Everybody is familiar with the terms “climate change” and “global warming,” but society needs to start understanding the impact those words have on society. Climate change is becoming an issue that immensely affects the future. If people don’t continue to call for change, it will defeat society and permanently change the world. In order to spread awareness about the impact of climate change, the nation’s public education systems need to emphasize the importance of climate change.The fate of society and the environment lie in the hands of the youth. Current generations will face more difficulties associated with global warming than…
Author: Baylor Lariat
Over the past weeks, Multicultural Affairs has commemorated Hispanic Heritage Month and Asian & Pacific American Heritage Month, but I am wondering why they have not done anything for Native American Heritage Month in November. Because there is no student organization for Native Americans, those who identify with that ethnicity have nowhere to express themselves and no one to encourage campus wide events like presentations or powwows. If anything, by not hosting any such events or even acknowledging the existence of Native American Heritage Month, it reinforces the notion that there are no more Indians in the United States or…
Video streaming services are at an all-time high. Cable has transitioned into adding Netflix, which has transitioned into adding one, two, three or maybe even more new subscription-based services. Although options can be nice to have, what some have dubbed the “streaming war” can make it difficult for consumers to know which purchases are worth it and which aren’t. The overall idea of streaming services is great — for just a small monthly fee, subscribers have access to a wide variety of content that would have cost a large amount if purchased individually. Although investing in these services can be…
Thanksgiving Break is approaching, and you’re most likely counting down the days. While many students will be traveling home to reunite with their loved ones, it is important to keep in mind that this is not the case for all.Distance can be a distinct barrier between students and their families, which can be especially hard during the holiday season for various reasons.Some have lost loved ones during this time or are met with anxious feelings when talk about Thanksgiving or Christmas is exchanged. While holidays stir up excitement and fun among many, grief and pain do exist for others.Some may…
By Sadie Hopkins | Contributor Being a heterosexual 19-year-old female, my opinion regarding whether Baylor should or should not establish an official club for its LGBT student community wouldn’t typically be valid. However, as a Christian, I have the right to voice my opinion. I was raised in a loving and supportive home that practically lived the southern Baptist church. Challenging the ideas in the Bible was considered questioning Christianity as a whole. My church held tight to the traditional interpretation of what scripture had to say on this subject. Nevertheless, as I have gotten older and encountered more perspectives…
By Emily Cousins | ContributorThe Bible belt is an easy place to be a Christian, but it is not always an easy place to be educated on sensitive topics. Specifically sex education. In Texas, it is not required for public schools to teach sex education in schools. When it is taught, the majority of public schools only teach abstinence. According to the 2016 Texas Freedom Network study, 58.3% of schools teach abstinence, 16.6% teach abstinence-plus and 25.1% do not teach sex education at all. Teaching students only about abstinence is problematic and unrealistic. Many parents want to see Christian values…
Protests and public activism or demonstrations are newsworthy, and it is the job of journalists to report news to the public – to share what people are fighting for and the affect that may have. When college journalists at Northwestern University covered protests on their campus earlier this month, the news staff received backlash from students for covering the event – especially for photographing protesters and using the college directory and social media to try and contact potential sources. Caving under the pressure from their fellow students, The Daily Northwestern took down and amended their news coverage (which the Lariat…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor On March 24, 2012, during a Saturday afternoon game against Kansas, Baylor baseball was looking to claim the series after a 10-2 win the previous night. The Bears had scored a run in the second inning to take an early 1-0 lead. In the third, with first baseman Max Muncy at the plate, sophomore pitcher Josh Michalec called out to the future LA Dodger the chant that would define the 2012 baseball season. “Feed the Beaver!” Muncy blasted that ball into the Brazos River, breaking a 15-game home run drought. Beaver Magic It was…
College newspapers, just like any other form of journalism, have a duty to inform and report the truth. This civil responsibility should never be compromised in an effort to please people.Recently, journalists have criticized Northwestern University’s student newspaper for apologizing for their report on student protests. Although the editors of The Daily Northwestern should have defended their practices rather than kneeling to student complaints, the journalists criticizing them should take a step back and remember what it was like to be a student.Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke on campus after being invited by the University’s College Republicans to…
By Lucy Ruscitto | ContributorImagine this: You are a student at Baylor University, and as a liberal arts major, you have classes in nearly all of the buildings on campus. You are looking for a new place to study because as per usual, Moody is too loud and the Starbucks line is too long. So you pop into the Hankamer School of Business for a hot sandwich from Au Bon Pain and a secluded study spot among the modernesque, private study cubicles with your business friends. As soon as your foot hits the shiny marble floor, you are astounded, not…
