INSIDE
Stay healthy during finals week
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Hilary Clinton needs to be less vain
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Top 10 countdown
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Kodaline wows Dallas crowd
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MONDAY
May 4, 2015
Wednesday High 55, Low 38 Thursday High 71, Low 50
VOLUME 100 ISSUE 87 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS 1915 - 2015
How to use Twitter in the job search
NEWS Briefs World JERUSALEM— U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sought to pacify Israeli worries over an emerging nuclear deal with Iran in an interview aired Sunday, dismissing some concerns as brought on by “hysteria” over the possible agreement. SANAA,Yemen— Helicopter gunships hovering overhead, at least 20 troops from a Saudi-led Arab coalition, including Yemeni expatriates, came ashore Sunday in the southern port city of Aden for a “reconnaissance” mission.
National NEW YORK— A man accused of shooting a New York City police officer in the head was ordered held without bail on charges including attempted murder. Demetrius Blackwell appeared in court for his arraignment in a torn jumpsuit with his hands and legs cuffed. BALTIMORE— Six days after the death of Freddie Gray sparked riots in Baltimore, the city’s mayor lifted a citywide curfew, signaling an end to the extraordinary measures taken to ensure public safety amid an outcry over police practices. The curfew was between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. since Tuesday.
Texas HOUSTON— Police say six people have been shot after an argument that began between two groups inside a nightclub continued outside as they were leaving. Investigators say as members of one group were departing Club Empire in a vehicle and they shot randomly at the other group that had gathered outside. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening and the victims were hospitalized in stable conditiion.
sierra uselton Contributing Writer suselton@smu.edu
Courtesy of SMU
Photo of the SMU campus.
Why does SMU cost as much as an Ivy League? SHABNAM AMINI Contributing Writer samini@smu.edu Princeton University is ranked the number one university in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. SMU is ranked 58. Princeton, with an acceptance rate of 7.41 percent, is more difficult to get into than SMU, with an acceptance rate of 50.7 percent. Yet, it costs more to attend SMU than Princeton. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the tuition (excluding room and board and other fees) at SMU adds up to $45,940 versus $41,820 at Princeton. SMU’s tuition is also higher, or nearly as high, as most other Ivy League schools or schools ranked higher in the nation, including Harvard and Yale. SMU’s annual undergraduate tuition, including housing, and other fees has increased by 87.3 percent in the last 10 years, from $34,593 to $60,585. So why, in a fairly low-costof-living city like Dallas, is Southern Methodist University so expensive? Some students wonder if they are getting their money’s worth. Hasan Soleja, a senior and finance major, is a Founders Scholar but his tuition is covered by Gates Millennium Scholars Program. Soleja said that the high price tag is worth it if you are in a program that will lead to a high-paying job. If it doesn’t, it may become harder to justify. “I think there is a lot of variation within SMU,” said Soleja. “Depending on what school you go to and degree you get.” Tuition at SMU, as at other colleges and universities, supports many parts of the University’s budget. Financial aid, compensation for faculty and staff, utilities, debt service and facilities and grounds maintenance are the major categories funded from tuition as well as other revenue sources. “SMU believes in funding attractive financial packages for our students,” said Chris Regis, the Vice President for Business and Finance at SMU.
“Attracting world-class faculty and maintaining the campus with the highest of standards” All of these reasons are factored into SMU’s tuition amount. Regis says this causes to attract top students who find themselves with incredible opportunities not only while on campus but after they graduate. “I think you will agree that attending SMU is well worth the price,” said Regis. But some students are still frustrated with the systems within SMU. Roma Kakar, a junior and English major, has been frustrated with the Financial Aid Office at SMU. She has been trying to get help since January of this year, but her issues still haven’t been addressed. “My sister and I both go here and her stuff with financial aid is solved,” said Kakar. “But mine is not because apparently some students go under verification, and it is taking forever.” Kakar explains why it was really awkward when she wanted to talk to someone at the financial aid office. She felt uncomfortable talking about her personal issues in front of the line of people waiting behind her. “The Financial Aid office should be like advising,” said Kakar. “Where I can go into a room and talk about it the issues I am facing.” Tuition and fees account for about two-thirds of the cost of an SMU education; the remainder is covered by gifts, endowments and other annual revenues. “In particular Cox, I would definitely say it adds up to $60,000 of value a year,” said Soleja. “Just in terms of the networking and the type of people you are going to meet and the job opportunities you are going to have.” Soleja continues to talk about how this could be a big financial burden for a lot of people, and is still unsure why it costs more than most Ivy Leagues. “Even though I did say the education is worth $60,000, I think about the position my family and I were in at the time when I was coming to SMU,”
said Soleja. “I wouldn’t have chosen to go here if my tuition wasn’t paid for.” A hallmark of an SMU education are small classes. The student/faculty ratio is 11-to-1, and about three out of four classes have 30 students or fewer. “Speaking from a financial point of view, SMU definitely adds $60,000 worth of present value,” said Soleja. “But, if you are looking towards graduate school or medical school, it doesn’t make sense to pile up debt just for your undergraduate degree.” According to Regis, one of SMU’s main goals is raising money for student scholarships. As part of The Second Century Campaign, SMU has raised funds for more than 550 new endowed scholarships. SMU students graduate with less debt on average than many of their peers at other national universities, including at American, Marquette, Syracuse, Wake Forest and Lehigh. Fewer than 40 percent of SMU undergraduates who earned degrees in 2012-13 had student loans, with an average debt of $29,829. SMU has more than $98 million in scholarships and grants available to support students every year. The total is from all SMU institutional sources including financial aid, athletics and the University’s schools. “SMU undergraduates also have the opportunity to participate in research projects,” said Regis. “Within the past year, students have received $3,000 stipends to work as undergraduate research assistants in connection with professors’ research in engineering, anthropology, geology and psychology.” It’s still not clear why SMU’s tuition has almost doubled in the past 10 years. To obtain an appointment with anyone in the Administration’s office at SMU to talk about this topic is fairly difficult. Multiple people including, the treasurer and chief investment officer, the vice president for development and external affairs, and the president, were reached out to with no reply. All quotes and information from Regis were recieved via email.
