INSIDE
Going gluten-free at SMU
PAGE 2
Leave the political echo chamber
PAGE 4
Mustangs shut out by Houston
PAGE 5
New exhibit opens at Meadows PAGE 5
Monday
December 2, 2013 MONDAY High 68, Low 50 TUEsday High 79, Low 54
VOLUME 99 ISSUE 42 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
Turn up the lights
Celebration of Lights ceremony illuminates main quad tonight ELLEN SMITH / The Daily Campus
The lighting of the University Christmas Tree in front of Dallas Hall kicks off the Student Foundation sponsored Celebration of Lights. This is the 36th Celebration of Lights since the tradition began in 1977.
Katy Roden Editor-in-Chief kroden@smu.edu Student Foundation kicks off the holiday season tonight, hosting the annual Celebration of Lights in the main quad in front of Dallas Hall at 7 p.m. “With an event that is so rooted in SMU tradition, we hope to see current and past SMU students coming together and celebrating
the true meaning of Christmas and sharing the jubilation that we all feel when the lights are turned on,” said Kat Thompson, a member of the Celebration of Lights Committee. Since 1977, the SMU community has gathered for this tradition, singing seasonal songs and watching student performances. Keeping with his own tradition, President R. Gerald Turner will read The Christmas
Story to the crowd. Attendees will be asked to blow out their provided candles as the quad is blanketed in darkness. Seconds later the University Christmas Tree, Dallas Hall and trees in the main quad will be lit. “The Campus Events committee has been working on Celebration of Lights since Perunapalooza — planning decorations, setting a date, auditioning musical acts, taste testing hot chocolate, selecting a
service project and ensuring that every little detail is accounted for,” Thompson said. This year’s service project is The Salvation Army Angel Tree, which “gives individuals and partnering corporations an opportunity to adopt less fortunate children and senior citizens and provide personalized gifts and necessities to those who would otherwise receive very little or nothing during the
Awards
SMU student Jewel Lipps was awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Greater Research Opportunity Fellowship. The GRO fellowship program gave $1.65 million in research fellowships to 33 students across the country that are pursuing degrees in environmental science and other related fields. Lipps, an environmental science with biology emphasis and chemistry major, found out about the grant after attending the University Honors Program End of the Year Banquet. “I attended the University Honors Program End of the Year Banquet, where the director of the SMU National Fellowships Office, Dr. [Kathleen] HugleyCook, shared information about her office and encouraged us all to look at the website,” Lipps said. “It had many scholarships listed and I found the link to the EPA Greater Research Opportunity information there. Dr. HugleyCook then met with me to help me apply.” This year’s GRO recipients are qualified to receive a fellowship of up to $50,000. With her money, Lipps hopes to work on a project related to remediation, water quality or ecosystem protection. “The EPA’s GRO for Undergraduates is a fellowship that covers tuition and housing costs for a student’s junior and senior years, a paid summer internship with the EPA, and $5000 for academic and research
expenses. I am currently in the process of being matched for my summer internship,” Lipps said. “I plan to use my academic / research expense funds for travel costs in my SMU research project with the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man (ISEM). For this project, I will be working at the Trinity River Audubon Center (TRAC) to survey the forest composition and look at how the restoration process is going. TRAC has been reclaimed from an illegal landfill, so I find the site’s restoration to be an intriguing story.” According to Lek Kadeli, acting assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Research and Development, the EPA’s GRO program has been providing fellowships to students for the past 30 years. “For 30 years, EPA’s GRO program has nurtured and supported new generations of America’s workforce as they prepare to enter the environmental science and public health fields,” Kadeli said. “This year’s GRO recipients truly reflect EPA’s commitment to research that promotes a sustainable and healthy nation.” When she first found out Lipps said she was shocked and in disbelief. However, now that it is official, she is honored and grateful to be a GRO fellow. “I am passionate about the environment because it is an issue where individuals have an impact. What each person does locally can affect someone on the other side of the globe, but it is also a matter of collective actions. I also see environmental issues
reminding everyone what a great community we are a part of,” said Kaleigh Schropp, Vice President of Programming for SF. “[Today] we hope that everyone from firstyears seeing the lights for the first time to seniors who bond over it being their last time will take a break from their hectic lives and remind themselves what brings us all here.” The event is expected to last until 8 p.m.
Campus
Student wins EPA’s GRO fellowship Emily Sims News Writer esims@smu.edu
holiday season,” according to the organization’s website. Student performances will include senior Julian Spearman, senior Charlie Weber, senior Sarah Aboukhair, sophomore Shannon Conboy, first-year Uche Ndubizu and student groups Voices of Inspiration, Southern Gentlemen and Belle Tones. “The event attracts students as well as anyone associated with the university in the hopes of
Campus expansion requires demolition of faculty homes Trevor Thrall Opinion Editor tthrall@smu.edu
Courtesy of Jewel Lipps
Jewel Lipps
as the root of many problems related to human health, hunger and equality. Passion toward the environment not only has the benefit of restoring and sharing nature’s wonder but helping humanity in general,” said Lipps. In the future, Lipps hopes to attend graduate school to further research in ecosystem restoration and remediation methods. “In general I hope to make the world, or at least a piece of it, cleaner and healthier. More specifically, I hope to help restore ecosystems around very polluted areas,” Lipps said. “Research is showing that natural solutions, like wetlands and forests along rivers, are better ways to have clean water than industrial, engineering type of solutions, and I want to be part of this restoration movement.”
