanders celebrates a reception as a member of the Steelers.
379 yards on 28 receptions. In 2012, Sanders broke out and grabbed 44 passes for 626 yards. Last year — his contract year — he put up career highs of six touchdowns, 67 catches, and 740 yards. Consequently, the Denver Broncos rewarded him with a threeyear contract. Sanders continues to have a solid NFL career, just like his college
career. That feat has earned him number 15 on this list.
Number 14: Lars Frölander Demetrio Teniente Sports Editor dteniente@smu.edu When making a list of SMU’s greatest athletes, it make sense to mention one of the Hilltop’s greatest swimmers of all time: Lars Frölander. As a Mustangs, Frölander ruled the waters from 1995-98. He was the 1998 NCAA Swimmer of the Year and won the NCAA Championship in two events — the 100 meter freestyle and 100 meter butterfly. It was a repeat performance for Frölander who won both of those
Auto Texas Auto Link EVERYONE DESERVES TO DRIVE A FINE CAR LET TEXAS AUTO LINK PUT YOU IN THAT CAR Why pay more? Call for details! Everyone Finance! Student Accts. 214-343-1800 or 214-584-8737 www.texasautolink.com
Childcare Park Cities Family wants someone to drive 2 kids after school from 3:00-6:00. Must have car with insurance. Pay is $275/wk. Position could turn into more full time in the summer. Call Kasey at (214)437-9741.
Employment BEST JOB ON CAMPUS! The Daily Campus is seeking “GO GETTER” advertising sales reps. Do you like to talk to people and make money? This is an opportunity for advertising, marketing, or business majors to acquire “real world” experience. Looks great on your resume! Earn commission while learning outside sales. Flexible hours. Call Diana at 214-768—4111, come by Hughes-Trigg, Suite 314, or e-mail ddenton@smu.edu Bread Winners Cafe is hiring servers and baristas to join our team! Apply weekdays between one and four at Northpark Center. See you soon! Laura Hunt Design & Decoration located in Highland Park Village is interviewing for PT paid interns. Design experience is preferable. Please email resume to wknouse@laurahunt.com MADISON in Highland Park Village is interviewing FT & PT sales candidates now. Retail experience and passion for beautiful things required. Interest in interior design a plus. Email resumes to stephanie@madisondallas.com
events in 1997, and it was a threepeat for the 100 meter butterfly as he won that event as a first-year in 1995. Once he left the SMU, Frölander continued to swim exceptionally well. He has since competed in six consecutive Olympic Games (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012), for his native Sweden. In the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Frölander took the gold medal in 100 meter Butterfly. Shortly before the Olympic Games he broke the world record in same event twice. After his performance in Sydney, he was awarded
Title Nine Dallas is hiring for Assistant Manager and Part Time Sales. Flexible hours, 50% discounts, fun work environment. Call 214-443-0201 or apply in person.
Food MAKING SUBS IS OUR ONLY BUSINESS AND BUSINESS IS EXCELLENT. NEW YORK SUB. 3411 ASBURY (BEHIND 7-11). 214-522-1070 WE’LL CUT TO THE CHASE. OUR SUBS ARE BETTER. PERIOD! NEWYORKSUBDELIVERS.COM. NEW YORK SUB. 3411 ASBURY (BEHIND 7-11). 214-522-1070
For Lease 3329 Rosedale, 1 block from campus, 2X2, Available June 1, washer/dryer, patio, on-site parking, $1700 per month, 1 year lease, 214-520-3362 Brand New Contemporary 3bdrm, 3.1bath, townhouses 3231-3235 Rosedale only a half block from Campus. Hardwoods, granite, open living areas, all appliances including w/d, walk-in closets, lots of storage, attached garages. Lease starts in August. $3700/ mo. Call Nancy 214-316-9872
For Rent
the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal. He also took home silver medals in the in the 4x200 free relay in the 1992 Barcelona games and in the 1996 Atlanta games.
