LOCKDOWN SEEK SHELTEREVAC Run, hide or fight
Find a safe place in a building
WHEN: You will receive this notice if there is a gunman or threat of violence on campus
WHEN: Outdoor warning sirens sound to signal there is severeWHEN: Indoor strobe l weather or environmental danger outside is a danger – such as fir
Leave your building im
LOCKDOWN
SEEK SHELTER
EVACUATE
Run, hide or fight
Find a safe place in a building
Leave your building immediately
MONDAY
August 26, 2013
Monday High 99, Low 79 Tuesday High 97, Low 81
VOLUME 99 ISSUE 3 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
OBituary
Memorial held for student Yusra Jabeen Associate Online Editor yjabeen@smu.edu
SIDNEY HOLLINGSWORTH / The Daily Campus
The Mustangs play Stephen F. Austin University in Ford Stadium in the first home game of last season on Sept. 8, 2012.
Alcohol not an option for fans Athletic officials scrap plans to sell beer and wine at Ford Stadium Kian Hervey Contributing Writer khervey@smu.edu Mustang fans seeking a nice cold brew on game day will have to look beyond Ford Stadium for a drink. Despite a recommendation proposed last year, alcoholic drinks like beer and wine will not be sold at Ford Stadium on game days. “Selling alcohol in Ford Stadium might have pulled a few fans off of the Boulevard and into the stadium, but SMU students should come support their team and alma mater regardless of what is sold in the stadium,” said Tyler Scott, senior and Student Representative to the Athletics Committee of SMU Board of Trustees. Alcohol sales have been banned from game day activities
for years. No liquor is permitted during tailgating and patrons of age must provide their own alcohol for consumption, subject to regulation. A push for stadium beer sales at SMU has been in the works for almost a year. A special task force met in March 2012 to consider ways to increase game day attendance, enhance fan experience and maximize athletics revenue. Named “The President’s Task Force on Athletics Marketing, Attendance and Community Outreach,” the group considered alcohol sales, among many other recommendations, to achieve these goals. “Many [recommendations] were implemented immediately, while work began, and continues, on those that required further investigation,” Assistant Athletic Director Brad Sutton said. “We continue to evaluate possible
improvements from game-togame and season-to-season.” Sutton said the task force researched past successes and failures of both SMU and other university sporting events to reach their final decision. “The group met over summer 2012, researching [things like] college sports attendance records, promotional best practices and the current sports marketing landscape,” Sutton said. Making alcoholic beverages available for purchase at Ford Stadium was a major campaign issue in last year’s Student Body Officer Elections. Candidates for Student Body President and Vice President made this a central plank of their platforms. According to a New York Daily News report, seven of eight schools in the Big East and 36 Division I schools nationwide
already sell alcohol inside their school stadiums. The latest to permit alcohol sales, West Virginia University, estimated between $500,000 and $1.2 million in revenue from instadium purchases. But for SMU, the consideration wasn’t about the money. Officials hoped alcohol sales would get more fans in the game. “The President’s Task Force on Athletics Marketing, Attendance and Community Outreach recommends initiatives that would increase attendance at all SMU athletic events, focusing on SMU alumni and current students as well as the broader Dallas Community,” Sutton said. A steady decrease in attendance from quarter to quarter is typical of any sporting event. At SMU halftime - midway through the third quarter - droves of
Presidential LIbrary
attendees leave the game. Offering students over 21, alumni and Dallas community fans a drink between plays seemed like one viable option to “Fill the Ford.” While alcohol sales may not be available this year at the Stadium, it’s a recommendation still being given a lot of thought. A requirement for appropriate licensing and approval from University Park, among other regulations reportedly held up the decision, but the Athletic Department continues to look for additional recommendations to help improve the game day experience. SMU fans can look forward to a new “Hall of Champions” seating club and seven luxury suites at the Ford. The first home game is scheduled for Saturday, Aug 30 against Texas Tech University.
