By Jessica Babb | Lariat Washington Bureau
Author: Baylor Lariat
We have posted memes featuring Donald Trump’s and Hillary Clinton’s faces. We have shared politically poignant articles. We have commented on our friends’ hot-button statuses — Liked, tweeted, repeated.But the election season that has caused politically uninterested people to become engaged is now over. What does that mean for our political involvement? Just because Trump won the presidency doesn’t mean it’s time to become apathetic again. For those who were active in politics due to the presidential election – don’t let your news consumption dwindle. Sure, the election was entertaining, and maybe that entertainment is what caused a spike in…
You probably won’t read this entire piece. You might skim a paragraph or two — you’ll read the headline and smirk at the comic, but will you read this word for word, from start to finish? Probably not. There’s an old newsroom adage that says, “If it bleeds, it leads.” And quite frankly, this doesn’t bleed. It won’t catch and hold your attention like a photo depicting destruction or a story outlining the chaos of tragedy, so your eyes will only spare it a moment’s glance. We live in an era of immediate information. We learn about events across the…
The 2016 election has come and gone and Donald Trump has been elected. However, when members who voted went to the polls, they were met with more decisions to make than who they would like to elect as president. In addition to presidential candidates, there is the option to vote for U.S. House and Senate representatives, state house representatives and senators, governor, mayor, sheriff and possibly judges in states that elect those officials.At the beginning of the computerized voting process, there is an option to vote straight-party, or straight-ticket voting, for those who live in Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Oklahoma,…
Story by Brooke Bentley | Reporter After over a year of preparation and anticipation, the Baylor Democrats and the McLennan County Democratic Party came together at Poppa Rollo’s Pizza Tuesday evening to watch the presidential election finally unfold. However it did not go as they had expected. Leaving their Trump piñatas intact, their celebratory cake barely touched and conversations gone silent, the two groups watched in disbelief as their campaign-long optimism faded. Despite most polls and predictions showing a clear path to victory for Hillary Clinton, she was defeated by Donald Trump. “I’m extremely disappointed,” said Mary Mann, the Texas…
Video by Katie Mahaffey | Broadcast Reporter and story by Associated Press WASHINGTON — Donald Trump was elected America’s 45th president Tuesday, an astonishing victory for a celebrity businessman and political novice who capitalized on voters’ economic anxieties, took advantage of racial tensions and overcame a string of sexual assault allegations on his way to the White House. His triumph over Hillary Clinton will end eight years of Democratic dominance of the White House and threatens to undo major achievements of President Barack Obama. He’s pledged to act quickly to repeal Obama’s landmark health care law, revoke the nuclear agreement…
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The movement to legalize marijuana faced its biggest test yet Tuesday as voters in nine states, including the nation’s most populous, considered proposals to expand legal access to the drug, which is still forbidden by the federal government. California, the first state to approve medical marijuana two decades ago, was among five states weighing whether to permit pot for adults for recreational purposes. The other states were Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada. Florida, one of three states deciding whether to permit marijuana for medical purposes, approved the idea. Montana voted on whether to ease restrictions on…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans seemed on track to secure two more years of House control as the first votes in Tuesday’s elections were counted. But the GOP faced an erosion of its historic majority that could leave hard-line conservatives with added clout to vex party leaders. With Donald Trump rousing opposition in many suburban and ethnically diverse districts, Democrats were hoping to gain a dozen seats or more. Chief targets included GOP incumbents in New Jersey, Virginia, Illinois, Florida, Nevada and California. But both sides anticipated that Democrats would fall short of the 30-seat pickup they’d need to take command…
Video and story by Morgan Kilgo | Broadcast Reporter It’s no secret that Baylor university has been under the spotlight in recent months for the mishandling of sexual assault cases. Those who have spoken out following the uncovering of the mishandled cases include former President Ken Starr, former Title IX Coordinator Patty Crawford and the Baylor Board of Regents. Until now, the university’s students have not been given a voice. Upon asking students how the national attention on Baylor has affected them, the majority said they had not been drastically affected. “I don’t really think it has affected me,” Sugarland…
Dear women of the 21st century,Americans live in a beautiful time of freedom and growth. Women today are able to become virtually anything they want to be — doctors, authors, even journalists. They are able to marry who they want, when they want, if they want to and the same applies to choosing to have (or not to have) children. Fourty years ago, many of these options would not have been available, and women have centuries of fighting and defiance of authority to thank for that. Brave women built this country, and many brave women still do not have these…
Thomas and Jakob talk about Baylor’s disastrous weekend and vote for the winner of NFL’s battleground divisions.
