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SScorsese w wins big VOLUME 97, ISSUE 44

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

SMUDAILYCAMPUS.COM

LIGHT OF DAY

Weather FRIDAY High 66, Low 52 SATURDAY High 66, Low 41

A SIDE OF NEWS

Students text to donate SMU will launch a campuswide fundraising campaign with the United Way. This year, students can participate by using texting to donate. Also, the staff association in conjuction with Park-n-Pony will reward students who donate toys to a United Way Charity with “parking ticket forgiveness” incentives. Professor of Advertising Steve Edwards and Bill Dworaczyk, assistant dean of Central University Libraries are the co-chairs this year

Puppies come to campus The Dedman College Ambassadors will bring in puppies and dogs from local animal shelter Operation Kindness this Friday. The animals will be stationed on the Dallas Hall lawn, and students can play with them and talk with shelter volunteers about adoption.

Syria fears civil war The United Nations says the death toll in Syria has risen above 4,000, and the country may break out in civil war. The Arab League warns of international intervention if Syria doesn’t cease such violent opposition to protestors. The League voted to sanction the Syrian regime and cut ties to its central bank.

California storm rages Hundreds of thousands of households in California were without power on Thursday due to strong winds that toppled trees, downed power lines, and delayed flights. The storm should peak on Thursday night. Officials said 250,000 were without power in Southern California, along with an additional 26,000 in the northern Santa Cruz Mountains. Los Angeles International Airport experiences delays due to debris on the runway and severe crosswinds.

SMU excels on Clery Act scorecard By MEGHAN SIKKEL Copy Editor msikkel@smu.edu

The child sex abuse scandal that jolted Penn State University last month has prompted universities across the country to examine whether their crime reporting practices meet federal requirements. The SMU Technology Reporting class reviewed the university’s crime reporting policies and found that SMU appears to be fully complying with the federal Clery Act, which requires colleges to proactively report crimes on campus. The students conducted a 21-point audit as part of the Light of Day project, a collaboration of university journalism students aimed at increasing the awareness and use of public information laws in Texas. SMU satisfied all 19 mandatory checkpoints and showed progress in the two unfulfilled optional checkpoints from 2009, demonstrating a level of compliance the university was far from attaining several years ago. “In terms of a surface review, it doesn’t seem that there are any clear Clery compliance issues,” said S. Daniel Carter, director of public policy for Security On Campus, a national nonprofit dedicated to the prevention of crime on college campuses. Penn State’s failure to report allegations of sexual abuse on its campus led the U.S. Department of Education to launch a formal program review of the university’s

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SPENCER J EGGERS/The Daily Campus

SMU received a perfect score on its safety scorecard, mandated by the Clery Act. A perfect score indicates a strong dedication to campus safety.

compliance with the Clery Act, a federal law that requires colleges and universities to maintain and report information about crime on or near their campuses. If charged with a violation of the statute, Penn State will face a fine of up to $27,500 per violation. To evaluate SMU’s Clery Act

compliance, Technology Reporting students developed the Clery Act Scorecard a rubric created for the Light of Day Project that was adapted from Clery requirements. In 2004, SMU students who compiled similar information found the school violated several conditions of the Clery Act by failing to issue

crime alerts and not adequately informing students of at least four sexual assault and rape cases on the campus over three years. Since the exposure of these negligent practices, SMU has made major improvements regarding Clery Act compliance. For example, on Sept. 23, 2010,

the university released a crime alert after a student reported a sexual assault the day before. The incident took place on Sept. 19 in a male student’s dorm room. According to the crime report, the victim said she met the male student

See CLERY page 5

In wake of scandals, colleges Students stay vigilant living off campus urge crime in-depth reporting By MEGHAN SIKKEL, ESSETE WORKNEH msikkel@smu.edu eworkneh@smu.edu

