DC 04/29/15

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wednesDAY

APRIL 29, 2015

Wednesday High 75, Low 54 Thursday High 81, Low 54

VOLUME 100 ISSUE 85 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS 1915 - 2015

‘Will you please do me a Favor?’

NEWS Briefs World

New delivery app reaches Dallas market, SMU students

Mali— Armed separatist fighters fired upon U.N. peacekeeping vehicles near Timbuktu in northern Mali, marking a further setback for the country’s fragile peace process. CILACAP, Indonesia— Indonesia brushed aside last-minute appeals and executed eight people convicted of drug smuggling. Local media reported the executions on Tuesday.

National LOS ANGELES— The nation’s largest sheriff’s department agreed to a sweeping settlement Tuesday with the U.S. Justice Department over long-standing civil rights abuses by deputies in the Mojave Desert. HONOLULU— A park ranger used a Taser on a man flying a drone over a lake of lava at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, then arrested the man in front of several hundred people after telling him that flying an unmanned aircraft at a national park is prohibited.

Texas

AUSTIN— Two years after Texas adopted sweeping abortion restrictions, Republicans are pushing a smaller encore of additional limits for new Gov. Greg Abbott to sign within the next month. New battlegrounds over abortion access for minors and insurance will leave about eight abortion facilities in Texas if a federal appeals court upholds new clinic standards.

Adriana Bremer Contributing Writer abremer@smu.edu

Courtesy of Facebook

Mario Chavez, one of the veterans of U.S. Military Veterans of SMU, sends a photo after receiving care packages from the organization in 2013.

A look at the life of veterans returning to the classroom Jesse Carr Contributing Writer jcarr@smu.edu Codey Marshall paced the SMU hallway nervously. He wasn’t on a combat patrol through the streets of Baghdad anymore; he was transitioning into his first day at a four-year university. Used to doing everything with his fellow Marines, Marshall found himself alone in a sea of students. Although SMU’s campus lacked the chaos and danger that he was conditioned for, Marshall was still nervous and excited. “When you leave active duty your world changes completely, the support network goes away,” said Marshall, an undergraduate student studying markets and culture at SMU and the incoming Vice-President for SMU MilVets. Marshall served in the Marine Corps from 20022006 as an infantry assaultman, deploying twice to Iraq. Combat is starkly different then the classroom, but for some veterans like Marshall adjusting to the classroom environment can be more intimidating than being deployed in combat. This semester SMU has 124 student veterans utilizing tuition benefits and taking advantage of SMU’s yellow ribbon program. However, research suggests that before graduating more than half of those veterans will drop out. In 2012, The Huffington Post claimed that a staggering 88 percent of veterans drop out of college. Since 2010 there have been two studies

conducted on veterans and college. However, both studies were conducted less than 10 years since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. After the completion of these studies many experts began comparing post 9/11 veterans to post WWII, Korea and Vietnam veterans. Experts claimed that veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan faced a much higher dropout rate. Matt Macleod, a Marine Corps veteran with two deployments to Afghanistan believes that the numbers are skewed. “I don’t think the studies are accurate because I think there are a high number of veterans who start college without really any intention of graduating,” Macleod said. Some veterans have to drop out because of family responsibilities while others are forced to drop out due to financial difficulties because of reduction in tuition benefits. “I love the people at the VA,” said Robert Nelson, incoming president for SMU MilVets, “But the system is so complicated and confusing that it’s nearly impossible to get in touch with the person that can help you.” Nelson served in the Air Force and is an undergraduate student studying economics. Since fall 2012 SMU has had 722 veterans enrolled with 157 of those enrolled graduating. While that number isn’t an accurate reflection of the graduation rate, school officials were unable to provide an exact graduation rate, but claim that it

is very high. “I’m here because I want to be. SMU is the highest ranked school in Dallas. This is our life, we aren’t here just because. We’re here because we need it, because we want it, and because we love it,” Marshall said. Chris Cate, vice-president of research for Student Veterans of America, published two papers in response to the surveys of veterans and the claim that the dropout rate is 88 percent. He believes that, “national data on student veterans is difficult to find, simply because no federal department has been tasked with the collection and analysis of data regarding student veterans or their academic outcomes. This is a problem for policy makers and stakeholders who rely on research to make informed decisions.” While the number of veterans at SMU is relatively low in comparison with cross-town rival TCU, Nelson appreciates that veterans on campus aren’t just a number at SMU. “SMU will go out of their way to support us. Even in the classroom professors are willing to give us the benefit of the doubt; whether it’s with missing class because of an appointment with the VA, or turning in an assignment late because one of our kids is sick,” said Nelson. The simple fact is that not enough time has passed since the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for studies to accurately reflect veteran dropout rates, but until that

VETERANS page 3

Downloading the app is a simple task. Yet ordering food from any local Dallas restaurant through it and waiting for it to come to you is even simpler. With just a click of a button, Favor provides personal delivery service that gets anything in the city delivered to your door. “I can now get everything I want from all my favorite restaurants,” said Marie Theresa Ancira, who recently discovered Favor through a friend. “I order through Favor at least once a week. It’s amazing.” The Favor app works as a personal delivery assistant. The app, which recently reached the Dallas area, has revolutionized the food delivery experience. As explained by their website, it has proved to be a success among students and locals as it stands out in the competitive and crowded market of app technology by providing what people want most: personal services. “Favor is so incredibly fast. I’ve tried DiningIn, GrubHub, and Eat 24, yet none compare to how personal Favor is,” Ancira said. Favor is user-friendly. As the user opens the app, recommended restaurants appear on the IOS device’s screen. The user may then select any of the featured restaurants or may search for his or her restaurant of choice. The menu then appears and when the order is selected, it can be customized to any particular needs and specifications. As soon as payment information is entered, it is now in the hands of the Runners. The Runners are the people who work for Favor and therefore get the job done. As customers relax, Runners are in charge of driving around the city to order and pick-up the customer’s personalized order. “Working for Favor is pretty fun,” Ty Johnson said. Johnson has been a Runner for Favor for

a month. Johnson enjoys the tips given by users and the opportunities to explore new restaurants. Users get to tip their runners as much as they please. Additionally, a service charge is included in the meal and delivery order. “I get to go to places I had no idea existed. It makes me want to go visit them and eat there,” Johnson said. The Runners can be spotted around the city easily, as they all wear bright blue tuxedo T-shirts that resemble outfits of a concierge service worker. “I think wearing the blue shirt makes us look cool,” Johnson said Favor has not only given people who live in Dallas an opportunity to earn money as they provide services to others, but it has also helped local restaurants with their sales. By being a personal delivery assistant, the app has made it easier for people to buy food from restaurants. It facilitates the process and thus makes it quick and simple. Additionally, it delivers food from restaurants that do not offer that service and customers also get to enjoy their orders at home. This has become an incentive for many to use the app. “It has helped out this restaurant a lot as we do not personally deliver. More people are now buying our food,” said Gaby Bunda, of Dive Coastal Cuisine. “We get at least four to five Runners a day.” Dive Coastal Cuisine, located at 3404 Ranking St., is one of many restaurants that greet Runners every day. “I think every restaurant by this point is getting used to seeing guys and girls in their tuxedo shirts walking in,” Bunda said. Reaching the Dallas market just this November, users of the app and restaurants from the area have already been discovering all of the benefits Favor has to offer. “It is hands-down the best app I have ever downloaded,” Ancira said.

Courtesy of bostinno.streetwise.co

Favor Runners in their uniforms.

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