Author: Baylor Lariat

Think about the last few times you had a conversation, discussion or argument centered on politics. Whether it was about presidential candidates, hot button issues or both, recall how that exchange ran its course. Especially now, when politics seem more like absurdity theater than national discourse for problem solving, political discussions have become excessively polarized. Consequently, these conversations showcase a devastating epidemic of an ill-informed population that falls short of actually resolving to anything positive. There should be no excuse for the newest generation of voters to be at a lack of information or evidence. How can it be that…

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Greg Lewallen, drawing and 2D design professor, did not start out as an art teacher. In his time before Baylor, he picked up the hobby of studying insects. He sat down with the Lariat to talk entomology, wildlife and more.

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By Rolando Rodriguez, Reporter Waco is taking a stand against suicide and depression to bring awareness, promote safety and raise funds through their second Out of the Darkness Community Walk at 9 a.m. on Saturday in Brazos Park East. The walk will benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The second leading cause of death for college students is suicide, and untreated depression is the leading cause of all suicides. According to a presentation from Baylor, 17.5 percent of students have considered suicide at some point in their life. Since 2006, there has been one to two suicides per year…

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As a victim of a crime, it’s reasonable to assume you’d want your offender shackled and locked away as soon as possible. On the other hand, everyone is innocent until proven guilty, even criminals who without a doubt committed the crime. Painful as it is, rape cases walk the same fine line between due diligence and giving justice to the victim. But add the dynamic of student-on-student sexual assault, and it becomes even more complicated. In the recent case of former football player Sam Ukwuachu, who was convicted on Aug. 20 of sexual assault of another Baylor student in 2013,…

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Dear Baylor Nation: The recent criminal conviction of former student-athlete Sam Ukwuachu has brought deep anguish to our campus. As we have said unequivocally, acts of sexual violence contradict every value Baylor University upholds as a caring Christian community. Important new information emerging from the recent judicial proceedings has made us aware of painful details of a brave survivor – and Baylor student-athlete at the time – who deserves our compassion and understanding. Our hearts break for any victim of such an unspeakable crime against human dignity. Her moving testimony at trial greatly disturbed all of us. What she said…

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In many ways, Zach Anderson, 19, is like any other kid. He wants to work in computer science. He enjoys skateboarding. He used a dating app to pick up girls. In one very specific way, Anderson is not like other teenagers. He is now a registered sex offender. Anderson downloaded the dating app “Hot or Not” last year and met a girl in the adult section who said she was 17. They met up and had consensual sex. After the incident, it came out that the girl was actually 14 and lied about her age. Anderson will be a registered…

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Year after year, students line the walkways leading to the back of the dimly lit bookstore with their class schedules in hand and fear plastered on their faces as they surround themselves with the cold and expensive horror of buying textbooks. With no way around securing the required materials for each class, students are forced to spend hundreds of dollars on assigned texts and access codes as they battle rising textbook prices. According to College Board, students on average can spend upwards of $1,200 on textbooks annually, with some books costing a few hundred dollars each. In 2013, the Bureau…

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By Maryclaire Dale Associated Press PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia artist has disclosed that his museum portrait of former President Bill Clinton contains a shadow reference to Monica Lewinsky’s infamous blue dress. Nelson Shanks told the Philadelphia Daily News that a shadow beside Clinton is a literal reference to the dress and a nod to the shadow the affair cast on his presidency. “If you look at the left-hand side of it there’s a mantle in the Oval Office and I put a shadow coming into the painting,” Shanks told the Philadelphia newspaper. “The Clintons hate the portrait,” he said. “They…

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