Summer Sublet! Lakewood neighborhood close to Whole Foods, more. Large room in 2 bed/1 bath with female roommate. Dates flexible. $400/month or $100/week. 425318-9865 Walk to Campus: 2bdr/2bath updated townhouse washer/ dryer; AC; 2-car garage. McFarlin at Hillcrest. No smoking; No pets. 1-year lease starts June 1st; $2450/month khtikian@kkcounsel.com 415-868-9506
Room for Rent ROOM FOR RENT with lots of Light 1/2 block to SMU looking for mature female, nicely furnished includes linens utilities PAID w/cable/internet $750.00 month. Available 6/1. Email ann. stough@yahoo.com or 214232.2539.
Tutor Services ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE TUTOR. Voted “The Best” for 18 years. “College is more fun when you have a tutor.” Lee Lowrie, CPA, MBA cell 214-208-1112. SMU Accounting 2301, 2302, 3311, 3312, 6301, 6302 - Finance 3320 - Real Estate 3811
MATH, STATISTICS, ITOM, GMAT, GRE tutor for college and graduate students – M.S. Math, 20 yrs TI - Sheila Walker smumath@sbcglobal.net 214417-7677
$$$$$$$
ACCOUNTING, MATH, CHEMISTRY, STATISTICS, ECONOMICS, FINANCE, ITOM, Physics, Rhetoric Tutoring. Learn to work smarter not harder. David Kemp Tutorial Services. Call 469-7676713 or david@dktutoring.com. MATH TUTOR (also SAT, GRE, GMAT, THEA) $30 / hour. 10 years college/H.S. teacher. Over 80% satisfaction rate. FredHalp@Gmail.Com 214636-9113
$$$$$$$
Sudoku To Play:
Complete the grid so that every row, column, and 3x3 box contains the digits 1-9. There is no guessing or math involved, just use logic to solve.
2 BEDROOM/ 2 Bath furnished condo -5 min to SMU $1750/ month/includes/utilities & wifi - 1 Bedroom $1450. Also, Room for Rent. 2 blocks from Campus $700/month 214-528-9144 5711 MORNINGSIDE “M” STREETS. 1/1 CH/A Large Patio, Hardwood, updated, dishwasher, w/d, reserve parking. $775/ month, + electric. Non-smoker. Available May 1st. 214-826-6161.
Solution: 4/11/14
Crossword Sean Dobbin is an English teacher at the Community High School of Vermont (CHSVT) in St. Johnsbury. 12 students worked on today's puzzle.
60 Continental bank notes 64 Hauled to the hoosegow 65 Computer component 67 Speak one's mind 68 Good earth Across 69 Peak 1 Steady look 70 Moisten, 5 Uneducated guess as a lawn 9 Knife and fork 71 Tolkien tree separator, in a place creatures setting 72 Ash Wednesday 14 Black cat, to some -to-Easter time 15 Like a guru 16 Long-eared Down hoppers 1 Zeus and Apollo 17 Hand Vac maker 2 Idi of Uganda 19 Haloed messenger 3 None 20 Nocturnal 4 Way in annoyance 5 Nor. neighbor 21 Once in a while 6 DVR pioneer 23 Until now 7 "Not a chance!" 25 Road groove 8 Steeple section 26 Bermuda hrs. with a ringer 29 Special 9 "The __ of "Jeopardy!" the Opera" square 10 Touch down 36 Stir-fried 11 Jason's ship hodgepodge 12 New driver, often 38 Ad-lib 13 Immigrant's subj. comedy style 18 Closing 39 Hailed vehicle documents 40 Cavity filler's 22 German letters, or, said automaker another way, 24 Cross-shaped a hint to 17-, 29-, Greek letter 49- and 65-Across 26 Played a part (in) 42 Comedian Cook 27 SeaWorld orca 43 "The Real Slim 28 Poisonous, Shady" rapper as waste 46 Big name in gloves 30 Mil. roadside 49 A&E reality series hazard featuring the 31 Winona's Robertson family "Beetlejuice" role 51 Arid 32 Prom hairstyle 52 Past-tense verb 33 Mark with an iron that sounds like a 34 Introvert number 35 "__ Breath You 53 EMT technique Take": Police hit 55 Squirrel's 37 Internal color of a discard medium steak
41 Puncture sound 44 1970s Mary Tyler Moore co-star 45 Folk story 47 Non-prescription: Abbr. 48 Used a keyboard 50 Tattoo tool 54 Not urban 55 California wine valley 56 Textbook chapter 57 Fork prong
58 Big cat 59 Test for a future atty. 61 Like a red tomato 62 Cookie cooker 63 Modern message between trysters, perhaps 64 Spreadsheet feature 66 Metric distances: Abbr.
