At SMU, we take pride in knowing our school is one of the top institutions in the country. We have excellent academic programs, an outstanding networking system with Dallas and the rest of the business world, and now we can say we have a slew of celebrities rotating through our campus almost on a daily basis.

Whether you’ve been bogged down with midterms or are simply just sick of hearing about politics and have chosen to tune out news around campus, SMU has sparked what has evolved into a huge spectacle of famous names paying visits to our campus almost every day.

Starting with the editor-at-large for Fortune magazine, Allan Sloan, the Hilltop quickly became infatuated with providing students with a new form of education in the form of guest speakers.

Following Sloan, Sophia Bush from “One Tree Hill” and Adam Rodriguez from “CSI” made a quick stop at the Varsity in Hughes-Trigg to encourage our generation to vote, especially in the approaching election.

Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee also visited our campus, with actor Chuck “Walker,Texas Ranger” Norris in tow to emphasize the importance of young voters in yesterday’s primary. And while it didn’t help his cause to see more students supporting every other candidate but himself, it did allow students the opportunity to make their opinions known about their favorite candidates.

The e-mails continue to flood our inboxes announcing appearances from Bob and Lee Woodruff of the Tate Lecture Series last night, giving journalism students yet another excuse to miss class.

Then the big name hit us. The former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair would be delivering two lectures on our campus. Not even TCU can compete with us on this one. How many people can say they have been in the same room with Blair, free of charge?

So what has sprung this sudden surge of big names coming to visit our campus? Is it our lush green lawns, prestigious business school or the amazing students? Maybe it’s the clout our school carries that brings these people to our campus just to see what being a Mustang is all about.

Having the opportunity to listen to different political, educational, professional or historical figures speak to such an exclusive group is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most people, and it’s coming to us without a fee.

We all owe a huge thanks to the organizations and staff members putting these amazing programs together for us. Not only are we being provided with first-account information on how to succeed in our careers, but we are also given the opportunity to ask these people our own questions.