Children run from yard to yard, the smell of burgers grilling fills the neighborhood, and front porches on Fondren Drive are equipped with occupied rocking chairs. Residents meticulously trim hedges and tend to landscaping, pausing to chat with neighbors who stop by for a friendly hello. SMU faculty and staff members make up this closeknit community east of campus, where they’re able to live close to work and send their children to Highland Park schools. Living in a neighborhood they normally couldn’t afford, the SMU employees say they enjoy the opportunity to immerse themselves in the SMU culture. But, much to their disappointment, several families will soon move out of their SMU-owned homes to make room for new additions to the campus. “Just the quality of life is like Tom Sawyer. It’s like Mayberry. It’s safe. It’s a little piece of heaven here,” said John Wagner, a geology professor at SMU. Wagner and his 12-year-old son are both devastated to be leaving the neighborhood. They, along with several neighbors, are required to move out by Dec. 31. SMU will be taking the houses back so that construction can move forward under the Centennial Master Plan,
BEN OHENE / The Daily Campus
The area of homes near the Simmons Quad will be replaced with a parking lot.
requiring demolition of the homes to make room for a new parking lot. The construction will eliminate a section of the 3000 block of Fondren Drive, which is directly east of campus. SMU faculty and staff solely occupy the homes on this block, and pay low rental rates on SMU subsidized housing. In February, Harold Simmons and Annette Caldwell Simmons donated $25 million to The Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development. The gift will fund a new building on the east side of campus near Annette Caldwell Simmons Hall, which was also funded by Harold and Annette Simmons when they donated $20 million in 2007. The Centennial Master Plan, which details building plans for SMU from 1997-2015, shows where new buildings are to be built on the northeast side of campus. Proposed construction for Harold Clark Simmons Hall, along with another building near Annette Caldwell Simmons Hall, will eliminate parking in the area. The developing site, which will become the Simmons
Quad, spans the block between Ownby Drive and Airline Road from east to west, and between University Boulevard and McFarlin Boulevard from north to south. According to Philip Jabour, associate vice president of the Office of Planning, Design, and Construction and University Architect, lost parking will be replaced by a temporary lot. “Short term we’re going to be building a parking lot on the northeast corner of Airline and McFarlin. It’s about 15 lots. Some of them have homes, a couple of them are already demolished,” Jabour said. Plans for what the lot will be replaced with in the long term have not yet been made, but SMU has an idea for the area. SMU President R. Gerald Turner spoke briefly on the subject to the Student Affairs Leadership Council. “There will probably be five or so academic buildings, a parking garage and probably intramural fields,” Turner said.
EXPANSION page 3
2
HEALTH
MONDAY n DECEMBER 2, 2013 Nutrition
SMU provides gluten-free dining accommodations Lauren Jones Contributing Writer lnjones@smu.edu As finals week approaches, it is essential that students receive proper nutrition. Candy and energy shots may seem like the best fuel for long study sessions, but the brain needs proper nutrients to function normally. It is hard enough for students to find time to grab a bite, but it is even harder for those with food intolerances. There has been an increased awareness of gluten intolerance and a rise in the number of people diagnosed with Celiac disease over
the last few years. Celiac disease has become “four times more common now than it was sixty years ago,” according to Mayo Clinic. WebMD says that Celiac disease is a digestive and autoimmune disorder that can cause damage to the lining of the small intestine when people with the disorder eat foods containing gluten. Glutens are a form of protein found in some grains. The damage done to the intestine of people with gluten intolerance makes it hard for their body to absorb nutrients, including fat, calcium, iron and folate,” according to WebMD. All of these nutrients are
necessary for the body to preform at its optimal level. SMU has been pushing toward a dining hall menu that accommodates all of its students. But what exactly are the expanded options that are available to students on campus who have to limit or avoid eating gluten? Lauren Hickman, SMU’s own nutritionist, has the answer to how SMU has changed its menus to accommodate these students. SMU dining services “provides specialty gluten-friendly items as well as naturally gluten-free items throughout the dining hall on a daily basis,” Hickman said. “You can find the items clearly
marked at Healthy on the Hilltop and the bakery station.” Hickman also said that students can request gluten- free bread and pasta on a daily basis. Although Celiac disease is becoming more and more of a concern, students will always be able to find a delicious gluten-free meal at Umphrey Lee Center, according to Hickman. Although SMU Dining Services is trained to prepare food for students with food intolerances,
“everyone with a gluten intolerance or allergy should always practice caution when eating food prepared by others. Because our dining hall is not entirely glutenfriendly, we cannot guarantee zero risk of cross-contamination,” Hickman said. Students can follow up with Hickman to understand the options that work best with their individual and special dietary needs. “We encourage all students with special dietary needs to
Raw Cookie Dough Bites Grain, Sugar, Dairy, & Egg-Free Yield: about 15 bites Total Cooking Time: 15 minutes Ingredients: 2 cups almond flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 1/4 cup coconut oil (solid but soft) 1 tablespoon honey 2 tablespoon almond butter 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract mini dark chocolate chips Stevia to taste
Courtesy of Meadows Marketing and Communication
Directions: Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Combine the oil, honey, almond butter, and vanilla in a separate, smaller bowl. Pour wet mixture into the dry mixture and combine well. Your own two hands do the best job of getting it all combined. If you find the mixture is too dry and crumbly, add a tablespoon of water
SMU dining has made a push to make their menu accommodating to all students with special dietary needs.
MONDAY December 2 2013 Celebration of Lights, Dallas Hall Lawn, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
December 3
December 4
Tate Lecture Series, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson; Student Forum: HTSC Ballroom, 4:30 p.m.; Lecture: McFarlin Auditorium, 8 p.m.
Meadows Theatre Performance, “The Seven” by Will Power, Greer Garson Theatre, Owen Arts Center, 8 p.m.
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
December 5
December 6
December 7
Tri Delta Cookies and Castles, HTSC Commons, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Meadows Symphony Orchestra with Guest Cellist Christopher Adkins, Caruth Auditorium, Owen Arts Center, 8 p.m.
SMU Football vs. University of Central Florida, Ford Stadium, 11 a.m.
