INSIDE
Lower Greenville offers paleo-diet options
Belita Moreno speaks at SMU
PAGE 3
The next big budget fight
PAGE 4
Mustangs head to Memphis
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FRIDAY
October 18, 2013 FRIDAY High 73, Low 52 SATURDAY High 70, Low 48
VOLUME 99 ISSUE 25 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
Moody reopening may offer alcohol Katy Roden Editor-in-Chief kroden@smu.edu In the past six weeks, SMU Athletics has been focusing on the development of one unanimous recommendation of the President’s Task Force on Athletics Marketing, Attendance and Community Outreach: the sale of alcohol in Moody Coliseum and Ford Stadium. “We’re working towards
providing [the sale of beer and wine] to begin on Jan. 4 with the reopening of Moody Coliseum,” said Rick Hart, director of athletics and a task force cochair. “Barring some unforeseen development or obstacle, that’s what we’re working towards. We’re still in the process of putting our plan together on how we would responsibly and in a controlled environment distribute beer and wine.” The sale of alcohol in the
American Athletic conference WHO, What, When
Cincinnati Connecticut East Carolina Houston Louisville Memphis Rutgers SMU South Florida Temple UCF Tulane Tulsa Navy
Currently serves alcohol
X X*
2013 X X
premium areas only^
X X X premium areas only premium areas only
X X premium areas only
X premium areas only premium areas only^
X X X X X X X X
In AAC
2014 X X X X
2015 X X X X
(exit date has not been formally announced)
X
X
(exit date has not been formally announced)
X X X X X X
X X X X X X X
*UConn sells beer and wine in all areas at football games. For basketball, it uses two different facilities. At one, beer and wine is sold in all areas, at the other, they do not sell. ^ECU and Navy sell in premium areas at football games, but do not sell at basketball. Information: theamerican.org, SMU Athletics
two venues was one of 79 recommendations of the task force formed in March 2012. Its objectives were to increase attendance, enhance fan experience, enhance the SMU brand and maximize revenue. “This is part of a whole addressing a bigger topic,” said Brad Cheves, vice president for Development and External Affairs and a task force co-chair. Currently, Hart and Cheves are relying heavily on the guidance of Aramark, SMU’s food and beverage service provider. They say that Aramark is an industry expert that will help them figure out the distribution details. Those details are being discussed and Hart was not able to name any specifics. However, he said there will be a specific serving cutoff time, limits on the number of beverages that can be purchased at a time, stand alone points of sale, ID checks, and some type of identifying process in the student section to help security officers differentiate between those of legal drinking age and others. Stand alone points of sale shouldn’t be a problem in Ford Stadium’s large concourse but they will be more challenging in the more confined Moody Coliseum. All distribution will occur through licensed, certified vendors employed by Aramark, not regular concessionaires or volunteer organizations. When it comes to the revenues from the alcohol sales, percentage share between Aramark and SMU Athletics has not been finalized.
ELLEN SMITH / The Daily Campus
The $47 million renovation of Moody Coliseum will be completed in time to host a doubleheader on Jan. 4.
“There will be a positive net effect on revenues,” Hart said. “But that’s not the driver of this decision. We haven’t and don’t plan to adjust our budget until we have a better feel for what those revenues might be.” SMU would join seven of the 10 current American Athletic Conference schools that serve alcohol in all areas of their sports venues. Ford Stadium and Moody Coliseum would also join the AT&T Stadium, American Airlines Center, Rangers Ballpark and other Dallas-Fort Worth
sports and entertainment venues that serve beer and alcohol to customers. Hart said that all constituents represented on the task force recognized the expectations of the metroplex’s professional sports fans to have a drink with their experience. “Now, that doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do and that’s why it required additional study,” Hart said. “We recognize that what makes us unique from those other venues is that we’re on a college campus and students are at the focal point of our events.
