With the kick-off of SMU’s Second Century Campaign, new buildings are going up all over campus. President Turner often says, “life is too short to go to school on an ugly campus.” With all its buildings matching from brick color to window trim, the SMU campus could easily be mistaken for a country club. Although its main building, Dallas Hall, is a little over 100 years only, its ceiling painted with gold, is breath taking. The newer buildings on campus are LEED Gold certified, meaning that they meet a set of strict environmental standards in addition to being astheically pleasing. As if the academic buildings weren’t impressive, SMU has just recently completed the Dedman Center Lifetime Center for Sports, which features a 165,000-sq.-ft. expansion, along with a climbing wall, water park, 15,000-sq.-ft. weight room, new volleyball and basketball courts, new gym equipment, an outdoor adventure area with tents and kayak checkouts, a recreational pool, an expanded track, and much more.
The campus in general is gorgeous and worth bragging about. Every year, SMU makes new plans to improve each and every school building as well as things like roads and parking garages. At first glance, one can see the green shrubbery and flowers all over campus, which is a plus because most of Texas’s grass is yellow. The more you walk around this campus, the more you will see how nice the facilities look. Don’t be dismayed if you see sidewalks and buildings being ripped apart—construction never ends here. From its enormous fountains to its unrealistically green grass, SMU seems to redefine the word, “manicured.” On a nice day students sit out on the lawn, enjoying the Dallas sun and the satisfaction of a beautiful college.