VOLUME 97, ISSUE 51 SMUDAILYCAMPUS.COM
MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2010 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
DALLAS, TEXAS
Dallas Hall shines bright By TAYLOR ADAMS News Editor tadams@smu.edu
Celebration of Lights brings cold weather, cheerful SMU students Candle flames flickered in shivering hands Sunday night, dimly lighting the faces
of students who stood on the lawn in front of Dallas Hall for Christmas carols and holiday lights. Student Foundation hosted the 33rd annual Celebration of Lights Sunday, initiating the holiday season on campus
with the ceremonial lighting of the Christmas tree. Hot chocolate and cookies were served on the Main Quad to start the event and to keep attendees warm in the evening’s 45-degree weather.
ADMINISTRATION
Around 7 p.m., candles were lit, people passing flames to friends and strangers around them. After Student Foundation President Andrew Conwell welcomed the audience to the ceremony, voices from the stage and the audience sang Christmas carols, reading the words from the program by the light of their candles. After “the First Noel” and “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,” the song of the evening came on: “Silent Night.” As voices sang, more than 380,000 lights turned on with “all is calm, all is bright.” Senior Beth Mably has come each of her four years at SMU to participate in the 33-year-long custom. “It’s a nice way to wrap up the semester,” she said. “I like the lighting of the candles and when we sing ‘Silent Night.’” Senior Leigh Armstrong carried on the tradition from her mother who graduated in 1982. “My friends and I all had our moms come down for it too for a fun mother-daughter thing,” she said. “I just love everyone taking part in the Christmas spirit and singing carols.”
“Jingle Bell Rock” could be heard just outside the doors of the Hughes-Trigg Student Center. By the time “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” came on, people had taken over the lawn in front of Dallas Hall.
CAMPUS EVENT
APPOINTMENT
Trustees Children take part in fun prepare at Celebration of Lights to party By JESSICA HUSEMAN Editor-in-Chief jhuseman@smu.edu
By JESSICA HUSEMAN Editor-in-Chief jhuseman@smu.edu
At its Friday meeting, the Board of Trustees established the Second Century Celebration to commemorate the 100th anniversary of SMU’s foundation and opening. The celebration will begin Jan. 1, 2011 and run through 2015, mirroring SMU’s establishment in 1911 and opening in 1915. At the meeting, the Board also established SMU’s Founders’ Day, to be held on every third Friday of April. This will commemorate the institutions, organizations and individuals that established the University April 17, 1911. The next Founders’ Day will be celebrated April 15, 2011. “We are going to try and make it sort of a spring homecoming,” said President R. Gerald Turner, who noted that trustees Carl Sewell and Ruth Altshuler are co-chairing the volunteer planning committee for Founders’ Day, while Provost Paul Ludden and Vice President
See BOARD on Page 2
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SMU students and faculty weren’t the only people enjoying Celebration of Lights Sunday night. Fifty students from Cesar Chavez Elementary School in Dallas were bussed in by Student Foundation to enjoy the festivities with an SMU student sponsor. The elementary schoolers, ranging in age from 8 to 11, were chosen by teachers and counselors at Cesar Chavez for good behavior. Student Foundation placed sign up sheets in its office, and SMU students
chose students to sponsor. As a sponsor, these students were responsible for attending Celebration of Lights with their child and purchasing a gift for them based on the child’s wish list. Rebecca Wolfe, a sophomore CCPA and psychology double major, was the Student Foundation member in charge of the event. She said that in past years, Student Foundation has had to step in to sponsor children because not enough students volunteered. “This year I am incredibly proud to say that every child has a sponsor,” said Wolfe. “We actually had more
Student Body President Jake Torres appreciates the celebration for the crowd it brings. “I go because I love seeing my campus come together to celebrate the holidays. I love seeing everyone from all corners of the SMU community together at once,” he said. He also appreciates the many voices heard on the festive night. “My favorite part is definitely the carols,” he said. “We have so many gifted students and I love listening to the sing as well as hear the whole campus sing together.” Student Body Vice President Austin Prentice went to the event for the third time and sponsored a child from Cesar Chavez for his second year. “I go because of the tradition and the excitement that bringing the whole SMU together generates,” he said. “Celebrating the night with friends makes the evening great.”
sponsors who wanted more kids and we had to tell them no.” The children met their sponsors before the event, and were taken to the Hughes-Trigg Commons in order to get to know their sponsors and munch on cookies before heading to the big event: Celebration of Lights. Tau Sigma, the engineering fraternity, sponsored four children, according to sophomore mechanical engineering major Daniel Windham. The chapter as a
See KIDS on Page 5
Rita Kirk to lead SMU’s Maguire Ethics Center By MEREDITH SHAMBURGER Senior Staff Writer mshamburge@smu.edu
Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Professor Rita Kirk has been named the incoming director of the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility. Kirk will take the reins on Jan. 1. Kirk replaces Tom Mayo, an associate professor in the Dedman School of Law. Kirk is an Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor and a Meadows Distinguished Teaching Professor. Kirk was also a member of a Peabody Award-winning team of CNN that helped cover the 2008
presidential election. Kirk received her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri in 1986, her M.A. from the University of Arkansas in 1978 and her B.S.E. from the University of Arkansas in 1975. The Maguire Center was founded by a $2.5 million endowment from Cary M. Maguire in 1995. The Center is dedicated to “seek to recognize, honor, and model ethical behavior; provide moral reflection on the contemporary issues; and celebrate ethics that reflect SMU’s fundamental goals throughout the campus and in the Greater Dallas community,” according to its website.
FOOTBALL
Mustangs crumble to C-USA champions By EJ HOLLAND Sports Editor eholland@smu.edu
The SMU Mustangs attempted to win their first conference title since 1984 but came up short after a 17-7 loss to Central Florida Saturday morning in Orlando, Fla. “I am proud of the kids. They played real hard. We had a lot of injuries during the game. They showed a lot of character to play as they did,” SMU head Coach June Jones said. “I thought the defense really played well, enough to win. We knew we had a real challenge going against them, our offense against their defense. We just were not good enough today,” he said. With the loss, the Mustangs finished as the runner-up in Conference USA after playing in their first ever conference championship game within C-USA. “It was something we talked about at the beginning of the season in training camp,” SMU quarterback Kyle Padron said. “Obviously we came up short, but we did reach our goal. [We] did not maximize the opportunity, but I think we will be back next year and will set that goal again.”
SMU fell behind early as the Knights scored on their opening possession. UCF marched 73 yards down the field behind freshman quarterback Jeff Godfrey, who completed a 5yard touchdown pass to running back Latavius Murray, giving the Knights a 7-0 lead. SMU’s first opportunity to put points on the board came early in the second quarter when kicker Matt Szymanski missed a 47-yard field goal wide right. With less than two minutes remaining before halftime, Godfrey engineered a perfect quick drive down the field that allowed UCF kicker Nick Cattoi to tack on three points as time expired. On the Knights opening second half possession, Murray scored his second touchdown of the day, this time on a 36 yard run up the middle, giving the Knights a commanding 17-0 lead. SMU responded with a big drive down to the UCF 27-yard line, but Padron was intercepted by UCF defensive back Josh Robinson. A 22 yard touchdown pass from
See FOOTBALL on Page 3
JOHN RAOUX/ Associated Press
UCF defensive linemen Troy Davis, left, and Darius Nall celebrate after stopping SMU quarterback Kyle Padron on a fourth down play with only seconds left in the Conference USA championship game in Orlando, Fla., Saturday afternoon. UCF won the game 17-7.