By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterBaylor professor Dr. Leslie Hahner and Kansas State professor Dr. Heather Woods combined their skills and areas of expertise to publish a book about memes and the impact they can have on social media and society. Their book, Make America Meme Again, specifically looks at the 2016 presidential election and analyzes the use of memes as a method of persuasion for fringe alt-right groups. Hahner’s expertise lies in the use of propaganda and persuasive sources, and Woods acts as a digital rhetorician, where she uses rhetoric as a way to study digital communication. Hahner views…
Author: Bridget Sjoberg
Story by Bridget Sjoberg | Staff Writer, Video by Kennedy Dendy | Broadcast Reporter Delta Sigma Pi, Baylor’s largest business fraternity, combined recruitment and service for local animals at their Fuzzy Friends donation event on Wednesday. Delta Sigma Pi will be hosting recruitment events to join their chapter up until Feb. 16 and used Wednesday’s event as a way for potential new members to learn more about their chapter while also giving back to Fuzzy Friends, a no-kill animal shelter in Waco dedicated to finding homes for dogs and cats in the local area. A variety of donations were accepted…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterBaylor students can look forward to a night of music and supporting worthy causes on Mar. 28 from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. when viral music star Mason Ramsey will perform a concert in Waco Hall. The event will be hosted by Pi Beta Phi sorority and Phi Kappa Chi fraternity and is planned in partnership with Waco Hall, Student Activities, BDSC Ticket Office and Creative Artists Agency. Donations from the event will benefit Read Lead Achieve and I Love Orphans philanthropies. Ramsey will visit Waco as a stop on his “How’s Your Girl & How’s…
This summer, Boerne junior Grace Hodo will join nine other college students on a six-week cycling trip down the west coast that will begin in Seattle and end 1,700 miles south in San Diego. The trip is part of an effort to raise money for Pedal the Pacific, a nonprofit that supports anti-trafficking through a partnership with the Refuge, a rehabilitation facility in Austin that supports minor girls who have been exploited through human trafficking. Hodo said that the goal of the bike trip is to raise money and awareness for Pedal the Pacific, and that this year’s trip will…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterThe Bear to Bear program seeks to provide opportunities for Baylor students to tutor and interact with students at Waco’s nearby JH Hines Elementary School. Each volunteer from Baylor is paired up with an elementary school student, providing advice and academic support on a weekly basis. Baylor alumna Robin Newman currently serves as the family and community social worker at JH Hines and helps with training and matching up Baylor volunteers to JH Hines students. She views Bear to Bear as a program that provides benefits for both institutions and allows Baylor students to become…
Story by Bridget Sjoberg | Staff Writer, Video by Kennedy Dendy | Broadcast Reporter Baylor celebrated its two beloved on-campus bears, Lady and Joy, at a birthday party hosted at the bear habitat on Jan. 27. The party was held on Joy’s 18th birthday, and a few days before Lady’s 17th birthday on Jan 31. The birthday party took place from 2 to 4 p.m. and featured celebratory activities like bounce houses and corn hole. Decorative balloons and streamers, birthday cake and photo ops with mascots Bruiser and Marigold were also included at the event. Special presentations were made…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff Writer The Bill Daniel Student Center (SUB) basement will be closed over the weekend after a water line break caused minor flooding and water damage. Jordy Dickey, assistant director of the SUB, said she was one of the first people to discover the leak and appreciates the effort made by student leaders in the SUB to address the issue in a prompt manner. “We opened up the game room at 8 a.m. this morning and upon our arrival, we saw water pouring down onto the bowling lanes,” Dickey said. “I definitely give credit to our…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterBaylor Riding Association seeks to be a home at the university for anyone interested in horses, whether they have been riding their entire life or simply want to learn more. They brought several horses to the Baylor campus from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday at Fountain Mall in order to raise awareness about the club and let students interact with the horses. McKinney senior Jazmin Ramos has been involved in the organization for all four years she has been at Baylor, and currently serves as the club’s president. She enjoys the opportunities that the…
Mayborn Museum, the popular educational spot located right off Baylor’s main campus, seeks to engage with a variety of audiences and visitors at this month’s Community Day which was held on Jan. 21. Community Day is a time when visitors can explore all of Mayborn’s exhibits free of cost. This includes permanent exhibits like Hall of Natural History and Waco Mammoth National Monument, as well as Young at Art, a temporary exhibit displaying illustrations from award-winning children’s books. Rebecca Nall, assistant director of exhibits, communication and visitor services at the Mayborn, is involved in the execution of this month’s Community…
