@sMLI

Office of the President

October 20.2010

The Honorable Dick Davis

Mayor
University Park, Texas
3800 University Boulevard
Dallas, TX 75205

Dear Mayor Davis:

It SMU's practice to refrain from taking official positions on

has been
issues before University Park voters unless they were directly initiated by SMU
and involve its operation and development. Therefore, SMU has not taken an
official position on the proposed changes in the liquor laws of University Park.

However, since you have asked for my evaluation of the proposed

changes, as president of SMU, I do have serious concems about continuous access
to over-the-counter alcohol sales in package or convenience stores located close
to the campus. Such adjacent, daily access would encourage greater underage
consumption through easier individual alcohol purchases or bulk purchases
facilitated by those 2l and older. These purchases can then be brought back to
residence halls and distributed among even larger numbers of underage students.
Consistent with this concern, when SMU purchased the property surrounding the
Mrs. Baird's site, the University stipulated that the convenience store on that site
had to cease over-the-counter sales ofalcoholic beverages, in order to decrease
the availability of alcohol near our campus.

A series of package or convenience stores or restaurants with "happy

hours" promoting daily access to alcohol would forever change the nature of the
businesses along Hillcrest across from campus, with an adverse impact on the
surrounding neighborhood. Therefore, I think it would be best for the proposed
changes to be rejected to preserve the character of the community near the
campus.

Sincerely,

R. Gerald Tumer
President

Southern Methodist University PO Box 750100 Dallas TX 75275-OIOO

214-7 68-3300 Fax 214-7 68-3844