Author: Cameron Bocanegra

By Cameron Bocanegra | Reporter A recent nationally represented survey done in Baylor’s sociology department revealed that white male gun owners who have struggled economically are most emotionally connected to their guns. The survey is published in the journal Social Problems and was conducted by the Gallup Organization in 2014, reaching 1,572 people in the United States. The survey is sent out every three to four years, but researchers Dr. F. Carson Mencken, and Dr. Paul Froese, professors of sociology added a new arrangement of questions that regarded guns in relation to safety, patriotism and community. “I was drawn to…

By Cameron Bocanegra | ReporterWaco’s Good Neighbor House is a century-old building was bought by Baylor University education professor, Dr. Laine Scales, in 2011 and opened in November 2016 with a vision to host the social, spiritual and educational activities.The house has hosted community meetings for girl scout troupes, 12-step programs, Tai Chi lessons, meditations, bible studies and book clubs. The house is occupied by “settlers” who contribute to the management of the house for a reduced rent. Two of these settlers are Baylor senior Reid Pinkerton and his wife Drue Pinkerton. They signed a one-year lease to live at…

By Cameron Bocanegra | ReporterTeaching positive behavior management became a core interest of Provident Heights Elementary School after being Waco ISD’s highest bidder for Baylor’s School of Education Campus-Based Family Services grant.After the first year of assessment, the team of five school of education professors and five graduate students are now in the process of fully systematic behavior training using Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS) to improve students’ positive behaviors and address the negative ones.“First we identified teachers there who were really motivated to make changes as the ‘peace team’,” Dr. Tonya Davis, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology said.…

By Cameron Bocanegra | Reporter In a world of media that caters and coos over silver screen idols, all press is good press. A decision has been made repeatedly over decades. We have decided that a seamless film overflowing with positive reviews about another performance for the ages is more important than an assault report; a report that claims an immoral man we think we know and surely love made sexual advances and does not know how to be rejected. For the better of the Academy and for the better of our personal entertainment, famous actors are excused from responsibility…

By Cameron Bocanegra | ReporterAfter years of applying, The Washington Irving Society is finally an official non-profit organization in Texas. Baylor English professor Dr. Tracy Hoffman, is president of the new society and is still learning the ropes with the help of the American Literature Association (ALA) which focuses on supporting the study of American authors’ societies.Washington Irving (1783-1859), was an American short story writer known for his classic stories, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle.” Many accounts describe him as a reclusive man who never married or produced a lineage, so his memory is only resurrected…

By Cameron Bocanegra | ReporterBeing a woman is easy. All you have to do is follow a few simple rules that your mother teaches you, starting as early as you can walk. Every lesson plays out with ease. If you suddenly have to make the infamous midnight drive to Walgreens for a box of tampons, make sure to park under a light, hold your keys out to defend rather than attack, just in case you need a weapon, and then check your backseat before you drive off. Text a friend that you got back to the car.You are on your…

By Cameron Bocanegra | ReporterDespite the intense African sun, limited resources and culture shock during the annual two-week Baylor mission trip to Ghana, the buzzing talk of upcoming travel has begun.Every May, a small team of 10 to 15 students and a few faculty pack suitcases full of notebooks, pencils, markers, books and hygiene products to take to a primary school in Kyerkerom, a small village in rural Ghanda.Dr. Lakia Scott, assistant professor in curriculum and instruction, previously traveled to Ghana with the team as the School of Education’s faculty representative.“The team does not trying to proselytize people,” Scott said.…

By Cameron Bocanegra | ReporterFor six semesters, Baylor’s School of Education keeps their pre-service students volunteering and teaching in public schools across rural, urban and suburban settings in multiple districts. The program is designed to throw education students into the classroom feet-first, to provide a genuine experience of what their future will look like as educators. “The School of Education supports our students while they learn in the environment they will graduate from and work in,” said Dr. Rachelle Rogers, a campus liaison at one of the Baylor’s Professional Development Schools campuses. “It is one thing if we have classes…

Aviation and education combine forces to make a fun interactive children’s booklet.

By Cameron Bocanegra | ReporterWe define history by things that happened before and after events. I was born before 9/11, so I never knew what it was like before the more intense racial stigmas. My high school started doing more crisis drills after the Sandy Hook shooting. I started watching the news when the local station covered a student’s suicide. Breaking news changes the future and the public’s perspective daily. All of this stems back to the news. Media coverage stretches from trending links on social media to CNN playing idly in every hospital lobby. Only 23 percent of Americans…

By Cameron Bocanegra | ReporterThis is your life in between advertisements. We try to ignore ads because they are never the current focus of our attention since they are so common and regularized. We assume ads just take up space and in turn, we think we pay them no mind. It takes one suspicious glance, just a curious part of you that crinkles your nose at a silly display of a product and makes you think, “Who even cares?” In that moment of scrutiny, your attention has succumbed to an advertisement that companies pay millions for. Ads plaster themselves on…

Two day event honors the message behind black gospel music.

By Cameron Bocanegra | ReporterThey run around crashing Baylor events in fake glasses, plastic noses, wigs and beards just to scatter thousands of their satirical newspapers through every building. The NoZe Brotherhood goes back to the year 1923 when a group of boys in Brooks Hall created a club in the name of their friend, Leonard Shoaf’s, giant nose. Generations later, the joke lives on. Their pranks earn headlines for wild and often illegal shenanigans, such as hanging a giant 9.5 Theses banner on Waco Hall (2016), canceling Homecoming (2000) and dropping 4,000 ping pong balls at Chapel (2008). Not…

By Cameron Bocanegra | ReporterBetween being one of five children in the family, working summer camps for the past three summers and studying education in college, I seem to think I understand children more than ever. Every summer morning, I tucked in a shirt, threw on a fanny pack and slipped in the back gate of the childcare center, ready to sing “Kidz Bop” with 30 children under the age of 10. I showed up and left whenever the sun did, although it never felt like a day wasted.It was not all crayons and field trips every day. There were…

At the Texas Tribune Festival, Sierra Smith spoke out about a bill that will ensure sexual assault assailants cannot escape their actions.

Steppin’ out too far?

The teaching profession is often pushed to the side, but it’s just as important as other public servants.

Behind their uniform and crisp camouflage cap, the Air Force ROTC students take on a life of dedication.

The Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, outside the “Baylor Bubble,” but part of the downtown Waco community.