INSIDE
A Q&A with Alison Volk
PAGE 2
A new sound on Drake’s third album
Dealing with hate on campus
PAGE 4
PAGE 3
Women’s soccer beats Bearkats
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wednesday
SEPTEMBER 18, 2013
Wednesday High 99, Low 79 Thursday High 91, Low 75
VOLUME 99 ISSUE 13 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
Academics
Courtesy of Cardinaledu.wordpress.com
SMU has hit its goal of raising the average SAT score to above 1300.
First-years’ SAT average hits record high of 1302 Brie STrickland Contributing Writer bsstrickland@smu.edu ELLEN SMITH / The Daily Campus
Former Secretaries of Defense Robert Gates and Leon Panetta speak at the first Tate Lecture of the year, moderated by David Gergen.
Gates, Panetta discuss Syria Katelyn Hall Contributing Writer khall@smu.edu Everyone in America seems to have an opinion on what America should do in Syria following the recent chemical weapons crisis. Should the president use direct force? What will action or nonaction in Syria mean for the stability in the region? These questions served as the center of Tuesday’s Linda and Mitch Hart Lecture of the Tate Lecture Series. The lecture featuring Robert Gates and Leon Panetta was the opener of the 32nd season of the Tate Lecture Series. Both Gates and Panetta have served as secretary of defense and director of the CIA. Gates and Panetta sat down with moderator and CNN Senior Political Analyst David Gergen to discuss the situation in Syria, actions of the National Security Agency and budget fights in Congress. Gates began the evening with an explanation of what he would have recommended the United States do in Syria.
He suggested that Congress should have authorized the president’s military action, but that the president should not attack directly. “My bottom line is, I believe to blow a bunch of stuff up over a couple of days to underscore or validate a point or a principle is not a strategy,” Gates said. Rather, Gates said, the United States should use covert methods and arm rebels to combat Syria’s leader Bashar al-Assad. Gates is skeptical of the new initiative proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I think that the United States needs to seize the high ground, seize the initiative back from the Russians and the Syrians, and we ought to dictate the terms of this,” Gates said. Panetta, too, finds himself questioning the Russian and Syrian motives. “The name of their game is delay,” Panetta said. Panetta also suggested a strategy for the United States’ involvement in Syria. “We have to keep our eye on the
big target here, which is to bring Assad down,” Panetta said. Panetta would fight Assad by using rebel forces and keeping the international community unified in getting Assad to step down. He also recommended the United States continue to provide humanitarian help in the region. The discussion on Syria led into an evaluation of the responsibilities and powers of the United States president. Panetta maintained that the president should have certain authorities that Congress cannot undermine so that the United States will be respected. “When the president of the United States draws a red line, the credibility of this country is dependent on him backing up his word,” Panetta said. Gates agreed with Panetta on the president’s authority and responsibility to act in certain situations without going to Congress. “Given the timelines that were involved…I would have advised him against going to the Congress, for all the reasons that Leon cites,”
Gates said. Gates, Gerden and Panetta also discussed the NSA. Both Gates and Panetta believe that the NSA has done what it has had to, and that there is a lot of oversight. “We entrust the responsibility of oversight, not directly to the voters, but to their elected representatives and the other branches of government,” Gates said. Panetta agreed with Gates, crediting intelligence programs like the NSA as the reason we have not had another major terrorist attack post-9/11. “All of these efforts have been aimed at one thing: protecting America,” Panetta said. Turning to the domestic side of American policy, the speakers discussed the budget and the need to make spending cuts. Both Panetta and Gates advocated compromise. “Our Constitution requires compromise in order for government to work at all,” Gates said. The next Tate Lecture featuring Biographer Robert A. Caro will be in McFarlin Auditorium on Oct. 29 at 8 p.m.
