INSIDE
Student discusses fashion trends
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Shakespeare meets ‘Simpsons’
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Texas wants to secede, again
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Men’s soccer falls short PAGE 5
WEDNESDAY
NOVEMBER 14, 2012
Wednesday High 64, Low 39 Thursday High 68, Low 41
VOLUME 98 ISSUE 39 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
POLITICS
Courtesy of AP
Admiral Walsh (Ret.) is a senior fellow at the John G. Tower Center.
Seasoned admiral brings expertise to the Hilltop SIDNEY HOLLINGSWORTH/TheDailyCampus
Jane McGonigal, video game designer and futurist, emphasized the power of games to change society’s complex problems.
Gaming offers social solutions KATELYN GOUGH News Editor kgough@smu.edu “We’re going to take games very seriously for the next hour.” Jane McGonigal, a game designer focused on using her work for social change, began her Tate Series lecture on Tuesday evening preparing her lecture attendees to realize gaming “as an extremely powerful platform.” “This is today’s phenomenon,” McGonigal said. The designer and author believes that when, on average, a person spends 10,000 hours gaming before the age of 21, a mere 84 hours short of time spent in school, society needs to recognize and utilize this means to make a social change for the better. “[Gaming changes] the way our brain activates when we face everyday problems,” she said. “It effectively changes our notion of what is humanly possible.” McGonigal has made it her life mission to use video games to make world impacts by providing
gamers the means to look at real problems and effectively bring positive change. Sharing a study on child cancer patients, McGonigal explained that patients who played games based on the chemotherapy fight remained consistent with their chemo treatment and thus were overall more successful in staying cancer-free. “[The games] allow them to feel more empowered to look at [cancer] as something they can control in their lives.” She explained that such “personal efficacy” and a strong belief that a person has control over their own life psychologically attracts gamers to play. “When we play games we feel fired up and we want to engage with what is difficult,” McGonigal said. One of her own designs was based on the poverty crisis in Africa, and part of the game involved the player going out into their community and completing a project that presented a solution to a real life problem. Her games advertise educating gamers in “mental, emotional and
social resilience,” reaching out to the more than one billion gamers internationally. One study was released warning parents of gaming activating the part of the brain that is also associated with addictions. McMonigal never denied this. However, she was certain to clarify the positives neglected in the published study. “It’s true. It’s the same part activated by a cocaine addiction,” McMonigal said. “It’s also the part that lights up when we’re determined.” Such willpower and resolve engaged through gaming provides the opportunity for social change, according to McMonigal. Gamers spend 80 percent of their time failing, and the designer said that the experience of failing and immediately making another attempt is one of the biggest key factors. Junior Claire Bauman attended the lecture as an usher and said the experience posed many questions and ideas she hadn’t before considered. “I never thought about using gamers to solve world problems,”
Bauman said. Though not a gamer herself, Bauman thinks that using games as a means to create a change can reach a diversity of social groups. “You can be as old as you are and as young as you are. You still enjoy that competitive spirit,” Bauman said. As to whether or not such a “do good” concept could materialize on the larger scale, freshman Joe St. Angelo had his doubts. “You have the large game companies that aren’t aiming to solve world problems,” St. Angelo said. “They’re aiming to make money.” Regardless, as a recreational gamer himself, St. Angelo still left inspired by McMonigal’s very apparent passion for her field. “I thought it was fascinating,” St. Angelo said. Despite differing opinions of such designs’ true applicability, one of McMonigal’s biggest points was the community created by co-op gaming. “Social gamers are more likely to help others in real life,” McMonigal said. “They’re very collaborative.”
REPRESENTATION
Minority groups thank senators for diversity legislation TIM WELCH Senate Beat Writer twelch@smu.edu Last week, Student Senate passed a bill requiring mandatory diversity training for incoming first-year students. On Tuesday, its constituents were thankful. The bill was drafted in response to an act of vandalism against Multicultural Student Affairs’ boulevard sign on Sept. 8th. Many of SMU’s multicultural organizations pleaded Senate to take action against the act. The legislation passed last Tuesday with only four Senators — Devin Kerns, Jared McCluskey, Emily McIntosh and Caleb Pool — voting against the diversity initiative. The diversity initiative intends to increase multicultural tolerance and understanding within the SMU community.