Video and story by Christina Soto | Broadcast Reporter Better Together BU hosted a fundraising concert event at Common Grounds in order to raise money for refugees. “So many people are being driven from their homes and have nowhere to stay,” Medford, Ore., junior Micah Furlong said. “So we started this organization initially to help with those refugees. We partner with two organizations: the Refugee Services of Texas and the Arabic Church of Dallas. They give money directly to refugees in countries where they are not able to work due to racial and religious persecution.” Meanwhile, several Baylor students have…
We can all agree that ISIS has it wrong — the extremist group is responsible for the almost weekly terror attacks across the globe that have killed thousands and forced millions to flee their homes. ISIS is masquerading behind a gross perversion of Islam, using tangential interpretations of scripture to rationalize their “just terror operations.” It’s easy to rally ourselves against the group, dismissing the Islamic faith tradition as a whole and hailing the Christian tradition as civilized, almost paternal in its superiority.It’s much harder, however, to turn this critical lens on our own faith, to recognize and examine the…
Video and story by Jacquelyn Kellar | Broadcast Managing Editor People were dying to get into the East Terrace House Museum for the Sitting Up with the Dead Victorian Funeral and Spiritualism exhibit. The exhibit served to demonstrate Victorian traditions and mourning practices and how much they differ from today’s. Curator of Collections for Historic Waco Foundation Rachel DeShong talked about the “creepiest” tradition of them all: post mortem photography. For many middle class members of that society, their first and only portrait could have been after their death. “We have a whole section on photography in funerals. They would pose…
We’ve all seen movies like “Terminator” and “iRobot” where artificial intelligence is portrayed as unreliable and dangerous when manipulated, yet now we’re one step closer to releasing autonomous machines into warfare in place of humans. The United State’s Department of Defense aims to create autonomous fighter jets that will fight alongside men. These jets would be able to identify enemy targets carrying weapons and would potentially reduce the risks of endangering soldiers’ lives. However, these jets, intended to be fully independent robots, pose a threat by relying too heavily on artificial intelligence.“It could not turn itself on and just fly…
The construction of the Dakota access pipeline has been making news headlines for the past few weeks. The standoff between law enforcement and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe over the controversial pipeline implementation has caused actors and actresses such as Mark Ruffalo and Shailene Woodley, as well as individuals across the nation, to stand in solidarity with the tribe. Recent violence at the protest site has incited controversy between police and the protesters involved. Though oil is a necessary commodity, this standoff serves as an opportunity for the American government to step in and make reparations for what has widely…
Video and story by Jacquelyn Kellar | Broadcast Managing Editor Baylor’s medical humanities program hosted a symposium on Saturday, welcoming several guest speakers to talk to students about the social and humanitarian aspects of medicine. “[Medical humanities] provides students with the opportunity to really understand themselves and the world in which they’re going to be operating in,” said Rebecca Lunstroth, associate director of the Center for Humanities and Ethics at the McGovern Medical School. “How do you help humanity? It’s not memorizing biological facts. It’s a social occupation.” Dr. Thomas Cole, director of the Center for Humanities and Ethics at…
Video and story by Katie Mahaffey | Broadcast Reporter Baylor Fiji, The Kappa Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta, held its annual haunted house know as Fiji Fright Night. The haunted house was free to students, but the fraternity sold shirts at the event to raise funds for the organization of their choice. This year, they are fundraising for United Service Organizations, known as USO. “We put it all together in about three days and it really takes a lot.” said Mark Burkholder, the Baylor Fiji philanthropy chair. The fraternity worked together to set up this event by coordinating costumes, music,…
Video and story by Christina Soto | Broadcast Reporter October served as Breast Cancer Awareness month. According to the American Cancer Society, 1 out of 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer within their lifetime, affecting the lives of many across the globe. “I am so passionate about breast cancer awareness. My grandmother passed away by breast cancer about a year ago and being able to honor her life through our philanthropy and all the other lives that are affected through breast cancer is really an honor,” junior Zeta Think Pink Chair Meggan Noggle said. The sorority Zeta Tau Alpha…
On Nov. 8, America will face another pivotal moment in its history – Election Day. In less than two couple weeks, Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump will have to accept the outcome of the election along with the rest of America. The only problem is, can the candidates and the American citizens, accept a president we have absolutely no respect for?This election’s game plan has been entirely different. We have seen Clinton and Trump grappling to take the lead during the presidential debates, even if it meant making a mockery of each other and forgetting professionalism.…
