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Features is the place to find stories from select neighborhood sources.
If you climb the steps to the Meadows Museum this weekend, you'll come across a solemn scene of 2,977 United States flags planted into the ground around the plaza. These flags symbolize all the lives that were lost on September 11, 2001. As we approach the 10 year anniversary of 9/11, it is a good time to remember what America lost on that day and how far the nation has come since then.
It’s been 10 years since the horrific events of September 11th rocked New York, the United States and the entire world. Stop any random person on the street and ask them to recount what they were doing at the time of the attack and it’s likely they can recount it in vivid detail. It is a memory that anyone who witnessed it, either in person or on television, will never forget.
But, 10 years is a long time and many Americans have moved on since then. September 11 – just like Pearl Harbor – may always be a rallying symbol for our country but with the advent of the Internet constantly bombarding us with new events and tragedies, 9/11 becomes more of a distant memory.
SMU and the Park Cities are hoping to change that by hosting a range of public, thought-provoking events in honor of 9/11. The events will run from Wednesday, September 7 until Sunday, September 11 – the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001.
Throughout the days leading up to September 11, SMU will plant flags in the Meadows Museum Sculpture Garden for each of 2,977 victims of 9/11. For more information about the events, visit the SMU website.
Though America may never forget what happened on September 11, 2001, the sponsors of these events hope that people may one day forgive.
Photo from Google Earth.
SMU quarterback Kyle Padron is no stranger to playing on the gridiron before tens of thousands of fans. Even before he became the quarterback of the Mustangs, he was the signal caller at Southlake Carroll, a powerhouse football team in Texas, which is one of the biggest football states in the country.
“There were 50,000 at a high school football game,” Padron said. “Southlake versus [Euless] Trinity at Cowboys Stadium. But I was only a sophomore so I didn’t play.”
But Padron did play against Texas Tech (57,528) and TCU (35,481) last season in his first full year as the starter for head coach June Jones. So, going into the season opener at Texas A&M on Sunday, September 4, Padron won’t be too intimidated by the 82,000 fans at sold out Kyle Field.
However, the coaches were worried about the team’s ability to coordinate plays with a deafening crowd constantly screaming on four sides. So, at Thursday’s morning practice, the team practiced with over a dozen speakers blasting music, cheering, jeering and other noises the team is likely to encounter at College Station.
“It’s made a real difference in the communications aspect,” said Padron about the ambient noise after practice. “Just being to communicate in the huddle and being able to let the o-line [offensive line] make adjustments up front. I think that’s going to be the biggest thing for us. If they can make those adjustments, we should be alright.”
Current odds have the Mustangs as 16-point underdogs to Texas A&M, which begins the season ranked as the No. 8 team in the nation. But while SMU has their hardest test of the year up first, they’re not shying away from the challenge.
“We got to beat them. They’re not going to make it easy for us," said Padron. "We got to go out there, take it one play at a time and have fun.”
Photo from Getty Images
Freshmen may not realize this but on the other side of Mockingbird - opposite the SMU bookstore - used to stand a defunct Mrs. Baird's facility. For years, SMU students had been using the building as a place to build floats for Homecoming.
But, SMU has now torn down the building and four other business structures to make way for the new tennis complex, data center and electrical substation.
SMU is currently in the midst of reviewing proposals for architects and contractors to build the new facilities and construction is expected to begin as soon as a prosposal is selected. Meanwhile, there's plenty of other work to be done before the new buildings can be built.
Workers are using a jackhammer to demolish the 18-inch-think concrete that currently paves the area. The University will also have to excavate and replace the soil on the properties where the former Texaco and 7-Eleven stores stood.
SMU plans to concert the area south of Mockingbird Lane between Airline Road and U.S. 75 into a pretty, non-commerical campus development. All structures and landscaping will closely follow the characteristics of the SMU campus. For more information, visit the SMU website.
It's been talked about for a while now but the college football landscape is shifting. Conferences are creeping closer and closer towards become super-conferences composed of 16 teams apiece and non-AQ (automatic qualifers) teams - such as SMU - will quickly be left in the dust if they don't make a move. Fortunately for the Mustangs, athletic director Steve Orsini has seen the writing on the wall and made his move.
SMU has publicly announced that if the opportunity were to arise, they would like the chance to move into the Big 12 Conference. For Orsini and SMU, the pros far outweigh the cons.
"We're pushing for it," said R. Gerald Turner, president of SMU, in an interview with The Dallas Morning News. "We want the city to know we're pushing for it. We need as much help as possible, even from non-SMU alums. We believe it's good for Dallas."
The opportunity could come sooner rather than later, especially if Texas A&M get its wish and moves to the South Eastern Conference (SEC). Including the departures of Nebraska and Colorado, the Big 12 would be down to nine schools at that point. Orsini has argued that the Big 12 has to keep up with the SEC, the Big 10 and the PAC-12 if doesn't want more teams to keep on leaving.
SMU football head coach June Jones agrees that something must be done if SMU hopes to remain relevant.
At the SMU kickoff luncheon earlier this month, Jones said, "Unless we're pro-active, thinking out of the box as a non-BCS participant, I do think we'll be left behind."
There is one thing the Mustangs can do to improve their chances of moving to a bigger conference: if SMU can continue its improvement and rise in the college football world, it would be seen a worthy addition to the Big 12.
