Scholar Spotlight | Jump-starting political organizations on campus

scholar spotlight Drew Wicker
HCM Tower Scholar Drew Wicker speaks to his congressional district at the 2016 Texas Republican Convention.

For this month’s Scholar Spotlight we interviewed SMU Senior and HCM Tower Scholar Drew Wicker about his political activism on campus. Wicker is majoring in finance and plans to attend graduate school after graduating from SMU in May.

Event Recap | The Duty to Disobey Illegal Nuclear Strike Orders

With President Trump’s increasingly provocative tweets directed at North Korea and Kim Jong-un, people have becoming increasingly concerned with the seemingly unquestioned power the president has to order nuclear strikes. SMU Professor of Law Anthony Colangelo was no different. He drafted a paper on why there is a duty to disobey illegal nuclear strike orders, believing that in most scenarios, but not all, the use of such weapons would constitute a war crime.

Speaker Q&A | The Life and Ideas of Liu Xiaobo

perry link discusses liu xiaobo
China expert Perry Link speaks at the SMU
Tower Center-Asian Studies program Feb. 8.

The SMU Tower Center and Asian Studies hosted Perry Link, author and translator of many influential works on Chinese language, literature, human rights and cultural history, at SMU Feb. 8 for the program “The Life and Ideas of Liu Xiaobo.” Liu Xiaobo was China’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate before he died in July while still serving a prison sentence for inciting subversion of the state. He was an outspoken critic of both the West and China, a poet, and a scholar. HCM Tower Scholar Destiny Rose Murphy interviewed Link about his research into Xiaobo’s life before the program.

Symposium Recap | Japan-Mexico-Texas: Exploring Politics and Economics

Japan Mexico Texas Tower Center
The First panel discusses the politics of Japan, Mexico and Texas Jan. 30.

The SMU Tower Center Sun & Star Program on Japan and East Asia partnered with the SMU Mission Foods Texas-Mexico Center for an all-day discussion of the Japan-Mexico-Texas economic and political relationship Jan. 30.

Student Blog | Gente-fication: The Changing Face of Urban Development

genteficationThe SMU Tower Center and Latino Center for Leadership and Development co-hosted a policy forum discussing “gente-fication” and various policy solutions that could reduce the impact of the rising costs of housing and amenities for low-income locals. HCM Tower Scholar Destiny Rose Murphy wrote about what she learned.


Event Recap | An Economist’s Case for Free Migration

economic case for free migration
Benjamin Powell presents at the SMU Tower Center Jan. 31.

Benjamin Powell, director of the Free Market Institute and professor of economics at Texas Tech University, visited the SMU Tower Center to give a lecture on why free migration makes economic sense.

The economic case for migration is simple: the more freely the factors of production, such as goods and services, natural resources, and labor, can move, the more efficient and productive the economy will be. Obviously, natural resources cannot be moved, which means the movement of labor is important in order to harness as much creative and productive potential as possible.

Student Experience | Japan-U.S. Relations in the Changing World

The SMU Tower Center Sun & Star Japan-East Asia Program hosted the discussion “Japan-U.S. Relations in the Changing World” featuring Naoyuki Agawa, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, Jan. 30. SMU Junior and HCM Tower Scholar Destiny Rose Murphy wrote about her experience at the event.

Center Spotlight | Dominique Baker

Center Spotlight Dominique BakerDominique Baker wants to make it possible for all students to have equitable opportunities. She is an assistant professor of education policy at SMU’s Simmons School and an associate at the SMU Tower Center. We sat down with her to talk about her journey to SMU and how her research could lead to more thoughtful education policies.