By Bailey Brammer | Staff Writer For many Baylor University students, the 2016 presidential election marked their first opportunity to vote. The ability to finally exercise this right gave plenty of students a push to start paying attention to the news and forming their own opinions on candidates. For the Baylor Democrats club, however, an election year means much more than dipping one’s toes into the political waters. The Baylor Democrats took an active part in this year’s election by planning on and off-campus events such as helping Baylor students register to vote, manning call centers for Democratic presidential nominee…
Author: Bailey Brammer
By Bailey Brammer | Staff Writer Although Texas has been a primarily right-leaning state for decades, this year’s atypical presidential race brought with it an abundance of new opinions and ideas. For the Baylor College Republicans club, this semester was a chance to spread their conservative ideologies with a somewhat divided campus. The Baylor College Republicans have spent their time focused primarily on the election. The club worked with the McClennan County Republican party, campaigned for U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, volunteered at phone banks and hosted debate watch parties as well as an election watch party on Tuesday. “We’re spreading…
Donald Trump was elected on Tuesday with 290 electoral college votes, which triumphed over Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton’s 228 votes. According to The Associated Press, Trump’s victory was shocking to much of the nation, and is poised to undo the efforts of President Barack Obama on various issues. “I was surprised at how wrong the polls were,” said The Woodlands junior Alex Getting. “But she wasn’t able to come down and talk to the common man like Trump was. They both have lots of money, but Trump has the ability to reach out to the average working American and say…
By Bailey Brammer | Staff WriterLocal elections were in full swing Tuesday night with the House of Representatives 17th Congressional District seat and the McLennan County sheriff positions on the block.Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Bill Flores beat Democrat underdog William “Bill” Matta for the U.S. House seat representing Texas’ 17th Congressional District. Uncontested incumbent Parnell McNamara won re-election as well and will serve as McLennan County sheriff for another four years. Flores had 51,883 votes and won by a margin of 65.95 percent, while Matta had only 24,632 votes, according to the McClennan County website. Matta supporters gathered at the…
The NCAA informed Baylor University on Tuesday that it will not be placing heavy sanctions against the school. The NCAA will follow its regulated investigative process instead of “bringing down the hammer,” on Baylor as it did with Pennsylvania State University, according to a Wall Street Journal report.The Wall Street Journal reported that the decision of the NCAA stated that, for the time being, Baylor will not undergo the same sweeping sanctions that Penn State received after the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal in 2012 for the time being. “I doubt you will ever see the NCAA do anything like…
By Bailey Brammer | Staff WriterA cabinet member of Baylor student government is no longer a part of the organization after posting a photo on Instagram over Halloween weekend that promoted a negative stereotype of Hispanic and Latino culture.Student government sent an email Friday to the student body with the message that students should be mindful of Halloween costumes that unfavorably depict other cultures. The Instagram post depicted two women dressed as police officers on either side of a man who was wearing a sombrero, a fake mustache and a Serape. One of the women was pictured holding a fake…
I have always loved mythology. When the “Percy Jackson” books first came out, I devoured them, and then while waiting for the next installment in the series, I re-read them. This was the first time another culture’s beliefs had been presented to me in a way that made me want to know more, and I began to research not only the religion of the ancient Greeks, but the religions of other societies and groups.One of the reasons I came to Baylor is because of its faith-based academics and community. While I admire the school’s requirement of courses like Christian Scriptures…
By Bailey Brammer | Staff WriterThe annual Dale P. Jones Business Ethics Forum began on Tuesday evening at the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation with speeches by Bill Simon, former president and CEO of Wal-Mart, and Tom Mars, former general counsel for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. The forum will run from Nov. 1-11 and will include lectures from leaders in the business world, as well as student competitions.”If something happens to you, and you end up in an unfair situation, the key to success is to keep your eyes on the next step,” Mars said. “When you trip…
By Bailey Brammer | Staff WriterIn elementary school, career day means bringing your mom or dad into class and listening to other classmates’ parents talk about what it means to own a business or practice law or be a dentist.For Clear Lake freshman Kaitlyn Kimbrough, however, there was always the possibility that her dad could not attend career day because he would be away on business in space. Kaitlyn Kimbrough is the daughter of NASA astronaut Robert Shane Kimbrough, who took off in a Soyuz spacecraft along with two Russian cosmonauts on Oct. 19. The spacecraft arrived at the International…
Thanksgiving is hands-down the best holiday there is. I don’t need red and green presents or a basket of pastel Easter eggs — just give me a turkey dinner and a room full of family and I’m over the moon.When you’re away at college, the prospects of a home-cooked meal and hugs from relatives are all the more appetizing, which is why it breaks my heart that some students don’t get to go home for Thanksgiving. My solution is simple: More airlines should offer college student discounts.While there are airlines that offer student discounts through third parties, there are no…
By Bailey Brammer | Staff WriterA prayer vigil for refugees across the world will be held today at 12:15 p.m. in front of the Bobo Spiritual Life Center. The vigil was organized by Better Together BU, Bears Care and the Spiritual Life Center.“A lot of people are aware of Syrian refugees but are unaware of the many other refugees from every continent,” said Medford, Ore., junior Micah Furlong. “Every continent is affected, and we’re really focused on spreading awareness and spreading support.” Furlong expects at least 100 people to attend the vigil and will be passing around a covenant at…
By Bailey Brammer | Staff WriterScheduled maintenance to AirBear, the Baylor University Wi-Fi network, will occur from 6 to 10 p.m. today. According to an email sent by Baylor Information Technology Services, students will most likely experience a disruption in the network from 6 to 7 p.m., but testing will continue until 10 p.m. Carl Flynn, director of marketing and communications for information technology and university libraries, said the purpose behind any outage has to do with safety or strengthening the network. “We usually do these things for either security or stability,” Flynn said. “That’s the only reason we shut…
By Bailey Brammer | Staff WriterWhen former U.S. Treasurer Rosa “Rosie” Gumataotao Rios looks back on her almost eight-year tenure in a position most only hold for 18-24 months, she had three words of advice for those interested in embracing women’s involvement in American history: recognition, connection and inspiration. Rios spoke to Baylor students at the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation Wednesday afternoon about her time as treasurer, as well as her efforts to place women on U.S. currency and her most recent initiative, Teachers Righting History. “It is time to change the narrative,” Rios said. “The…
By Bailey Brammer | Staff WriterBeing a community leader at Baylor University is about much more than enforcing rules and doing routine room inspections. “I would hope that I’ve been able to be a bridge between students and their university,” said La Grange, Ky., sophomore Heidi Keck, a Heritage House CL. “It’s important for students to have a personal interaction with the face of Baylor, and I think a lot of times that’s what the CL provides.” Aspiring CLs for next fall are required to attend an informational meeting and then submit an online application. Applications are due next Monday,…