Solution 04/11/2014
36
ARTS
MONDAY n APRIL 14, 2014 opinion
opinion
Steve Jobs killed the TV star Sing Song twerked well zain haidar A&E Writer zhaidar@smu.edu I can safely declare that TV has secretly been dead for years. In fact, we’re carrying a rotting corpse into the mausoleum. TV is making its new home on
your tablet device. The days of huddling around a black box, like the days of huddling around a radio listening to Howdy Doody and FDR, are dead in the water. Steve Jobs is your god now, America. Data collected by Motorola revealed that more households view television programming on a
WE WON’T
PULL A
FAST ONE WE’LL DELIVER ONE!
FREAKY FAST
DELIVERY! ©2013 JIMMY JOHN’S FRANCHISE, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
tablet device in their bedrooms than they do on a TV in the living room. The study (released last year) took a look at 9,500 consumers spread out over 17 countries and found that video consumption trends were shifting rapidly. According to the study, consumers around the world watch an average of 19 hours of TV a week (Americans actually watched an average of 23 hours of TV a week). Films got a bump, too: 5 to 6 hours a week. Now here is where the ondemand trend gets some love. A third of that 19 hours of television is pre-recorded content that consumers choose to watch at a later time. The newest bit of jargon among media companies is the multi-screen viewing experience. The idea is that (like in that cheesy commercial), you’ll get up off your ass in the living room, hit pause on the Michael Bay flick you’re watching and poof, you’re in the bathroom with a tablet hitting resume and catching up on “Transformers 10.” Companies increasingly want to load content onto mobile devices and engage consumers with that content through social media platforms. There are crappy aspects of this transition, but I think it’s good for us in the long run (good in the sense of easy consumption, not in the sense that watching 23 hours of TV on your iPad weekly is good). A year from that study, though, we can make tweak projections and predictions to reflect our present reality. My forecast is that apps will kill TV pretty quickly. Mobile app development is the forefront of media tech today, and if you’re blessed with a subscription to HBO Go (and watching “Game of Thrones” every Sunday) you know exactly what I mean. The traditional models are dead.
Courtesy of Jamie Face
SMU Pi Phi’s Alexandra Cain and Delaney Pouch on stage at Sing Song 2014 representing Miley Cyrus.