The result was the diversity committee’s resolution to mandate isolated diversity training for incoming SMU students. One by one, representatives from many organizations addressed the chamber from the podium and sincerely expressed their thanks. Harvey Luna, co-president of SPECTRUM (an SMU LGBT organization), spoke first: “Thank
you for your service to the Senate and the student body. Thank you to Kim Elmazi and the Diversity Committee.” He concluded his thought by saying, “We need affirmation on diversity issues, which brings dignity and respect to all.” D’Marquis Allen, a representative of SMU’s Association of Black Students, said, “Thank you. You all listened to our concerns, and I express my gratitude.” Ariana Hamilton, president of College Hispanic-American Students, said, “I’m just so excited to thank you. After the vandalism happened, I was nervous to see how the student body and senate would respond, but I’m very happy with your response.” Oscar Cetina, president of SMU’s chapter of Sigma Lambda Beta fraternity, said, “Thank you for this legislative initiative. We still have a long way to go for an
environment where all people are treated equally.” Zain Rizvi, president of the Muslim Student Association, said, “This is a big deal and a big step for the SMU community. This is great. Keep up the good work.” Kim Elmazi, chair of the Senate Diversity Committee, said, “I address you as a member of the Senate and as a student: thank you for all your hard work and concern.” She then read an email correspondence from President Gerald Turner, which mentioned the president’s commission on the Status of Racial Minorities’ mission to “promote an environment of individual dignity and worth.” Student Body President Alex Mace, in his weekly address to the chamber, thanked every visitor for coming to Senate and representing their organizations, said, “It’s encouraging to know that we’re doing our job.”
RAHFIN FARUK Managing Editor rfaruk@smu.edu Local Jesuit product Admiral Patrick Walsh (Ret.) served the nation for more than 34 years. From commanding the U.S. Pacific Fleet during Japan’s 2011 tsunami to leading the U.S. Fifth Fleet in the critical Persian Gulf, Walsh has impacted U.S. foreign and military policy across the globe. Walsh, who now calls SMU’s John Goodwin Tower Center home, serves as a senior fellow and the director of the national security program at the center. “It’s great to be part of the SMU family,” Walsh said. “National security and defense have always interested me.” The admiral isn’t out of place at a university. After graduating first in his class in his master’s program at Tufts University, he went on to receive a PhD. His academic specialty is in law and diplomacy — skills he has put to work. When the Tohoku tsunami and earthquake struck Japan in 2011, the U.S. Pacific Fleet provided critical assistance to the Japanese people. The tsunami, caused by an earthquake off the coast of Japan, resulted in more than 15,000 deaths and $235 billion in damage. Walsh, 90 navy servicemen, Japan’s Self Defense Forces, USAID and nongovernmental organizations created a Joint Support Force that provided critical aid to an ailing Japan. “We were in a position to respond to humanitarian need — a tradition of ours since the 19th century,” Walsh said. When it comes to disaster preparation, Walsh stresses the importance of the U.S. military network and military networks around the world. “The military comes very well prepared for disaster and humanitarian operations,” he said. Because of a combination of communication and supply chain capacity, the military can respond to humanitarian disasters rapidly. U.S. military aid has also helped America’s image abroad, Walsh said. “It’s a way to operationalize relations that we have with our allies,” he said. But, after Japan’s earthquake,
Walsh wasn’t worried about the U.S.’ diplomatic power. “I wasn’t thinking about soft power when the tsunami struck. I was thinking about friends in need,” he said. Many political scientists call the U.S.-Japanese relationship one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world. “I think the relationship is fundamental to the region. Other countries see the relationship as stabilizing for the entire region,” Walsh said. With the rise of China, Walsh said that the U.S.-Japanese relationship has to be adaptable. “We must work closely with Japan as times change. We must do everything we can to understand China and to understand its trajectory,” he said. “Everyone wants China’s rise to be constructive for the region.” Walsh stressed the importance for mutual understanding between the U.S. and China. U.S. interests include continued access to market and freedom of navigation in East Asia. In recent years, islands in the South China Sea that have precious minerals, natural gas and oil reserves have been a point of contention between Japan and China — along with other nations like Vietnam and the Philippines. Walsh said that historical disputes prove the current points of conflicts can be resolved. “Countries have found a pragmatic way to work around differences that they have,” he said. “But, it is very concerning that a local problem can quickly turn into a regional problem.” The East Asian region is not the only area where he holds expertise and experience. Walsh also served from Sept. 2009 to Dec. 2012 as commander of the Pacific Fleet. Adm. Walsh, the recipient of two Distinguished Service medals, will be the keynote speaker Wednesday night at the Tower Center’s annual two day National Security Conference. He will also be one of five panelists on a military perspective roundtable Thursday morning. Other panelists on the military roundtable will include representatives from the Air Force, Army and the Marine Corps. “With the coming fiscal cliff and proposed military budget cuts, I’m very excited to see what a former admiral and other experts have to say about our military, present and future,” junior Tyler Anderson said.
TECHNOLOGY
‘Access the Night’ app connects bars, restaurants to customers OMAR MAJZOUB Contributing Writer omajzoub@smu.edu College students are always
trying to figure out what the next big invention or business plan will be. It seems like everyone has come up with that one idea that they think is genius, but no one ever really acts
on it. In Feb. 2011, three 22-year-old college students decided to finally act on their great idea. It was called “Access the Night” and its goal
was to change the way bars and restaurants communicated with their customers. Sam Kessler, the founder and CEO, originally ran a website online
to help his friends and fellow students at the University of Colorado find great deals at local bars and restaurants. Once the website began picking up popularity, Kessler
decided to team up with Kevin King, an environmental studies major, to figure out a way they could
See CONNECT page 6