April 12, 2018 by The DC

VOLUME 103 • ISSUE 29

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APRIL 12, 2018

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Weekly CELEBRATING 100 YEARS 1915 - 2015

THRILL OF THE CHASE Storm chasers witness nature’s fury PAGE 3

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

Student body officers have big plans

Thoughts on paper’s move

Football prepares for spring game

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PAGES 9-10

PAGE 11

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NEWS

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The thrill of the chase — storm chasing, that is JACOB PROTHRO Sports Staff Writer jprothro@smu.edu Friday, April 21, 2017 was a muggy day, like many spring days in North Texas. The air was heavy and damp, and the sun peeked through the clouds to the plains. Over the previous week, weather models and forecasters had been indicating that Friday could be a severe weather day. However, as the week rolled on, it became clear that Friday’s weather would not be a big event. Still, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center placed certain areas of North Texas under an enhanced risk — a category three on its five category scale. In the afternoon convective outlook, it outlined the risk for severe hail, damaging winds and possibly a few tornadoes. By the time the NWS released the outlook, Wichita Falls resident Joe Bajza was already on his way to North Texas. The 42-year-old employee of the state is a parole officer based out of Wichita Falls. Instead of working that day, he planned to chase storms. Bajza is part of the new generation of storm chasers — regular people who roam the plains during the spring and summer months, armed with radar apps on their phones and laptops. Like most storm chasers, Bajza is not a professional and has never studied meteorology. He pays for it all himself, including the car he bought to chase in and gas to reach the target area. To Bajza, stormchasing is a hobby no different than golf or sailing. Storm-chasing was once only for professionals — university researchers and meteorologists who chased the storms mostly by eye. Now, the rural roads of Tornado Alley are crowded with chasers, leaving some wondering if everyone is in it for the right reasons. In late March, three storm chasers died in West Texas. Two were professional chasers. Their car ran a stop sign and plowed into another chaser vehicle. All three people died at the scene. The crash came almost four years after three veteran chasers were killed by a 2013 tornado in Oklahoma. Deaths in the hobby, while somewhat rare, are a sobering reality; people die chasing storms. It’s not for the faint of heart. Bajza stopped in Nocona to pick up his friend Josh Holcomb. Holcomb is short and skinny, with short, brown hair. He works as a kitchen supervisor at a pizza joint in Nocona. At 22, he’s young enough to be Bajza’s son. Holcomb met Bajza in fall 2015 while chasing during a tornado outbreak. Holcomb still remembers the day: Nov. 16, 2015. Despite the age difference, chasing has brought the two together. “If there’s no storms, then we’ll just joke around,” Holcomb said. The two make an odd pair, but are bonded by their love for severe weather. For Bajza, the love affair has been off-and-on for much of the last 25 years. He first went storm chasing when he was 18 and lived in Oklahoma. He and his buddies were intrigued by the television coverage of storms and resolved to go out and see one. A few years later, his interest in severe weather was further piqued when he bore witness to one of the most infamous tornadoes in Oklahoma’s history: the May 3, 1999 Moore-Bridge Creek F5. Bajza was visiting a friend in Del City when legendary Oklahoma City weatherman Gary England came on air, announcing that a

photo via Creative Commons

Bajza and Holcomb are a new type of storm chaser — those that do it only for a hobby.

large tornado was working its way through the southern part of the metro area, heading northeast on nearly a direct path to Bajza. As it moved closer and closer to Bajza’s location, he stepped outside to get a look. “All I could see was a big, black wall,” Bajza said. “It didn’t even look like a tornado from where we were at. It was so close.” The tornado devastated parts of the Oklahoma City metro area, killing 36 people and causing over $1 billion in damages. Still, Bajza wouldn’t start chasing seriously for another decade, until after a deployment to the Iraq with the Army National Guard and a stint training soldiers at Ft. Sill. When he re-entered the civilian world around 2009, Bajza found himself drawn more and more to storms. In storm chasing, Bajza found something that gave him the same rush that combat did. “When something blows up next to you, it’s a lot like having a tornado in front of you,” Bajza said. “The adrenaline rush is about the same for me. While Bajza is an amateur, Holcomb is not. He belongs to what’s known as a chase team: a group of chasers loosely affiliated under a brand. His brand is StormViewLive Media. The organization helps him sell the footage he collects on chases to various media outlets. That’s how most chasers make their money: selling their footage to media outlets, sometimes for up to $400. To him, it’s more than just a hobby — it’s a passion. Like Bajza, Holcomb is drawn in by nature’s fury and by a tornado’s raw power.