Video by Jacquelyn Kellar | Broadcast Managing Editor and story by Rae Jefferson | News Editor This week the Baylor Lariat sat down with former president and chancellor Ken Starr to hear what he’s been up to for the past few months. On Aug. 19, Starr and the university announced a mutual separation following a year-long scandal around the university’s mishandling of sexual assault cases. “The mutually agreed separation comes with the greatest respect and love Judge Starr has for Baylor and with Baylor’s recognition and appreciation for Judge Starr’s many contributions to Baylor,” according to a university press release.…
With the constant media coverage of this season’s presidential candidates, it’s almost impossible to forget that elections are rapidly approaching. In just a matter of weeks, the nation will elect a new president, and media outlets will most likely shift from reporting on the most recent scandalous comment or debate debacle to examining each candidate’s reactions to the vote. Reporters will begin to write about what a Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump presidency will look like and newscasters will converse about potential early decisions and what will happen when the president elect takes office. Meanwhile, the new president will begin…
Opinions make the world go ’round. Without passion, we would never have seen the instigation of the civil rights movement, women’s suffrage or the Vietnam War protests. However, in the media today we have seen a startling shift away from pure informational news toward a faster-paced, biased commentary. With broadcast stations hiring personalities with a personal agenda and newspapers selecting stories that fit with their bias of choice, the lack of objective news has begun to misinform the public. We implore media outlets to differentiate between fact-based news and commentary and encourage audiences to dig deeper and decide for themselves…
Video and story by Morgan Kilgo | Broadcast Reporter Mary Lou Retton became the first United States female gymnast to win a gold medal in the individual, all-around competition at the 1984 summer Olympics. Now a retired athlete and mother of four, Retton spoke at Baylor’s acrobatics and tumbling dinner. The dinner was held at McLane stadium where Retton shared her story of becoming an Olympian and the reasons why she supports the rise of acrobatics and tumbling. “The sport of gymnastics and acro and tumbling takes a tremendous amount of physical strength, but even more mental,” Retton said. “These…
ISIS has people turning to violence abroad, North Korea’s nuclear program is proliferating and nearly half a million Syrians have died in the country’s civil war. Knowing that these events are taking place, it makes sense that people are worried about the United States’ national security and military strength. However, the military should reallocate some of its funds to local matters such as the health and education of today’s youth. Though the U.S.’s discretionary budget puts education as the third-most invested-in industry, it trails behind the military by a whopping $530 billion annually. Simply moving $5 billion from the military…
Thomas and Jakob talk the upcoming NBA season.
Video and story by Katie Mahaffey | Broadcast Reporter Baylor Puppy Playtime is an event where students meet to play with dogs and allow the dogs to socialize with one another. The existence of this group has proved beneficial to the dogs and their owners. “Typically he doesn’t have a whole lot of interaction with other dogs. We live in a complex that doesn’t have many other animals and so he gets to come out and see everybody and make a lot of new friends,” Grapevine senior Nicole Pepper said. The pets get fresh air while students walking past get their…
Student-athletes aren’t your everyday students; they don’t keep traditional schedules and they certainly aren’t held to the same standards as the rest of the student body. They often have more on their plates, both metaphorically and physically, and unlike most students, their extracurricular activities tend to dictate the rest of their daily lives. No, student-athletes are far from normal, but the divide between athletes and traditional students at Baylor seems to be continually growing, perpetuated by privileges and rules that apply only to student-athletes, effectively isolating them from the rest of the student body. While this may be commonplace among…
Video and story by Morgan Kilgo | Broadcast Reporter Baylor’s graduating class of 1966 held their 50-year reunion Friday during Baylor’s annual homecoming weekend. The reunion was held in the Barfield Drawing room. Alumni took a class photo, ate dinner and had the opportunity to mingle with their past classmates. Three roommates, Margaret Skimmyhorn, Maris Williams and Gale Holton were reunited after 15 years apart. “We had one of those big rooms in Ruth Collins hall, and so we were right where the showers and the bathrooms were so our room was the place that everybody came. It was a…
The rush for Spring 2017 registration begins Nov. 2. Some students make mock schedules; some plan to fly into the process blindly. Regardless of the preparation involved, students will have to wait until their registration date to see if the classes they need are still available. This can be especially frustrating for those who are required to take smaller-sized classes, as those tend to fill up quickly. Classes that are required for specific majors have limited seats and high demand, and can be filled up before the second half of the registration waves are even given the chance to secure…
