The muddy muddy Muddler

As a new student on campus I was both surprised and amused when I heard of, well rather read of, the campus mock publication, The Muddler . The paper is filled with vulgar language, libel and humorous stories of campus life taken just a LOT bit too far. Personally, I enjoy the publication but I would imagine that certain groups of people on campus, mainly the "Dayly Campus" writers would feel a bit offended. Though this paper is widely read and talked about, I would imagine that some people would have much to say about this lack of censorship. I guess my question is, do you think that The Muddler takes freedom of the press a little too far? Recently The Muddler published a May 2010 edition of this satirical paper. Personally, I feel they went a little far with the Picking Up Abroad article and photos. Photos of women with little to no clothes, and nothing at all grazed the pages of this paper. The question that's grazing readers' minds is 'What will that think of next?'

Hungry HUNRGY weekends

As a current college student here at SMU I have seen many things on campus I wish to change, one issue that has definitely struck a nerve of mine and many other SMU students is that of the food situation. Now I know you're probably thinking 'OMG will she STOP with the food talk', but I promise my approach is not the same as others. My issue isn't with the taste or the service; my issue is with the hours of operation.

Being a college student is definitely difficult at times to come up with money to eat out on the weekends, but here at SMU we are forced to pull our change together and scoop up meals EVERY weekend. Beginning Friday evening at 2:15 (such a random time) Mac's Place closes its doors to hungry youth. Soon after that, the ghost town of SMU eateries begins to unveil itself.

I ask myself this question all the time, "Does SMU think we're made of money?" What kind of image are they providing when EVERY dining establishment on campus shuts its doors for the entire weekend. I guess you really could head on over to Ump for a big whooping plate of cold cuts and Texas-shaped waffles.

Change is definitely needed as far as the dining hours are concerned. For now, I guess I'll stock up on chips and cookies from Mac's Place in hopes of surviving that long, food-less weekend.

Off Campus lIving

As the school year comes to an end, many soon-to-be sophomores are finding their place as adults. With summer quickly approaching, and fall semester lagging not too far behind, housing plans are on every one's minds. This year, SMU has implemented a new Housing policy that allows residents to be included in a 'lottery' for first dibs for on-campus housing. With this in mind, many first years were forced to look elsewhere for a place to stay simply because they didn't make the cut.

I have heard numerous stories of current first-years and how their parents don't support the idea of them being commuters just yet. Nonetheless, these students, and many others are looking towards outside sources for housing.

My question is, though we as college students are technically adults, should there be a policy put into action that guaranteed returning Sophomores housing privileges before the upperclassmen? Personally, I was a lucky individual that got housing again for next year, but I would also like to live off campus but by my personal choice, not because I was forced to.

Health care : Beneficial Bill or Social Bust?

As you may know, in the United States, Congress is passing the Health Care Bill Reform that would require most people living in America to have Health Care. Though there are some exceptions to this mandate (illegal immigrants and certain religious individuals) the Bill is reforming the country as a whole.

Divulging into the Bill, I think it has both positive and negative affects. To understand the Bill I read numerous articles online that are geared to break down the bill, its time line, and the individuals who would be incurring costs.

Overall I think the Bill will prove to be extremely beneficial to the greater American population because many people would be eligible to have financial aid support them in efforts to acquire this new health care. The only draw back is that healthcare taxes would increase for the extremely wealthy in order to provide funds for the lower and middle class Americans.

Another positive for the health care industry is that they will be bombarded with young and generally healthy individuals , who probably wouldn't have gotten insurance before, which would account for the money the industry losses because they would not be able to deny coverage to those individuals with preexisting conditions.

Examples of preexisting conditions are cancer diagnosis and pregnancy, which in my opinion are conditions which insurance should definitely cover no matter when the person gets the policy.

Although some people don' t agree with the bill, I am definitely for it because its a dramatic change that the U.S.A definitely needs.

Celebs and the Lime lite : Do we expect too much

As I was browsing an article on the web about ex-NBA start Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf I begin to go back in my mind to the fidelity incident and Tiger Woods apology to his fans. Abdul-Rauf played in the NBA years ago, and in March of 1996, refused to stand during the Star Spangled Banner for his religious beliefs. Abdul-Rauf, a born Muslim, didn't feel the necessity to stand and uphold the tradition of honoring God.

Because of this, Rauf was initially booed and ridiculed with hate mail and eventually was suspended from the league. Similar to that of Tiger Woods, and many other celebrities, its the fans that feel they need to apology.

This particular article struck me as interesting because personally I don't understand why fans feel that they are the one's who deserve the apology when it comes to the mistakes that celebrities make. Like when Woods lost numerous endorsements and publicly apologized for his adultery. I don't feel that neither of these men owed fans anything.

New Year, New Things?

As my first year as a college student is coming near an end, I sit and assess the things in my life and how they have changed. It's crazy how even with all the growing I have done in the past semester and a half, there's still many things I still haven't grasped. I guess the old saying holds true, "the more you learn, the more you realize you don't know". Above all, what surprises me the most is how many college stories I've found to be completely untrue.

Take for instance the myth about how either in college your going to party and drink all the time, or you'll be stuck in your room studying like crazy. Me personally, although college is a sense of freedom, I'm still pretty close to home so I never go off the deep end and party like crazy. The myth that really got to me the most was definitely the one about long-distance relationships. In some cases this college story has held true, I mean I know people who as soon as they stepped foot on campus their relationships was doomed. Me personally, I know that this story is just that, a myth. I know plenty of people who came to this campus in a long-distance relationship and it has actually survived this long.

It's funny because I was the one who claimed I'd never EVER be in that type of commitment from such a distance. It gets better with time I guess. It's extremely difficult but then again, like with any other friendship, you find ways to make it work. Skype has definitely become my best friend this year. It's the next best thing than having those loved one's in the same room.

I guess coming to college I never really realized just how many young people are willing to go out on a limb and make their relationships work, even from afar. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one here trying so hard at something many college students claim is virtually impossible. Many couples involved in such relationships claim that they would be doomed if it weren't for Skype, and I'm just about convinced that they are right.

I know that anything we as college students put our minds to , we can achieve. With lots of will and some extreme dedication the 'new year' as a college freshman doesn't just have to be about partying it up, it can also lead meaningful connections that test out just how string you really are.

Alcohol on SMU campus...again!

Last week, former Texas Commissioner Lee William "Bill" McNutt III was arrested for trespassing on SMU campus after he was banned for allegedly providing minors with alcohol. This whole alcohol problem on campus is getting out of hand. The article says that students consistently complain about this particular individual. With all that has happened on campus including numerous A.V.'s (alcohol violations) of this first-year class, I guess I just never really thought that the students here would actually report some crazy old guy who offers to supply beer. Maybe its just me and I see only one-side of the picture, but the people that I have witnessed, those first-years who come home drunk at least twice a week and barf their guts out in my bathroom, I just never really pictured anyone having enough guts to report this kind of behavior. Clearly my presumption was wrong which makes me extremely happy, the only sad thing in my eyes is how SMU never really sends out a campus-wide alert when we are on the news. Once again, I had to hear about this incident from my family members. I guess its just pathetic to me how someone with such a high role in this community would stoop so low as to hinder the lives of young people in college. But I do applaud those students who were strong enough to say no and to report such negligent behavior.