1-3 Mustangs head to El Paso
INSIDE
Hopdoddy comes to Dallas
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Southern Gentleman on iTunes
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Different takes on the debate
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FRIDAY
OCTOBER 5, 2012 FRIDAY High 84, Low 55 SATURDAY High 59, Low 48
VOLUME 98 ISSUE 23 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
POLITICS
Courtesy of AP
S.M. Krishna received a Master of Comparative Law from SMU in 1959.
Courtesy of AP
Indian minister discusses development, economy
President Barack Obama and presidential candidate Mitt Romney had their first of three debates on Wednesday.
Romney rejuvenated after strong debate performance KATELYN GOUGH News Editor kgough@smu.edu “It became increasingly clear that Romney was sharper, he had more facts and figures at his immediate disposal—he was just more animated and more engaged.” When asked if he thought there was a clear winner, SMU political scientist Matthew Wilson definitively sided with the week’s majority. “I think Romney had a lot more practice coming in than President Obama,” Dr. Ben Voth, chair of Communication Studies and director of the debate team, said. “He looked confident [and] less defensive than President Obama.” While Wilson believed Romney clearly pulled ahead Wednesday night, he said that it doesn’t necessarily mean President Obama failed miserably.
“There was not a glaring mistake on Obama’s part, a kind of collapse moment. He didn’t say anything that was blaringly wrong.” Compared to Rick Perry completely forgetting his own speech points, Wilson said Obama was simply ill prepared. Regardless, Wilson called the evening’s session “the most substantive presidential debate we’ve had in a long time.” “There was a real free give and take between the candidates. They got into kind of an immediate exchange of policy views,” Wilson said. Unlike debates of the past, Wilson said the fact that “it was not a debate predicated on a series of zingers or one-liners or sound bites” was what made it, overall, a “great” presentation. “If voters actually watch this debate, from beginning to end, I
think they could get more out of it in terms of a sense of where the substantive difference between the candidates are.” The topic of the economy provided the jump-off point to much of the political volley that led the rest of the debate—and Wilson said it gave “the most telling difference” in the strength of each candidate. “I think the area where Romney was the strongest was in the discussion of jobs. He kept coming back to that and saying, ‘I care about jobs. I’m going to create jobs.’” he said. Wilson said it was in Romney’s discussion of tax policies, deregulation, energy exploration, and trade policies that broke the pattern of what had so far been vague economic solutions presented to voters. “These are fairly concrete agenda items that Romney says would
advance job options,” Wilson said. And where Romney pulled ahead, Obama was not as effective in economic debate, according to Wilson. “That was something President Obama didn’t really seem to have a good response on,” he said. The economic exchange “kind of set the tone for the whole thing” according to Wilson, and Romney continued to display his confidence and readiness in such a way that highlighted some of Obama’s perceived uneasiness. However, Wilson said that when questioned on health care, “both said what they’ve said for a long time. “That was the part of the debate that was closest to being a draw,” Wilson said. “I don’t think either Romney or Obama scored really
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LECTURE
YUSRA JABEEN Contributing Writer yjabeen@smu.edu One of India’s highest-ranking government officials, Minister of External Affairs S.M. Krishna made his first public appearance in Texas at SMU. Dedman School of Law hosted the minister as part of the Carrington Endowed Lecture Series Wednesday night. Krishna graduated with a Master of Comparative law degree from Dedman Law in 1959. He served a variety of government positions in India from 1962 to 2008 and was appointed minister of external affairs for India in 2009. The lecture, “India Now,” discussed contemporary India and its role in global development and welcomed community members from all nationalities and ages. Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Nirupama Rao was also in the audience. Krishna began his lecture by briefly citing the colonial history of India and noting the enormous change that has happened since its liberation. Following China as the fastest growing economy
in the world, India has thrived despite global financial crisis. “India [has] transformed in diverse ways and diverse sectors,” Krishna said. “[India is the] engine of global economic growth.” Krishna said that global interest in India has increased by “leaps and bounds.” While India’s strategic partnerships with other countries bring optimal benefit to India and the other countries involved, Krishna accredited most of India’s economic success to a “domestic economy embedded with resilience.” “India is a [large] civilization,” he said, addressing India’s cultural variance and population of 1.2 billion people. “Sometimes change occurs at a slow pace.” He compared American development with India’s. While the U.S. implements economic policies and advances in phases, in India everything is occurring at the same time. “American capitalism had a free run in the 19th century,” Krishna said. “Indian capitalism is taking its root in a [new] democratic framework.”