lauren aguirre Online Editor lcaguirre@smu.edu Sing Song: POP ICONS rocked the McFarlin Auditorium Friday night. The five teams performed mini-musicals inspired by the works of various artists. These artists included Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, P!nk, Kesha and Britney Spears. Each team was named after the artist it would be performing. Team Britney (Alpha Chi Omega) started off the night with a Cinderella-esque tale. Spears, dissatisfied with her fame, wishes she had never become famous in the first place. By the end of the act, Spears learns to appreciate her life on stage. Team P!nk (Theta Tau and Lyle School of Engineering) told a story of pirates. A father reads a bedtime story to his daughter while it is being acted out on stage. The story changes according to the little girl’s wishes. Team Kesha (Delta Gamma and Beta Upsilon Chi) warned of the apocalypse
in a caveman society. In the end, the guy got the girl and the village launched a rock into a volanco to stop the explosion. Team Beyonce (Chi Omega and Sigma Chi) showed an adventurous spring break. While sailing to the Bahamas, the ship crashes on a deserted island, where the students meet Beyonce as a genie. Team Miley (Pi Beta Phi and Kappa Alpha Order) finished the show with a chronicle of Cyrus’ career, taking us on a journey from the innocent Hannah Montana to the rebellious star we know her as today. She fights for freedom from her manager, Mickey Mouse, and her father, Billy Ray Cyrus. It’s no surprise that Team Miley took first place. Not only did Alex Atwood have an amazing Mickey Mouse impression, but the choreography was by far the most interesting of all the acts. However, if I could choose the winner, it would have been a tie between Team P!nk and Team Kesha. Team P!nk had the most creative act, packed with plenty of jokes and puns. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in the story rejecting the changes the narrator
made. Meanwhile, Team Kesha’s act was funny and smart. With tons of technobabble to keep science nerds happy, and a love story between a tough woman and a smart guy, what’s not to love? These two teams had the most original acts out of the whole show, and deserved more than second and third place. Not only did the teams rock the show, the two hosts Kelsey Cordutsky and Ramon Trespalacios entertained the crowd between acts. While the jokes weren’t nearly as good as those in the acts, they still received some laughs. The hosts took a selfie with President R. Gerald Turner, Executive Director of Student Affairs Jennifer Jones and other administration members in the audience. The highlight of the show was when Trespalacios called on a volunteer from the audience to give him a mohawk. Only a dedicated host would let his head be shaved by a stranger. Overall, this year’s Sing Song was entertaining and hilarious. It was worth my $10 and I would happily pay $10 to see it again.
Press On “Why Christians Call It Holy Week” fasting and preparation. Easter day is filled with joyous singing and celebration. But Holy Week is somber. Some churches have prayer or worship services daily, but Friday is especially that way as it marks Jesus’ death. If you’re a Christian, I hope this week is filled with meaning for you. If you’re not a Christian, but interested to know about this week, I hope you’ll ask a Christian friend to explain. It would be good practice for them.
DR. STEPHEN RANKIN Chaplain rankins@smu.edu Two religious holidays, this time of year, intertwine. The Jewish Feast of Passover (which actually starts this evening) and what many Christians call Holy Week happen to coincide this week. When Jesus met with his disciples for the Last Supper, he was celebrating Passover. With some modifications, of course. Holy Week begins, according to the scripture, with Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem in what amounted to a kind of parade. His actions were symbolic and his followers processed with him joyfully. The week went bad for them, quickly, however, with Jesus’ crucifixion by the Romans on Friday. It looked as if their hopes for the coming of the Kingdom had been entirely dashed. They followers scattered in fear. Until Sunday. Holy Week gets overshadowed by the more widely celebrated holiday – Christmas. Much about the way we celebrate Christmas in this country has little to do with the religious significance of the day. In Christian tradition, however, Christmas and Holy Week are directly connected.
Christmas commemorates the Incarnation – God taking human nature and coming to dwell among us in Jesus of Nazareth. Holy Week, starting with Palm Sunday (yesterday) and going to Easter Sunday, commemorates the good news of the significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Admittedly, Holy Week is not as much fun as Christmas. Of course, there will be the Easter Egg Hunt on the White House Lawn. And some people maintain the tradition of breaking out new, fresh clothing for Easter. It’s not just a fashion statement. It’s a way of expressing the hope of new life. Though Holy Week is not as well known or as observed as Christmas, it’s every bit as important. Easter brings to a close the season of Lent, that time of reflection, penitence,
Stephen Rankin is Chaplain and Minister to Southern Methodist University. He has served the university as Interim Dean of Student Life and also as Interim Interfraternity Council Advisor. Originally from Kansas, Chaplain Rankin grew up a Dallas Cowboys fan. He’s married to Joni and has four grown children and two grandchildren. Chaplain Rankin has worked in higher education for almost 20 years. He considers it a holy privilege to work with students and loves good conversation about all kinds of topics.
The Office of the Chaplain and Religious Life at SMU is located in Suite 316 on the third floor of the Hughes-Trigg Student Center. The office is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Melissa Dale at mdale@smu.edu.
This message brought to you by
STUDENT AFFAIRS
Office of the Chaplain and Religious Life
PAID ADVERTISEMENT