With the 2016 primaries beginning in March, the Feb. 1 voting registration deadline is closing in quickly. The easiest way Texas residents can decide to register to vote is during driver’s license renewal. If not, one can register to vote online at www.votetexas.gov/register-to-vote or go into the voter registrar’s or county clerk’s office to pick up an application. The only documentation required is a Texas driver’s license, passport, or state-issued ID card. When filling out a paper application potential voters should keep in mind the application must be mailed 30 days before the election. “It’s important to vote because that’s…
Author: Baylor Lariat
Young, white students at elite universities stereotype Asian-Americans as more competent than blacks and Latinos, a Baylor study found in December 2015. “It started off with an observation that a lot of the research out there on this concept of the model minority myth about Asian-Americans mainly focused on media representations that Asian-Americans are always perceived as this racial minority that outperforms everybody else,” said Dr. Jerry Park, associate professor of sociology. To investigate whether these media representations of Asian-Americans are in line with people’s perceptions, Park and researchers from other universities looked at responses from the National Longitudinal Survey…
Having a required meal plan is almost a rite of passage for every student at Baylor. With the rare exception here and there, every freshman is required to pay for a dining plan their first year. By sophomore year, students are free to choose which plan, if any, best suits their on-campus eating habits — that is, unless you live in Teal or Brooks Residential College. The residents of these living and learning communities are required and limited to choosing between The Weekday 100, The Weekday 200, The Everyday 50 or The Everyday 150 regardless of their year classification. For…
I was reading an article for class the other day titled “The Historic Root of Our Ecological Crisis,” by Lynn White Jr., which discusses the reason Christianity is the root of many environmental issues. White was a professor of medieval history at Princeton and Stanford before he died in 1987. White explains that “all life forms modify their contexts” and he believed that some of these modifications were done on behalf of a specific life form’s belief system. What I got from this was in order to survive, each species and creature must adapt to fit their environment. Many species…
By Brauna Marks Lariat Reporter During his two-year collegiate career at Baylor, Trayvon Bromell built himself a future that only seems to beam brighter as his career goes on. In late October last year, the 20-year-old Bromell from St. Petersburg, Fla., a junior in college, became a professional sprinter and signed a sponsorship deal with New Balance. This year, the ultimate goal is the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, this summer. In 2014, Bromell highlighted the beginning of his collegiate career at Texas Relays, where he ran 10.01 seconds in the 100-meter race to tie the world…
After three-year investigation, board concludes that fatal explosion could have been prevented
Fraternity plans step competition for charity
By Ashlyn Thompson Lariat Reporter Jeanne Bishop visited Baylor Chapel on Wednesday to share the tragedy of how her younger sister and brother-in-law were murdered in their home 26 years ago. The Chapel audience was silent as Bishop recounted that cold day on April 7, 1990, when she, her pregnant sister, Nancy, and brother-in-law, Richard, were enjoying what none of them realized would be their last meal together as a family. “I hugged my sister goodbye, and told her I would see her tomorrow,” Bishop said. “The next day was Palm Sunday and we had plans to eat together after…
Baylor professors break down the knowns and unknowns of the virus
By Jessica Babb Lariat Broadcast Editor On Monday, when many Baylor University undergraduates checked their email, they discovered they were accepted into the Louise Herrington School of Nursing in Dallas. “When I got my acceptance letter, it came through the email, and my first reaction was to call my mom,” Harker Heights sophomore Audrey Karcher said. “I was really excited, and it’s really nice to know I’ve already got my acceptance.” Dallas sophomore Kate Johnson said she was also excited about receiving her acceptance because of the passion she has for one day becoming a nurse after interacting with them…
By Meghan Mitchell Lariat Sports Writer For the 16th consecutive season, the Lady Bears won at least 20 games, a continuing Big 12 record for head coach Kim Mulkey and her team. In a night to show support for the Pat Summit Foundation and bring awareness to Alzheimer’s, the No. 4 Baylor Lady Bears found a way to take the win against Texas Tech, 69-43, despite sluggish play. Although the score would induce one to think the Lady Bears were dominant over the Lady Red Raiders, Mulkey said her team still has plenty to work on from Wednesday’s game. “Well,…
By Hunter Hewell Lariat Reporter The No. 17 Baylor men’s basketball team is now tied for first place in the Big 12 after a 69-65 victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Wednesday in Stillwater, Okla. Wednesday night’s win completed the Bears’ season sweep over the Cowboys, but it looked like Oklahoma State was not going to let that happen for most of the night. The Cowboys took over early, leading 12-7 at the 15-minute mark. Baylor picked up its defense and forced four turnovers, but the Bears had trouble getting into a rhythm on offense. OSU widened its lead…
