INSIDE
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Haute Hippie at Nieman Marcus
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The shutdown blame game
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Women’s Volleyball wins big
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WEDNESDAY
OCTOBER 2, 2013
WEDNESDAY High 91, Low 73 THURSDAY High 91, Low 72
VOLUME 99 ISSUE 19 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
POLITICS
Lieutenant Governor candidates debate ASSOCIATED PRESS
ELLEN SMITH / The Daily Campus
The George W. Bush Library, along with all other Presidential Libraries, is currently closed as a result of the government shutdown.
Shutdown hits SMU, Dallas KATELYN GOUGH Assignments Desk Editor kgough@smu.edu
The government shutdown went into effect Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. after the House and Senate failed to pass a budget by the Oct. 1 deadline. Now, federal employees across the country are temporarily without jobs — and pay — including many at the Bush Library and Museum. After days of speculation, optimism on the part of Bush Center President Margaret Spellings, as reported in The Dallas Morning News, and no comment by former President George W. Bush, the doors to both the Presidential Library and Museum were locked Tuesday morning. Political Science Professor Matthew Wilson said that the closure of parts of the Bush Center (the Institute and other foundation-run portions remain open) should be some of the
only direcet backlash to the SMU community, save those families employed by the federal government. “The immediate impact of the shutdown for most people, both in Dallas and nationally, will be minimal,” Wilson said. “I suspect that this impasse will be resolved fairly quickly.” With the U.S. government on hold until resolutions are reached, and with the economy taking a hit with each passing day of the shutdown, Wilson believes a solution will be reached “in a matter of days.” “Republicans will pay too high a political price if it persists longer than that,” Wilson said. “Polls show that most Americans are with them in opposing Obamacare, but also that most think [a shutdown] is the wrong way to address those concerns.” Wilson explained one likely end to the stalemate would “seem to be a bill to fund the
government in exchange for a promise of a separate” vote that would delay the “implementation of Obamacare.” “This would ... force Democratic Senators to stand up and be counted in favor of moving ahead with the unpopular healthcare law which is what many Republicans want,” Wilson said. Professor and Director of SMU’s Center for Presidential History Jeffrey Engel spoke to the standoff between the president and Congress now unfolding from the perspective of roles and perceptions of each. In D.C., it appears to be a question of either a refusal to negotiate or an insistence by the President to stand behind decisions. “[Americans] want a President to be strong, decisive and to stand his ground,” Engel said. Whether one places blame
on congressional members or the President Barack Obama, Engel explained that, “neither side will come out of this with a shining reputation.” “They will all be tarnished to some extent by their inability to complete the basic functions of government,” Engel said. “The last time there was a government shutdown of this magnitude, the president is likely to appear in the end bigger and more powerful by sticking to his stated agenda.” Instead, based on patterns of history and perspectives on power roles of the nations leader versus a body of varied representatives, Engel said the legislators blocking the budget on the basis of Healthcare “are likely to appear petty, unprofessional, and ultimately less interested in the public good.” “History does not treat roadblocks to progress kindly,” Engel said.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and the three fellow Republicans vying to take his post kept things largely civil during a debate Tuesday night — often struggling to find key areas of disagreement. Dewhurst, who oversees the state Senate, bragged about helping secure nearly 50 tax cuts since taking office in 2003. He is seeking re-election after losing a 2012 U.S. Senate race to Ted Cruz. State Sen. Dan Patrick, a tea party favorite from Houston, vowed to ram red-meat conservative proposals through the Legislature if elected, including allowing carrying guns on college campuses and expanding school choice to let parents use state funding to pull their children out of struggling, traditional public schools in favor of charters or religious and private alternatives. Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said he wouldn’t allow “environmental Nazis” to use federal and state wildlife protections to limit oil and natural gas exploration, but also stressed that he was not a singleissue candidate. Todd Staples, the state’s agricultural commissioner, said he has successfully stood up for ranchers on the Texas-Mexico border whose property was in danger of being overrun by drug cartels. “If you’re looking to vote for the nicest guy up here, it’s going to be four-way split,” Patrick told a crowd of about 200. But Patrick, who Dewhurst appointed head of the powerful Senate Education Committee for this past legislative session, later took a swipe at the lieutenant governor, saying he’d used his position to choose too many Democratic committee heads. “I’m not going to let the Democrats run the Texas Senate,” Patrick said. Because of a dispersed question-answer format, Dewhurst wasn’t given a chance to respond directly. Sparks flew at a previous debate when Patrick made a similar argument. Dewhurst shot back then that Democrats didn’t lead any important committees — drawing the ire of San Antonio Democratic
Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, who chairs a veterans affairs committee. No major Democratic candidate has yet declared to run for lieutenant governor, but Van De Putte has been mentioned as a possible contender. If no one in the crowded Republican field wins at least 50 percent of the votes cast in the March primary, meanwhile, the top-two finishers will advance to a runoff. Tuesday’s debate was sponsored by the United Republicans of Harris County and the Texas Federation of Republican Women. Asked what was the worst mistake he’d made in office, Dewhurst said he now jokes when addressing police groups that it’s “much better to talk to police officers in person than on the phone.” That drew loud laughter and was a reference to Dewhurst recently calling police in a Dallas suburb and trying to insert his influence after his niece was arrested for shoplifting. He added Tuesday: “What would you do if it’s Saturday night and two relatives call you crying?” Another laugh line came when Patterson was asked if he would support a proposal to better track so-called “dark money” political contributions statewide. He replied simply: “Yes.” A bill approved by the Legislature but vetoed by Gov. Rick Perry would have required some politically active nonprofits to disclose their major donors. Fielding the same question, Patrick noted that releasing the names of key donors to anti-abortion groups and other organizations working on politically sensitive matters could lead to boycotts of certain businesses. He said it was especially important for interests who stand up for “pro-life, profamily, pro-Christian values.” Staples also talked openly about religion, reminding the crowd that our rights “come from God not man” and are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. “The bigger government gets the more it infringes on those rights,” Staples said, promising to stamp out “waste and inefficiencies” in every state agency, even if he has to summon their heads to his office every week.
STUDENT LIFE
University Park Fire Department hosts dorm burn demonstration MARGOT TOLLEFSEN Contributing Writer mtollefsen@smu.edu The SMU Boulevard was on fire Tuesday evening during a mock dormitory fire. The University Park Fire Department visited the SMU campus to enforce fire safety using live demonstration. Before the fire, students huddled around the two simulated dorm rooms, created specifically for the fire demonstration. The layouts of the two rooms were designed to mimic the actual dorms here on campus. Both of the rooms housed a bed, a desk and chair, as well as books, a trashcan and both were slightly messy. The representative speaker for the fire department explained the whole process. During the first trial, the firefighters would act as though a candle fell into the trashcan to begin the fire. Within a couple seconds, the fire alarm sounded and smoke arose out of the first dorm. Within minutes, the fire was spreading into other parts of the room and completely demolished the walls and furniture while black ash
MARGOT TOLLEFSEN / The Daily Campus
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covered the area. Tally DeVuono, a SMU marketing student, “was amazed at how quickly the fire began and completely overtook the whole room,” she said. “As a student living independently, it is a great idea to promote fire safety and potential ways to avoid it.” During the second trial of the mock fire, there was a sprinkler system placed inside the room in order to demonstrate the different effects safety precautions can have
on an area or person. The second room was illustrated just as the first, the candle started the flames and it began to spread. Once the fire alarm began to sound, the sprinkler system kicked into action and was able to catch the fire in time, before it spread tremendously. The speaker said that the sprinkler system was installed in all of the rooms on campus. “It is comforting to know we are living in a safe environment.”
Emma Birrell said, SMU Marketing student; relieved as she watched the flames disappear. The firefighters, police officers and speaker discussed ways to prevent fires and how to act in case involved in one. In all, the students were amazed at how little it takes to create a fire and were glad to have the opportunity to experience one first hand, while being told pointers and safety precautions along the way.
MARGOT TOLLEFSEN / The Daily Campus
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