Every student at SMU understands the sanctity of the seal in Dallas Hall. If not, they should. So why was there a table placed directly on the seal last night? The answer? A dinner attempting to recruit Presidential and Hunt scholars.
Never mind that a table was placed directly on the seal while the cleanup was going down. Or that having a dinner in Dallas Hall (versus other locations such as rooms in Meadows) is free. The dinner disrupted night classes in Dallas Hall and showed a lack of respect for the seal and other venues on the SMU campus.
Ed Board doesn’t understand why the university could not have hosted it at another venue that was less obtrusive to students who are currently attending the university.
Those students who braved the jungle of tables, chairs, waiters and university guests were brushed aside for the sake of recruitment — during class time. Last time Ed Board checked, the paying students were doing just that — paying. Prospective students are important, but they aren’t paying.
On the flip side, how would you feel if you were a prospective student and saw tons of students coming to the top of the stairs and turning around, going through the back entrance to Dallas Hall and searching for an alternate route only to have to disrupt the dinner. Not only that, these aren’t typical prospective students, they’re potential university scholars, so no doubt they’re used to preferential treatment from other institutions. Is this the best SMU has to offer them in terms of a dinner venue?
The members of Ed Board would be embarrassed on either side of the issue.
The dinner did not go unnoticed by professors, either. Seminar classes let out early due to the high amount of noise coming from the Rotunda. Other professors teaching were just as miffed as students to have to walk through a dinner party.
Lastly, Ed Board wonders why the university cut costs on the dinner. It was brought to Ed Board’s attention by a not-so-happy professor that the Rotunda can host dinners for free while other rooms cost some cash.
Ed Board believes the solution to this problem is easy — fork over a little money for an alternative venue. Sure, the Rotunda is a beautiful place to have dinner, but not when classes are in session two feet away. Not only is it disrespectful to current students, it shows a lack of effort in recruiting efforts. As for that chair on the seal, looks like it won’t graduate in four years after all.