THURSDAY
meet with the dietitian and culinary team so that we can best help accommodate them,” Hickman said. Along with the many glutenfree items Umphrey Lee Center offers, the market offers naturally gluten- free items such as Lara Bars, a delicious study treat, fresh fruit, veggie sticks and hummus. For students looking for a fast dinner, the market also sells items like gluten-free frozen entrees that can be taken back to the residence halls.
NOVEMBER 23 Time Reported: 1:06 AM. Time Occurred: 1:06 AM. Date Occurred: 11/23/2013. Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor/ Possession of Drug Paraphernalia/ Disorderly Conduct. Kappa Alpha Theta House/Panhellenic House II. Two non-affiliated individuals were cited and arrested for underage drinking, drug paraphernalia possession and peeping into windows. Closed. Time Reported: 4:23 PM. Time Occurred: 4:23 PM. Date Oc-
curred: 11/23/2013. Criminal Mischief. Moody Parking Garage. A gate arm was broken at this location. Closed.
NOVEMBER 24 Time Reported: 5:32 AM. Time Occurred: 5:32 AM. Date Occurred: 11/24/2013. Public Intoxication/ Evading Arrest or Detention. Two students were cited, arrested and booked into the University Park Jail for being intoxicated in public. They will also be referred to the student Conduct Officer for running from the police and knocking over cement trashcans. Closed.
until it reaches cookie dough consistency. Add Stevia to taste to make the dough sweeter. Mix in the desired amount of chocolate chips and roll into 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls. Store in the refrigerator. They should keep for several days, although they tend to dry out the longer they are stored. (If they last that long...) Courtesy of Perrysplate.com
NOVEMBER 25 Time Reported: 5:12 PM. Time Occurred: 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Date Occurred: 11/25/2013. Duty on Striking an Unattended Vehicle. East Campus. A student reported an unknown person damaged his vehicle. Open.
NOVEMBER 26 Time Reported: 11:55 Time Occurred: 12:00 AM to 12:00 AM Date Occurred: 11/11/2013 through 11/15:2013. Duty on Striking an Unattended Vehicle. Airline Parking Garage. A student reported an unknown person damaged her vehicle. Open.
2013–14
SMU Tate Lecture Series 32nd Season
Tuesday, December 3, 2013 Co-founders, the Campaign to Fix the Debt; former Co-chairs, National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform ERSKINE BOWLES White House Chief of Staff, 1997–98 ALAN SIMPSON Republican Senator from Wyoming, 1979–97
TURNER CONSTRUCTION/ WELLS FARGO STUDENT FORUM 4:30 p.m. Hughes-Trigg Ballroom An informal question and answer session. Free and open to all students, faculty and staff. Tweet your question for @SMUtate with @ErskineBowles and #AlanSimpson to #SMUtate.
THE OMNI HOTELS LECTURE 8 p.m. McFarlin Auditorium Students should come to the McFarlin basement at 7 p.m. First come, first served. One complimentary ticket per SMU Student ID. Limited availability. Business casual attire suggested.
smu.edu/tate 214-768-8283 Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/SMUtate and on Instagram at instagram.com/SMUtate
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MONDAY n DECEMBER 2, 2013 EXPANSION
Academics
CAE offers new assessment for post-grads Katelyn Hall Contributing Writer khall@smu.edu When Tyler Anderson graduates from SMU this spring, he will make a number of decisions. He will choose a place to live and try to find a job. And now, he may choose to take a post-college test. This spring, the nonprofit Council for Aid to Education will release the Collegiate Learning Assessment. The CLA + is a post-college assessment that measures critical thinking, problem solving, reasoning and writing. It was designed to quantify skills learned by students. In other words, it was designed to measure the value of one’s degree. Students will be able to take the test individually or through their institution as soon as this spring. They could then use their test score to market themselves to employers. The test uses open-ended questions to assess problem solving and writing abilities. Test takers are given performance tasks, in which they must assess a situation and suggest a solution or action. Students have 60 minutes to complete each task. The test is administered online through a secure connection. It is measured on a 1600-point scale. More than 200 higher education institutions will use the test starting this academic year, according to The Wall Street Journal. Area colleges that will administer the test include Collin College, University of Texas at Dallas and University of Texas at Arlington. SMU has not announced whether it will use the test, but students can take the test voluntarily at another testing site. The CAE will release more information in the spring about how students can register to take the test.
