Students across campus have heard numerous stories about former Mustangs who dared the underground tunnels connecting Meadows Museum to Dallas Hall.

While it’s been rumored that these tunnels are dimly lit, narrow and very warm, it’s never been verified if one can actually explore what lies beneath.

What students do know is that the SMU underground utility tunnels contain the campus’ water and air conditioning supplies.

Groups such as Urban Explorers attempted to go through these service tunnels in the early ’90s.

Jim Marlow, an SMU grad from the early ’90s, blogged about how he was able to go from a mechanical room in Mary Hay Hall to Umphrey Lee, where he and his friends were able to “raid” the cafeteria for food.

To dispel the rumor and stories, SMU mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer Larry Helpert shared the 411 on the SMU underground utility tunnels.

A tour of what it would be like to attempt this mission from McElvaney Hall to Umphrey lee showed that not many students would want to attempt it.

All entrances of the utility tunnels are now secured with padlocks and keycards.

In the past, Helpert said, the entrances were not as secure, but after Sept. 11, SMU secured all entrances. After Helpert used his keycard, access to the underground tunnels was granted.

The tunnels are three to five feet high and about three feet wide and chilled water and steam pipes take up the majority of the space.

“Guess this isn’t the maintenance department’s first priority,” Helpert said.

Helpert showed a current map of the utility tunnels, proving that it is very unlikely for a student to be able to go from McElvaney to Umphrey Lee – if one were to get past the secured door.

A dated map of campus pre-Hughes-Trigg Student Center showed that it was very possible for someone (if they could get past locked doors) to easily accomplish the mission. But today, not so much.

Hughes-Trigg is a major roadblock in this mission. Around the corner, one would face a tight squeeze where he or she would have to crawl through debris for a good 10 to 15 feet to get across.

This makes it very unlikely for students to do so.

In all, this urban legend is true and false. Either way, with high security measures and not the most pleasant environment, let’s just let the utility tunnels do what they do best: provide warm water and air conditioning to all happy SMU kids.