Event
We will have to do some things that are above and beyond what others do.” The task force’s target demographic was broad based, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, community members, board members, donors and ticket holders. “Maintaining a family atmosphere is very important to us which is why it will be important that we ensure that the distribution occurs in a responsible, controlled manner,”
ALCOHOL page 5
Profile
FiR Kirk looks forward to creating a tradition Katy Roden Editor-in-Chief kroden@smu.edu
RYAN MILLER / The Daily Campus
Texas Tribune Editor-in-Chief Evan Smith sat down with President R. Gerald Turner for an interview during Thursday’s day-long symposium.
Texas Tribune sits down with Turner Katy Roden Editor-in-Chief kroden@smu.edu Evan Smith, The Texas Tribune’s editor-in-chief, co-founder and CEO, took the lunch hour of The Tribune’s day-long symposium Thursday at SMU to interview President R. Gerald Turner. Smith addressed the high cost of attending SMU for one year, saying it generously equaled three years at the University of Texas at Austin or Texas A&M University. He asked Turner to tell him why sending a student to SMU for around $58,000 a year would be worthwhile, given the cheaper
education available in the state. “Compared to the education they get at UT and A&M, it’s a real bargain,” Turner said, followed by laughs from the audience. Turner said he tells in-state students that the cost is worth it while to out-of-state students he stresses the value, because SMU is cheaper than other national private universities. SMU’s endowment has nearly tripled to $1.3 billion in the past 15 years. Smith told Turner someone had described the president as a “prolific fundraiser.” Smith also noted the $99 million of financial aid is provided to students each year, more than 50
percent of which is generated by SMU fundraising. Turner said that one of the best decisions he made in his 18 years as president was announcing the university’s goal to be a top 50 national university. While SMU is currently in the top quarter of national universities, Turner said that ranking was “not good enough.” Smith discussed SMU’s admissions numbers, noting that while application and admittance numbers have increased, first-year and transfer class size has remained the same at around 1,100. Turner replied that his goal is to get “better not bigger.” Turner said
efforts are focused on expanding the SMU brand horizons and recruitment from coast to coast to earn a more national presence. Admissions numbers consistently count out-of-state students at around 700. In-state student counts also remain around 700. Turner said those numbers are also part of the plan to become a national university. Smith also hosts “Overheard with Evan Smith” on PBS. The symposium hosted in the Mack Ballroom of the Umphrey Lee Center focused on Texas transportation and was part of the 2013 Texas Tribune Festival On The Road.
Rita Kirk, a professor of communication studies, author and director of the Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility and SMU-inLondon, is looking forward to communicating with the students she will move in with next fall. One of Kirk’s goals is to provide a space for students to simply talk. “Often people need to hear themselves think out loud and they need somebody to just ask questions and doesn’t try to give answers,” Kirk said. “What they need is somebody who has had more experience asking the right questions to let them think through something.” Kirk takes SMU students to Great Britain every summer and studied at Cambridge herself where she was able to observe the housing system and engaged faculty. She believes the Residential Commons model will improve campus programming. “Of all the universities I’ve seen, [SMU] has so much for people to do, but they’re not always well attended,” she said. “There will be a ready-made audience [on campus] that will make it easier to attend events.” Kirk met SMU alumni Elisabeth and William Armstrong who donated $5 million to the construction of the Residential Commons. Kirk will live in Armstrong RC with her husband and Bichon Frise named Sir Emerson. Kirk looks forward to creating Armstrong’s identity and traditions.
BEN OHENE / The Daily Campus
Professor Rita Kirk
“[A Residential Commons] gives a niche for people to find each other,” Kirk said. “They’ll always have a place that’s theirs whenever they come back on campus.” Kirk plans on creating programming based on “teaching something good” where students can showcase their talents such as athletics, cooking, poetry reading or engineering logic. “Learning doesn’t always happen in the classroom and I think that’s what we’re going to get to see a lot more — people getting to explore some ideas,” she said. “[It will be] something fun to give us a chance to live in each other’s shoes.” As a founding FiR, Kirk will be a part of the creation of Armstrong’s identity as a Residential Commons. “I think the first class that moves in will have a tremendous impact on who we are and what it’s about,” Kirk said. “[The traditions they create] will be passed down for hundreds of years. It’s a great time to be thoughtful about our values and our aspirations.”