By Rory Dulock | Staff Writer
Home to 330 Baylor students enrolled in one of the Honors College’s programs or majors, the Honors Residential College is a multiyear community known on campus for its assortment of traditions.
Jana Roste, graduate assistant program director of the HRC, said what makes the HRC unique is the way upperclassmen invest in younger students.
“Traditions are powerful because they kind of make you feel like you are a part of something more,” Roste said. “So I would say that when you are involved in some of these traditions, you do feel like you are part of the larger Honors College, part of Baylor. But more than that, I would say they are just ways for students to connect with other students, connect with upperclassmen, make friends through these events, but also be a whole person.”
Roste said the primary tradition the HRC is known for around campus is Humans versus Zombies.
“Humans versus Zombies … is one where a lot of students around campus will recognize the HRC,” Roste said. “They will recognize them as the crazy people in bandanas and pool noodles in fields running around campus. That is a really fun way for students to get invested in the community and also get to learn other people’s names.”
Another tradition the HRC puts on is Toasties, which is a grilled cheese bar held at least once a semester, Roste said.
“Students will come, and there will be a special grilled cheese — both a savory grilled cheese and a sweet grilled cheese,” Roste said. “That could be like marshmallows and pretzels and Nutella and strawberries, something like that. So they kind of get pretty crazy, and we usually do a theme with it. This year’s theme was ‘Back to Toasties’ or back-to-school night.”
Southlake freshman Jasmine Kuruvilla said she wanted to live in the HRC after hearing from a friend that it had a good community.
“There are a lot of events, but the first week, we had the Big Event,” Kuruvilla said. “We played a lot of games. Each floor competed with the other floors, so that was fun. We have hall dinners … where everybody from the HRC, both buildings, they’ll go and have dinner together, so that’s really nice.”
Austin freshman Clay Goldsmith said the community is very welcoming, and he appreciates the opportunities he has already had to get involved.
“Move2BU was pretty cool,” Goldsmith said. “We got to move in early and help North Russell and Penland move in. I actually really enjoyed it … It was a lot of fun helping people move in stuff and feeling like I was already part of the community at Baylor doing stuff. It was a fun way to get to know people at the HRC too.”
In addition to fun, the residential college also places an emphasis on community faith. Roste said another one of the HRC’s main traditions is Lessons and Carols. Held during Advent, the service consists of Scripture readings and traditional Christmas carols.
“We have something called Lessons and Carols, so they work through different liturgies of different Bible verses,” Roste said. “We have a choir and musicians, and we just sing together a whole bunch of Christmas carols and have different students and faculty come and represent and be Bible readers. So it is a really pretty time of just sitting in reflection, singing carols and reciting lessons at the same time.”
Dallas freshman Caleb Griffin said he chose to stay at the HRC because it would be nice to be around people who are going through the same studies.
“We are all working toward the same things generally,” Griffin said. “We all share a lot of classes and have the same experiences that we’re going through, so it’s a really great bond through that.”
The HRC is currently housed in North Village due to ongoing construction on Alexander and Memorial Halls, where the residential college will return in fall 2024.
