By Phoebe Suy | Staff Writer
The Allbritton House is no longer a forlorn building on Baylor campus that students circumvent to and from classes. For some students, it is now a place where they broke bread with their Baylor family and hoped for the new chapter to come under President Linda Livingstone’s administration.
Dr. Livingstone and First Gent Brad Livingstone hosted a family dinner for students on the lawn of the Allbritton House Tuesday evening, much to the excitement of many students. The event included complimentary food from popular food trucks like Milo Biscuit Company, Vitek’s BBQ and Pokey O’s along with live performances from students and student organizations.
Livingstone said that nearly 4000 students attended the event.
Performances included: Brennon McFarlane, Baylor Swing Dance Society, Andraya Diorio, Heavenly Voices, Alpha Phi Alpha, John Sung, Poppers Lockers and Breakers and Marion DuBose.
“This is going to be a special time for us to meet one another and enjoy great food and a talented line-up of student entertainment,” President Livingstone said in an email announcing the event. “Among the things I love most about being Baylor’s President are the opportunities to connect with students who call Baylor home.”
Tempe, Ariz. freshman Emily Stellburg said she appreciates Livingstone’s intentional presence on campus.
“The amount of times I’ve seen her eating dinner at East Village, just seeing her around campus, really shows something about how invested she is in the school and the campus and the students here,” Stellburg said.
Students like Little Rock, Ark. senior Trystan Jasperson echoed Stellburg’s enthusiasm for Livingstone’s involvement in the Baylor community. Jasperson said he didn’t know too much about Dr. David Garland during his interim presidency, but feels more confident in Livingstone because of her presence on campus.
In the future, Jasperson said he hopes to see more events like family dinner. While he acknowledged it could be costly, Jasperson said he thought it would be a nice way to get everyone on campus together.
Yorba Linda, Calif. freshman Emily Gibson said she would like Livingstone to continue to be involved as she has been during Gibson’s time at Baylor so far.
“To see that happen for all four years of our experience would be fantastic,” Gibson said.
While Livingstone’s increased presence is seen and felt on campus, Kingwood senior Quoc-bao Hunyh noted that only time will tell about Livingstone’s administration.
“I have yet to see anything substantial, like anything she has proven, but that’s also because she’s a new president,” Hunyh said.
One thing Hunyh said he would like to see from Baylor’s new president is a better reputation for the university going forward. Hunyh said he believed the sexual assault scandals, among other things, hurt Baylor’s presence as a school.
“I want to see what she does,” Hunyh said. “Hopefully it’ll be good.”
Houston senior Misan Bolorunfe said she is glad Livingstone accepted the position as Baylor’s first female president. As a self-proclaimed feminist, Bolorunfe said she believes Livingstone’s administration sets the tone for a lot of excellence to come in the future for both male and female students.
Bolorunfe said it seemed like everything was falling into place under Livingstone’s administration.
“She’s taking steps to ensure that everything’s stable and all the mistakes that were made in prior semesters are corrected,” Bolorunfe said. “I know it’s important to take your time and make sure you map out the situation, but speed’s pretty important as well. You don’t want to lose people or lose potential.”