By Jacquelyn Kellar Lariat Reporter The new Art Forum of Waco has opened its doors again after a fire ravaged its original building and thousands of dollars worth of art inside last September. Just four months after the setback, the renovated Forum opened its first art exhibition last Saturday, featuring the work of local artist Zach Duffey. The exhibition will be open to the public until Feb. 13. The Forum’s previous building at 1826 Morrow Avenue was completely devastated by a fire that started early in the morning on Sep. 1, 2015. The cause of the fire remains unknown. The building…
For the second year in a row, the Oscars caused a massive upset that overtook social media. In 2015, the hashtag, #OscarsSoWhite started trending when no black actors were nominated in any of the acting categories. This year was more of the same, reviving the 2015 hashtag and adding #OscarsStillSoWhite to the trending topic. In addition to cyber-fury, some actors, such as Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith, announced that they will be boycotting the awards ceremony. The public discontent did not go unnoticed. Last Friday, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that it would make radical…
By Jessica Babb Lariat Broadcast Editor Baylor Air Force ROTC will be hosting a shoe drive on campus February 8-13 to benefit the Salvation Army and Mission Waco. The idea for the shoe drive came from Arlington senior and AFROTC cadet Austin Hyde, who was inspired by his grandmother’s abundant giving. “She would pull out all the stops for Christmas, for gifts and giving, and was so festive,” Hyde said. “I saw that abundance and took it to heart and thought what if I can give like I have, even though I might not have an abundance, I want to…
Looking to add on to their home win streak, the No. 4 Baylor Lady Bears look to take on Texas Tech at 7 p.m. today at the Ferrell Center. With a win against Texas Tech, the Lady Bears could secure their 16th consecutive 20-win season, an ongoing Big 12 record. The Lady Bears (19-1, 6-1) are coming off a road win, 77-61 win against Iowa State last Saturday. The Lady Bears took an 11-point lead heading into the half, gaining full control of the game’s momentum. Head coach Kim Mulkey said the Lady Bears’ shooting helped fend off Iowa State’s…
The No. 17 Baylor men’s basketball team hit the road for Stillwater, Okla., to take on Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. today at the Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Bears (15-4, 5-2) are looking to regroup after falling short to No. 2 Oklahoma on Saturday at the Ferrell Center, 82-72. Baylor lost its way with turnovers and ineffective defense against the Sooners’ clinical offense. “I don’t think we exposed them at all. I think we had a lot of defensive breakdowns late. We did a bad job of making sure we were in the right place at the right time. That’s on us.”…
By Liesje Powers Lariat Reporter Mission Waco is hosting its annual Cultural Food and Dance Night at 5:45 p.m. Saturday at the World Cup Café and Jubilee Theatre. This will be its eighth year of cultural celebration. The evening will consist of international foods and dance performances. The “Taste Your Way Around the World” meal will include a selection of different cultural foods including: Czech Republic, Mexican, Korean, Caucus, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese and Filipino. After eating at the World Cup Café, attendees will move into the Jubilee Theatre to watch dancing from around the world. Three Baylor groups, the Chinese…
When you finally make plans to improve some aspect of your life, your first thought is usually that you should tell someone. Whether that’s a new eating habit, exercise routine or target GPA, it’s fun to let others in on your new decision. It can make you feel like you have a community around you and are one step closer to your goal. In all honesty, for the sake of accomplishing your goal, you should probably just keep it to yourself. Peter Gollwitzer, a professor in the psychology department at New York University said telling someone about what you plan…
In the New Year, people often make health and fitness goals, and the Baylor Wellness Department wants to give students the tools to achieve them. The Baylor Wellness Department will host the second annual Fit Well Expo from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Expo will be held in the Paul L. Foster School of Business in the Meyer Conference Center. The expo is open to all faculty, students, staff and their spouses. “It’s a great consolidated place where you can get some questions answered and meet some people in your local community who are really focused on…
St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. had no choice but to close down its Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery Program in August after an investigation conducted by CNN. It led other hospitals with low volume of congenital heart operations, fewer than 100 per year, to be placed under scrutiny. These hospitals are pressured by more renowned hospitals, such as Johns Hopkins and Texas Children’s Hospital, to cease these risky procedures or shut down their programs because of their success rates. The investigation exposed that these hospitals are non-transparent and sometimes deceptive about mortality rates. Because of this, the existence…
