Some might argue that SMU does not have the makings for a “true” college experience. Talk to any transfer or graduate on campus, and you may find that their perspective differs from the average SMU-ite on what to expect when attending a liberal institution of higher learning.
I know SMU did not immediately meet my expectations of college life. For example, people move into upscale apartments with furniture that costs more than $1,000. I expected blow up furniture and beanbags.
Similarly, I’ve only witnessed two student protests since my arrival (unless you count frat parties as organized political activism against the mandated 21-year-old drinking law).
In the past, poor attendance and fledgling student support at football games has made for a dismal affair. Even the most successful teams on campus rarely bring in a worthy crowd.
Important decisions by Student Senate affecting the far reaches of SMU life go relatively unnoticed and unadvertised. Community service efforts could be more encompassing, and more widespread among students.
Discussions in class could use more lively informed debate. Real “discussion” should take the place of high school’s espouse-my-own -opinion-but-learn-nothing chatter.
Campus pranks like creating massive soup suds in the fountain, streaking, or “redecorating” major buildings on campus are at an all-time low.
Some believe that the average SMU kid is too rich; they lack the desperation of a financially challenged college student. SMU-ies are bored with the cheap-but-unlike-anything-you-might-find-outside-of-college racket. Why go to a student-discounted Tate Lecture or Meadows production when Broadway is a phone call and Daddy’s credit card away?
The spoiled brat theory is plausible, but doesn’t account for all SMU students. Opposite the possibility of early onset ennui is the case for the super-sheltered.
Perhaps it’s the SMU-sters first time in the big city, and they are maintaining the small-minded conformity that comes with an adolescence spent in all-white, middle to upper class, communities. Maybe they miss the small-town high school where everyone looked and acted like you. Maybe they are from Plano.
Whatever the explanation, I’ve heard many theories on why our fine school can prove to be lame. But I’m not buying it any more. I believe the SMU crowd has red-hot potential that could singe ivy-clad brick buildings, and burn the Birkenstocks off a Berkeley undergrad.
Okay perhaps I overstated my thesis, but SMU can now be more interesting, stimulating, diverse and challenging than ever before. All we need is a little more effort from a seemingly apathetic student body.
Since a few of us are not accustomed to unbridled freethinking, I have a few suggestions to get everyone started. In order to claim our higher education we must be interested in, well, our higher education.
SMU students cannot make a difference on campus if they don’t know how to work the system. Master Access.smu as soon as humanly possible. Do not be embarrassed to ask multiple questions multiple times in order to become a pro.
Go “class shopping”: occasionally sit in on classes you might take in the future. Once your enrolled, drop the class if it bores you, but never drop because a class is difficult, meets at 8:00 a.m., or takes too much time out of your social schedule.
First, we must rebel against a skill developed so fully in high school – making excuses. And forget your SAT score, ACT score, and high school GPA. We could care less because it doesn’t matter anymore.
Avoid being intimidated by course descriptions that read: “By Permission of Instructor Only.” Visit the professor and get permission.
Whether you plan on being an engineer, scientist or the next Bill Gates, take advantage of your compulsory Rhetoric, and learn to express yourself well in writing – an invaluable tool for the “real world”.
Cling to your undecided major as long a possible. When you declare a major, change it at least once.
Speak a foreign language as much as possible, and study abroad.
Learn the meaning of Post-Modernism. Have a full understanding of basic supply and demand. Read Plato’s Republic, John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty, and Marx and Engel’s Communist Manifesto.
Discuss whether Marx’s idea of alienation and exploitation in the workplace is still relevant today. (Do this over coffee.)
Read, read, and read. Read for class, and read for pleasure regardless of your compulsory course load. Everyone should read Raymond Carver, Anne Tyler and Eudora Welty. Read anything by Chekhov or Dostoevsky, but not if your depressed. Read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
Take any class that has Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov on the reading list. Take a class for music appreciation, modern dance, voice lessons or sculpting.
Subscribe to a new magazine each year. May I suggest: Freshman: Rolling Stone. Sophomore: Interview. Junior: The Economist. Senior: Atlantic Monthly.
Make a habit of listening to NPR (National Public Radio), or reading the New Yorker.
Appreciate the arts even if you’re not a Meadows prodigy. Attend a brown bag.
Know the difference between Monet and Manet and David Mamet. Go to club Dada in Deep Ellum and know about the art that inspired it’s name.
Read Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and watch Apocalypse Now in the same weekend. Then return to the civilized world of SMU on Monday morning.
Develop a good viewing base in film, other than comedies with Adam Sandler. Develop a fetish for a particular director like Hitchcock, Polanski, Kubrick or Woody Allen. See at least three films that are part of French New Wave.
Spend a significant amount of time volunteering, working in community enhancement programs, or fighting for a cause you believe in strongly. If you have no passions, work to find some, or fear becoming a truly boring individual.
While focusing on your mind, maintain your physical health. Exercise even if you never considered yourself an athlete. Play mud football. Ride the bike trails around the city. Take yoga, ultimate Frisbee or karate classes.
Support all athletes on campus who actually have talent. Attend tailgating and the football game afterwards. Make it a point to see all of the women’s sports teams compete before you leave SMU. Also serve as a booster for less supported club teams.
And of course, one must leave time to master the finer arts of a vibrant social life. Be sure to learn a bar trick using straws, napkins, quarters, coasters, shot glasses or cherry stems. Learn to tap a keg. Throw a themed party. Indulging in alcohol is not necessary to do any of the above.
With a little effort we can increase the overall diversity and depth of the student body as a whole. No more apathy, ignorance or vapid drones will be tolerated.