​The destruction caused by ChatGPT use is a silent killer. Not only are we losing the quintessential nature of humanity, but we are simultaneously destroying our planet at the same time — all in the name of convenience.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as an agency, exists within the bounds of federal law. Acknowledging that fact does not require ignoring how its power is used. We are not trying to debate whether the U.S. has the right to enforce immigration law; we are concerned whether enforcement is carried out in a way that aligns with our democratic values, constitutional protections and moral obligations.

Somewhere between lectures, homework, quizzes and deadlines, it seems that actually engaging with the people sitting next to us becomes optional — or something we actively avoid. By the end of the semester, we leave with a hopefully passing grade and a handful of half-remembered faces, but few real connections, if any at all.

In a world full of success and hustle culture, watching the friends you grew up with pack their bags to move to their dream city might spark feelings of insecurity. Despite this, it’s important to remember that everyone is on their own path, on their own time. It might not sound as glamorous as a packed U-Haul barreling its way to a new city, but returning to your hometown post-grad is just as fulfilling.

By prioritizing mental health in roommate matching, Baylor has the unique opportunity to transform nightmare roommate situations into partnerships that support and uplift roommates.

The world is full of war, unrest, starvation and strife. America itself struggles with political turmoil, disunity and evil. While millions of things vie for our attention and beg to be fixed, one of our biggest defenses is compartmentalization.

Stress is real. Overwhelm is real. Mental health struggles are real. But not every moment of discomfort, pressure or frustration is a crisis. When we label everything as one, we do real harm to people experiencing genuine emergencies and who rely on systems designed to respond to true crises.

The Editorial Board is sharing our personal holiday favorites. From the songs we belt out without shame to the movies that chain us to our couch, we’re unwrapping the media that makes our season shine just a little brighter.

Everybody talks about homesickness in regard to the holidays. Still, not enough people discuss the dread many students face when returning home that comes not because of poor familial relationships, but because of the loss of identity many experience.

An ideal student-professor relationship sets clear and high expectations, but not unreasonable ones. It’s an exchange between the two — the professor teaches the student and stays available to help the student understand the material, and the student shows their adequate understanding of the information on the test. They don’t feel the need to cheat on a test because they’ve already been given the tools they need to succeed.

In a world that’s more politically charged than ever, sometimes holiday dinner tables can feel more like war zones and conversations turn into cross-examinations. Between outdated political beliefs and an influx of propaganda, it frequently feels like the weight of changing our parents’ beliefs falls on us, making holidays seem more like interventions.

Representing other cultures does not negate your own Christianity, the same way being a student at Baylor does not automatically make you a Baptist. As students, we represent Baylor as a Christian university as much as you, and we reflect God’s love by showing the same compassion and care to our fellow students.

You don’t owe anyone your time, your energy or your emotional labor. But you do owe the world your basic decency. Because when everyone’s too busy proving they can survive alone, we all end up standing in locked rooms, thinking the title of “most self-sufficient” is how you win life.

In its 125 years, The Baylor Lariat has seen its fair share of news. Though we have had the privilege of being part of just a glimpse of The Lariat’s lifetime, it’s made a mark on us. In honor of 125 years of Baylor’s student publication, we thought it would be fitting to share our favorite memories and lessons we’ve learned from our time at The Baylor Lariat.

In just a few days, Baylor’s 116th celebration of homecoming will commence, ringing in all the craziness and excitement that comes with it every year. Events like Pigskin Revue, the parade and the football game are long-awaited and long prepared for, with students putting in the work toward these events for months prior.

Homecoming is a celebration — a time to gather, get to know one another, share ideas and memories and have fun. Ultimately, I always knew that homecoming was an opportunity, but I never knew it as a blessing until COVID-19.

The opportunity to attend renowned academic universities in America is a privilege, but the removal of unbiased K-12 history education is a tragedy. The people who change the world are those who know and learn from history. If we continue with this standard, we risk reliving and rewriting it.

Even in the midst of chaos, The Indiana Daily Student has continued publishing everyday news content on its website, showing the news never stops. Student media isn’t just the voice of journalists; it’s the voice for the entire student body — and it depends on you to keep it alive.

Like most things in life, it comes down to mind over matter. Brain rot content only fries you if you let it. We have been active participants in our collective brain fog, and it will continue to be a generational problem if we allow it to.

When the government shuts down, it’s easy to shrug and think, “That’s Washington’s problem.” But here’s the truth: when the lights go out in D.C., the shadows reach our classrooms, our dorm rooms and our financial aid accounts. The shutdown may seem like political theater performed by distant figures in suits, but the damage has already spread not only to our campuses, but our faith in the system itself.

As the national parks have been a crucial part of American history and culture, recent budget cuts are putting these monuments in significant jeopardy; however, few people are aware of this.

In our over-politicized and under-empathetic world, war is a given. But desensitization doesn’t have to be the only response. It is possible to care for those suffering, though we’re far from the conflict. We don’t have to trade compassion fatigue for apathy. And in a world where strength is rewarded and kindness rejected, it’s of the utmost importance that we remember and respect the sanctity of human life.

We’re not here to tell you what to think or believe. We’re here to help you find truth in and make sense of the ocean of information your brain is drowning in daily. Truth is always worth seeking, even if it isn’t always what you want to hear — and that truth can’t survive without journalism.

The top priority is understanding that it takes courage to speak up in a government-created society of censorship. Cancel culture is not doing anyone favors. Stand firm in your opinion and be loud in your delivery, and as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

The world needs parents who are ready to be parents, which results in well-adjusted children. One could make the argument that no one is really ever prepared to be a parent, which is true; no one child is exactly the same, and raising another human being is bound to be a lot of trial and error.

The association of reading and school work killed many of our desires to get lost in a good piece of literature. That association only grew stronger as we entered college, with numerous pages of reading assigned each night. Not only did we lack any desire, but now we had no time in which we could.

At its root, whimsy is not an aesthetic. True whimsy is older, deeper, stranger than that. It is the astonishment that we are here at all, alive, breathing, conscious, inside a universe that by all accounts should not have rolled the dice in our favor.

The only thing that comes into fruition from the medium of violence is a wounded side and a less wounded side. No one comes out on top. There is no victory in destruction — only pain. And pain is the only thing that will continue in this country until we return to empathy.

Come Friday afternoon, Barfield Drawing Room will be teeming with parents, tickets will be sold out for Baylor football’s non-conference clash with Samford and families clad in green and gold will flood 5th Street. For many, the promise of Family Weekend brings eager anticipation.

Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA and a close ally of President Donald Trump, was in critical condition at a Utah hospital Wednesday after being shot at a college event, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.