“Breach of the Peace”

This year, for Program Council's annual Spring Concert, the students of Southern Methodist University were promised performances by Girl Talk and Big Boi. The concert; however, ended up being a campus-wide disappointment. After drawing a large crowd, around 1,400 people, to Doak Walker Plaza the concert was shut down prematurely by the University Park police. The crowd never had the opportunity to experience the main event, Girl Talk's performance. The show was pulled from stage after a mere forty-five minutes of Big Boi. The reason? The police department recieved too many noise complaints from the people of University Park. Despite being forewarned about the concert, they complained and we suffered. The fate of the concert lay in the hands of the police, since they have the ultimate say, and they chose to pull the plug. I have to wonder, if you live that close to University campus isn't occasional high noise levels to be expected? Being in attendance, I can tell you that we produce the same if not higher volume levels at night football games.

Relay for Life

On the evening of April 9th, SMU's faculty, students, and even members of the nearby community joined together on the Boulevard to participate in Relay for Life. The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is an event aimed at celebrating the lives of people who have battled cancer, remembering loved ones lost, and fighting back against the disease. The Relays last all-night as a metaphor for the fact that cancer never sleeps. During the event at SMU, teams set up camps all along the Boulevard and participants took turns walking laps around Bishop Boulevard. It was very nice to see individuals from the various campus communities show up and band together to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The Boulevard was packed with participants who were playing games, cooking food, listening to the live bands, dancing, and so on. Opportunities involving the entire campus coming together are rare, which made Relay For Life even more enjoyable. Of course, the most important part of the evening was the fact that together we helped raise money and awareness for cancer!