“It’s just jaw-dropping,” Holcomb said. “You would never think seeing a tornado in person would get your blood pumping, but it’s weird — it does. That’ll get you hooked.” Bajza and Holcomb pulled into a gravel lot adjacent to a Shell gas station off the highway, just a mile outside of Decatur at about 4:30 p.m. Bajza wanted to go to Gainesville, about an hour north in the Red River Valley, but Holcomb thought Decatur would be a better place to stop. He believed storms would fire around the city in front of an encroaching cold front. From Decatur, he and Bajza would be able to follow the storms as they matured into full-blown supercells. Supercells are the clouds that breed tornadoes, but not every supercell produces a tornado. The conditions have to be just right. Every now and then, the mesocyclone, a cyclonic vortex of air within the supercell, will spiral downward, forming a wall cloud. Sometimes a wall cloud will drop a tornado; sometimes it will not. “You figure that one out of every 10 supercells can drop a tornado,” Bajza said. “Only a few of those get warned [by the NWS], and only a few of those warnings actually end up producing.” It was almost the time of day when storms would rise up into the atmosphere, fueled by sunlight and updrafts from daytime convection. At around 4:30 p.m., storms started to fire to the northwest. The cloud tops shot up into the characteristic anvil shape and started to track east along the Red River Valley, some 55 miles away. At 4:45 p.m., a tornado warning was issued, and

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NEWS some people in the gravel lot became restless as they heard the announcement from the weather radio. They looked at the radar on their phones, trying to determine the best plan of action. “We need to head north,” one woman said. There was only one problem: the warning was in Oklahoma, over an hour away. Bajza didn’t think they could get up there in time to catch the cells. He dug his feet in. He was staying put. Meanwhile, the gravel lot started to clear out as chasers headed north toward the cell. Some of Bajza’s friends stayed. Bajza talked with them, occasionally ducking into his car to check the laptop mounted to the dashboard. On it was Mobile Threat Net, a professional-grade radar that Bajza had purchased for a tidy sum. Bajza saw a cell forming to the west of the others, growing as it moved to the east above Wichita Falls. It was on a direct path for Gainesville. “I guess we better head up there. Want to caravan?” Bajza said. “I’ll lead.” Bajza told the others what frequency the radios were on and the route he would take to get to Gainesville. The four cars set out, heading north for Gainesville on State Highway 51. As Bajza drove, he kept checking the radar or calling his wife to keep her informed of his whereabouts. At one point he screamed at a vehicle that passed him on the two-lane highway. “How much faster do you think you can go?” Bajza said. It seemed the adrenaline was already flowing. Bajza told Holcomb to navigate while he tried to multitask, checking his radar while driving. They were looking for a way to get west, to get under what they thought was a wall cloud from the supercell. When Holcomb found a road, Bajza hopped on the radio and told the caravan the plan. They’d head west on U.S. Highway 82, just south of the town. They exited the interstate and made the turn. As they got under the cell, they saw the clouds rotating. “The sky’s angry,” Holcomb said. “You can just tell this thing’s trying to put one down.” Suddenly, a dull thud pierced the air, echoing against the roof of Bajza’s car. Soon, more followed. “Hail core!” Bajza yelled over the radio. “We got to head back east.” Not wanting to risk a broken windshield from a large hailstone, Bajza turned around. The caravan sped back toward the interstate, looking for another way to get south of the storm. Another wall cloud formed to the west of the existing one; it looked mean. It was pulling up moisture from the ground — the chasers called it scud. “That might just put one down,”