SMU Professor Tom Tunks does not consider tests like the CLA+ to be useful because they do not relate back to the institutions’ objectives. “If you are going to have a good assessment, it has to be based on the objectives that you were intending to accomplish,” Tunks said. Tunks and others remain skeptical of the test, which costs $35 per student. The test is part of a trend of higher education assessments as students and institutions try to prove the value of their degrees. Jose Bowen, dean of Meadows School of the Arts and author of Teaching Naked, has noted this trend. “I believe higher education can deliver those traditional liberal arts skills. But we don’t actually know at the moment if it works, so we’re going to have to use assessments,” said Bowen, whose book addresses creative teaching methods. SMU currently uses internal assessments to gauge student progress. For example, in writing classes, students are evaluated based on a departmental rubric following every assignment. Students are also hesitant to endorse the test. Anderson, who plans to go into investment banking, will not take the test. “Trying to actually quantify college in terms of value added is hard to do,” he said. “At different universities you learn very different things in very different ways.” SMU sophomore mechanical engineering and math major Josh Wills agrees that the test would not be useful to him. “Although I believe that most SMU students would be well prepared for such an exam, I do not think it would be necessary or beneficial in proving our career readiness,” Wills said. The test will also be marketed to employers, who want proof
that students are ready for the real world. “What’s basically happening is that companies are losing trust in universities,” Bowen said. “Over time, employers are becoming less happy with what they’re getting.” Council for Aid to Education, the nonprofit behind the test, designed the assessment because company officials believe the changing job climate demands skills that institutions may not deliver. These include basic writing and presentation skills, as well as technological tasks. “The skills required of these students are far greater than those required of students a few decades ago,” the CAE states in an online introduction to the test. “So how do we know whether students are prepared to be successful in a world of increasing complexity?” Whitney Shelley is vice president for human resources at Denbury Resources Inc., a natural gas company based in Plano, Texas. Shelley says it’s too early to tell the real value of the test. It will take time for the test to earn respect from employers. “When you look at your most successful hires, does their performance ultimately correlate with the test results? This needs to happen before we can really say that it is a valid tool,” Shelley said. For Shelley, the test is just another way students can describe their abilities, but it is not the only one. “It’s really just one more tool for applicants to use to paint the picture of who they are,” Shelley said. Shelley said her company may consider the test score if put on a resume, but the company has not decided to uniformly request it. Kim Austin, director of the Cox Career Management Center at SMU, says no employers have
requested students use the test yet. But she can see the benefits the test might provide for liberal arts majors. “I think it can be particularly difficult for students who have a liberal arts background to communicate to a potential employer what they can actually bring to the table,” she said, noting that it is easier for students with more technical degree plans, like finance and engineering majors, to show employers a measure of their knowledge. For many students, administrators, employers and parents, the CLA+ does not seem to offer all the answers. “I think it is unrealistic to think that there is a single tool that can be put in place to predict success,” Shelley said. Cathi Slack, the parent of a junior SMU student, does not see the utility of the test. “We test kids to death,” said Slack, who has 36 years of public education experience and lives in Bossier City, La. “It’s too much testing.” While the CLA + has yet to receive universal approval, there is wide support for testing as a general tool for schools and students. “I actually think we should be doing assessments all the time,” Bowen said. “We should assess all four years.” Bowen sees assessment as a way to make sure students learn what the professors intend them to take away. “Did your mental complexity increase? Because that’s the goal of college,” Bowen said. Tunks agrees. He sees formative assessment as a way to make sure students stay on course. “In a way, it’s like a sonar in a submarine,” he said. Students nationwide will begin to take the CLA+ early in spring 2014. They can visit the CAE’s website for more information on the test.
NEWS
Continued from page 1
The area that these buildings will cover currently consists of homes, all owned by SMU. According to President Turner, the details for this construction will be in the 2015-2025 master plan. The current Centennial Master Plan shows that they plan for these buildings to be in the block between Dublin Street and Airline Road from east to west, and between University Boulevard and McFarlin Boulevard from north to south. For the construction of the parking lot, the five houses on the west end of the 3000 blocks of Fondren Drive and McFarlin Boulevard will be demolished. The other homes on the blocks will remain standing for the time being. SMU Real Estate Management and Leasing informed the tenants of these homes on May 20 that they would be required to move out by Dec. 31. While some of the tenants were able to relocate to other SMU subsidized houses, others were not so lucky. Martha Lozano, wife of SMU Spanish professor Alberto Pastor, said that her family was disappointed when they were told they would have to move. They consider their quaint rental house, a stark contrast from the large two-story houses typical of Highland Park, to be home. Their 8-year-old son has lived in the same residence on Fondren Drive since birth.
3
“The main reason we are here is so we can send our kids to Highland Park School District,” Lozano said, speaking for her neighbors who also have children in school. Lozano said she and her neighbors were fortunate to have the housing from SMU, because many of them would not be able to afford any other property in the area. Lozano’s family was one of the few able to relocate to another SMU-owned house on Fondren, but she fears the stay will be short-lived due to imminent construction. In describing construction plans for the future, President Turner gave a brief history on SMU’s property rights to explain the university’s difficulties in expansion. “The Caruth family gave us everything from Lovers Lane to Northwest Highway; Central Expressway to Preston Road. In other words, University Park was given to help fund the university, so the university would sell it and use that money to build buildings and operate the school,” Turner said. “They sold it by the acre; we’re buying it back by the square foot.” Wagner, with the deadline approaching, is still unsure of where he will move in December. He’s not eager to settle for a neighborhood that doesn’t meet the standards of his community on Fondren. “It’s a very close neighborhood,” Wagner said. “Family picnics, tailgates for football games. It’s really almost an idyllic setting. And they’re going to put a parking lot.”
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OPINION
WEDNESDAY MONDAY n nDECEMBER JANUARY 2, 18,2013 2012
world
politics
Making a mess in The destructive force of cable news the Middle East w. tucker keene Managing Editor tkeene@smu.edu
jennifer king Contributing Writer jenniferk@smu.edu A decade after the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, not only has the United States lost much of its credibility, but hardly anyone in the Middle East or international community is deeply concerned by U.S. threats. America’s relationship with various Middle Eastern countries, particularly regional allies, is also the weakest it has been in over half a century. This growing sentiment demonstrates the U.S. is losing its influence. Changing circumstances necessitate a more relaxed position focused on neutrality and peace encouragement, rather than continued intrusion and inciting sectarianism. What created this shift? The already volatile region witnessed problems intensify as a result of U.S. involvement. An example of this is seen in the years since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, in which more than half of Iraqi Christians have fled to escape inflamed sectarian violence. They are caught in the conflict between Sunnis and Shiites as being identified with America. While the tension between the different Islamist sects has existed for more than 1,000 years, U.S. intervention has only fanned the flames. Syria, the most recent involvement of the U.S., exhibits how a conflict between government and anti-government forces become an extreme sectarian issue as a result of interference. The inability to guide events in the desired direction — short of Iraq-style invasion — only made matters worse. Beginning in 2011, President Barack Obama pledged his support of the Syrian opposition to oust President Bashar al-Assad, encouraging tensions. In response, Assad intensified the brewing civil war, solicited support from allies, and ignored Obama’s intervention bluffs. As a result, many Syrians have suffered gruesome deaths at the hand of al-Assad, who has suffered no repercussions. Today, the Syrian situation echoes ShiiteSunni violence observed in the Iraq War. Both share a common trait: the United States. What does this reveal about America’s declining position? Earlier invasions were designed to remove political adversaries and solidify America’s role, not further sectarianism in Iraq or reduce authority in Syria. The major reason for this deteriorating reputation is the United States losing friends as a consequence of interference. The Middle East is undergoing significant change, noticeable in the drastically different leadership makeup.