When Houston junior Hanna Austin decided to turn baking cookies into a small business, she never imagined that her Bittersweet brand would attract consistent, loyal customers and become a passion she hopes to pursue beyond college. Austin began selling her cookies at popular local ice cream shop Heritage Creamery after being hired as their head baker in mid-August. She makes two dozen of both cookie flavors she offers during the day. Austin makes it a priority to constantly be thinking of and trying out new and unique flavors almost every morning. “I have my schedule set up where I only…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterBaylor’s Christian Business Leaders (CBL) seek to further their goal of gaining experience in servant leadership by hosting a canned food drive to close out the Christmas season. The Christian Business Leaders’ drive is collecting non-perishable canned goods, which can be dropped off in donation boxes located in the Paul L. Foster Center for Business and Innovation. The drive takes place Monday through Thursday and all goods collected will benefit local food banks. Plainfield, Ill., junior Colin Minogue serves as president of Christian Business Leaders and sees the drive as an important way for the…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterWhile some students continued to rest during their winter break, over 1,000 Baylor women flocked to the Stacy Riddle Forum to participate in the Panhellenic’s formal sorority recruitment. The event took place from January 8 to January 12, however, many women had prepared during the previous semester for the week that laid ahead. Formal sorority recruitment week includes a schedule with days highlighting various aspects of each sorority, including each philanthropy and dynamic sisterhood. Through a mutual selection process, the goal is for young women to ultimately join a group that they favor and matches…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterMany members of the Baylor community are familiar with the popular Christmas on Fifth tradition taking place on Thursday night, but not all know that Baylor also rings in the Christian season of Advent by hosting two services filled with music and prayer. Two 40-minute Advent services took place at 6 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday night in Armstrong Browning Library. Carlos Colón, coordinator for worship initiatives at Baylor, described the services as ones of prayer and as times to reflect on Christ’s role in the world. “The services happen very early, right at the beginning…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterWhen it comes to supporting and encouraging students, Baylor’s Academic Support Programs (ASP) department hopes to make a positive impact on the community through resources related to finals preparation and advice. ASP is offering “Road to Finals” packets located in the Sid Richardson Building containing eight and five-day study plans, an end of semester calendar, daily study guides, finals schedules and more. Additionally, walk-in study workshops are being offered from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday in the ASP Learning Lab (Sid Richardson 021, West Wing Basement). Sally Firmin, director of ASP, said the…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterAlthough Baylor is comprised of a majority of students from Texas, there’s still a nearly forty percent out-of-state population, allowing for a variety of cultures and states to maintain a presence in the school community.For many of these out-of-state students, Thanksgiving break acts a time to return home and spend time with family and friends. Whether home means going back to the snowy East Coast or sunny California, students’ time at Baylor causes them to reflect on how their home states differ from central Texas.Stony Brook, N.Y., freshman Hannah Detweiler is returning to her home…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterIn a city like Waco, with a variety of new small businesses, social media can often be a beneficial way to promote a company’s brand and products. Jed Cole is the co-founder and owner of Waco Hat Co., a nonprofit benefiting Mission Waco that sells a variety of hat styles promoting growth in the community. Many of their hats read “Waco” or depict images like a Waco skyline or the Waco Suspension Bridge. “We started a little less than a year ago,” Cole said. “The goal behind it was to provide something cool for Waco…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterEach year, the Baylor community gathers to celebrate one of the university’s largest and most cherished traditions — All-University Thanksgiving. This year’s event will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, but will be a bit different than years past. While the Thanksgiving meal is typically held on Fountain Mall, this year’s event will take place inside three Baylor dining halls — Penland, Memorial and East Village. The switch occurred due to unpredictable weather conditions, but all food will still be free to Baylor students, faculty and staff. Weatherford senior Emma Beaird serves as…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterWhen it comes to planning large scale events and working with a variety of student groups, Baylor Activities Council (BAC) acts as a campus connector and seeks to create meaningful activities for Baylor students to participate in. BAC is an organizing and planning board composed of Baylor students who help with popular, university-wide events on campus like Christmas on Fifth Street. BAC partners with campus groups like Pi Beta Phi and Asian Student Association to host Howdy, Lunar New Year and other events. Birmingham, Ala., junior Maggie McBride serves as president of BAC and enjoys…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterUpon volunteering and witnessing the effects of homelessness on the Waco community, San Antonio junior Aleena Huerta decided she wanted to use her role at Baylor to make a difference. Huerta’s idea led to a campuswide blanket and jacket drive, organized through a partnership between Baylor’s Multicultural Association of Pre-Health Students (MAPS), American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) and Latino Pre-Health Student Association (LPHSA). Huerta serves as the pre-dental chair for LPHSA. The drive accepts blankets and jackets for donation and lasts until Friday, with the groups distributing the donations at Street Ministries’ Thanksgiving meal to…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterThree wildfires have spread rapidly across California and led to the deaths of five people as of Friday afternoon, according to CNN. Northern California’s camp fire has affected areas primarily in Butte County, located a couple hours north of San Francisco and Sacramento and containing over 220,000 residents. Paradise, a town located near Chico, has been particularly devastated by wildfire damage, “consuming nearly the entire town,” according to AccuWeather. “The camp fire ignited around 6:30 a.m. local time Thursday and has burned over 70,000 acres and is 5 percent contained,” Accuweather’s website said. “Hundreds of structures have…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterIf you’ve ever wondered which students have the honor of carrying the large