SMU Campus Weekly Holcomb said, peering out the window while Bajza drove. At about 7 p.m., a cylindrical cloud started to emerge from the bottom of the wall cloud. It worked its way to the ground. The funnel was hard to see from where they were, but a small rope was about halfway down between the dark clouds and the ground, illuminated against the afternoon sky behind it. All of a sudden, dirt started kicking up on the ground. “Tornado on the ground!” Holcomb yelled. It was a tiny one — a rope tornado, maybe 700 yards away in an open field. Cattle ran, and the tornado started to dance, jolting left and right almost rhythmically. The chasers stood by, watching. Some high-fived in celebration while others flipped open video cameras to document it. It moved closer and closer. When it was around 400 yards away, it became obscured by rain. Joe pulled the plug. The rain had wrapped around the funnel and made it hard to see. It was simply too dangerous to continue. “Let’s go!” Joe said to the others. The chasers ran to their vehicles and piled in, heading south once more. The caravan took another narrow road crowded with the vehicles of other chasers, heading west into a cluster of farmhouses before the road dead-ended. “Sh*t!” Bajza yelled. They had to turn back. If the tornado was on the ground, they were right in its path. Bajza barked into his radio, trying to keep everyone in line as they plotted their escape. They headed east on the road, eventually linking up with the interstate and slipping south of the storm. The tornado lifted after just a minute or two on the ground, doing little damage. Nobody was injured or killed. The NWS listed it as a confirmed tornado on its April 21st storm reports, though it never did a follow-up damage assessment. It would be the only tornado of the day. “We were just in the perfect spot,” Holcomb said. The others at the rest stop — the ones who’d left to go to Oklahoma — didn’t get to see it. The rest of the day was fruitless, but Bajza and Holcomb still concluded that it had been a good day. They’d seen a tornado — witnessed the power of nature’s fury alongside some of their best friends. After all, for Josh Holcomb and Joe Bajza, chasing wasn’t just about the storms. It was about the connections they made and the friendships they shared. “It’s just being with friends really,” Holcomb said. “Enjoying the outdoors and enjoying each other. Even if it’s a bust and you meet up with other friends and other chasers, then it’s a good chase in my book.”

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New student body officers present plans for 2018-2019 school year LILI JOHNSTON News Editor lsjohnston@smu.edu Students voted and, on Friday, April 6th, the results were final for the student body officers for the 2018-2019 school year. Nathan DeVera won the position of student body President, Victor Sanchez the position of Vice-President, Darian Taylor Secretary, and Kathy Hines Graduate Student Affairs Officer. Before their positions were final, the candidates debated in Hughes-Trigg Atrium on April 3rd for a Q&A session. Here’s what the candidates, and now leaders, said. The cornerstones of Sanchez’s campaign were organizational growth, student health and campus safety. “We need more members in these [student] organizations, we need more students involved… That is where the creativity comes out. That is where initiative comes out,” Sanchez said. Sanchez also wants to implement new free-weight machines in Dedman Center. “I think that would be a good incentive to get more people in there,” Sanchez said. Sanchez also wants to increase campus safety, by “getting a student-led committee to channel information in Student Senate directly to SMU PD,” Sanchez said. Sanchez previously served as the HispanicAmerican senator in student senate. He also served on the Senate Finance Committee. “A huge part of my platform going into Hispanic Senator last year… was to get complete funding for all Latino and Hispanic organizations on campus,” Sanchez said. “I believe things went really smoothly.” The three hallmarks of Taylor’s campaign are information, communication and organization. Taylor said one of the biggest problems with SMU is “no one ever knows what’s going on.” “There is a lot of things that the Student Senate and administration do that the regular, everyday student does not know about,” Taylor said. “And I want to be that person to let people know… how we can help them achieve their goals.” This sentiment coincides with his plan for organization. Taylor wants “students [to] feel as if they can come to the Student Senate, talk to the administration directly, so that they can have their voice be heard,” Taylor said.

“I think if we have information, communication and all in an organized way, we can have a better student experience on this campus,” Taylor said. “I am only a sophomore, and I have done a lot of things,” Taylor said. “I work with Dr. Mmeje in a one-on-one capacity, who is the Vice President of Student Affairs. I also get to serve on the SMU Conduct Board.” Working on the SMU Conduct Code with the SMU Conduct Board will be one of Taylor’s responsibilities as Secretary. “I can bring that experience to my time as Secretary,” Taylor said. Kathy Hines, a graduate student in Perkins School of Theology, mentioned the division between undergraduate and graduate students. “There is an issue with separation… We need to solidify our relationship,” Hines said. “We are one and the same.” Hines discussed her past experience as executive director for a health center in Plano. “I had to pull sources in order to bring the community in, serving the people, and giving back to the community — the purpose for which we were actually there,” Hines said. DeVera previously served as student body vice president, which he described as the right-hand man to the student body president. “I’ve learned a lot,” DeVera said. In his opening statement, DeVera discussed his desires to “tangibly amplify the student voice, and what that looks like is getting students… in meetings with other members of Student Senate with key administrators in these key decision-making processes,” DeVera said. DeVera also wants to improve oncampus housing. “That includes everything from the residential commons system to upperclassman housing, to even Greek housing, [and] continuing my work with RLSH,” DeVera said. DeVera said he would continue working in the capacity of housing and with risk management. He wants problems to be addressed in a more timely manner. “If there is problem, it’s not just a work order,” DeVera said. DeVera also has a desire to innovate in working with the new university Chief Information Officer Michael Hites. He wants to create a university-wide calendar