Dictators are gone, but so, too are many sympathizers. It seems that only the monarchs remain. These kings have witnessed U.S. intervention in the region for years. Today, many blame the U.S. for agitating the fragile region. A Shiite was placed in power in Iraq, but the U.S. acquiesced with Mubarak’s removal. A blind eye is turned to how Israel treats Palestinians, but disenfranchised Syrian rebels are encouraged. Now, the U.S. is attempting to develop a partnership with the most disliked nation in the region, Iran — after Israel, of course. Along with the kings, the once devoted Israelis are increasingly frustrated with the U.S. and often ignore the Obama administration. Turkey, the reliable NATO partner, is angered by the inconsistent handling of Syria. If the U.S. ceases its monetary support of Egypt, for example, the Saudis and gulf countries have billions of dollars to offer instead, reducing the weight U.S. aid once held. Dwindling alliances seem to require a new local partner to support U.S. presence in the region. A recent hype idealizes a renewed U.S.Iranian relationship. However, such a partnership will only create additional strain on remaining friendships with Israel and Saudi Arabia and further incite regional tensions. This union will only alienate the U.S. more and aggravate the entire Middle East. Due to the decreasing influence of the U.S.; continuing to meddle in the affairs of Middle Eastern countries fails to produce results aligned with interests and angers the remaining weak alliances. There is also no doubt that uninvited U.S. involvement exacerbates conflict. To salvage the image of the U.S., the focus must instead be on facilitating peace agreements rather than making threats or vehemently supporting one side. The U.S. must favor neutrality in order to prevent arousing even more hostile sectarianism. Fanning the flames has been a hallmark of regional foreign policy, especially in the last decade, but it is now time to switch gears toward reducing sectarian violence to avoid additional fragmentation that is detrimental to everyone involved. Continuing on the current path will only create additional headaches, sparking yet another reason for countries to hate one another and America. Currently, the future trajectory of the United States in the Middle East is not promising, but a change in role would be a significant stride toward restoring a damaged reputation without making a bigger mess.
Conservatives, stop watching Fox News. Liberals, stop watching MSNBC. There may be great money for news organizations in telling people what they want to hear, but political activists can do no greater disservice to their cause than surrounding themselves with affirmations of their worldview. There is nothing easier than to tell someone they’re right. It’s similarly easy for people to be told they’re right. But in the world of politics, this is doing more to degrade the level of public discourse than any other phenomenon. If activists really want to strengthen their ability to argue successfully, and therefore advance their cause, they should spend much more time listening to people disagreeing with them. When confronted with opposition, arguments can
either fall apart completely and get replaced by stronger ones, or have their holes pointed out so they can be patched up, ultimately strengthening the argument. But when activists surround themselves with yes men, their arguments get weaker. They get caught off guard by the very notion that someone could disagree with them. Unable to defend their argument because they never before have had to, activists move to ad hominem attacks instead. Opponents end up dehumanized, as people on either side are so convinced that they’re right they assume the other side is evil. They aren’t. There are good people on every side of a political argument, and disagreement with someone wouldn’t lead to so much name calling if people realized this. Ideologically aligned news outlets exacerbate this problem by allowing people to self select
their flow of information. When news organizations only report the news that their viewers want to hear, or only present political arguments that align with what their viewers believe, this ends up creating different realities, different histories in which each side has different versions of the facts on which they base their arguments. Viewers of MSNBC not only don’t have conservative points of view made available to them, but don’t hear news stories that may put their liberalism in a bad light. The same can be said for Fox News and its treatment of liberal points of view and stories that may put their conservatism in a bad light. For the good of the country, and for your own ability to effectively dissect your opponent’s arguments, leave the echo chambers created by Fox and MSNBC. Find a few different news
sources that go into more depth, that do more than just recite talking points and pass them off as analysis. Find some that do so from different perspectives. You may come to realize that the other side has some good points to be made, you may find out that they care just as much about the state of the country as you do. You may find you have the same goals and disagree only on the method by which we get there. And once you realize that, it’s harder to label the other side as demonic and racist. It’s harder to label the other side as Nazis or socialists. People will finally be forced to debate all of the facts, not just their version of the facts. One can only hope this will lead to a much needed change in how Americans interact with politics. Keene is a senior majoring in political science, economics and public policy.