Baylor Opera Theater’s production of Johann Strauss’s “Die Fledermaus” will debut tonight in the Jesse H. Jones Theatre at 7:30 pm and will play at the same time every night until Saturday. Tickets are available on the Baylor Theater Department’s webpage. They are priced $15 for the general public and $10 for Baylor students. “Die Fledermaus,” translated into English as “The Bat,” is a German farce written by Austrian composer Johann Strauss. This production will feature students from the school of music’s vocal division accompanied by the Baylor Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra will be conducted by Assistant Professor Jeffrey…
By Rebecca Fedorko Lariat Reporter The Waco Civic Theatre will put on its first act of the year at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, a children’s theater production titled “Miss Nelson Is Missing.” The cast is made up of local child actors who sing and act in the parts of mischievous schoolchildren. The musical is based on a book with the same title. The story is about a teacher named Miss Nelson who is so kind that her students take advantage of her and are wildly disobedient. Soon enough, however, Miss Nelson disappears suddenly and is replaced by a horrible substitute…
By Jessica Hubble Lariat Reporter Baylor University and Midland College are teaming up to help make the college-transfer process an easier one. A formal Baylor Bound transfer agreement signing was held Monday at the Scharbauer Student Center in Midland College. The agreement will give Midland College students access to Baylor advisers, online degree requirement guides, special mailings and the Baylor Library System interlibrary loan system. Students will also be able to apply for scholarships available to transfer students. “It is another avenue for them when they complete an associate’s degree to choose a four year institution,” said Rebecca C. Bell,…
By Liesje Powers Lariat Staff WriterCriminal defense attorney well-known gun control spokeswoman and anti-capital punishment advocate Jeanne Bishop will visit campus this week. Following her arrival Tuesday night, Bishop will be speaking to a variety of students, including those in Chapel and the journalism, public relations and new media department. Bishop will speak in Chapel about her Christian journey through the forgiveness of her sister’s murderer, unborn niece and brother-in-law. When originally dealing with the murder trial, Bishop was in favor of no parole, but had a change of heart after she read an article written by Randall O’Brien, previous…
Antioch Community Church leads Baylor students to assist Syrian refugees fleeing to the Greek island of Lesvos.
By Jessica Chapa Lariat Reporter Baylor’s Urban Missions partnered with the McLennan County Juvenile Detention Center to start the Juvenile Justice Team. The team’s goal is to build positive relationships between student volunteers and teens at the detention center by allowing them to meet once a week to spend time with each other, said Carole Meriwether, Urban Missions Coordinator. Meriwether said Urban Missions is currently recruiting students that are at least 21 years old to serve on the team. Students need to complete a background check to prove they are in good moral standing. Volunteers are asked to serve consistently…
Of all species, mankind is unique in our ability to tell stories. Whether they’re carvings on rock walls, scrolls of papyrus or paperback books, narratives have reflected the society that created them. Today’s fiction is a mirror for our own society. Studying the reflection can reveal inequalities in society, and it’s up to us to change how we read. Earlier this year, several young adult and children’s authors shared their experiences of sexism via social media. On her blog, author Shannon Hale recounted one of the school visits she made on tour for her book “Princess Academy: The Forgotten Sisters.”…
While Smart Balance Boards, more commonly referred to as hoverboards, were the biggest must-have gift last Christmas, many places have already implemented temporary bans on them. In large cities, like New York, and many schools, like Texas State, people are having a rough time joining the crowd as hoverboard fan-girls. Several boards are being banned across the U.S. due to safety concerns. Many people have said boards caught fire during or shortly after being charged. Although these hazards make the use of this invention is foolish, the functionality is ingenious. The engineering of these Segway-without-handlebars is incredible. They run on…
Language courses at Baylor are notorious for being fast paced and difficult. As members of a higher-level institution, most, if not all, majors have to take at least two semesters of a foreign language. As in any other class, students are expected to keep up with the instructor, but it is often clear that some students are able to pick up languages much faster than others. Many of those less skilled at languages, including myself, find this frustrating and turn to long study sessions or tutors to solve the problem. Regardless of the study adaptations or time set aside for…