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WHERE

FRESH & FAST MEET

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app platform containing all student events from varsity athletic events to community service, philanthropies and Tate Lectures, DeVera said. One topic at the Q&A, inspired by recent events, urged the candidates to provide their thoughts on free speech on campus, including ‘Louder with Crowder at SMU’ and the consequent protests. “All university is a time for people to expand their mindset and their beliefs, especially because after these four years, we might not be in an area where there are so many types of diverse people in one concentrated area, and I think it’s really important to have those conversations and to be able to have that ability for free speech,” DeVera said. “Now, I believe in free speech and I’m a proponent of it, but of course there is a line, and that line was crossed recently,” DeVera said. “In my capacity as student body president, because I’m very actionoriented… I want to make sure that Student Senate as a chamber is always… engaged in our decision-making. Because, yes, it was a fully unanimous decision. $15,000 were funded by the Student Senate to fund this organization’s event,” DeVera said. “If an event like this were to happen, I would be willing to have a lot of students meet with me in my office or email me. I’d be willing to have that conversation,” DeVera said. Sanchez then voiced his thoughts on the issue. “We did pass a bill earlier in last semester about free speech and letting us be more flexible with free speech and what we can do and what we can’t do with free speech on campus. And the only conflict to that bill was ‘What if?’ What if actual hate speech happens on this campus? How will that bill protect the students who are

being attacked? And we all thought we’ll deal with it when the time comes, and the time has come and it hasn’t even been six months,” Sanchez said. “I do believe we need to deal with this diligently and come up with solutions that are well thought, well educated, and I think that comes back to my point in my platform for organizational growth. We need to get more people in these organizations because we suffer from groupthink… and if we get more people in these organizations, I think there will be more diverse opinions and less polarized opinions and I think our margin of error will decrease,” Sanchez said. “These organizations are an important part of our SMU community,” Sanchez said. “Unfortunately, this event did happen and I think the solution is to address it.” Taylor also contributed to the conversation. “Now the thing with that is that Steven Crowder and the College Republicans did nothing at all wrong in their request to ask for funding… I think that there should be more information, more communication and more organization about how Senate works,” Taylor said. Beyond funding, Taylor identified a culture shift that needs to occur. “We have to understand how to cultivate a culture where we can inspire people to speak up and come to Senate and come to different events and express their opinions so that things like this won’t happen,” Taylor said. “I am tremendously proud of how the students on this campus handled it,” Hines said. “The dialogue — it’s really important to talk about things.” “It is better to be equipped in any situation. It is better to learn from these situations,” Hines said.

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ARTS & LIFE smudailycampus.com/ae

‘A Wrinkle in Time’ viewing with SMU MADISON CUTTER Contributing Writer mcutter@smu.edu SMU students gathered at AMC North Park April 3 to watch a screening of A Wrinkle In Time. The film revolves around a scientist who discovered a new planet. His children brave a dangerous journey to a different planet in search of their father and are transported to worlds beyond their imagination. This planet possesses all the evil in the universe. Through the children’s journey, the film shows strength and bravery and what it takes to triumph over fear. Students who attended the screening had mixed opinions. “I was so excited to see the film and thought it had a lot of potential. However, there was not much of a solid concept and it was hard to connect with,” senior Caroline Bertain said. Some students, however, enjoyed it. “I thoroughly enjoyed the film,” student Sloan Long said. “I liked how the movie led us through one girl’s

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Storm Reid stars as Meg Murry in ‘A Wrinkle in Time’

transformative journey, and the storyline was good.” Other students enjoyed the design aspect of the film, especially the visuals and the strong characters. The film ultimately explored the triumph of love and the strength it takes to embrace individuality.