If a serious crime occurs on the Hilltop, who’s required to report it? Recent sex abuse scandals at Penn State and Syracuse have spurred many universities, including SMU, to clarify or reiterate their own policies about reporting crime on campus. On Wednesday, SMU President R. Gerald Turner sent out an email to the university community encouraging students, faculty and staff to follow SMU’s “See Something, Say Something” initiative, an awareness campaign launched by SMU in September. The “Say Something” campaign “reflects SMU’s commitment to promote a secure and healthy environment through the sharing of information with law enforcement authorities,” Turner said in the email. SMU is not alone in making such declarations. R. Albert Mohler Jr.,

president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, was quick in his response to the Penn State allegations. He announced on his blog that he was changing the seminary’s policy handbook to state that employees receiving any report of abuse should contact law enforcement authorities immediately. Mary Sue Coleman, president of the University of Michigan, also wrote an email urging students, faculty and staff “to act immediately in suspected cases of abuse or other crimes, or in a circumstance where you find yourself either a victim or a witness to questionable activity.” In response to questions comparing SMU’s policies to scandal-plagued schools around the nation, university officials would only refer to a prepared statement summarizing the school’s crime reporting policies. According to SMU spokesman Kent Best, the university expects its students, faculty and staff to report suspected criminal activity

immediately to law enforcement authorities. The university also issues campus trespassing warnings to people perceived to be a campus threat and provides opportunities for anonymous online reporting of suspected crimes. The Clery Act requires all campus security authorities to notify the SMU Police Department about crimes. A campus security authority is any individual who is responsible for campus security but does not constitute a campus police officer, as well as any individual who serves as “an official of an institution who has significant responsibility for student and campus activities.” Since coaches and athletic directors are responsible for student campus activities outside the classroom, they are obligated to report all crimes. The U.S. Department of

See ON CAMPUS page 5

By CHANDLER SCHLEGEL Contributing Writer cschlegel@smu.edu

With about half of SMU students opting to live off-campus after their sophomore year, many discover that they must take extra precautions the farther away from campus they live. Junior Bryce Boyd learned this lesson when he lived in lower Greenville, an active area for crime in 2010 according to recently released crime reports. Boyd knew the risks that he was taking when moving into his place, but said he felt like most crime would not affect him. “Much of the crime in that area is bar-related. Bar fights, public intoxication, and minor in consumption aren’t particularly threatening crimes,” Boyd said. “My roommates and I considered it when we moved there, but it ultimately didn’t change our minds, or have too large of an impact on us day to day.” However, Boyd and his roommates were victims of a crime

during his lease. “The only real crime we faced was a hit-and-run on my roommate’s truck,” Boyd said. “Living so close to the area of lower Greenville where the bars are located probably increased the number of drunk drivers in our area.” Boyd’s house was hidden behind another complex, so pedestrians walking by were not aware that his place existed. Even then, Boyd and his roommates took the extra precaution of keeping their door locked at all times. Boyd admits that in hindsight, his apartment and neighborhood were not as safe as they could have been. “Looking back I can see some situations that could have been unsafe, but they were usually more a product of circumstance than anything,” Boyd said. SMU senior Hillary Talbot was tucked in her bed and drifting off to sleep when she heard police sirens

See OFF CAMPUS page 5

CHRISTMAS

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Four million lights ring in holiday season By HALEY THAYER

faces,” volunteer Tammy Chan said. “They are so in awe of everything.” The light displays are significantly larger than any car driving through and showcase popular themes such as the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” Although Prairie Lights is dubbed a Christmas light display, there are light scenes that combine a number of holidays. For example, “The Season of Joy” display unites Christmas with Hanukkah. To end the already amazing light show, there is Texas’ largest drive-through tunnel of lights. There is also an out-of-car experience at the Holiday Village that has hot cocoa, rides for children and pictures with Santa.

Contributing Writer hthayer@smu.edu

Classic holiday music fills the air as one drives through over four million lights that cover the Lynn Creek Park in the city of Grand Prairie, Texas. In its seventh consecutive year of celebrating Christmas lights in an extravagant way, Prairie Lights is back and brighter than ever. The two-mile path in the park is filled with 600 individual light displays, each celebrating a different aspect of the Christmas spirit. From the winter woods with shooting stars to the candy cane acres, Prairie Lights has created quite the display. “My favorite part of working Prairie lights is to see the happiness and smiles on the kids

HALEY THAYER/The Daily Campus

Lynn Creek Park is the location of Grand Prarie’s large-scale holiday light show, which is on display through Dec. 23.

See HOLIDAY page 2