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Life as a senior in college can be great. Classes are flying by and a sense of entitlement can be felt knowing life as an underclassman is over. However, what starts as seniors standing tall and ready at the beginning of the year can quickly turn into apprehension and nervousness as a significant event approaches: graduation.

Monday night, Baylor screened the documentary “I’m not a Racist…am I?” There was a considerable student turnout. The documentary was insightful and relatable for a large portion of the audience. However, the conversation afterward disappointed me, probably because I’m not a part of the audience who could relate.

Greek life is one facet of the student body that is historically segregated. In August, Baylor released a report that 34.3 percent of incoming freshmen were from minority groups, the highest percentage ever. However, behind the doors of many organizations, remnants of segregation still linger.

In the middle of a nation adjusting to a new set of social laws, church is meant to be a place where believers can come together to worship. “Race is still a very powerful factor,” Dr. James SoRelle professor of African-American history said. “I don’t think we live in a post-racial world.” Lecturer of sociology Dr. Christopher Pieper said deficits in diversity of churches, especially in the south, can be seen today.

Fifty years ago, Baylor’s campus was transformed as the Board of Trustees voted to integrate the student body. That same year, the first black student enrolled. In discussions prior to the November 1963 vote, students expressed feelings about integrating. In a letter to the Lariat in 1957 one student wrote, “It is the place of Baylor as a Christian institution to take a lead in integration.” Another student said, “I think a Negro should stay with his people, and we should stay with ours.”

In the second game of the season, the No. 9 ranked Lady Bears dominated unranked Nicholls State University with a 111-58 win on Thursday at the Ferrell Center. The Lady Bears have scored more than 110 points in every game thus far, averaging 110.5 per game. “You just have to give Baylor the credit in terms of their personnel, the depth they have, the ability to, in a good way, they can just wear you down,” Nicholls State head coach DoBee Plaisance said. “They’re outstanding. They’re not number nine in the country for nothing.”

Baylor’s Tau Alpha chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. crowned Phoenix senior Britahn Newbill as its 21st Miss Black and Gold on Sunday. “I am so excited,” Newbill said. “I am just really, really, really excited. I don’t know. That’s all I can say.” Six women competed in the annual pageant hoping to become 2013 Miss Black and Gold. The ladies competed in three segments: talent, poise and an interview round. In the poise portion, contestants showcased their evening wear.

By Rayne Brown Reporter Mesquite junior Deondria Murphy is Baylor’s first ever Miss Green and Gold. “I feel on top of the world right now,” Murphy said....

Mesquite junior Deondria Murphy is Baylor's first ever Miss Green and Gold. Tonight 21 Baylor women competed in the first annual Miss Green and Gold pageant and after deliberating over intermission, judges crowned Murphy.

Baylor’s cross country will host the Big 12 cross country championship on Saturday. The meet will take place at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco. Men and women’s cross country teams will compete in the race. In their last meet of the regular season, women’s cross country placed 31st as a team while the men came in 49th. Junior Rachel Johnson and senior Brad Miles led their teams, placing 59 and 198 respectively.

Baylor’s Treat Night is a fun and festive environment where Baylor families can come trick-or-treat. The annual event was planned by Campus Living and Learning and the Residential Community Council.

Three generations and 14 family members — a family of Baylor legacies. A resonating family presence on campus doesn’t give legacy students any preferential treatment over an average Baylor student. Waco junior Rachael Brown and Dallas sophomore Caty Beth Holstead know this all too well. They are cousins, and are only a small portion of the longstanding Allen legacy family.

Baylor senior guard Odyssey Sims was 2013 World University Games MVP, three-time Wade Watch list candidate and participant in the USA Women’s National Team mini-camp. The World University Games are equivalent to the Olympics for collegiate athletes and Sims had the opportunity to play for Team USA at this summer’s games in Russia.

In honor of domestic violence month, the Family Abuse Center of Waco is having a fundraiser to support victims of domestic violence. It will take place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday in the Phoenix Ballroom at 4101 S. Third St. Proceeds from the fundraiser will go to the Family Abuse Center Services. The fundraiser will include food, a silent auction and entertainment featuring Waco talent.

An after-school program with homework help, snacks and a supervised place to play and make friends — this is the Boys and Girls Club of Waco. Since 1993, the Tau Alpha Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. has dedicated a couple of hours a week to spend with students at The Boys and Girls Club. The fraternity commits every Friday to helping children.

For the past four games Baylor football has dominated it’s opponents at Floyd Casey Stadium ranking them at number four in the Big 12 conference. This weekend the team travels for the first time this season. Saturday at 2:30 p.m. the Bears will take on Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan. “First time for us traveling and everybody’s jacked up and ready to zero in and come out with a W,” senior cornerback K.J. Morton said.

Class from 8 a.m. until noon. Lunch. Then practice and rehab. Practice for four hours. Go home, eat and study. Try to be in bed by midnight. Acrobatics and tumbling senior, Ginger Plemmons balances all of the above exceedingly well. She manages to stay focused on the mat and carries a 3.86 GPA. “Well, I don’t get that much sleep. I mean you just have to stay motivated to succeed at both,” Plemmons said. “So I just study in between practice or really late at night. Whenever I have time really.”

“I always read Psalms 18 before I go out and race,” junior cross country runner Rachel Johnson said. “It talks about God giving us strength. It’s a really good thing to read, I think, just to get focused and just see that I should be running for God and not myself.” Call it superstition, luck or simply faith, Johnson’s ritual of preparing for a meet has worked.

Baylor will welcome Michael Gerson, columnist from The Washington Post, along with former U.S. congressman Chet Edwards on Tuesday to discuss how local communities can affect global issues. The event is intended to inform Baylor students and the Waco community on changes they can make in their everyday lives to effect global change.

One thing junior starting quarterback Bryce Petty wants to make sure of is that this Baylor team does not get comfortable after amassing two blowout victories against nonconference opponents this season. “You can’t get complacent,” Petty said. “You can’t think you’ve arrived. We still have our things to work on and that’s what we’re going to try to do.” Petty and the team used the bye week to do just that, work out the kinks, perfect their game and recuperate their bodies. Now, Baylor turns its focus to ULM.

At the age of three, Colleyville, Texas native and Baylor women’s soccer defender Kat Ludlow picked up a soccer ball, and has hardly put it down since. Now, as a senior, Ludlow continues to perfect her craft. So much so, that she has been nominated for the 2013 Senior Class Award. Ludlow took a mission trip to Kenya, carries a 3.73 GPA and works to play a leadership role with her younger teammates.