INSIDE
New restaurant makes waves
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Rangers in the heat of battle
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Think again on pricey clothing
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Don’t brake for Premium Rush PAGE 4
FRIDAY
AUGUST 24, 2012 FRIDAY High 91, Low 72 SATURDAY High 95, Low 70
VOLUME 98 ISSUE 6 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
TE X TBOOKS
Website undercuts bookstore JULIE FANCHER Contributing Writer jfancher@smu.edu
SIDNEY HOLLINGSWORTH / The Daily Campus
Third generation athletic director Rick Hart will help lead the SMU’s athletic program in its move to the Big East.
Hart dreams big for SMU
KATY RODEN Sports Editor kroden@smu.edu In mid-July, SMU announced that it had hired new athletic director Rick Hart to lead SMU’s athletic programs. With a move to the Big East ahead, Hart’s decision will have long term impacts on SMU’s Second Century Campaign goals to be a perennial powerhouse. This announcement was only one of many recent changes occurring in the athletic department. Following the hire of legendary basketball coach Larry Brown, new women’s soccer coach Chris Petrucelli, the coming move to the Big East conference, the renovation of Moody Coliseum and the construction of a new tennis complex, Hart is welcomed to the Hilltop at a time of, in his own words, “palatable excitement.” Despite all the anticipation, Hart did not come to campus with complete confidence. “When you start there’s all that excitement, and obviously
you do your best to confirm that it’s a place where my family can be happy, where I can grow personally and professionally and help advance our department,” Hart said. “You confirm those things but you still don’t know beyond that if it’s going to meet your expectations. And so now that I’ve been here a week, I’ve found that it does. It meets and/or exceeds my expectations as it relates to getting exposed to more people, to the area, to the institution. It has confirmed and supported what I hoped it would be like.” The search process, which began after the firing of former AD Steve Orsini in May, was only a few weeks for Hart, during which time he was the AD at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Hart worked in Chattanooga administration since 2006 and was at Oklahoma for the seven years before. “We [Hart’s family] felt very fortunate that we really loved Chattanooga so there was no part of us that felt like we had to leave,” Hart said. “What really drove [the
move] was the unique opportunity to come to a campus that is going through some transformative change, that’s had some success and has some momentum and strong, respected leadership. It just seemed like the right time and the right opportunity.” With all the change occurring on campus, Hart is not yet sure what his contribution is going to be and says he doesn’t “pursue change for the sake of change.” “SMU athletics is a program that has a lot of great things already happening for it,” he said. “There’s a lot of momentum, good people and success. It’s not as though I’m coming into a situation where there’s a multitude of challenges. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.” One issue that Hart is inclined to address is student attendance to athletic events. “I think that [student attendance] is always a challenge today because of the demands on students’ time. What’s unique about SMU is I think our studentathlete population is about 7
STUDY ABROAD
percent, so it really is a pretty significant peer group. So at some point I think it has to be an effort by the student-athletes.” However, Hart believes all the changes in athletics will be the beginning of the solution to the problem. “Look at our home football schedule this year,” Hart said. “The quality of the opponents, the quality of the team, the product – as that improves I think more and more people will want to participate. All of the sudden being in the stands watching the game will become more important.” Hart’s move to SMU also made him the boss of big names Brown and June Jones. “Whether it’s a coach, staffperson or a student, it’s great to work with anyone who is accomplished, respected and has achieved success at the levels that those two individuals [Brown and Jones] have,” Hart said. “I look to learn from them, be around them and figure out how they became successful. And while they’re known for championships
that they’ve won and some of the athletic accolades, they’re just good people.” Hart is a third-generation sports administrator and was brought up around education and athletics – two things that collide in collegiate athletics. “I’m not really passionate about professional sports, I’m passionate about the amateurism,” Hart said. “I’m always in awe of our student-athletes. They inspire me with the way they balance their academic, athletic and social obligations at such a young age.” The SMU athletic department is welcoming one more exciting change as Hart becomes accustomed to campus, and, he says, lost in the construction. “You can sense that there’s a real eagerness about where we’re headed. To be able to be a part of that is certainly something that attracted me to the position and I look forward to helping it foster – keep doing the things that we’re doing well and find a way to do the other things better.”