See FUTURE page 6
OBITUARY
SMU alum, writer reveals his path to fame ERICA ROBBIE Contributing Writer erobbie@smu.edu The Mack Ballroom was packed with people Wednesday at noon to welcome actor, director, writer and SMU alumnus Stephen Tobolowsky for a lecture and signing of his new book, The Dangerous Animals Club. Though the funny man is certainly known for his humor, Tobowlosky does in fact have a more serious side. Of course this did not prevent him from cracking the audience up throughout his lecture, as Tobowlosky narrated his hysterical stories while beautifully incorporating more critical ideas. Much of Tobowlosky’s talk dealt with inspiration and creativity. He recalled the time when his son asked him the difference between man and other animals, a question that Tobowlosky initially struggled to answer. After many jokes and silly responses to his son, Tobowlosky figured it out over a year later: “Man is the only animal that is inspired.” In an interview after his lecture, Tobowlosky revealed that his two sons are his inspiration for writing. While claiming he always “wrote little things here and there,” the actor, who is most prominently known for his roles in over 100 movies and 200 television shows, experienced a major life change when he broke his neck four years ago. Tobowlosky recalled, “I couldn’t
Courtesy of Lindsay McCall
Jonathan Wentz competed in the 2012 London Summer Paralympics. SIDNEY HOLLINGSWORTH/The Daily Campus
Stephen Tobolowky spoke to students about his career on Wednesday.
do anything. I was just stuck…and I realized I wasn’t dead. And in that one moment where I was injured, I could never see my boys again. So I thought, I will write stories to let them know who their dad was.” And Tobowlosky did exactly this, retelling the true stories from both his professional and personal life to comprise The Dangerous Animals Club, which he called a “literary photo album” for his children. The “most creative moment” of Tobowlosky’s life was inspired from a near-death experience. Years ago, the actor was in a Safeway grocery store in Snider Plaza when he placed some mangos in his cart, a fruit that was new to Texas at the time. An older man then approached
Tobolowlsky and started crying over these mangos, which he described as “the most exotic of fruits,” and then explained that he had contracted a cattle disease from South America that lead to suicide or homicide. The mangos man then pointed his 45 caliber at Tobowlosky’s head when Tobowlosky had “the most remarkable thought” in his brain. He remembered Chad Everett from the show Medical Center and his advice for what do to when being held hostage: “Keep the gunman talking.” After 45 minutes of chatting his way out of a hostage situation by ultimately inviting the killer over
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SMU paralympian Wentz passes away at 21 STAFF REPORTS SMU senior Jonathan Wentz, the highest-placed U.S. rider at this year’s Paralympics in London, passed away on Sept. 30 at the young age of 21. He was majoring in history and political science. Wentz, born with cerebral palsy, began riding horses as form of physical therapy at the age of two as reported in the summer edition of The Daily Campus. As Wentz got older, he began to focus on competitive dressage. Wentz earned one of the four spots on the 2012 United States Paralympic Team. “It was a dream come true,” Jonathan expressed
after his final day of competition. Tina and James Wentz posted the following statement on Wentz’s Facebook page today, Oct. 1: “It is with a heavy and numb heart that we notify everyone of the tremendous loss of our precious son and Paralympian Jonathan. He was taken suddenly from us and has left a hole in our lives that will never be filled. He loved life and lived it each day, giving his all toward his riding, school, family and friends. He lived to ride horses and enjoyed it immensely, pushing to be his best and pushing to improve para-dressage. He loved getting to fulfill his dream of representing the USA at the Paralympics. We do not
understand why his life on this earth was so short, but we celebrate every day we were given to love, laugh, and enjoy our amazing son, and we rejoice in the knowledge that he is with his Lord riding and running like never before. Thank you to everyone who shared a part of his life, it was an amazing ride.” For those interested in donating to Wentz’s memory, the family has set-up a scholarship fund in his name at the United States ParaEquestrian Association. A celebration of his life will be held on Oct. 6 at 2 p.m. at Grace Bible Church located at 11306 Inwood Road, Dallas, Texas 75229.