The Rift Special Issues

THE RIFT
Baylor and Waco: Bridging the gap between two worlds
Contents:

Some Suggestions
Finding Waldo
Waco Attractiveness
Students Challenged
Enriching Lives of Kids
School Down, Not Out
BU Scholar Drawbacks
Colleges Join Forces
Waco, Baylor Divided
Unsung Heroes
Non-Baptist in Bubble

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Some Suggestions

Some suggestions for downtown Waco

wacoThere’s an old saw that gets repeated with some frequency around Baylor.

It goes, “There’s nothing to do that’s fun around Waco.”

Well, to some extent that’s true. Encouraging growth downtown has been the goal of various organizations in Waco for nearly 50 years.

While we are sure that these various organizations have been doing their jobs to the best of their abilities, it seems that little progress has been made in the way of establishing a stable community of businesses and residences downtown.

Downtown has certainly grown recently, but it seems that there’s still not enough to attract a bustling group of students every night of the week or even reliably over the weekends


Finding Waldo

Finding Waldo in Waco…how BU students stand out

On a scale of one to ten, how easy is it to spot a Baylor student out in the Waco community? To get the scoop, I interviewed members in the community in the aisles of WalMart. I asked shoppers which signs identified

Waco Attractiveness

How attractive is Waco to graduating students?

College is a time of transition.

Some arrive knowing they’ll go on to jobs in other cities or return to families and hometowns, but others stay.

Some Baylor alumni have found

Students Challenged

Students challenged with the Passport to Waco

Grab your passports and prepare for an adventure with the Baylor student government. Destination: Waco, Texas.

Starting next semester, students

Enriching Lives of Kids

Baylor students help enrich the lives of local kids

When you walk into Mission Waco’s Youth Center, it’s almost like walking into a high school student’s dream hangout spot. Foosball, a pool table and a big screen TV are just a few of the amenities the center offers. But the center isn’t just about having


School Down, Not Out

Waco school may be down, but it’s not out

the-rift-ftw1Crime surrounds them. Yet they hope.

Brook Avenue Elementary teachers are determined to help their students grow academically.

According to the U.S. Census, the number of individuals living below the poverty line in Waco is 16.8 percent. Brook Avenue Elementary is located in Waco.

Brook Avenue officials said the school is ‘academically unacceptable,’ according to the Texas Education Agency, but test scores have increased over the last four years. The increase indicates that students are better

BU Scholar Drawbacks

BU scholar finds drawback of focusing on family and religion

the-rift-ftw2You would think a strong interest in religion and family would be a good thing, but a Baylor scholar has identified at least one negative effect: interest in religion and family do not facilitate secular and civic engagement.

Dr. Young-Il Kim, a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Baylor Institute of for Studies of Religion, published a study in August an online edition of Social Science Research journal titled Bonding alone: Familism, religion, and secular civic participation.

Kim co-authored the study with his dissertation advisor Dr. W. Bradford Wilcox from the University of Virgina


Colleges Join Forces

Waco colleges join forces to better higher education

Waco is the center of the hustle and bustle of three higher education establishments: Baylor University, McLennan Community College and Texas State Technical College.

The relationship between the three institutions is effective because they work together to educate students and develop individual skills for the

Unsung Heroes

Unsung heroes fight sex trafficking in Waco

Don’t be fooled by the Baylor Bubble.

A woman in Waco can disappear in moments and become a victim of sex trafficking, an umbrella term that covers the recruitment or transportation of people for the purpose of subjecting them to involuntary service in the sex industry.

The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the country each year.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported in an online bulletin published in 2011 that some young people are recruited into prostitution through forced abduction, pressure from parents or through deceptive agreements between parents and traffickers

Waco, Baylor Divided

Waco, Baylor divided by differences in live tunes

Despite Baylor’s place in Waco, there could not be a further distance between the two in terms of the live music scene.

Or so it seems.

Live venues on or near campus, such as Common Grounds, have begun to cater to the Baylor audience.


Non-Baptist in Bubble

A non-Baptist in the ‘Baylor Bubble’ Bible Belt

Judaism
AtheismBaylor University, which is known for its openly Christian beliefs and mission, is also home to many non-Christians.

However, according to the Student Activities website, students that wish to create a prospective religious group must share the ideals of the university – so where do the others go to practice their faith?

Some members of the Baylor community have found common ground with like-minded residents in the wider Waco community.

One such person is Dr. David Jortner, an assistant professor of theater arts at Baylor who is Jewish