What do you think of when you hear of Thanksgiving break? For most, they think about spending a week at home with family, not thinking about school and recharging their brain. Baylor students are only granted three days of break this year and many aren’t happy about it.Baylor University has a total enrollment of 17,217 students. Of those students, 65% are from Texas. Many Texas school districts and districts all around the nation normally have a week off to celebrate Thanksgiving break. Thus, many students, especially the 3,366 new freshmen are used to having a week off to spend time…
There is nothing more welcoming than pancakes and coffee.The IHOP by Baylor campus was an iconic location for many generations of Baylor students. The university recently forced its closure and demolition to begin construction on the new Mark and Paula Hurd Welcoming Center.The IHOP had 24/7-hour service, which was great for many Baylor students. They also served unlimited free coffee refills, which was another appealing factor. Having it right across the street from the campus is a college student’s dream come true. The location, hours, pancakes and coffee refills will be missed.Baylor students loved the pancakes that were served but…
Named one of the most secure colleges in America, Baylor University continues to stand ahead of the curve on safety innovation and proactive improvements to provide for the safety and security of our students. Our Department of Public Safety has a highly committed staff of more than 100 personnel who are assisted by a large network of live security cameras, 24-hour patrols, 81 emergency call boxes and 152 emergency telephones. A Tuesday Lariat Letter calling for more call boxes around campus implied that Baylor’s current campus safety measures are inadequate. I would instead ask that our campus community think outside…
We get meme culture. But sometimes meme culture can perpetuate toxic ideas, stereotypes and cancel culture, no matter how harmless or truly representative a meme trend can seem. And often a meme isn’t the actual point of toxicity— it’s the attitude. The “OK, Boomer” meme has exploded recently. What started out as a funny and relatively relevant response by younger generations has turned into a dismissive and cancel-culture-engaged stereotype that’s plastered throughout social media and seeping into the real world. The phrase “OK, Boomer” has been used by millennials and Gen Zers in resentment toward Baby Boomers and how they…
By Kyle McCulloch | ContributorChemical warfare, terrorist attacks and mass genocide are included, among other war crimes, in this year’s soft reboot of Infinity Ward’s “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.” Is the campaign’s emphasis on violence necessary to provide players with a memorable experience?Modern Warfare’s controversial campaign is a true return to form for the franchise, unapologetically provoking its players to reflect on the subject of modern warfare. The campaign depicts an unpredictable and escalating cold war between NATO and a ruthlessly violent anarchist regime.War has changed since the events of 9/11. The battlefield is not bound to any specific…
What comes to mind when you think of America’s national parks? Escape, natural beauty, adventure and freedom are generally what pop up in the brain. The need to connect to Wi-fi or get your Amazon Prime package delivered do not typically fall under the realm of thought when it comes to national parks — nor should it become that way. According to an article by the LA Times, the Trump administration has been working on proposal to privatize national parks and even commercialize them with WiFi, food trucks and Amazon deliveries. To begin allowing private business such as these into…
A significant amount of effort is put into the freshman year Baylor experience to ensure that students are able to transition into college. Whether it be Line Camp, welcome week, or specialized dorms with CL leaders, freshmen receive a unique and hands-on variety of first-year opportunities to get connected to the school. An especially important required aspect of freshman year is taking a New Student Experience (NSE) course, which is a smaller, discussion-based class that combines another topic with also learning about adjusting to college and adult life. Some of these courses are specifically a First Year Seminar (FYS) or…
Hype will die, but your actions stay with you forever. Who would have thought that a chicken sandwich could create such chaos and drama? On Nov. 3, the long-awaited Popeyes Chicken Sandwich was permanently brought back to the menu. The internet went berserk, quite literally. While trends and hype occur on a constant basis today, there was something about this release that caused sanity to be lost in many parts of the country. Just three days after this item was back on the menu, a fatal stabbing occurred at one of Popeyes locations in Maryland. Think about that for a…
While many students may enjoy Dr Pepper floats, there are a group of students who are excluded from participating in a decades-long Baylor tradition. Students who are allergic to dairy, lactose intolerant or do not consume dairy products for religious or personal beliefs may never have experienced Dr Pepper Hour at Baylor.Baylor’s Dr Pepper Hour dates back to 1953 and is held every Tuesday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Bill Daniel Student Center. It is a time for students, faculty and staff to socialize and build community over a Dr Pepper float.One of the key ingredients in…
For students, it’s no secret that the majority of the weekend is used to decompress. Sunday, however, is for getting back to reality and wrapping up homework. It would be nice for Baylor to realize this and make its facilities and resources available earlier than 1 p.m. on Sundays. The most integral buildings on Baylor’s campus — such as Moody Memorial Library, the Baylor Sciences Building and the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation — do not open their doors until 1 p.m. on Sundays, which does not allow for students to capitalize on one of the most…
