OPINION | PAGE 6
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SMU makes SM history, p promotes pe peace with Da Dalai Lama visit
Students turn attention attentti to Royal R Wedding We ed
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A SIDE OF NEWS
NATO denies aim to kill Gaddafi Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard has insisted that NATO is not specifically trying to kill Gaddafi, after a NATO strike on the Libyan leader’s residential compound killed Gaddafi’s son and three of his grandchildren on Saturday. The alliance said the villa complex is a command center and a valid military target in their campaign to eliminate threats to Libyan civilians. But Russia said the strike shows that “the purpose of the anti-Libyan coalition is to physically destroy Gaddafi.”
MONDAY, MAY 2, 2011
SMUDAILYCAMPUS.COM
9 years, 7 months, 20 days after Sept. 11 attacks By TAYLOR ADAMS Editor-in-Chief tadams@smu.edu
Students around the SMU campus gathered around TVs and computers with the rest of Americans Sunday night as President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was killed in a U.S.-led operation at a compound in Pakistan, according to the Associated Press. “Justice has been done,” Obama said. SMU students celebrated with posts on Twitter and Facebook. Student Body President Austin Prentice tweeted, “One nation, under God.” Senior Zainab Farzal was in Cockrell-McIntosh Hall studying with other students when she heard of Obama’s announcement through Twitter. “Honestly, I think the biggest thing was disbelief in my mind,” she said. “It’s kind of a relief. It’s one of those things we’ve been pursuing for so long without results.”
NASA shuttle launch postponed
Freshman Andy Fisher was also in CockrellMcIntosh studying as people passed him, asking if he had heard the news. “I had forgotten all about it [the search for bin Laden],” he said. “It’s not really talked about very much; I felt like it was kind of lost.” Some students had posts on Facebook similar to, “America!!!” Responses like these are not surprising to Fisher. Bin Laden’s death comes at a time that is perceived as inconvenient to students like Freshman Matt Schklair, whose initial response to the news was, “Cool.” “I had work to do. I mean, U-S-A, U-S-A; but I’ve got work to do right now,” he said. “I’ve got finals.” Former President George W. Bush released a statement saying, “The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done.”
MICHAEL DANSER/The Daily Campus
Matthew Mueller, from right, and SMU freshman Grace Mueller stand among other George W. Bush supporters outside of the former president’s Preston Hollow home in North Dallas Sunday evening.
COMMUNITY
HUMAN RIGHTS
Dallas citizen gives back after 12 years in prison, wrongful conviction
NASA officials announced on Sunday that no official launch date has been set for the Endeavour space shuttle. The original launch was postponed Friday due to a faulty heater system. Repairs on the system will take several days, pushing the launch back to at least the end of the week. A NASA spokesman said that technicians and engineers will be replacing a switchbox in the Endeavour’s engine compartment, which requires two days of testing before approval.
By STUDENTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE JOURNALIST COURSE
Syrian crackdown continues Syrian President Bashar Assad’s brutal crackdown on protesters continued Sunday with the shelling of Deraa’s Roman quarter. Deraa, where protests began six weeks ago after a group of teens was arrested for drawing graffiti, has been without water, fuel, or electricity since Monday. The shelling comes a day after four people were killed when troops raided a mosque that had been a focal point of protests. Deraa was also the source of violence Friday, when 65 people were killed.
Photo courtesy of Paul Gleiser
Fekadu Gebreyohannes came to Dallas from Ethiopia in 1991. He began his career by working the night shift at his brother’s 7-Eleven. When the position opened for manager of the Hillcrest location, he embraced the opportunity.
‘7-Eleven Guy’ lives dream, brings family to America By LEE GLEISER
Hong Kong to set minimum wage Hong Kong has passed legislation to give its low-paid workers a minimum hourly wage. Lawmakers were under pressure from the public to narrow the city’s gigantic wealth gap between the rich businessmen and impoverished street sweepers. Unions had asked for a minimum wage of HK$33 ($4.24) an hour but will be paid HK$28 ($3.60) an hour. Singapore is now the only Asian country without a minimum wage requirement.
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Contributing Writer lgleiser@smu.edu
The store sparkles. The floor is spotless. The hum of the slurpee machines and beverage coolers resonate in a calm, constant hum. When you walk into the 7-Eleven on the corner of Hillcrest and Asbury, across the street from the SMU campus, Fekadu Gebreyohannes greets his customers as if welcoming them to his home. Whether he is stocking the fridges or running the cash register, Gebreyohannes is always greeting his customers. He has come to know
many by name, but few know his. To them, he’s “the 7-Eleven guy.” They have no idea he’s actually the owner of the store. They know nothing of the sacrifices he has made to be here. Behind his ever-present smile is a story waiting to be told. He came to America from Ethiopia in 1991 with nothing. Today, he is living the American dream.