President R. Gerald Turner’s announcement Friday that the Second Century Campaign had reached its $750 million goal two years early isn’t the only milestone Southern Methodist University has to celebrate. Thirteen years ago Carl Sewell, class of ’66, a trustee and the campaign co-chair, envisioned SMU’s average SAT score to be 1300 as the university charged into a new era of intellectual growth. The 2011-2012 SMU Annual Report reflected the university’s stride toward greater academic excellence. Upon entrance, the class of 2015 had an average SAT score of 1269. New statistics revealed last week that this year’s entering class has raised the average SAT score to 1302. A statement released last week by SMU expressed Sewell’s excitement. “Funding for new academic positions has enabled us to attract and retain scholars from throughout the world. Professors named to endowed chairs are distinguished scholars at the top of their careers and reputations,” Sewell said. “They bring important research projects and work not only with graduate students, but also with undergraduates,
mentoring them and involving them in their research.” As to how this increase in average SAT score affects scholarships, the Second Century Campaign is looking to meet the demands of and rewarding such exceptional high school students. To date, the Second Century Campaign has raised funds for 472 new scholarships. By raising the campaign goal from $750 million to $1 billion, the campaign chairs look to add even more scholarships. Dean of Undergraduate Admission Wes Waggoner shares the same sentiment as Sewell as he attributes the milestone to the success of not only his office, but also the university as a whole. “Over the last decade, SMU faculty and students have been achieving great things both in and out of the classroom. That attracts the brightest students to SMU, and we are seeing that in the overall academic profile of our students,” Waggoner said. “Every year, SMU has more students who contribute to a campus culture full of academic rigor and the ambition to make a difference in the world.” SMU prides itself on quality, innovation and continuous improvement in the realms of academics, athletics and facilities. When Student Body President, Ramon Trespalacios
SAT page 6
Student Life
Memorial Health Center, CAPS offer student support Caroline Morehead Contributing Writer cmorehead@smu.edu Maintaining a healthy physical lifestyle has become a prominent piece of college campuses across the country. Many schools are promoting a healthy lifestyle with newly renovated fitness centers, nutritionists and trainers, organic food and intramural sports. However, there is a whole other facet of health that colleges are now addressing — mental health. The personal and social growth that students experience is just as important as their academic growth. A new environment, new people and a new-found responsibility make the transition into college a serious mental test. The average age of onset for most mental health disorders is 18 to 24, making suicide the second leading cause of death on college campuses. Mental illness can happen to anybody regardless of gender, race, culture or economic status. Breaking the stigma and the negative connotation that comes with mental illness, is a change that college campuses are actively initiating. “For many young adults,
ELLEN SMITH / The Daily Campus
More information on CAPS can be found on the second floor of the Memorial Health Center.
taking the first step to get help is the hardest part,” Allison Malmon, executive director and founder of Active Minds, told USA Today College. Active Minds is a non-profit organization dedicated to changing the stigma associated with mental health issues,
especially on college campuses. Founded in 2003, Active Minds has 400 chapters across the country, all of them being studentled. Currently, SMU does not have an Active Minds chapter on campus. “The issues the program address are terribly important and
we would be open to the idea of an Active Minds chapter coming to SMU if it would work with the campus size and if there is student interest in the program,” Dr. Cathey Soutter, counseling psychologist, and director of Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS) at the SMU
Memorial Health Center, said. CAPS seeks to provide an open, supportive atmosphere in which individuals feel free to express their feelings and communicate their problems. CAPS sees over 1,000 students each year for a wide variety of reasons. The CAPS staff trains with organizations that serve as referral resources for the program to maintain good relationships. Top referral resources are students, parents, faculty and staff, DASS, resident life and the panhellenic community. Parents are an important group that the CAPS staff reaches out to due to increase in student to parent communication via texting and the Internet. “Any place where we have an opportunity to speak about services, we will do it,” Soutter said. “We encourage students to come sooner rather than later. It is easy to make an appointment on our client portal on our website. Students can schedule an initial triage appointment to get the help they might need,” Soutter said. Students are frequently visiting the CAPS webpage to use many
of informative self-screening instruments. There is an emergency service phone line and walk in emergency service session available to students in crisis. “There may be a stigma for some people but for the most part many students are psychologically aware and savvy,” Soutter said. Statistics show students have been more receptive to counseling programs than they have in the past six years. “Rates are up in terms of how many people are coming. The range of concerns are broader and the severity of concerns has increased,” Soutter said. Top users of the SMU Health Center are first-year students and graduate students in the biggest transition years. Students are beginning to realize that it is just as important to take care of your minds as well as your body. “We are whole people, our body, soul, spirit and mind works together and when we neglect one part it is likely to our whole person,” Soutter said. For more information students can visit the second floor of the Memorial Health Center, visit www.smu.edu/healthcenter/ counseling or call 214-768-2277.