Spring Break
Majority of SMU students not of Methodist faith
Mallory McCall, Contributing Writer mmccall@smu.edu
Issue date: 4/22/09 Section: News
Methodist students can apply through their church conferences for scholarships, but the university does not offer any benefits for being Methodist.
"The United Methodist Church owns Southern Methodist University. It's not that the university is historically tied to the denomination," said Lawrence, who also serves as the appointed director of church relations for the office of the president.
SMU came into existence because Methodist people raised the first dollars to build it. Dallas Hall was built, and is still here, because Methodists during the first two decades of the 20th century raised the money to build it.
Since Methodism was created in the 18th century, the church has found it a duty to participate in higher education at the university level. The hope is that the university will prepare people to be better doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, ministers and so on, said Lawrence.
For students, like sophomore psychology major Blake Danner and junior finance major Alex Igleheart, the school's Methodist affiliation had nothing to do with their application process. They heard that the "Methodist" didn't really mean anything anymore, so they just took it for face value.
Sophomore Maddie Holmes is Catholic, and junior Lisa Rodriguez is Jewish, but that didn't stop them from coming to SMU and being sorority sisters.
"Well, I'm Baptist, so the Methodist doesn't really mean anything to me," said Samantha Thomen, a junior Spanish and biology major.
Even the university's associate chaplain, Judy Henneberger, isn't Methodist. She's Catholic.
On the other hand, the "Methodist" made all the difference to some students when they matriculated.
"I don't know if I would've come here if it wasn't Methodist," said Methodist sophomore Chirs Hamilton. He said it's weird to think about it like that, especially since SMU isn't very Methodist, and there are now more Catholics than actual United Methodists.
Originally, it was the "M" in SMU that put the Hilltop on junior Stefi Tracy's radar, but in the end her decision to attend SMU came down to other factors like scholarships, people she had met and the campus's proximity to home.
"The United Methodist Church owns Southern Methodist University. It's not that the university is historically tied to the denomination," said Lawrence, who also serves as the appointed director of church relations for the office of the president.
SMU came into existence because Methodist people raised the first dollars to build it. Dallas Hall was built, and is still here, because Methodists during the first two decades of the 20th century raised the money to build it.
Since Methodism was created in the 18th century, the church has found it a duty to participate in higher education at the university level. The hope is that the university will prepare people to be better doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, ministers and so on, said Lawrence.
For students, like sophomore psychology major Blake Danner and junior finance major Alex Igleheart, the school's Methodist affiliation had nothing to do with their application process. They heard that the "Methodist" didn't really mean anything anymore, so they just took it for face value.
Sophomore Maddie Holmes is Catholic, and junior Lisa Rodriguez is Jewish, but that didn't stop them from coming to SMU and being sorority sisters.
"Well, I'm Baptist, so the Methodist doesn't really mean anything to me," said Samantha Thomen, a junior Spanish and biology major.
Even the university's associate chaplain, Judy Henneberger, isn't Methodist. She's Catholic.
On the other hand, the "Methodist" made all the difference to some students when they matriculated.
"I don't know if I would've come here if it wasn't Methodist," said Methodist sophomore Chirs Hamilton. He said it's weird to think about it like that, especially since SMU isn't very Methodist, and there are now more Catholics than actual United Methodists.
Originally, it was the "M" in SMU that put the Hilltop on junior Stefi Tracy's radar, but in the end her decision to attend SMU came down to other factors like scholarships, people she had met and the campus's proximity to home.
Be the first to comment on this story