world
Champions of peace in a chaotic region A plea to redraw the map or accept eventual self-annihilation amanda scott Contributing Writer ascott@smu.edu It’s late November, and the “dust” of chemical warfare has settled... well, kind of. While American news cycles have long since replaced “Sarin in Syria” with “Error: 404,” peace in Syria is no more likely than Bashar alAssad himself stepping down. Just ten weeks ago world leaders on moral authority, such as the ethically sound Russian President Vladimir Putin, added commentary to silence America’s ethical disgust with the Assad regime. And in hindsight, he succeeded because Syria is no longer on America’s mainstream radar. There are a few reasons to explain American apathy. Americans are altogether confused; one cannot synthesize the compound issues facing the troubled nation into one finely edited headline. First off, Syria is not the same as Assad’s Syrian regime. Quite the contrary, the people of Syria encompass a mixed bag of both ethnic and religious groups represented by a minority faction Alawite in government. The rebels, also known as the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and
Opposition Forces, cannot easily be identified either, as their name might suggest. The bottom line remains: the Syrian people are left unheard. Those of the regime, its opposition and a number of international players seeking their ten minutes of fame (with unprecedented care for international law) have trumped the voices of peaceful Syrians. Yes, peaceful Syrians. While Assad continues to fire artillery barrages on besieged rebels, 10,000 plus Syrians are escaping to refugee camps daily. One group remains whose lives and livelihoods have not been voiced in Syria for decades, much less since the cusp of internal upheaval in 2011. The voice of 10 percent of the Syrian population, the voice of 1.6 million stateless Kurds. It is this very group that has the greatest axe to grind against Assad yet has pledged and acted with the greatest hope for peace. Kurds in Syria have fought a war on their homeland since the 1960s when the Baath Party took control of the Syrian government. After Baath leaders conducted a hoaxed national census in 1964, 300,000 Kurds remain stateless today. The census, aimed to eradicate
Kurdish Syrians from their homeland, created the world’s largest ethnic group currently stateless. Why? Kurds were seen as a threat to Arab nationalismthe cornerstone of Baathism. Without nationality or a right to identity, stateless Kurds have suffered from an inability to attain proper education, gainful employment, access to health care, the right to own property and the right to legally leave Syria altogether. History provides the Kurds ammunition to join the rebels and fight against Assad’s regime. But they haven’t. Instead, the 10 percent of the Syrian population would rather abandon the state in pursuit of self-rule. The Kurdish people are the true champions of peace in a chaotic region because they have proposed and acted on the only legitimate solution to the underlying cleavage dividing the Middle East: Western imperialism and the national boundaries it created. After World War II British and French rulers divided the Ottoman Empire into colonies, and eventually states, for their own benefit and profitability. The map that put Sunni and Shiite Muslims under one Iraqi umbrella is the same map that divided Kurdistan, the
mountainous region home to 40 million Kurds, into four separate Middle Eastern countries. And yes, the Kurds are equally discriminated against in all four. The Syrian Civil War has given the Kurds an opportunity to finally seek autonomy. They have made major territorial gains in northern, Kurdishdominated cities by successfully driving out the al-Qaeda rebels fighting against Assad. The Middle East, while historically and theologically complicated, has made one thing perfectly clear to the world: No, we can’t all get along. It will not be until the aforementioned world leaders accept and heal the wounds of blind imperialism will Syria, and to a greater extent the Middle East, find peace. It will take a pledge for ethnic autonomy through thoughtful remapping of the region to accomplish this. While a lofty goal, it is an attainable goal nonetheless. The first step will require Americans to revert their attention from website malfunction to inhumane ethnic destruction. Scott is a senior majoring in communications and political science.
cartoon
King is a senior majoring in political science.
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“Life is a series of disastrous moments, painful moments, unexpected moments, and things that will break your heart. And in between those moments, you savor, savor, savor.” —Actress Sandra Bullock, sharing her view on happiness with Entertainment Weekly Courtesy of MCT Campus
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ARTS
MONDAY n DECEMBER 2, 2013 art
music
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Meadows Museum to present ‘Sorolla and America’ exhibition courtney spalten A&E Editor cspalten@smu.edu The Meadows Museum at SMU will host the first major exhibition to feature the work of Spanish artist Joaquin Sorolla. The exhibition, entitled “Sorolla and America,” will be open to the public from Friday, Dec. 13 through April 19, 2014. Over 150 works by Sorolla will be included in this exhibition, including several of his most iconic paintings and works that have never before been exhibited publicly. “Sorolla and America” will focus on the painter’s impact in the United States and how the artist’s works were inspired by America. The exhibition will be arranged thematically and will feature works that Sorolla was famous for, including social realism, portraits, beach scenes, landscapes, history paintings, oil sketches, drawings and studies for decorative murals. Works from the notable collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, The J. Paul Getty Museum as well as the private
collection of the U.S. Department of State will be on display. Also included are works from Mexico, Spain and other European countries. Each of the pieces being shown were either created in America, exhibited in America or sold in America during the artist’s lifetime. Born in Valencia, Spain in 1863, Sorolla earned international acclaim in the late 19th and early 20th century for his skills as a painter. His first major exhibitions in the United States took place in 1909 and 1911 and were met with an enthusiastic public response. Positive reception of his work led to portrait commissions of notable Americans such as President William Howard Taft and Louis Comfort Tiffany. Among the featured works in the exhibition is “Sad Inheritance” Triste herencia, one of Sorolla’s most iconic works. The 1899 painting depicting crippled children bathing in the sea in Valencia earned one of the highest awards at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900 and Spain’s National Exhibition in 1901. “Sad Inheritance” was a turning point in Sorolla’s career,
the piece introduced the Spanish artist to the American patrons who would eventually bring his work to America. Other highlighted works include “Another Marguerite” “Otra Margarita” a 1892 canvas painting of a young woman accused of suffocating her child, will also be featured. The painting received a medal of honor in the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. His 1908 beach landscape entitled “Beach of Valencia by Morning Light” will also be on display. Sorolla tended to work “in situ,” or live painting, as opposed to in a studio, a techinique that was widely acclaimed. Also featured is “Louis Comfort Tiffany,” another landscape painting that Sorolla created on location in 1911 at Tiffany’s country estate on Long Island. Museum visitors will also be able to see his portrait of William Howard Taft. Sorolla was commissioned to paint the first ever portrait of the 27th president of the United States in 1909. After April 19, the exhibition will travel to The San Diego Museum of Art and Fundación MAPFRE in Madrid.
Courtesy of JoaquinSorollaFisherwomanCOwahooart.com
One of Sorolla’s beach landscape paintings was his 1911 work entitled “Fisher Woman,” which he created onsite.