Cole Tompkins said that it is fine to poke fun at TCU’s red accented uniforms in his Oct. 29 column “What’s worse: TCU or their uniforms,” but with this new Baylor brand deal, Baylor has no right to poke fun at TCU’s uniforms. While the TCU uniforms with the red accents were unusual, at least they have the freedom to wear different and fun uniforms each week. Baylor used to be like other college football programs with a wide array of uniform combinations. But now, Baylor only has one variation of uniforms in three different colors. Last year, Baylor changed…
The NCAA recently passed a bill that will allow athletes to profit on their name, image, and likeness. This bill is receiving many critiques and opinions, and it seems like that will continue for some while.“This modernization for the future is a natural extension of the numerous steps NCAA members have taken in recent years to improve support for student-athletes, including full cost of attendance and guaranteed scholarships,” said Michael Drake on the official website of the NCAA. Drake is the head of the NCAA board and the president of Ohio State University.The NCAA has been tinkering with ways to…
Facial recognition is not just useful for unlocking your iPhone.Hong Kong protesters of the proposed extradition bill have more to worry about than the police. Marchers must deal with the traditional attacks on their attempts at self-governance, from police blockades to physical assaults, but are also facing issues with facial recognition technology, which has started to show up in police forces and elsewhere even in the states.Common in protests ranging anywhere from Hong Kong to the shores of America is the use of masks. These are used both as a practical way of fighting police use of tear gas and…
By Amy Rickabaugh | ContributorLately, I have been very aware of my surroundings as I walk around Baylor’s campus. Who’s walking in front of me, behind me, beside me, and what are their motives?Part of this hyperawareness is a product of me being bored on my walk or bike ride to class, the other part is motivated by my fear of being hurt.Something in my mind tells me that if I take notice of everyone around me, I can avoid being hurt, or an emergency I may not have noticed had I been on my phone. I have noticed this…
The Magnolia Silos, Magnolia Table and now Magnolia Press attract tourists to Waco and help to boost the city’s growing economy. Unfortunately, the influx of consumers and booming businesses is limited to only certain sections of the Waco community.The East Side, specifically businesses and properties along the historic Elm Avenue, is one of those parts of Waco that the Magnolia effect has barely touched. So much so, that in 2018 a movement to revitalize the once thriving Elm Avenue began and in reaction some newer establishments have grown.Baylor students should join these efforts. Baylor is a good chunk of the…
As Facebook and Twitter have gone opposite directions in their approach to misleading political ads, much debate has arisen over which approach is more ethical. While Facebook continues to justify its practices of not fact-checking political ads hosted on its platform, Twitter has taken a stand in banning all political messaging. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced that all political advertising, not only those of candidates, will be banned as of Nov. 22. The final policy will be released Nov. 15. Facebook’s head of news partnerships, Campbell Brown, posted Wednesday that she does not believe social media sites hold any responsibility…
Have you ever gotten to the dining hall or SUB to grab a snack and realized you left your student ID at home? Have you ever been to a basketball game and gotten to the entrance to then realize you don’t have your ID and don’t have your ID number memorized either? Or, worst of all, have you ever gotten locked out of your dorm late at night with your ID laying on your desk in your room?Chances are one of these things has happened to you at least one time in your days at Baylor, and you may have…
The online community speaks its own language, filled with symbols and words with secret meanings. Two people from opposite sides of the world can bond over a meme, because of the implicit meanings behind it. As much camaraderie as internet humor brings, there is a right way to do it. There are some things that just aren’t funny. Memes that threaten public safety should not be supported. These types of harmful posts should never have even been given enough attention for them to become viral. Yet, it happens all of the time. Videos showing a fake President Donald Trump violently…
When it comes to college students and politics, things seem to go either one of two ways— the student has strong opinions about the current political situation, or the student has extremely vague knowledge of what is going on, if any at all. Politics don’t have to be your new life passion and you don’t have to engage in constant debates with people, but as a college student, it’s important to be knowledgeable about what is going on in the United States and beyond. It’s easy to make excuses for not being informed politically—some of the most common being that…
[On Oct. 21], the Baylor Young Conservatives of Texas hosted a Pro-Hong Kong tabling event. During it, we held up the Hong Kong flag, as well as a “Communism Kills” sign and a quote from Thomas Jefferson: “The tree of liberty must be watered from time to time with the blood of Patriots and Tyrants.” This caused a lot of debates to occur, primarily between members of my group and Chinese exchange students. Thinking in line with President Livingstone’s Baylor Conversation series, which stresses civil discourse, I wish that everyone could have witnessed these debates. I would argue that we…
