Rushing

As rush week draws nearer and nearer, pressure is starting to be put on freshmen to join different sororities and fraternities. The active members want to make sure they have a good pledge class, and are starting to pick up their rushing. For many, including myself, it is not going to be an easy decision on which one I should join. I like people in a few different houses, but I cannot decide which one I am going to join. I have also made a great group of freshmen friends that I would like to be in the same fraternity as. However, no one is able to pull the trigger and say which one they will join. 

There are many positives in deferred rushing. It does not pressure the freshmen into making a decision without really knowing the guys or girls. It gives the freshmen time to think and make a wise choice. However, it also can put people in an awkward position. Simply going through the process of rush gives the freshmen an opportunity to meet many different people in the different houses; however, once the decision is made, you could potentially hurt someone who is in a house that you did not join. Many different people have connections (either family or friends from home) in many different houses. This forces them to automatically let one of their friends or family members down.

As it is getting down to the wire, many people are asking around what houses other people might be joining. It is an awkward situation, and I am very interested to see how it plays out.

What's with the weather?

Recently, the weather has begun to change from the heat of the summer to the bitterness of winter. Coming from Louisville, Kentucky, I know a lot about the cold because it tends to get could up there. When I was packing my bags for school, I had an image in my head of shorts and t-shorts all year long. I have now come to realize that I was vastly unprepared for the cold. 

Believe it or not, I like the cold weather. I love to snowboard and love cold lacrosse games. What I do not like about the cold in Dallas, is that I do not have enough clothes for this type of weather. I brought way too many shorts and t-shirts and not enough long sleeves. I find myself doing way too much laundry, and constantly having to re-wear things. 

It is not only the cold that is bothering me either. The weather is entirely too inconsistent here. I never know how could it is going to be outside. I can look at the temperature on my computer before class, but it is almost never right. What I have began to do is look out the window to see what other people are wearing. I usually judge what to wear off of them. Unfortunately, they have the same problem as I have and are guessing what to wear also. I am always too cold in the morning because I do not have enough clothes on, but by the time it is two o'clock, i am burning up. I do not know what to do about it, but hopefully the weather becomes more consistent.

Cafeteria Hours

 Have you ever been craving food but you have nothing else but your wallet except your student ID? Well this happened to me the other day after a night of studying. I was sick of the little selection at Mac's Place, so I decided that I would make the walk to Umphrey Lee. I left the dorm at about 8:30, and once I got there, I found out that it was closed. Once again, I had to settle for either a burger or a chicken sandwich from Mac's. This put me in a bad mood for the rest of the night. I do not know why the school thinks that students never want a real meal after 8:30. I realize that Mac's Place is very convenient, but the food gets old.

Similarly, I walked down to Mac's Place after my 8 am class, and it was closed. I did not want to get up early to get food before my class, so I figured I would just get it after. I did not have time to walk to Umphrey's, and now I had no food at all. I was just looking for a little "hold-me-over" before my next class, but instead I had to go hungry. With more hours of business in both places, students would have more options, and would be able to maintain a healthier diet.

Al Davis is crazy!!

  Al Davis, the owner of the Oakland Raiders, a team in the National Football League, is absolutely insane. In 2007, Davis hired rookie NFL coach Lane Kiffin to coach his team. When Kiffin was hired, he became the fourth Raiders coach since Jon Gruden left the team in 2001. What Davis fails to understand is that his team is rebuilding. Any team that is in the middle of a rebuilding process, cannot bounce around from coach to coach and expect to be successful every year. Even though Kiffin won four games last year, and had a 1-3 record this year, there had been rumors that he would be fired during his whole tenure. After Kiffin was fired, Davis announced that his replacement would be offensive line coach, Tom Cable. Right before the press conference to introduce Cable, Davis was being "miked up." Without knowing he was being recorded, Davis asked someone who was going to introduce Cable. The man told Davis that he should introduce Cable. Davis said that he did not really know who he was. Are you serious? You fire a coach in the middle of a rebuilding process, and then you don't even know who you hire to replace him. Davis is ridiculous when it comes to his team.

What many fail to remember is that in 2001, after the Raiders lost to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game, Davis traded Gruden to the Buccaneers. Yes, an owner traded a coach to another team. This is not players that we are talking about, a coach was traded. Davis is crazy and should not be allowed to run this franchise. It is a storied and historic franchise that he has built in Oakland; however, it seems as though Davis is trying to ruin the power that he himself built.

Have an affair discreetly?

I recently saw a commercial for a website called AshleyMadison.com. I did not know what I was watching at first. I thought that it was simply a joke commercial. The man wakes up, puts on his clothes, and walks down the stairs looking like he is trying to impress someone. Halfway down the stairs, he sees a picture of a woman in a wedding dress (his wife) with too much lipstick on (not looking very attractive I might add). His expression turns from ready to go, to I hate my life. What follows is even more disturbing.

Words come on the screen, "LIFE IS SHORT. HAVE AN AFFAIR!" Are you kidding me? I realize that many ads on television these days are directed towards the sexual side of a person, but I never thought that I would see a television commercial for a cheating website. My instinct, of course, was to pull up this website and see for myself. I found out that this really was not a joke, and this site really does set people up for an affair. It says that it is the worlds premiere discreet dating service. I was astounded by this. I thought that there was no way this was real. It had to be a joke right? Once again, it wasn't  joke. AshleyMadison.com really helps people cheat on their spouses. I hope I am not the only one who feels this way.

C'mon, we're rebuilding!!

Around campus lately, I have heard so many complaints about how our football team is so bad and how June Junes is a terrible coach. Now I will agree with many who say that our football team is not very good (especially after the TCU blowout), but I am appalled by the people who do not think that Jones is the right man for the job. 

Jones is famous for rebuilding teams. Just look at Hawaii. Jones took over an awful Hawaii team who had lost 18 games in a row. The very next season Jones led them to a 9-4 season and their first bowl appearance in a very long time. Now I know what you are thinking. Why can't he do that here? We won one game last year and we have only won one game this year. Well, SMU is playing much tougher opponents than Hawaii. Yes we were blown out by Texas Tech and TCU, but both of those schools have nationally ranked football teams. Texas Tech is in the top 10. Let's give him some time before we judge him as a coach.

Also, many people have complained about the change in quarterback. They are saying that we should play Justin Willis, the former freshman of the year in C-USA. Well according to Jones, he doesn't fit the system. Now don't get me wrong, I would love to hame a more experienced QB back there, but the truth is, we would only have that experience for one year with a quarterback who the coach doesn't really want under center. Going with Mitchell lets him get to know the offense and plant the seeds for years to come. Also, Mitchell is not doing a bad job. He has a 124.72 QB rating. This is actually very high for the amount of interceptions he has thrown. So before you judge, know that the team will get better. They will get better even this year. It is a work in progress, but let's all remember, we are rebuilding.