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‘A Quiet Place’ deserves applause RILEY COVEN Arts and Life Editor rcoven@smu.edu John Krasinski’s second directorial effort, A Quiet Place, is a terrific showing of his talent, both behind and in front of the camera. The film is a dark, compelling, and suspenseful thriller. The story is unique and requires a well woven script, which it thankfully has. What makes the film special, more than anything, is its treatment of the audience. Nothing is dumbed down or explained through lazy dialogue, it gives the audience credit for their intelligence. A Quiet Place follows the Abbott family in a post-apocalyptic world. From what we can tell, most of the human race has been wiped out by monster creatures that can track people based on sound. As the movie tells us, stay quiet, and stay alive. The family lives together on a farm carrying out their daily tasks in complete silence. One of the children, Regan, is completely deaf, which plays an interesting role in the story. Lee, the father, played by Krasinski, spends his nights learning about hearing and attempting to build a hearing aid that will work for her. His wife, Evelyn, played by Krasinski’s real life spouse Emily Blunt, is pregnant with one more child, yet another complication in the world they occupy. The film comes to an intense conclusion when all of their problems coincide and they must find a way to survive together. The first thing that stands out in a film such as this is the script and camerawork. For a movie to have nearly zero dialogue for its entirety, there must be a lot going on to keep it working. A Quiet Place excels with this and uses it to its advantage. Every tiny sound feels like a blaring engine and the importance and weight of noise almost feels like its own character. There are small things that assist the world building as well, such as the shelves of the grocery store they

Photo by Twitter, John Krasinski

John Krasinski and Emily Blunt take a break on the set of ‘A Quiet Place’

enter at the beginning of the film. All of the shelves are missing food except for all the bags of potato chips. It’s such a small detail and is never even mentioned but improves the reality of their universe. Who would dare purchase something as noisy as a bag of Sun Chips? Similarly, the family is always barefoot and only walk on trails of sand they have laid out for themselves. They also eat off of leaves instead of plates. Nobody in the film has to explain why, it’s just part of their life. The world building in the film is truly amazing and is such a large part of its success. Another major aspect of the film are the performances. Each actor does a wonderful job with their character and the situations they are presented. To play a role that is nearly completely silent is not easy task and the cast’s ability to translate emotion with physical expressions is magnificent. The chemistry the family has feels completely believable and each has their own purpose and arc within the film. John Krasinski is especially good and leaves a heartfelt

turn in every scene. His on-screen chemistry with Blunt is terrific, as it should be considering their real-life marriage. The other intriguing aspect of the film is its score. The silence is deafening at times and Marco Beltrami had the difficult task of assembling music that would somehow accentuate the lack of sound. He pulled it off and weaves his score throughout the film to wonderful effect. It often feels like the only solace in the movie but can also break it down in the most depressing ways. It’s truly a remarkable feat considering the specific medium he was working with. The film is a well put together piece of art that should be viewed by even those that scare easy. It’s a masterful directing job by Kransinki followed up by terrific performances on every end. It’s ability to world build without simple explanations is fantastic and adds to the amazing job by all involved. A Quiet Place is a smart film that should stand out amongst its peers.

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Independence matters: a Student Media Company obituary from an alumnus CHIP STEWART d.stewart@tcu.ecu When I first heard the news, it landed like a gut punch. The Daily Campus, the SMU independent student newspaper where I got started in this business, is being shut down, taken over by university administrators who have been fighting to get their hands on it since well before my student days. The Student Media Company, an independent business that publishes the  DC  and other student media, including the Rotunda yearbook, has announced that it plans to dissolve at in May, with the newspaper itself moving under the direction of the Journalism Department. My professor friends there assure me the DC will be in good hands, and they don’t fear meddling by SMU administrators in content matters. I trust them when they say that student media would be well advised. The journalism department has a number of fine instructors with decades of professional experience. But I do not trust administrators to keep their hands off. Rewind: I didn’t come to SMU with any intention of being a journalism major. Yet there was a scholarship available for taking the intro to mass comm course, and that’s where I made a ton of friends, and the next thing I knew, I was covering swimming and women’s hoops for The Daily Campus. I went on to be the sports editor, and ultimately served on the board of directors of the Student Media Company. The DC was my home. In my time on the board, SMU administrators were doing what college

administrators usually do. They wanted some say over the content published in the DC, essentially prior review of our paper before it went into publication. We resisted, saying that as an independent student media company, there was no role for administrative censorship in our work. The administrators didn’t like that, so they threatened us. We had huge offices on the second floor of the relatively new HughesTrigg Student Center, at a discounted rate that seemed to reflect the understanding that we were an asset to the university and its student experience. That lease was about to be up — a nd our options were to submit to prior review by administrators or be booted out of our offices. We fought, negotiated, held out, bargained, consulted with lawyers, lobbied, and did everything we could to stay in our offices without submitting to prior review. In the end, we won. It was that process that made me think that maybe law school was the place for me, where I could study free speech and free press law. Twenty-something years later, I teach and write about that for a living. That all started in the crucible of the independent Student Media Company, which has fought off adversity and administrative inf luence in the many years since. It’s funny. These days, I’m an academic administrator — t he kind of bureaucratic villain I battled as a student many years ago. But I’ve never been a great fit as an administrator, probably because I tend to rabble-rouse. I don’t trust authority. I’ve still got too much student journalist in me. And I think that’s why this hit me so