In early August, the Princeton Review released their latest rankings of hundreds of colleges in the nation based on dozens of categories. SMU was ranked in several of those categories; most noticeably, the university was ranked among the 20 most LGBT-unfriendly college campuses in the nation. However, Campus Pride gave SMU 4 out of 5 stars for its LGBT-atmosphere, which is on the opposite side of the spectrum from the Princeton Review.
According to its website, "Campus Pride represents the only national nonprofit organization for student leaders and campus groups working to create a safer college environment for LGBT students. [...] The primary objective of Campus Pride is to develop necessary resources, programs and services to support LGBT and ally students on college campuses across the United States."
In the Princeton Review ranking, SMU was ranked the 12th-most LGBT-unfriendly college campus. However, several SMU officials disagreed with the ranking. Karen Click, director of SMU's Women's Center, was one of those that was outspoken.
"We don't feel this accurately reflects the climate on campus," Click said in an interview with The Dallas Observer. "There are a lot of policies, budgetary initiatives and programmatic initiatives at SMU that do support the LGBT community in way that most universities do not. To see us ranked this way is a little bit frustrating."
Campus Pride has several factors which led to them giving SMU the four-star ranking. While SMU ranked lower on LGBT Housing and Residence Life, the university did get five stars for LGBT Student Life and 4.5 stars for LGBT Support and Institutional Commitment. On its report card, SMU did well in Student Life and Campus Safety but still needs to improve on its Recruitment and Retention Efforts.
What are your thoughts on the discrepancies between the two rankings? Is SMU an LGBT-friendly or -unfriendly campus? Or is it somewhere in between?
The SMU men’s soccer team is expected to do great things this season. After reaching the Elite Eight of the College Cup in 2010, the team is ranked No. 5 in the preseason polls and is predicted to repeat as Conference USA champions. And leading the charge will be three Mustangs that have been named among the top-100 men’s college soccer players in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer.
Senior Arthur Ivo and sophomore Juan Castillo are the big names for SMU. Ivo is ranked No. 28 in the nation while Castillo is No. 55. Both were instrumental in leading SMU to the Elite Eight in 2010 and are expected to do great thing in 2011. They tied for the most goals on the team with 10 and were number one and two, respectively, in points.
Hidden in the shadow of these two players is sophomore Zach Barnes, yet another integral piece in the Mustangs’ roster. The sophomore midfielder for SMU tied for fourth on the team with five goals last season.
SMU kicks off the 2011 season at home against No. 13 William and Mary on Saturday, August 27.
Survey: Couples rarely talk about life insurance By State Farm® Agent Brent Cooper
A recent State Farm survey shows many people understand the need for life insurance is important but acknowledge the conversation with their spouse might be uncomfortable. Seventy-four percent of couples say they rarely or never discuss the topic. This is particularly true in households with one wage earner.
With women increasingly filling the role of primary breadwinner, financial and emotional stressors weigh heavily on their decision to discuss life insurance at home, and research finds that among couples unlikely to discuss the topic, women are even more likely to remain silent.
The state of the economy influenced the responders. The survey found that more than half of Americans are now focused solely on protecting what they have versus working to achieve their financial goals. Having the income to cover basic household needs (mortgage, rent, utilities and food) must come first.
An earlier study from the research firm LIMRA found that nearly one third of U.S. households currently have no life insurance, the highest level in more than 40 years.
For couples who struggle with discussing finances and life insurance, here are a few suggestions:
Brent Cooper, AgentState Farm Insurance214 987-1995brent@brentcooper.net
Serving the Insurance needs of the Dallas Neighborhoods of University Park, Highland Park, Lake Highlands, Preston Hollow, Oakcliff, and Coppell.
H&M opened their Dallas location in NorthPark Center on Thursday, August 18 at noon to much excitement and fanfare. Roughly 2,000 people lined up throughout the mall before the store even opened and there were prizes, plenty of shopping and even Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.
H&M is probably the second-most famous store that hails from Sweden behind furniture giant IKEA. The company prides itself on offering fashion and quality at the best price and while the clothing is primarily aimed at women, there are still plenty of options for both men and children.
Several of the first customers in line won gift cards, including the first person in line, Gabby Scalf, who won $500. The first five hundred people in line received varying money-saving passes handed out by the Cowboys cheerleaders.
Photo courtesy of Kathleen Ratliff (www.twitter.com/lazydaysies).
For the most part, Americans care more about football than soccer (unless, of course, the World Cup is ongoing). So, it makes sense that even sports fanatics may not know what the Hermann Trophy is to the collegiate soccer world. For those that don't know, the Hermann Trophy is the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy for soccer and SMU has two players named to the Watch List.
Sophomore Juan Castillo and senior Arthur Ivo will be leading the charge for No. 5 SMU as they shoot for the national championship in 2011. Castillo, only in his sophomore year, has already become a big playmaker for the Mustangs. In his freshman year, he collected 24 points and was named to the First Team All-Midwest region. He was also Conference USA Freshman of the Year, named to the All-Conference USA Second Team and was on the C-USA All-Freshman team.
Ivo, who was actually a semi-finalist for the Hermann Award in 2010, was a Second Team All-American and also a member of the First Team All-Midwest Region. He led SMU with 25 points in 20 games. Ivo was Conference USA Co-MVP and Co-Offensive Player of the Year in 2010.
SMU kicks off their 2011 season with a big game against No. 13 Williams & Mary on August 27.
All stats courtesy of smumustangs.com.
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