I am trying to figure out whether these are lies, damned lies, or statistics.

Kirk, it looks like they simply replaced U.S. News’ quantitative analyses with qualitative ones.

“might” being the key word there.

I have a question. Do you think SMU has a real influence on our city? You can see the mark of UT on Austin. You can see the mark of UNT on Denton. I don’t really see the influence of SMU on our city. It doesn’t seem to me to breed a culture that influences our city. There are some exceptions, the Theatre Department seems influential to me. Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see it.

SB, do you mean antipathy?

Wait - I graduated from UT and I work at SMU. What does that make me?

I think you can see SMU’s influence on the city — just ask those doctors who shared that North Dallas hotel with the SMU Marking-Our-Territory bunch a few weeks ago….

My SMU prof David McHam would insist the use of “you’re”, bill.

SB, I agree. SMU graduates run this city (and no, I’m not one of them). SMU is a school built upon educating successful people, and we should be very glad we have it. Liberal Arts degrees may make some people feel more intellectual, but business degrees make them successful, and SMU has the best business school in N Texas.

Arggh, the “arsehole” filter killed that last post.

I moved here a few years ago from Seattle to come to SMU because it was such a respected school, even in the Northwest. I love the school, and I love Dallas, but I can’t seem to understand why there is so much hostility towards the University from parts of the Dallas community.

Sure, we have our bad apples that “leave their mark” on some local hotels, but the majority of the student body was ashamed when informed about the incident. We do what we can to be involved around the city, and I’d like to thank the members of the community who are supportive of our efforts.

You’re right bill, both my name and the one above mine have SMU on their bios. Certainly business and law have very heavy SMU influences. Perhaps the comment about bohemians is right. Maybe that’s what I’m thinking of. I think our city is a bit poorer without colleges fueling an underground type scene.

On the other hand, UTD recently announced:
http://www.utdallas.edu/news/a.....3-001.html

So, as a graduate SMUGRAD, do you think that the school is influencing our city in an apparent way?

I didn’t intend a criticism, it was a question.

SMU is regarded as one of the best business schools in the country, while at the same time Dallas is continually lauded for having an almost “recession-proof” economy. There’s definitely a connection there.

It’s true that SMU doesn’t churn out authors, poets, philosophers, etc., that the traditional University setting is synonymous with. SMU churns out business leaders who know how to make money and in turn create jobs for others.

Why does every Texan with any sensibility and wit despise SMU? Is it merely a joke, a local gag? Not at all -– there are good and sufficient reasons for this serious and widespread attitude. Why pick on SMU? Because it typifies, concentrates and exaggerates most everything that is rotten about Dallas: it’s vulgar -– not only cultureless but anticultural; it’s rich in a brazen, vulgar, graceless way; it combines the bigotry and sheer animal ignorance of the Old South with the aggressive, ruthless, bustling dollar-crazy brutality of the Yankee East and then attempts to hide this ugliness under a façade. The trouble with SMU: it’s ugly, noisy, mean-spirited, mediocre and false.

Why is it if a university isn’t associated with the worst society has to offer (I’m looking right at you Berkeley and Columbia), then it’s considered “cultureless?”

Students interested in business, law, politics = entitled, ignorant bigots.

Students interested in reading obscure authors no one cares about, learning dead languages, and ******** about everything = cultured, classy and dignified.

I think this entire line of thought traces it’s roots back to the starving artist hating the business man for actually being able to make a living doing what he loves. Dallas isn’t a city for beatniks and people like Daniel are pissed about it.

Daniel - I wish you would take a few courses in the Meadows School of the Arts before making such sweeping pronouncements. SMU is more than the B school, but there are nice people in all the various schools — not everyone is from the Park Cities, thank God.

Let’s see, either (A) Daniel didn’t get accepted to attend SMU or (B) Daniel’s girlfriend dumped him for an SMU grad or (C) both.

Fair enough, Wildcat, and let me take this opp to attribute my post to Edward Abbey — I merely substituted “SMU” for Texas, and “Texas” and “Dallas” for America, plus nipped and tucked a phrase or two.

The world hates America, Americans hate Texas, Texans hate Dallas, and Dallasites hate SMU. For all the same reasons.