hard, and why my friends and fellow SMU journalism alumni bristle at the move. We are proud of the independence of the Student Media Company. Generations of student journalists before me fought for that, mine did, too, and so did those after me. We used our independence to stand up to administrators, for so many years. Independence is a part of a journalist’s DNA — I mean, it’s right there in the SPJ Code of Ethics, where “act independently” is one of the four major tenets. When independence is taken away, that’s a real loss. And while I trust my SMU journalism professor colleagues to be good advisers, and to fight off administrative encroachments into editorial control when they inevitably occur, I know that this is a very real threat. I’ve seen it happen too many times in the student journalism field. I teach at TCU, which appears to be a model for student media that SMU is moving toward. We do not have independent student publications — t he university is our publisher. Now, the culture here has been hands-off, and that’s a good thing. It helps when one of your most high-profile alumni is named Bob Schieffer. But “almost no interference” is a different thing than “no interference.” We’ve had administrators above my head request that items be taken down from the web version or deleted from the archives, and when it comes from people with power over you, it’s not really a “request.” These are the very real challenges that SMU student media would likely face when administrators get the takeover they’ve long desired. It’s a shame, and it

saddens me. I admit to being surprised that independent student media was given up so quietly. There was no “Save The Daily Campus” campaign. As an alumnus who just lives 45 miles away, and is pretty plugged in with journalism faculty over there, I had no idea that this was even a possibility. It’s not over yet. From what I understand, alumni from around the country are scrambling for a lastditch rescue effort, though that would mean coming up with a pile of cash quickly to convince the Student Media Company board to reconsider dissolving in May. If that fails, student journalists at SMU will have to turn to their faculty advisers to stand up to administrative pressures, which can be hard when they’re signing your paycheck and in charge of your tenure and promotion situation. The Student Press Law Center remains a fantastic resource for students facing censorship efforts or advisers who are punished for crossing university administrators. And maybe SMU student journalists should remember that they’ve got a hopping mad alumni base ready to be called upon when it’s time to throw down. My cohort alone includes several folks who have built long careers in journalism, ready to cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war. Chip Stewart is a journalism graduate from the class of 1994, and currently serves as professor of journalism and associate dean of the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at TCU. This article originally appeared on Medium.com. It has been edited and reprinted here with permission from the author.

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Head of journalism weighs in on Daily Campus move TONY PEDERSON Editorial Staff Editor-in-Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kylie Madry Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Melissa Wong SMU-TV Executive Producers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pahno Georgeton, Zoe Diskin News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lili Johnston Assignments Desk Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sara Magalio Online Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jacquelyn Elias Associate Online Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Doreen Qin Interactive Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grace Valentine Arts & Life Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Riley Coven Associate Arts & Life Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelly Kolff Food Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matt Jackson Entertainment Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rachel Kennedy Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Olivia Pitten Associate Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phil Mayer Fashion Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Merrit Stahle Fashion Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taran Stahle Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Isabella von Habsburg Associate Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shelby Stanfield Opinion Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Callie Rosenwasser Editorial Cartoonist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L.A. Bonte Chief Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stephanie Cham Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Breck Spencer News Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Laurence Lundy Sports Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jacob Prothro Layout/Graphics Artist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Audrey Lee Advertising Staff Account Executives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrea Nguyen Sales Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apply online at bit.ly/StudentMediaStaff Production Staff Creative Director / Student Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advertising / Graphic Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Audrey Lee Marketing Staff Marketing Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Logan Breen Business Staff Business Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apply online at bit.ly/StudentMediaStaff Student Media Company, Inc. Staff Executive Director / Editorial Adviser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Candace Barnhill Business Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Onur Kolcak Operations / Advertising Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SMU Campus Weekly Mail Subscription Rates One year (Academic year) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $120 Email okolcak@smu.edu to order or renew your subscription. To charge by VISA, Mastercard, Discover, call 214-768-4545 or order online at http://www.smudailycampus.com/dc-subscriptions. Send check orders and address changes to Student Media Company, Inc. PO BOX 456 Dallas, TX 75275-0456. Entire contents © 2018 SMU Campus Weekly. smucw_editorial@smu.edu • http://www.smudailycampus.com SMU Box 456, Dallas, TX 75275 • 214-768-4555 • Fax: 214-768-8787 SMU Campus Weekly, a student newspaper at Southern Methodist University, is operated by Student Media Company, Inc. Hughes-Trigg Student Center, 3140 Dyer Street, Suite 315, Dallas, TX 75275 SMU Campus Weekly is published Thursday during the academic semester. For display advertising, call 214-768-4111. For classified advertising, call 214-768-4554. SMU Campus Weekly Policies SMU Campus Weekly is a public forum, Southern Methodist University’s independent student voice since 1915 and an entirely student-run publication. Letters to the Editor are welcomed and encouraged. All letters should concentrate on issues, be free of personal attacks, not exceed 250 words in length and must be signed by the author(s). Anonymous letters will not be published and SMU Campus Weekly reserves the right to edit letters for accuracy, length and style. Letters should be submitted to smucw_editorial@smu.edu. Guest columns are accepted and printed at the editor’s discretion upon submission to smucw_editorial@smu.edu. Guest columns should not exceed 500-600 words and the author will be identified by name and photograph. Corrections. SMU Campus Weekly is committed to serving our readers with accurate coverage and analysis. Readers are encouraged to bring errors to SMU Campus Weekly editors’ attention by emailing Editorial Adviser Candace Barnhill at cbarnhill@smu.edu.