TR ADITION
Adventure blogs connect continents ASHLEY STAINTON Assignments Desk Editor astainton@smu.edu Many students started off the new school year by paying a friendly visit to the SMU bookstore, visiting some of the local restaurants they’ve been missing all summer or possibly reestablishing their morning workout at Dedman Life Center. Others, however, spent their time prepping for school by ordering their passport, packing their bags and jetting across the globe. Those who choose to travel abroad this semester will leave the comfort of SMU and Dallas behind, in search of new and exciting places. This summer, students went
to locations ranging from the tea gardens of Bangladesh to the overcrowded hospitals of Vietnam to the slums of India. One outlet that is helping to keep track of their adventures is the SMU Adventures Blog. The SMU Adventure Blog features everything from a photo of the week sent in by traveling students, to personal blogs from students. “My experience on Semester at Sea was completely different than being here at SMU,” said Senior Sarah McCurdy who studied abroad in Fall 2011. “It is difficult to explain what your life is like there unless you keep track of it with pictures and
SeeTRAVEL page 6
Tired of paying bookstore prices for your textbooks every semester? Enter Books at SMU — a website that compares the SMU Barnes and Noble bookstore prices with the cheapest new and used book prices online. The idea for Books at SMU came from SMU junior Avery Stefan’s hometown friend Sean Haufler, who started the first textbook price comparison website at Yale. “Sean came up with the idea for a website where you could input your classes and the website would generate a book list for each class with the cheapest prices for those books available online,” Stefan said. After syncing up textbook and class information from Access, the Books at SMU site went live in December 2011. “We recently updated the site to make it easier to navigate. All you have to do is input your classes,” Stefan said. “The site updates along with Access to ensure that you have the most current textbook list.” While some students might hesitate to buy books from somewhere other than Barnes and Noble, Books at SMU is legitimate source. A bill passed by Congress in 2010 enables the site to legally compete directly with the campus bookstore. “Bookstores were getting upset about the websites, but they couldn’t do anything about it because of the Open Textbook Act. What we are doing is completely legal,” Stefan said. As the marketer and promoter of Books at SMU, Stefan wants to spread the word that there is a cheaper way to buy textbooks. “The site was made for students by students. It makes your life easier,” Stefan said. With the start of the fall semester, Books at SMU sales have significantly increased the past couple of weeks. Stefan expects even bigger sales in the future. “We are anticipating a big spring as more and more people learn about the site,” Stefan said.
SIDNEY HOLLINGSWORTH / The Daily Campus
Then Chi-O juniors Veronica Phillips (left) and Kelsey Knobloch (right) ‘boulevard’ in the fall of 2012.
‘Boulevarding’ up for tailgating award RACHEL SMITH Contributing Writer rsmith@smu.edu Tailgating is more than just a fun activity before
football games. It is a beloved pastime that students and alumni cherish. It is such a favorite tradition that past students have given it a special name — Boulevarding.
As colorful tents align the green median of Bishop Boulevard, smiling undergraduates and graduates alike prepare to cheer on their Mustangs in the football
game ahead. This tradition began in 2000 when Gerald J. Ford stadium opened for its first football season. President Turner, who worked as the chancellor at Ole Miss before moving to SMU in 1995, modeled the practice after the University of Mississippi’s famous tailgating at The Grove. “SMU’s version of tailgating is a time for all SMU students and faculty to come together and celebrate the university and have fun,” SMU sophomore Taylor Goerke said. The SMU Athletic Department begins making arrangements for the festivities on Thursday. These accommodations can include coordinating tent and parking spots for Mustang fans and even setting up for
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