Employment BEST JOB ON CAMPUS! The Daily Campus is seeking advertising sales reps. Do you like to talk to people and make money? This is an opportunity for advertising, marketing, or business majors to acquire “real world” experience. Looks great on resume! Earn commission while learning outside sales. Flexible hours. Call Diana at 8-4111, come by Hughes-Trigg, or e-mail ddenton@smu.edu FULL/PART TIME - OFFICE AND ADMINISTRATIVE support and accounting for retail and real estate company. Duties: prepare reports, bank reconciliations and payroll. Needs strong computer skills, MS word, excel, along with Quickbooks. $12 -13 per hour E-mail resume to: edgproperty@gmail.com. Ready to love your job? Chuy’s Knox-McKinney is hiring servers, hosts, cocktail servers and more. Apply Sunday-Thursday at Chuy’s, 4544 McKinney Ave.
Events Sober Mustangs Open Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meets at SMU! Thursdays, 6:00 PM, HP Methodist Church room 385. SMU Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC), Wednesdays, 6:00 – 7:30 PM, Room 104, Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports, behind the coffee/ smoothie bar
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Self Improvement
Tutor Services ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE TUTOR. Voted “The Best” for 18 years. “College is more fun when you have a tutor.” Lee Lowrie, CPA, MBA cell 214-208-1112. SMU Accounting 2301, 2302, 3311, 3312, 6301, 6302 - Finance 3320 - Real Estate 3811 ACCOUNTING, MATH, CHEMISTRY, STATISTICS, ECONOMICS, FINANCE, Physics, Rhetoric Tutoring. Learn to work smarter not harder. David Kemp Tutorial Services. Call 469-767-6713 or david@dktutoring.com.
Courtesy of urbanislandz.com
Hip-hop artist Kanye West released his sixth studio album “Yeezus” on June 18, 2013 and is currently on tour.
Kanye West fails to generate buzz with ‘Cruel Summer’ caleb wossen A&E Staff Writer cwossen@smu.edu “Cruel Summer” is an overambitious album that was never going to meet its high expectations. What’s sad is Kanye wasted his resources for lukewarm responses. “Cruel Summer” didn’t generate nearly as much buzz for Kanye and Co. as “GOOD Fridays”. Songs released during “GOOD Friday” — “So Appalled,” “Don’t Look Down,” and “Christian Dior Denim Flow” — were marketed to promote GOOD Music’s other projects. Some cuts made “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” some did not. The end result was a sterling list of singles for the public. The idea for a weekly singles release was new, exciting and simple. “Simple” is a key word. “Simple” is what led people to wait for “GOOD Friday” every week for hot music. Music for music’s sake spelled out success wonderfully. “Cruel Summer” on the other hand is a more-trouble-than-it’s worth-musical Megazord.* The album tried to mash illmatched flavors into one messy compilation instead of spreading them out like before. Viewed alone, these songs were variably great. Where else would 2 Chainz spit the verse of his life than on “Mercy?”
Courtesy of bet.com
Brandon McCartney, known by his stage name Lil B, is a 24-year-old rapper.
Unfortunately “Mercy,” “Cold,” “New God Flow” and “Clique” couldn’t compete with the over-hype of the “ultimate posse album”. A second “GOOD Friday” series might serve as incentive for GOOD’s artists to work harder on their own material. Kanye, Push, and Sean are prospering, but almost nothing’s above improvement. Maybe we’d hear more from CyHi the Prynce. More thoughts: Lil B is Kanye West without a “product.” Lil B’s trick is that he’s selling “Based,” an idea. Lil B sells the idea and buys back a cult in return. The trick’s simple and clean, and more importantly, there are no middle men. Kanye trying to break into the figurative pyramid head is so complicated it’s almost more trouble than it’s worth. Money complicates things, and
it’s easier to sell an idea when you’re not trying to wrestle control away from the gatekeepers. One more thing — do we talk about Pharrell Williams enough? Pharrell has practically done everything Kanye has set out to do. He’s had the cultural revolution, he’s brought high fashion to the common man, he made hip-hop pop without a hint of irony and brought seemingly disparate people together along the way. This is the man responsible for “I’m a Slave 4 U,” and “Grindin’” and “Excuse Me Miss.” This is the man, the beatmaker, who was asked to score the Oscars. Pharrell’s “been culture,” and he doesn’t even want the attention. Lately, the only time Pharrell is in the spotlight is to pick the brains of other geniuses. Kanye’s admiration of him is not only understandable, but a credit to his humility.
Crossword
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Complete the grid so that every row, column, and 3x3 box contains the digits 1-9. There is no guessing or math involved, just use logic to solve.
Solution: 11/25/13
Across 1 Mooing critter 4 Ancient region surrounding Athens 10 Reagan era mil. program 13 Disgusted grunts 15 Resident of Tibet's capital 16 Muscle spasm 17 Illegal activity admitted by Lance Armstrong in January 2013 19 Writer for whom the Edgar award is named 20 Not sacred 21 Secret matters 23 Baba who stole from thieves 24 Singer with Crosby, Stills & Nash 27 Glass container 29 Actress Cannon 30 Peter Fonda's title beekeeper 31 Opposed (to) 34 Hurts with a tusk 37 ESPN show with an "Inside Pitch" segment 42 Willem of "Platoon" 43 100-lawmakers group 44 "Peter Pan" pirate 47 Hang around 49 Pretoria's land: Abbr. 50 Trousseau holder 53 Stomach-punch response 55 Start of the line that includes "wherefore art thou" 56 Female star 60 Comfy room 61 Volcanic Hawaiian landmark, and a hint to the first word of 17-, 24-, 37- and 50-Across 64 Night's opposite 65 __ Pie: ice cream treat 66 Reached base in a cloud of dust 67 "Tasty!" 68 Unsettling looks 69 Arid Down 1 Baby bears
2 Look at lasciviously 3 "So what?" 4 Alan of "M*A*S*H" 5 Like rosebushes 6 Pub spigot 7 "Woe __": Patricia T. O'Conner grammar book 8 Gondolier's "street" 9 Hopping mad 10 One of Minn.'s Twin Cities 11 Singer Warwick 12 Frigid historic period 14 Aretha's genre 18 551, at the Forum 22 Dad's nephew 25 Aerie hatchlings 26 Playing an extra NBA period, say 27 Quick blow 28 Gardner once married to Sinatra 29 Refusing to listen 32 Use, as a coupon 33 Entrepreneur-aiding org. 35 Optimistic 36 Opposite of WSW 38 Come in last 39 Lasagna-loving cat 40 Growth chart nos.