Student and alumni reaction has been strong and emotional regarding the closing of Student Media Company, Inc. at SMU. Formed almost 90 years ago, the independent company publishes the SMU Campus Weekly student newspaper and the Rotunda yearbook. Declining ad revenue is forcing the change. The concerns have centered on loss of independence and the possibility that free speech by students will be lost and that censorship by the SMU administration could be a factor in future publications. I am pleased by the reaction from students and alumni. It means that in our journalism classes, we have taught them the value of the First Amendment and the dangers of limiting press freedom. The historical lesson from every part of the world is that democracy suffers when freedom of expression is restricted. I hope, too, that our students have learned the history of SMU and some of the tradition of its Wesleyan founding. There is a seminal story frequently told by late

SMU professor Emeritus Marshall Terry concerning an incident in the 1950s when Cold War tensions were running high and the fear of communism was palpable. Willis Tate was president of SMU, and unbeknownst to him, a student group had invited John Gates, an avowed Communist and former editor of the Daily Worker, to speak. Tate found out about the invitation only by reading the SMU Daily Campus, and he was not pleased. In his history of SMU titled “From High on the Hilltop,” Terry put it this way: “These were Joe McCarthy times and, in Dallas, John Birch times of ultraconservatism when SMU already seemed scary pinko to many.” The “pinko” reference had been directed personally at Tate by a columnist in The Dallas Morning News, and Tate had already been heavily criticized by the Ku Klux Klan for permitting the integration of SMU. Once word circulated about Gates, civic groups were quick to criticize the event. Even the SMU Mothers Club expressed opposition to the Gates appearance. Tate withstood the firestorm. Gates spoke on

campus. In recalling the incident years later, Tate said he believed it essential for a university to serve as a marketplace of ideas. Tate is remembered for his firm commitment to academic freedom and free speech. Today the Willis M. Tate Distinguished Lecture Series is one of SMU’s signature events. Just in the last year, questions have been raised about speakers — some conservative — on the SMU campus. Yet speeches have been made, and discourse has been civil. The studebt media company’s website, smudailycampus.com, was first to report about the controversy to move an annual 9/11 display from in front of Dallas Hall. There was miscommunication involved, but it was a bad move and everyone knew it. President R. Gerald Turner apologized in a letter to the SMU community. Economic realities have, sadly, affected virtually every news media organization in the U.S. Student media operations at many universities have been forced to change. Every member of our journalism faculty has at one point worked in

professional news media. We are disheartened by the changes but committed to preserving freedom of the press in every facet of the classroom and newsroom. I personally have spent the last 40 years working for press freedom issues in Latin America. While president of the Inter American Press Association in 2000, I led a press freedom forum in Bogotá, Colombia. At the time, the civil war and narcotrafficking were taking the lives of dozens of journalists every year. I’ll never forget a question posed by a young newspaper reporter at the forum. “What kind of a choice is it,” he asked, “when you have to choose between a story you know is important and your life?” The choices we are making on press freedom in the U.S. and on every college campus are fortunately not life-threatening. But they are no less profound.