Edward Abbey is exactly the kind of misanthrope that SMU doesn’t produce. Pissed off at the world, but nobody really cared what he had to say.

“I’d rather be broke down and lost in the wilds of Big Bend, any day, than wake up some morning in a penthouse suite high above the megalomania of Dallas or Houston.”
-Edward Abbey, “Big Bend”

Well, dammit, SB, if I don’t agree with you there. I hate Edward Abbey. But that particular quote has become a classic, and it does apply quite nicely to SMU.

It would drive me bonkers to live in the smug environs of Berkeley or Boulder, but Dallas could use a substantial dose of the culture-for-culture’s sake that people like you find so secondary to commerce. Man does not live by bread alone. In short, we could use a university, and we don’t really have one. Business schools are fine, too; I’m not agin them the way you’re agin artists.

Abbey was a malcontent ******, it’s true, but he hit that one right out of the park.

Daniel, genius quote. Do you mind if I try to fit it onto a bumper sticker which will be placed right by my “SMU: Our maids went to Texas” sticker?

Full disclosure, I went to both SMU and Texas.

thought that quote looked/sounded vaguely familiar

daniel, i’m usually right there with ya on most topics here on FB and i kinda am here, but i’m an abbey fan and have been since reading a fool’s progress about 10 years ago, late to that monkey wrenh gang game, yes, but a fan nonetheless

so get back to slamming SMU and leave old dead Ed out of it

now about that flooding of Glen Canyon…

SMU total enrollment 11,000 Dallas Population 1,200,000 Average SAT 1336 (B School)

UNT total enrollment 34,268 Denton Population 109,561 Average SAT 1105

UT total enrollment 52,273 Austin Population 656,562 Average SAT 1275 (B School)

It is not hard to see why UNT has a more visible impact on Denton, UT has a more visible impact on Austin than SMU’s subtle impact on dallas.

As far as football being a joke, let’s see what would happen to USC football/sports if they were treated the same way for their Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo violations as SMU was treated. They don’t even get a hand slap. It was not a misnomer to call it the death penalty for SMU.

Sorry to bore you with STATS - my stats prof at SMU was hot and I did pay attention.

Daniel,

If SMU had gangs and drugs, would that qualify as culture? Maybe some emo bands that nobody gives a damn about?

I hate to break it to you, but the culture at SMU, a culture of success, is what we need more of, not your drugs should be legal, live in my mom’s basement, wait tables until I’m 40 culture.

I’m still scratching my head at your self title: “soon-to-be recent SMU grad” Sooo… a long way of saying student. I’ll have to try that one out for myself… maybe “soon-to-be recent former alcoholic”?

Or maybe for SMU, “soon-to-be former haven for future family biz inheriting underachievers”?

Awwww, just joshin’ with ya. I know this is an extreme exaggeration - many of you SMU grads certainly won’t be expected to actually run the family biz. The very idea…

SB,
Importing paintings from Europe to amuse bourgeois dilettantes is not the same thing as having a vibrant art scene — which Dallas does, to a reasonable extent, don’t get me wrong, it’s just that it’s embarrassingly ghettoized for a city this size. Art scenes just aren’t tidy and Protestant and sanitized enopugh for this town.

Dallasite,
I hate to break it to you, but SMU does have drugs — and lots of them. In an unrelated story, it has culture, as well, but again, it’s embarrassingly ghettoized. One stroll down Snyder Plaza is all you need to know about SMU. This is a pathetic excuse for a university. Sorry, people, I’m just the messenger here.

Bet none of you SMU experts know the first name of Ownby Stadium, now Ford Stadium. And why???

I think the underlying notion of all Daniel’s rhetoric is that Dallas isn’t gay enough.

There, I said it.

I’m 30 and have a base salary of 175K + bonuses that can nearly double that. I make almost triple what my father made at the height of his career.

Thank you SMU.

he’s a pretty impressive list of SMU alumni-Dallas would not be the same without the contributions of some many on this list.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.....ity_people

I don’t see why it’s a surprise to people that SMU would rank so high. About 40% of lawyers at big firms in DFW are SMU Law grads. That’s more than any other law school, including UT. The same goes for business leaders. DFW is the 4th largest metro area in the nation. SMU provides endless and abundant job opportunities. You really have to try, in order to graduate from SMU business or law and not have a job.