The Daily Campus would like to congratulate all the students on  surviving the 2010-11 school year. This past year has been full of  surprises, such as the existence of school spirit and a winning  football team.

Last week, Editorial Board highlighted some events of the past  academic year. In this week’s edition, we look to the upcoming school  year and share some of our hopes and aspirations:

In 2009, the SMU football team had its first winning season and its  first bowl game berth since 1984—the end of a 25-year drought. Next  year, we would like to see the Mustangs continue its winning path and  make it to the next level, a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) bowl.

SMU has had too many issues in the past regarding drug- and alcohol- related injuries and deaths. One main demographic this addresses is  the freshman class. Upperclassmen should not encourage the abuse of  these substances to the incoming students, but demonstrate responsibility in social settings. We hope that the next year will see  fewer problems with alcohol and drug abuse.

This past year, the student campus rose up and joined together in the  face of several heated issues, such as LGBT and the new mustangs. We  hope that students continue to stay involved, for they are what makes  SMU’s experience great. However, some students remained apathetic,  refusing to choose a side and get involved. We would like to encourage  them to care about their campus and its issues.

As senate addresses these controversial issues, they voted and made  decisions on behalf of the student body. When taking these votes,  student senate does so without taking record of who voted for what. When it comes time for the students to chose their future body  officers, there is no way to find out how each one voted on issues— they can only know what legislation they contributed to. We would like  to see the institution of mandatory roll call voting. This increased  transparency would greatly benefit the SMU student body and hold their elected senators accountable.

On another issue of transparency, SMU could do even more for its  supporters and its student body. If the SMU Board of Trustees held  open board meetings, the students would be able to hold its board  accountable in the decisions that they make.

This past year was a great one: let’s make the next one even better.