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Happy Thanksgiving from the Hilltop!

Thanksgiving-PhotosBy Ryan Herrscher

Finals are just over the horizon with winter break and December graduation on the other side. All of those things bring stress, happiness, joy, and a general sense of excitement to our campus. This week though, we pause our hectic schedules and push aside the busyness of our daily routines. Thanksgiving provides a much needed break and an opportunity to look back and give thanks for the experiences that make up our lives. My time at SMU has been one of the defining experiences in my life and I know I will continue to be thankful for the opportunities I have had long after this Thanksgiving and my graduation in May. Regardless of where you find yourself this Thursday, I hope you are able to find things in your life to be thankful for as well.

We will not have any posts on the blog for the next week as many of us will be back home with our families or around Dallas with friends. In the meantime, I think I speak for all the Ambassadors when I say happy Thanksgiving and Pony Up!

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Campus Life

Homecoming 2014: Crown the King and Queen

Untitled3By Adam Melson

As the fall semester ends and the temperature drops, its a telltale sign that Homecoming is near. This past Homecoming weekend was again one of the best weekends of the fall semester.

(Pictured: 2014 Homecoming King Kyle Cantrell representing Beta Upsilon Chi and 2014 Homecoming Queen Taylor Goerke representing Chi Omega)

Alumni from all years past came back to the Hilltop to celebrate being a Mustang and relieve their college years. To kick off the weekend, the SMU men’s basketball team kicked off their season with a win at Moody Coliseum. The celebration continued the next day with the Homecoming parade and the Boulevard. So many organizations were represented by floats on the parade, which was led by SMU alum and star of the Office, Brian Baumgartner. The Homecoming Boulevard was a welcoming reminder of all the support and spirit for SMU. The festivities stretched from Dallas Hall down to the tip of the Boulevard and each tent was a representation of the community spirit of our organizations on campus. It was incredible to see the blocks of Hillcrest avenue and the boulevard teeming with fans cheering for SMU. Unfortunately this was my last Homecoming parade and Boulevard of my undergraduate years, but I look forward to coming back to Homecoming each year as an alumni member.

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Campus Life

Homecoming 2014: Winter is Coming

By Katie Maiers

This past weekend, I experienced two special occasions here at SMU; it was a weekend of welcoming alumni, but it was also a weekend of welcoming some the coldest temperatures this season. Sun or snow, the weekend was full of excitement and energy as campus welcomed alumni, families, and friends to campus for the traditional Homecoming festivities. My parents also came up from Austin for the weekend, and it was actually the first time that they’ve seen campus aside from move-in days!

Before the Homecoming activities kicked off on Saturday afternoon, I took my parents around campus and showed them some of my favorite features about SMU. Naturally, I took them up to the 3rd floor of Dallas Hall to show them my favorite view of Dallas. I also took them into the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum where they were amazed by the beautiful design, architecture, and content. We then fueled up for the Homecoming Parade by stocking up on carbs at one of my favorite Dallas pizzerias, Olivella’s.

The parade this year was my favorite one yet. The floats were incredible, and they included special guests such as Woody and Jessie from Toy Story, Aladdin and Jasmine, and even Jay-Z and Beyoncé to coincide with this year’s theme, “Dynamic Duos.” It’s always amazing to see the results of the countless hours that students put in in order to create the floats.

We then ventured to the boulevard where I was able to introduce my parents to my friends and their families. My favorite part of this boulevard, however, was being able to introduce my parents to an SMU alum who provided me with an amazing internship this past summer at a local advertising agency. It was great to connect my parents with someone who is not only a former boss, but also a great friend and fellow Mustang. After cheering on our Mustangs and the Homecoming candidates at an especially chilly Ford Stadium, it was time to call it a night and a day well spent.

I’ve always enjoyed Homecoming weekend because I consider it to be a weekend that celebrates SMU’s past, present, and future by continuing and creating traditions. This year, Homecoming definitely lived up to its expectations!

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Campus Life

Homecoming 2014: Pomping and Parading

Untitled2By Kathleen Batman

Homecoming is one of the best times to be on campus. So many alumni come back to celebrate SMU and it’s a lot of fun to participate in all of the events during the week leading up to the football game. The biggest event is always the homecoming parade where organizations present their floats and drive through campus. Organizations spend hours upon hours building their floats and pomping (filling chicken wire with small pieces of tissue paper). The homecoming candidates representing the organizations always get to ride on the float during the parade. I was lucky enough to ride on the float of Nineteen11, which is an organization I have been apart of since I was a freshman. I got to dress up as Minnie Mouse and wave to people on the parade route and hand out footballs. It was such an amazing experience. I had a blast celebrating my last homecoming as an undergraduate and am looking forward to next years as an alum.

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Campus Life

Opportunities Abound at Tate Lectures

By Mehdi Hami

As a student at Garland High School, I first learned about SMU through the Tate Lecture Series. I would attend as many Student Forums as I could as a high school student. Tate Student Forums are interactive (and free) sessions with world changers, and also got me extra credit in my high school Physics course. At the time, I loved the Tate Lecture Series because it boosted my grades in a course that I knew little about, Untitledbut I did not realize the impact it would have beyond that.

As I stated earlier, the Tate Lecture Series was when I first learned about SMU and the amazing opportunities available here. At the time, I only thought of the extra credit I’d receive for my Physics class. Now, I think back on seeing the likes of Buzz Aldrin and Clarence Thomas and wonder at being able to ask them questions about their lives.

Ever year, a student moderates the Student Forum and gets to spend time with each speaker. The Student Forum is open to high school student, SMU students, and community members to attend and even ask questions. In addition to that, SMU students can attend the Lecture in the evening for free by showing up to McFarlin Auditorium with a student ID. This year, every single Lecture has been sold out, but SMU students can still attend for free!

The Tate Lectures are an essential part of the SMU experience and one that even high school students can experience.

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SMU Abroad

SMU Abroad: Bonjour from Paris

IMG_8258By Shauna Davis

To be honest, it wasn’t until seeing the Eiffel Tower and the city of Paris from thousands of feet in the air that it hit me: I would be living, breathing and eating in France for three and a half months. At that moment I freaked out.   Surely I must have said “this is by far the coolest thing I’ve ever done!” thirty times before touching the ground.  The same thought runs through my mind every day.  I’m constantly reminded of what an incredible experience it is to be here in Paris, learning a new language, studying, traveling around Europe, experiencing a different culture and being pushed out of my comfort zone.  I could write a book on all I’ve learned thus far.

I surely miss the boulevarding, my buddies and BROWN BAG, but this opportunity is one I am so happy not to have passed up during my four years as a Mustang.  As a dance major, there is no better place to spend time than one with a rich and diverse history of art.   I’ve found a local dance studio where I’m known as the American girl who speaks ‘Franglais’ and  I feel so much apart of the community here! Paris has made me a more independent, knowledgable and aware global citizen and I’ll carry that with me always. It will be bittersweet to say au revoir to Paris but I am so excited to be welcomed back into big, beautiful Texas in a few short months! Ah!  See you soon SMU.