Elisabeth “Lizzie” Brubaker landed her job with “Piers Morgan Live on CNN” with just one re-tweet. “My future boss sent me a direct message after seeing a retweet I sent him, and then viewed my e-portfolio – the next thing I knew I was sitting in his office in New York and I was hired,” said Brubaker, who graduated from SMU in 2010. Katy Jones, a Global Talent Engagement and Marketing Manager at PepsiCo, also uses Twitter to find candidates to fill jobs at one of the largest corporations in the world. “Twitter is a great platform for hiring, because you get to see who someone really is,” Jones said. “We are better able to learn what the potential candidate cares about and if their personality will fit in with our company.” Twitter isn’t the first social network students typically think about when searching for a job, but it does have some advantages over other social media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. According to SMU Digital Journalism Professor, and author of “Engaged Journalism: Connecting with Digitally Empowered News Audiences,” Jake Batsell, there are unique advantages for students using Twitter. “I have seen my own students, like Elisabeth Brubaker, develop followings on Twitter while in college that has directly translated
into a much better job than I could have ever dreamed of 20 years ago coming out of college,” Batsell said. Amanda Woodward, author of the e-book “How Do I Twitter?: Everything You Need to Know About Twitter Marketing,” said there are two specific things that students should be doing on Twitter in order to be noticed by employers like PepsiCo and CNN: engaging others to create a network, and self-promoting. “Engaging people, promoting your work, and connecting with others in your field, go hand-inhand – you can’t just promote your work and network with people without engaging them, otherwise your network will shrink,” Woodward said. Just having a Twitter account isn’t enough to catch the attention of job recruiters. They want to see your content and if you have a good amount of interesting, thought-provoking tweets that also share a little bit of your personality. When a company hires you, they’re ultimately opening up a platform to engage with all of your followers as well. The goal is to engage a wider audience and create meaningful content that people care about. A great way to do this is to share articles of interest and share your thoughts on them. Batsell instills this engagement technique that he calls “Power Tweets” in his digital journalism classes. “Power tweets help empower students to take charge over their digital presence,” Batsell said
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SMU professors store unique trinkets in offices Rebecca Ragsdale Contributing Writer rragsdale@smu.edu William Gosney holds the remote control to an electronic helicopter inside of his Lyle School of Engineering office. He pushes a button, sending the chopper hovering above the various electrical engineering books and radio equipment on the floor. A smile spreads across his face. He then picks up another helicopter model dating back to the 1950s, which he bought at High Street Antiques in Plano for about $100. It was originally sold for about a dollar. “Everything has a story behind it,” said Gosney, a professor of electrical engineering. “I enjoy aviation, radio control devices and demonstrating evolution in technology.” Like Gosney, many SMU faculty members have numerous works of art, electronics, mementos and other trinkets concealed behind their office doors. Some may display the objects in their office to remind themselves of their own achievements, or the
success of former students, or maybe to spark inspiration within. “It’s really interesting to see the different objects you find in a professor’s office,” said senior communications and English major Megan Perry. “It gives you insight into their personality.” While in Professor of Medieval Studies Bonnie Wheeler’s office, Perry was captivated by a piece of authentic chainmail armour dating back to the Middle Ages. Senior journalism major Brandon Brigham has also seen intriguing possessions inside of Journalism Professor Carolyn Barta’s office including photographs of her with George W. Bush and numerous political cartoons and articles on the walls. “We forget that professors have lives outside of school,” said Brigham. Director of SMU’s Embrey Human Rights Program Rick Halperin has several pieces of artwork in his office created by students in his human rights classes over the years. One canvas, which sits at the
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