Astronaut Rick Mastracchio spent time answering spaceflight questions Thursday evening in one of two lectures he will give during his time here at Baylor. At 1:30 p.m. today, Mastracchio will discuss space suit design in McClinton Auditorium, room 240 in the Paul Foster School for Business and Innovation. “The technical effort that goes into making something like that work is something that maybe not everyone appreciates,” said Dr. Dwight Russell, associate professor and interim chair of the physics department. He said that getting to hear about a space suit from someone who has spent so many hours wearing one will…
Author: Emma King
Due to student requests, the schedule of summer classes for 2016 is now available. In previous years, this information was not released to students until February. Dr. Wesley Null, vice provost for undergraduate education, said that the goals for providing earlier access to the course schedule are to increase the number of students taking summer classes at Baylor and to increase the four year graduation rate. “We want to give students as much time as possible to be thinking about their summer plans so they are prepared for advising in February,” Null said. He said he knows a lot of…
By Emma King, Staff Writer It took countless hours over three semesters for Lipscomb, senior Kathleen Tyson to dig up the data that proves that Waco’s crime rates have been declining for the last 20 years. “I was honestly really surprised,” Tyson said. “When I first got to Baylor, all I heard was ‘Waco is really dangerous.’” Tyson is a University Scholar major, with a concentration in criminal justice and forensic science. She took on the task of researching Waco’s crime rates for her senior thesis, which totaled a 71 pages. “It was a good and important topic because the…
“We kind of want to bridge the gap between the Baylor bubble and the Waco community and get students involved in something that’s bigger than them,” said Allison Carrington, president of Baylor’s Habitat chapter.
By Emma King, Staff Writer Stress levels are rising for Fort Worth junior Craig Hatch, a member of Baylor’s Kappa Omega Tau (KOT) and one of their Christmas tree chairs. Hatch and five other KOT brothers began planning in the spring for their Christmas on Fifth tree lighting and concert. Today, they start decorating the 40-foot tree in anticipation for Thursday, when it will be lit up prior to Relient K’s performance in Waco Hall. “It is a lot to think about for this week, but we all know it’s going to work out and it’s going to be a…
The tenth annual Central Texas Turkey Trot will take place this Saturday, with prizes ranging from cash money to frozen turkeys or pumpkin pies. Both the 5K and the 10K will start at Cameron Park East at 9:00 a.m. Proceeds from the race will go toward Altrusa International of the Brazos and a service project that is near and dear to their hearts. This year, they have chosen to give 75 percent of the money made to The Cove, a free standing nonprofit that seeks to serve homeless students on the streets in Waco.Susan Duecy, spokesperson for Altusa International of…
NCAAP meets to hash out ideas to diversity campus as a whole
The Baylor Swing Dance Society will host its first Clue-themed mystery dance at 7 p.m. Friday in the Beckam and White room of the Bill Daniel Student Center. Admission is free for members and $5 for non-members, and the dance will start with a beginner lesson. “It’s a great way to try out swing dancing. If anyone has thought about it before, this is a fun way for people to see what swing dancing is like and make some new friends,” said Plano junior Meagan Smith, the Baylor Swing Dance Society vice president. The society’s secretary, Schertz junior Megan Van…
By Emma King, Staff Writer This week is school psychology awareness week, bringing attention to a field that a lot of students don’t know exists. Dr. Alexander Beaujean, Baylor’s School Psychology Program Director, said school psychology is always one of the top social service professions in the nation. This year, the U.S. News’ list of best social service jobs ranked school psychology No. 1. Beaujean said the purpose of the week is to inform students, faculty and families of the skills and services that school psychologists have and provide. “The main thing school psychologists do is they help students in…
By Emma King, Staff WriterBaylor’s annual fire safety and security report for 2015 showed a 175 percent increase in burglaries and a 7.2 percent increase in liquor law violations from 2013 to 2014.Baylor’s Police Chief Brad Wigtil said it’s difficult to tell why some of these numbers are increasing. It could be that more of these crimes are occurring, or it could be that more of them are actually being caught by the community and reported to authorities.”Sometimes we really don’t know the genesis of an increase or a decrease,” Wigtil said. Wigtil said the increase in burglaries in particular…
By Emma King, Staff Writer It’s been 18 years since Gabriel Dominquez was released from federal prison on charges of machine gun possession in Waco. He had been part of a large gun-ring and was one of the most feared drug dealers around. Today, he is the pastor of Life Church Waco and the high risk youth director at Mission Waco. “I was a high risk kid, except I didn’t get any help,” Dominguez said. “It set the context I lived out of.” Baylor senior Jacob Herbert met Dominguez at Mission Waco, where they work together to give the city’s…
Baylor Agape Connection has paired with Meals and Wheels Waco to create a program that provides college students with the opportunity to volunteer while building relationships with the elderly.