Tony Pederson is a professor and The Belo Foundation Endowed Distinguished Chair in Journalism in the Meadows School of the Arts.

Thursday, April 12, 2018 | 11

SMU Campus Weekly

SPORTS

smudailycampus.com/sports

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The SMU football team practices in preparation for the annual spring game.

SMU Athletics

Mustangs prepare for spring game Saturday JAKE EICHSTAEDT Sports Writer jeichstaedt@smu.edu Temperatures were in the 30s for spring practice at SMU, but the Mustangs still conducted a team scrimmage in anticipation of the annual spring football game, which is Saturday, April 14th. The thudding sound of pads hitting pads were audible from Bishop Boulevard during the scrimmage, echoing the message of physicality that Coach Dykes and players have been preaching. Cold or not — the Mustangs’ offense and defense came out to compete. “It wasn’t the best conditions, but we got to come out and work through that stuff,” said Dykes. “We can’t let that affect our performance and our mentality.” Dykes went on to say that even though the team practiced hard, there were parts that were sloppy. He wants the team to look better before the scrimmage.

“I tell the players all the time, you have to be physical at the line of scrimmage to be the team we want to be, on both sides,” said Coach Dykes. “We’re a long way away from being able to play a football game. [There’s] a lot of work that needs to happen. But I think it has been a good and productive spring. I expect us to come out... and compete just like we did today.” Safety Mikial Onu liked what he saw out of the Mustangs during the scrimmage. The Mustangs’ leading tackler last year has been sidelined with a groin injury, and doesn’t expect to return until the fall. “We are growing physically and getting used to the new coaching staff. We’re headed to the right place.” Quarterback Ben Hicks was hit high and hard by Texas A&M transfer Richard Moore. Hicks was wearing a green practice jersey — indicating he was non-contact. Hicks responded to the linebacker’s

hit quickly and angrily, but the altercation was nothing more than a heated exchange of words. “I didn’t think it was a big deal… I thought it was good and competitive,” said Dykes. “I thought the defense played physical and with some confidence.” Levon Livingston continues to develop as a right tackle. The 6’7”, 275-pound frame looks like the answer to anchor down the offensive line, but his footwork still needs to be tuned up. “He needs to get up a little weight-wise. [He] is doing some good things,” said Dykes about Livingston’s performance. Running back Braeden West was carted off the field early in practice. Coach Dykes did not have an update at the time, but said the injury appeared to be a hamstring, and thankfully not a knee or ankle. The Mustangs will play their annual spring game Saturday, April 14, at 11 a.m.

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12 | Thursday, April 12, 2018

SMU Campus Weekly

FASHION

smudailycampus.com/style

Top 5 DFW-area fashion influencers MERRIT STAHLE Fashion Editor mstahle@smu.edu Our favorite influencers come from everywhere, including London, Hamburg, Los Angeles and New York City. However, many great fashion and lifestyle influencers who live right here in Dallas! Here are my top five favorite local bloggers. Natalie and Sarah Knowlton @we.the.birds These Dallas sisters have lived everywhere in the world, which is how they coined their Instagram handle. The Knowltons blog about fashion, lifestyle, food, beauty and everything in between. They also make delicious custom French macarons.

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Sarah Knowlton shows off her perfectly curled hair in an Insatagram post promoting their February editorial.

Courtney Kerr @kerrently Courtney Kerr blogs about fashion, travel, living and beauty. She uses the hashtag #kerrently for whatever she’s currently doing. #kerrentlypampering is one of her most popular hashtags, which she uses when she tests new beauty products or cosmetic treatments. Merritt Beck @merrittbeck Merritt Beck is the founder of The

Courtney Kerr Instagram

Courtney Kerr talks about her experience with CoolSculpting, a nonsurgical fat treatment.

Style Scribe, where she “[celebrates] style, travel, beauty & life’s other little luxuries,” according to her Instagram bio. She frequently posts chic clothing and beauty options for under $100. Ashley Robertson @ashleyrobertson Ashley Robertson is the founder of The Teacher Diva. Her blog gets the name from her six years of teaching experience. Now, she is a full-time blogger living in Dallas. She blogs about travel, beauty

and style. Check out her page to see how she gets that amazing hair! Brighton Keller @brightonkeller Brighton Keller is a Dallas fashion blogger who aims to “brighton” her followers’ days. She primarily blogs about fashion with sprinkles of beauty, faith and travel. She keeps her blog authentic and natural. In her bio, she says, “I love candy, carbs & Jesus.”

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