SMU students, faculty and staff joined Kimberly Aikman’s friends and family to celebrate Aikman’s life at the Meadows Museum Aug. 24. Those who knew Aikman remember her as a free-spirited and determined individual who wanted to change the world. Aikman, a creative writing major in the Masters of Liberal Studies Program at SMU, was a couple of semesters shy of graduation when she died of brain aneurysm on July 29. Aikman also held a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in dance from SMU. Director of MLS Program Michelle Mrak presented a special certificate of commendation in honor of Aikman on behalf of SMU to Aikman’s family. The certificate officially recognized Aikman’s “scholarly and creative contributions she made to SMU and the world beyond.” Gary Swaim, faculty advisor for the creative writing program in the MLS Program, described Aikman as not only bright and talented woman, but also “terribly, terribly inquisitive.” “Just one more question, please. She would say,” Swaim said in his poem he recited at the service. “She had to know. It was important that she know.” “Kimberly was quite the class’ contrarian,” said Aikman’s classmate, Jennifer McNabb, who was grateful to Aikman for bringing new perspectives to the table. “Classes always go better when you’ve got one person who’s prepared to challenge the conventional wisdom,” McNabb said. Rick Halperin, director of SMU Embrey Human Rights Program, remembered Aikman for her highspirited persona. “Kimberly was… always affable, always smiling,” he said. In lieu of flowers, Aikman’s friends and family are encouraged make a donation to Animal Rescue of Texas where she found her pet and service dog, Optimus Prime.
academics
Honors students gather at Bush Institute Professor offers for discussion of common reading class in creativity Katelyn Gough Assignments Desk Editor kgough@smu.edu A group of ten incoming freshman honors scholars, accompanied by two upperclassmen scholars, attended a unique common reading discussion Sunday at the Bush Institute. The roundtable-style dialogue was led by Dr. Eric Bing, a Senior Fellow and Director for the Bush Institute’s Global Health Initiative, and Patrick Kobler, a program coordinator for Bush Institute’s Education Reform Initiative and a graduate of SMU. The overarching theme of the afternoon drew ties between leadership and choice as seen in the 2013 common reading book, “The Other Wes Moore,” and
opportunities for the same skills in the students’ own lives. In speaking to the students, Bing opened the discussion to “what influenced the path that brought [each one of them] here” to SMU. The conversation was then able to transition from the personal retrospective to its application within the context of the book and the upcoming four years. “There’s a number of things that are recurring in our lives and are also recurring in the book that either keep us on the path of being a leader or not,” Bing said. The leadership quality– something Bing said “all [SMU] students” possess–was partly defined as “taking a chance [and] moving beyond [a person’s] comfort zone.” “It’s not just talking about it, it’s
Kian Hervey Contributing Writer khervey@smu.edu
KATELYN GOUGH / The Daily Campus
Students gather with Bush Institute Fellows to discuss the 2013 common reading book, “The Other Wes Moore.”
doing something,” Bing said. Kobler used his own experience as former SMU Student Body President to identify the importance of setting goals to stay in line with and accelerate leadership. “I set goals the first day I walked into SMU for what I wanted to do,” Kobler shared with the group.
“You are here and the choices and opportunities you are going to have are world-class, so take advantage of that.” The scholars attributed many of the influences on their own choices and goals to stem from a
BOOK page 3
One of the biggest buzzwords of the past decade has been “creativity.” Companies claim they need creative problem-solvers. Entrepreneurs are praised for their intuitive approach to a fill a need. Kate Canales, a professor in the Lyle School of Engineering, agrees that creativity is key. She also fears that the window of opportunity is closing, and this concept is going to be left behind as nothing more than a buzzword that never materialized to its full potential. “We’re in this really critical turning point where us saying that [we need] creativity is just going to have been a fad, this thing we thought was going to save us,” Canales said. “If we don’t actually
start acting on that belief then [it will be] a waste.” Her solution has been one of creativity itself — she designed a course, “Building Creative Confidence,” as part of the Design and Innovation Program she heads in the Engineering school. The class will “study both the mindset and the skill set that creativity requires.” The desired result is exactly what businesses say they want: an applicable, active creative thinker. “We say creativity is valuable but we’re not succeeding at solving the problems we say require creativity,” Canales said. Her course plans to address this with real-life practice: students will identify a need they want to address and, spend much of the
CANALES page 3