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WEDNESDAY
MAY 2, 2012
WEDNESDAY High 90, Low 70 THURSDAY High 90, Low 72
VOLUME 96 ISSUE 90 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
ACADEMICS
Two students make SMU history with human rights degree SARAH KRAMER Editor in Chief skramer@smu.edu
Courtesy of SMU
A computer rendering of SMU’s Residential Commons complex. The complex is slated to be open in the fall of 2014.
Footing (part of) the bill Current residents paying for future students’ digs WESLEIGH OGLE Contributing Writer wogle@smu.edu In fall 2014, SMU students will enjoy brand new residence halls, a state-of-the-art dining facility, innovative classrooms, seminar space, another parking garage and their very own professors-in-residence — all part of the new Residential
Commons complex. But as construction begins on the $134.5 million project, current dorm residents already are footing part of the bill for future amenities they likely will not be able to enjoy. In 2010, SMU officials announced ambitious plans to transfer to a residential commons model with the goal of improving the university academically. Eight years later, SMU has only raised enough donor money for two of five residential halls. Nevertheless, the university broke ground on April 20 and
has plunged ahead to build the entire complex. In addition to donations, SMU will fund the project through bond proceeds and rent revenue, according to a 2010 news release. What current students may not know is that they are already paying for these future perks. Dorm rent for this academic year and 2012 to 2013 jumped by nearly $300 per year, nearly twice the $150 increase for the 2010 to 2011 year. Steve Logan, executive director of Residential Life and Student Housing, said “The rationale for the varied increases
is tied to the Residential Commons model.� As a Virginia-Snider resident, Will Slack believes paying a higher rent now will indirectly benefit him. “I think it’s one of those things that’s a shared sacrifice and a shared reward,� he said. But Ayen Bior, a student living in Cockrell-McIntosh, said she could use the extra money to buy textbooks and school supplies. “What upsets me even more is that it will more than likely
See DORMS page 4
POLITICS
With Mitt Romney’s nomination as the Republican presidential candidate almost set in stone, the focus has shifted to a new topic: who will be his running mate? “I want someone who without question could be president, and there are women who meet that requirement as well as men,� Mitt Romney told Larry Kudlow on Tuesday night’s Kudlow Report on CNBC. With about two-thirds of the Republican presidential primaries completed, Romney has become the sole front-runner in the GOP race.
See DEGREE page 4
LECTURE
Who SMU students want for Romney’s VP LEXIE HAMMESFAHR Contributing Writer lhammesfahr@smu.edu
When SMU announced human rights as a major, graduation dates changed for two students. Though they won’t be graduating with the majority of their classmates in May, Shirin Tavakoli and Samantha Matthews will be the first students to graduate from SMU with a bachelor’s degree in human rights. And, they are doing so in the same calendar year the major was created. “It’s something I’m really passionate about, so it’s worth staying an extra semester,� Tavakoli said. Tavakoli embarked on her senior year as a triple major in political science, international studies and history. Matthews, on the other hand, took two years of business classes then switched to psychology her junior year. But in September, their plans changed. Now, human rights is Matthews’ only major and Tavakoli, who is still a triple major, replaced history with human rights. “If it was a major from the beginning, it would be my only major,� Tavakoli said. Though it’s Matthews only major, she said it would have made her decision easier from
the beginning. “I’ve always thought to myself: ‘If only human rights were a major,’� she said. “And now it is.� Dr. Rick Halperin, the director of the Embrey Human Rights Program, began teaching human rights at SMU in 1990. Classes were initially taught through the history department, but after receiving a $1 million donation, the human rights program officially launched July 1, 2006. As more students became interested in the program, the Board of Trustees declared SMU the first college in the South and the fifth in the country to offer the major in September. Tavakoli, who came to the U.S. from Iran in 2008, said she was sold on SMU after she saw it had a human rights program. Thus, she was overwhelmed with excitement when she found out she could now get a degree in what she was truly passionate about. “Part of the reason I chose SMU was because of the human rights program,� she said. “I didn’t even think twice about it. And now that it is a major, I know coming here was totally worth it.� Matthews, however, wasn’t aware of the program until she came to SMU. “I actually didn’t learn about the program until
Only 460 more delegates are needed to secure Romney’s nomination, with 684 in the bag already. His closest competitor Newt Gingrich dropped out of the race Tuesday. Even though Romney has a strong lead over any other contender in the GOP race, some hesitation surrounds whether or not he would be a strong enough opponent in the general election to beat President Barack Obama. On the primarily conservative campus of Southern Methodist University, the debate over the strongest contender to knock Obama out of office surges, along with suggestions as to which
See ROMNEY page 5
Speakers discuss future of politics RAHFIN FARUK News Editor rfaruk@smu.edu Politics was the topic of the night at the SMU Tate Lecture on Tuesday in McFarlin Auditorium. Conservative and Pulitzer prize-winning columnist Charles Krauthammer and Emmy award winning broadcast journalist Bill Moyers touched on key aspects in America’s domestic sphere. Keven Ann Willey, the vice president of The Dallas Morning News and moderator of the event, centered the discussion on two central themes: the upcoming presidential election and the current status of the politic. Both men critiqued Barack
Obama and his policies. “Obama has become the most imperial president of imperial America. He has his own private drone army and intelligence force,� Moyers said. For Moyers, who had great aspirations for Obama’s presidency, Obama has failed to deliver. “He was the apotheosis of 320 years of race relations in America. He had a persona and a vision for the country,� Moyers said. “But, after the healthcare bill, he has had little domestic success.� Krauthammer spoke out against Obama’s healthcare policy — the administration’s
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SeeTATE page 5
SPENCER J EGGERS / The Daily Campus
Bill Moyers and Charles Krauthammer discuss Mitt Romney’s chances against President Obama] during Tuesday evening’s Tate Lecture.