By Jack Murphy
Without a doubt, one of the most popular traditions SMU hosts in the winter is the famed “Celebration of Lights.” Students since the 1970s will talk about their magical experience singing along to Christmas carols with their friends while sipping on hot chocolate on the steps of Dallas Hall. I am proud to say Celebration of Lights is my favorite event not just because of the night’s magical allure, but because this December I was given the opportunity to plan all the festivities.
One thing that makes SMU so great is they treat their students with opportunities that other universities cannot offer. Other schools only let the administration take part in organizing their Homecomings, Family Weekends, and big traditions on campus. At SMU, it’s up to student organizations to plan the university’s largest events. I was tasked with organizing Celebration of Lights (also known to our planning committee as “COL”) for 2014 and I was up for the challenge. After putting together a committee of experienced and ambitious students, we started our planning process. We chose that this year’s event would feature a live webcast for alumni and parents to watch from anywhere in the country. This new addition was a huge step in COL history, and our team is very proud to be the first to bring SMU’s biggest tradition into everyone’s home and to their smartphones.
At the end of the day, we put up more than 140,000 Christmas lights and over 300 luminarias lining the sidewalks, set out 140 gallons of hot chocolate and apple cider and 40 dozen Tiff’s Treats cookies, sponsored 82 children from the Dallas CASA Angel Tree program who have been affected by domestic violence, listened to SMU’s talented students perform songs of the season, SMU President R. Gerald Turner read the Christmas story, and we lit up Dallas Hall the SMU Christmas tree as we celebrated the holiday season.
You can watch Celebration of Lights 2014 here at smu.edu/live!