41 Brewed drink 44 Poorly made 45 Wells' "The Island of Dr. __" 46 Arnold Palmer or Shirley Temple, drinkwise 48 Where charity begins 51 Formally gives up 52 Raise, as a sail
53 Old fort near Monterey 54 Sounds of wonder 57 Grandson of Adam 58 Depilatory brand 59 Hot tub swirl 62 Alias letters 63 Former Russian space station
Solution: 11/25/2013
6
SPORTS
MONDAY n DECEMBER 2, 2013 Football
Men’s Basketball
Young Burchum no match for Cougars; Mustangs Gigged ‘em SMU gets shut out 34-0 in Houston Matthew Costa Associate Sports Edtor mcosta@smu.edu
Demetrio Teniente Sports Edtor dteniente@smu.edu Facing American Athletic Conference powerhouse the University Houston SMU needed to play at its highest level to come away with a win on Friday. As if it wasn’t tough enough already, the Mustangs were without their starting quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who was out with a left knee sprain. Neal Burcham got the nod in Gilbert’s place — making his first career collegiate start. SMU had been averaging 31 points a game coming into Friday’s match up, but the offense’s production was expected to suffer without Gilbert behind center. However, its hard to imagine SMU Head Coach June Jones anticipating this much of a drop off: Houston only outgained SMU by 70 yards, but managed to keep the high-octane Mustang offense off the board as the Cougars took the win 34-0. It was the first time the Mustangs were shutout since 2004 when SMU was walloped 42-0 at California State University, Fresno. Burcham had to step in for an injured Gilbert in the second half against University of South Florida last week. His performance was just enough to eke out a win as he was essentially a game manager. Unfortunately for Burcham, to beat Houston he would have to actually take risks and put the ball in play. Trailing by 24 points with a little more than 10 minutes left in the third quarter, and desperate to get something going, the Mustangs went for it on fourth and three but Der’rikk Thompson could not make the grab. Houston
Bouncing back from their second loss of the season against the University of Virginia in the Corpus Christi Challenge, the SMU Mustangs (6-2 overall) defeated in-state rival, the Texas A&M University Aggies on Saturday by a score of 55-52. The victory was not an easy one to come by, as the Aggies built up a double-digit lead at 15-5 with just eight minutes gone in the first half, and held a 30-26 advantage going into the half. From that point forward, SMU put on a defensive clinic, holding A&M to just six made field goals on 23 attempts for a measly 26.1 percent shooting. Nic Moore was the high
scorer in the tournament’s consolation game with 16 points on five of nine shooting from the field and a perfect four for four from the foul line. The guard from Winona Lake, Ind. was also named an all-tournament selection for his stellar play through the weekend. Along with Moore, starting forward Yanick Moreira contributed a noteworthy game with 14 points and six total rebounds. The big man has become a mainstay on the frontline of the team, scoring in the double-digits for six straight contests. SMU will be back in the metroplex Monday against McNeese State University in the Curtis Culwell Center at 7:30 p.m., where the team is 4-0 this season.
WoMen’s Basketball
Mays and company fall to No. 3 Tennessee Demetrio Teniente Sports Edtor dteniente@smu.edu
Courtesy of AP
SMU defensive back Jay Scott (8) defends a Houston receiver in the end zone during Friday’s 34-0 loss.
took over on its own 41. Houston capitalized on the short field and put the nail in the coffin with a Ryan Jackson 37-yard run to make the lead 31. Jackson finished with 62 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Cougars quarterback John O’Korn finished with 245 yards in the air on 25 completions and had a pair of touchdowns. Houston receiver Daniel
Spencer recorded seven catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. Including turning the ball over on downs, SMU gave away the football eight times (one fumble, three interceptions, three on downs), with Houston capitalizing on three of those turnovers for 17 points. SMU went 3-7 on fourth downs. Burcham threw for 212 yards on 27 completions with three interceptions for the Mustangs.
Darius Joseph hauled in nine passes for 52 yards, while Jeremy Johnson caught eight for 75. With less of an emphasis on the passing game, Prescott Line had his best outing — rushing for 81 yards on 17 carries. The Mustangs will look to get their offense back on track when they host University Central Florida at Gerald J. Ford Stadium Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 11:00 a.m. CT.
Facing No. 3 University of Tennessee on Friday at the Junkanoo Jam Tournament, Freeport, Bahamas, the Lady Mustangs were hoping to make a statement against a nationally ranked opponent. Their hopes fell short however, as Tennessee cruised to a 87-47 victory in the championship round of the tournament. Akil Simpson and Keena Mays combined for 23 points but couldn’t keep pace with Tennessee, which had four players in double-digits. Mays’ 12 point performance in the championship game was good enough to earn her all-tournament honors, while Simpson posted 11.
Tennessee was led by Ariel Massengale’s 16 points as the Lady Vols shot 46.6 percent from the field for the game. SMU was held to a season-low 26.3 percent from the field. SMU managed to hold Tennessee to six field goals in the final 11 minutes but it wasn’t enough as the Lady Vols led 39-27. Tennessee expanded their halftime lead to 21 points in the first three minutes of the second half and had a commanding 30 point lead with 12:05 left in the game. The Mustangs return to the Curtis Culwell Center for a home game against Southeastern Louisiana University Wednesday at 7 p.m. before four straight road games, including the first two American Athletic Conference games of the season.