Parking is expected to be an issue on the April 25 opening of the George W. Bush Presidential center, with 15,000 visitors predicted to be on campus. (Ayen Bior / The Daily Campus)
All eyes are on the Hilltop for the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center on April 25. Planning is well under way for what is expected to be the biggest event in SMU history.
Tradition dictates that all living presidents and national dignitaries will attend the dedication.
Consequently, the SMU community is bracing for an influx of people anxious to be a part of history. It is estimated that an extra 15,000 people will be in and around the Hilltop.
The Bush Presidential Center is a governmental event. And according to Anita Ingram, assistant vice president and chief risk officer of the SMU Police Department, the Secret Service, in partnership with SMU PD, is spearheading the security details of the event.
During the week, the Secret Service will have control over any building that former presidents and President Barack Obama will enter.
Although they will have the authority to sweep and evacuate those buildings, Ingram’s office is confident that they will know ahead of time and will be able to relocate classes as needed. Ingram says that no one should expect to be abruptly interrupted by the Secret Service during class time.
But a factor that will interrupt classes is parking.
Brad Cheves, SMU’s vice president of development and external affairs, has been appointed as co-chair of the oversight committee for all preparations regarding the presidential center.
Cheves said his office is working on all logistics and will contact students with a parking plan for the week of the dedication.
Some students have asked the administration for a campus wide shut down as the best way to avoid the parking issue.
However Cheves is advising students, faculty and guests to take advantage of Mustang Express, the university’s bus shuttle.
Many, including junior Yusra Jabeen say that the bus service is already inundated. She is hoping the school will get more buses for the busy week leading into the Bush Library opening.
“They should definitely get more, I feel like it is non-negotiable,” Jabeen said. “It’s rare for them to be on time, especially in the mornings. And when they are, they are packed with passengers.”
An option, according to Cheves, is asking students to revert to Saturday parking for the week.
However, relocating student vehicles to parking lots doesn’t please some students.
“I feel like we’re students here so we should get priority,” junior Mahab Elahi said. “And it’s already difficult to find parking on campus. My friends are always late to class because of it.”
With an extra 15,000 people at SMU on the day of the opening, it is safe to assume that parking will be a headache for thousands of people.
But Elahi is not only worried about the lack of parking but also the abundance of thousands of visitors.
Among those visitors will be protestors.
World Can’t Wait, a New York- based initiative that works for the end of war crimes is planning to travel to Dallas to speak against the presidency of George W. Bush.
“A presidential library is supposed to house the way in which its presidency affected the world,” Debra Sweet, director of World Can’t Wait, said. “In this case, we expect it to be a nightmare scenario.”
Sweet said she and her organization plan to offer “the alternative view.”
“The reason we are protesting the opening,” Sweet said, “is because the eight years that Bush was in office amassed the most consistent records of both war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Because SMU is a private university, protestors will not be allowed on campus.
However the group is planning a peaceful, non-violent march, rally and demonstrations around University Park.
Many eyes will be on campus to support President Bush and protest against his library, but many students are just worried about making it to class safely and on time.