bear balloon at Baylor’s Homecoming parade, that role falls to Freshman Class Council (FCC) and is one of many events the group is involved in. FCC is a student government group comprised entirely of freshmen and is involved in planning a variety of events on campus and getting freshmen acclimated to life at Baylor and involved in student leadership. Holland, Mich., sophomore Luke Huber serves as co-director of FCC with Chesterfield, Mo., sophomore Alex Lawrence, and is involved in running meetings and…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterBaylor’s Career and Professional Development (CPD) department is known by students to help out with building a resume and with the “career closet” program, and the new campus CPD ambassadors seek to help spread the word about all that CPD does to assist other students. The CPD ambassador program is comprised of eight ambassadors and three interns who all work with Baylor’s marketing department to promote the CPD department on campus through events and sharing on social media. Shelby Cefaratti serves as a marketing and design specialist for the CPD department and supervises the CPD…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterPeter and Donna Thomas aren’t your typical artists — they’ve been book artists for over forty years, designing and hand-crafting unique books that allow for a sensory experience. The Thomas’ spoke about their career in creating artists’ books at Jones Library on Wednesday as part of their Wandering Book Artists tour, where they travel the country in a gypsy wagon to share about books as both a literary and artistic medium. “We travel around visiting libraries to talk about our books — our goal is to help people think about books as works of art,”…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterOn Thursday, Baylor officially introduced its new Give Light campaign, a philanthropic effort that received donations of over $540 million in a “silent phase” (a time period where donations were being accepted before the campaign went public) and is ultimately working to meet a university goal of reaching $1.1 billion. Give Light is part of Baylor’s recent academic strategic plan Illuminate, which seeks to accomplish goals like creating an “unambiguously Christian educational environment” and a “transformational undergraduate education,” among others. Baylor President Dr. Linda Livingstone hopes Give Light and the larger Illuminate plan continue to…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterThis homecoming weekend will provide a unique situation for Baylor President Dr. Linda Livingstone and First Gentleman Brad Livingstone. Baylor is playing Oklahoma State for Saturday’s homecoming game — the Livingstones’ alma mater. The Livingstones met at Oklahoma State University through their involvement in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and both played basketball and received undergraduate and graduate degrees at the university. Despite their deep appreciation for their time and experiences at Oklahoma State, Brad Livingstone said they will always be Bears at heart. “Oklahoma State is our alma mater, and we hope that…
On October 29th, Netflix released “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” a darker take on the popular ‘90s sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and the Archie Comic of the same name. The first season of the series was ten episodes and is an eerie drama, perfect for the Halloween season — just don’t watch it expecting something similar to “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” Both the sitcom and new show tell the story of Sabrina Spellman, a half-witch, half-mortal who navigates living a double life upon the arrival of her 16th birthday—a crucial coming-of-age of the witch community. Despite the similar story…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterThis weekend, students, alumni and families will gather to share in one of Baylor’s most cherished and long-standing traditions — homecoming weekend. Homecoming holds special meaning for all members of the Baylor community, but it is a particularly special moment for Baylor enthusiasts to spread their love of the university and its traditions. Two individuals in particular have a unique appreciation for homecoming as huge fans of the school, and look to truly delve into all that the weekend has to offer. Tom Barnard, assistant director for student outreach and engagement, loves capturing the Baylor…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterToday is the day. You organize the ten alternate class schedules you’ve composed for next semester’s classes, making sure you have the correct times and teachers you’ve been hoping for. You’re a sophomore majoring in English, but are taking a lab science, two language classes, american literature, and are really betting on the fact that you’ll find a spot in a few desirable lifetime fitness classes. This scenario most likely feels all too familiar as a Baylor student. Despite having chosen a major and knowing the general direction you want to take in terms of…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterStudents were able to enjoy free food and live music during Tuesday night’s “Family Dinner with the Livingstones” event at the Allbritton House. The event is hosted by Baylor University president Linda Livingstone and First Gentleman Brad Livingstone, who spent time interacting with and getting to know students. Family Dinner with the Livingstones offered all students free food from a variety of popular Waco food trucks by simply showing their student ID. Matt Burchett, Director of Student Activities, said this is the second year of Family Dinner with the Livingstone’s, and that the event was…
By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff WriterWhen it comes to promoting leadership and service ideals on campus, Baylor’s chapter of Circle K International hopes to impact the local community and beyond. Circle K, part of the larger service organization Kiwanis International, is a student-run group at Baylor, and is one of many chapters at college campuses across the nation. There are over 13,000 total members of Circle K, and the organization is recognized as the world’s largest student-led collegiate service organization. The group meets biweekly and focuses heavily on service projects, working with organizations like March of Dimes, the Humane Society…