While many students would rather spend the week before classes begin in bed, SMU’s newest class was up bright and early 8 a.m. Thursday. First-years lined up around the boulevard to board buses for a brand new Mustang Corral program: Discover Dallas.

Students participated on 26 different trips in and around Dallas. These faculty-led bus tours included visiting Paul Quinn College neighborhood farm, ice skating at Dallas Stars Center and exploring the Mexican-American culture of Dallas.

Corral Leader sophomore Jake Carlson said he was excited about the changes in Mustang Corral’s program.

“This is better than spending all three days at Corral,” Carlson said. “This also makes use of the Dallas area.”

Carlson added that one of the reasons he came to SMU is all of the activities available off-campus in the city.

First-year Tolu Olawale agreed with Carlson’s sentiments.

“I’ve lived here [in Dallas] for awhile, but I never got to see downtown,” Olawale said after touring the Wyly Theatre. “It’s nice to get to see everything.”

To Olawale, the only thing that detracted from the experience was the long day.

“The only thing I’d change is maybe how early we had to get up,” she said.

“Everyone’s really tired right now,” Corral Leader senior Charles Weber said, “but we can pump them up for the rest of the day.”