Flight from Communism Gebreyohannes came from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. He is
one of nine children. His father was a successful banker and his mother worked for the post office. The Communist regime in power took away nearly all of their property. When Gebreyohannes turned 18, he wanted to avoid mandatory military service for the Communists. He accepted an academic scholarship to study agronomy in Moscow. He arrived in Russia at 18 not knowing a word of Russian. After two years in Russia, Gebreyohannes traveled to the German Democratic Republic as a summer
See 7ELEVEN on Page 3
HEALTH
Expectant moms prefer old methods By BETHANY SUBA Copy Editor bsuba@smu.edu
Having a natural birth had always been one of Connie Gonzalez’s top priorities. Each of her four children was a vaginal delivery. However, the same doctor did not deliver all of them; in fact, it wasn’t even a doctor who delivered her last three. After a job change seven years ago that brought her to the Women’s Health Medical Group (WHMG) in Fort Worth, Texas, Gonzalez decided to deliver her last three children with the help of a certified nurse midwife. “I have nothing against doctors at
all, it’s just me feeling comfortable,” Gonzalez, a certified medical assistant, said. And to her there is nothing that puts her more at ease than being able to go to her midwife and know that she is in good hands. WHMG is a private practice that not only consists of OB-GYN’s, but also has a certified nurse midwife on staff. It was here that Gonzalez was able to see how a nurse midwife operates and decide that was the kind of treatment she wished to have when she delivered the rest of her children. Over the past 35 years the number of women using midwives has increased
by approximately 200,000. According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, in 1975, only 19,686 women used midwives. In 2003, 305,513 women used midwives and in 2010, approximately 218,000 women used a midwife. But there are still women who believe that obstetricians are their best option. Amanda Preston, Dallas resident and mother of two, has been seeing the same obstetrician for eight years. “I don’t have anything against midwives except for the fact that they can’t do anything in an emergency,”
See MIDWIVES on Page 3
By all appearances, Christopher Scott doesn’t stand out as a Dallas citizen. He lives in a nice home, drives a nice car and has raised two sons. Fourteen years ago, however, Scott lost everything when Dallas County wrongly convicted him of capital murder. His story is not as uncommon as one might think. Rather, Dallas County stands out as an epicenter in the nationwide movement to overturn wrongful convictions, according to Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins. Working with the Innocence Project of Texas, Watkins’ Conviction Integrity Unit has worked to free dozens of wrongly imprisoned citizens in recent years, often with the help of DNA testing. As of 2010, 269 postexoneration cases have occurred in the United States, and Texas leads the way with 42. Of that 42, almost half have occurred in Dallas County. Scott’s story starts off like many other exonerees:’ with a case of misidentification. After leaving his home to buy a Dr. Pepper at a local store, Scott and his friend Claude Simmons were taken by police on the lookout for a murderer. The two did not match the original description of the shooter, they
had no gunshot residue on them, and no other physical evidence linked them to the murder. Scott was charged with the murder of Alfonzo Aguilar, who had been killed in front of his wife during a home-invasion robbery. Aguilar’s wife, Celia Escobedo, was brought to the jail, put in a room with Scott and asked if he were the shooter. She identified him as the shooter and he was charged with capital murder. At the beginning of the trial, the judge asked Scott why the state should not seek the death penalty in his case. Scott replied, “You shouldn’t kill an innocent man.” He would later credit this statement with saving his life. Capital murder cases have two options when it comes to punishment: life in prison or the death penalty. Scott may have beaten the death penalty, but he faced a capital life sentence with a minimum of 40 years before the option of parole. During trial, seven police officers testified that, based on their findings, Scott was not guilty. The only evidence that the prosecution utilized during the trail was testimony from Celia Escobedo, despite the fact that Scott did not match her initial description to the police. The entire proceedings lasted half a day and the jury took one more day to deliberate. When the jury came back with the guilty verdict, Scott was in shock. “The only good thing about it was
See EXONEREE on Page 3
GREEK
Gamma Phi ‘rocks’ for spring philanthropy By PAT BOH
Contributing Writer pboh@smu.edu
Gamma Phi Beta sorority successfully launched its spring philanthropic event, “Rockin’ for a Cause” on Saturday in Dedman Sports Center. The event consisted of rock climbing races for registered teams and individuals. Gamma Phi members also sold T-shirts, bracelets, drinks, snacks and water bottles. All proceeds raised went to Gamma Phi Beta’s national charity, Campfire USA. Many Gamma Phi members attended the event to show solidarity for its charity. Gamma Phi member Colleen Russo sold snacks and tabled for the event.
“All proceeds will go to Campfire USA, so it’s all for a good cause,” Russo said. Gamma Phi philanthropy chair Allison Guthrie restarted the rock climbing charity event that had fallen out of use a few years ago. “I realized we had a lack of a spring event and a lot of other Greeks do sporting event, and nobody had claimed the rock climbing wall,” Guthrie said. “We want to let it be known that Gamma Phis are here to rock the campus.” Guthrie is responsible for all the philanthropy activities in the spring and next fall. “We think it’s important to get the sororities and fraternities involved, but we noticed that there’s a lack of an event for individuals, especially non-Greeks,”
See PHILANTHROPY on Page 3