By Emma King, Staff Writer Truett Seminary will welcome prospective students to campus for their Fall Preview on Thursday and Friday. “We’re always excited to have people in our building and learning about Truett,” said Kristen Boyd, Truett’s coordinator of student recruitment. Boyd said they start planning their preview events as soon as the preview from the previous semester is over. “We’re gearing up for a very big fall preview,” said Carley Collier, administrative associate for Truett admissions. Thursday night will consist of a welcome worship service and a dinner, so visitors can be introduced to what Truett is about.…
By Emma King, Staff Writer Construction on Baylor’s new multimillion dollar golf practice facility is slated to begin in early 2016, thanks to approval from the Board of Regents during their homecoming meeting.The facility will be located adjacent to campus, on a 14-acre plot of land on University Parks Drive.“This will be a dramatic change in terms of location,” said Ian McCaw, vice president and director of student athletics. “It’ll be very convenient for the student athletes. Currently they need to drive close to 20 minutes out to the practice facility at Twin Rivers.”The new facility is going to improve…
By: Emma King, Staff Writer A number of alumni returned to Baylor this past weekend to celebrate the oldest college homecoming and make important decisions regarding the campus’ future. The Baylor Board of Regents announced plans for the Louise Herrington School of Nursing to return to its former status as an independent school, the creation of a new golf practice facility closer to campus and and it heard a report on student safety and security. The board also recognized recipients of the Baylor Meritorious Achievement Awards and listened to Baylor President and Chancellor Ken Starr report on a…
Baylor Golden Girl Caroline Carothers, a San Antonio Freshman, and her fellow twirlers have raised $3,150 for Twirling For The Cure by making and selling their own rhinestone hairpieces.
The Baylor Student Senate voted not to impeach External Vice President Steven Newcomb during its weekly meeting Thursday night. If the charges were upheld, Newcomb could have been removed.
World renowned composer John Mackey is spending the week attending Baylor music students’ rehearsals and concerts. Corpus Christi sophomore Andres Camarillo said working with Mackey is almost like working with Mozart or Beethoven for these music students. “He’s very popular,” Houston sophomore Julie Yu said. “Probably every band student in the nation has played his music before.” Not every student has had the opportunity to collaborate with him, like these Baylor students have this week. Mackey has worked with both the Baylor Symphonic Band and the Baylor Wind Ensemble. His time with the wind ensemble has been a group effort,…
The first Launch Leadership Summit took place Friday as about 150 student leaders from across campus gathered in the lounge at Collins Residence Hall to discuss leading their organizations with intention. “The idea of Launch was just leadership development and incorporating Christ in all we were doing, and hoping to continue to further Baylor’s mission statement through that,” said Baylor’s student body president Pearson Brown. Launch featured a prayer from Baylor Chaplain Burt Burleson and an address from Baylor President and Chancellor Ken Starr. Speeches were given by Baylor alumnus Dillon Meek, a Waco city councilman, and Round Rock senior…
Twelve Baylor students were named the first individuals chosen for the William Hillis Scholar in Biomedical Sciences Program on Thursday. The program is a scholarship program that also offers students unique opportunities for research and enhanced academic advising. “For the juniors and sophomores, there’s going to be a lot of mentorship involved,” said Aurora, Colo., senior Mallory Myers, who is looking forward to mentoring her fellow Hillis Scholars. Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences established this program to recognize high-achieving undergraduate prehealth students and to better equip them for the competitive application processes for both graduate programs and medical schools.…
Baylor students have saved a total of 6,354 kilowatts per hour and have prevented the release of 9,354 pounds of carbon dioxide during the Baylor Energy Madness Residence Hall Competition Baylor Energy Madness Residence Hall Competition. Friday will mark the end of the 26-day competition. “Four weeks is a good amount of time to establish good [energy] habits and still have a little bit of fun,” said Clare Paul, Aramark marketing manager for Baylor Facility Services. Throughout this competition, Paul keeps track of each residence hall’s energy usage and awards points based on their percentage of energy reduction. The percentage…
Baylor University offered over $183 million in scholarships last year, according to data collected by the Office of Institutional Research and Testing. These scholarships are awarded to students who have financial need and students who don’t. However, a recent survey from the Investment Protection Institute (IPI) reveals that 49 percent of millennials surveyed still have college-related debt. “Student debt is increasing at an exponential rate,” said Juan Mejia, a Baylor Student Financial Foundations peer coach. “Our student debt for millennials is over $1.3 trillion, so that being said … do we understand what we’re getting ourselves into?” Jackie Diaz, Baylor’s…
Baylor’s Student Senate tackled the topic of tank-tops during their Oct. 8 meeting. They passed a bill that could potentially let sleeve-less shirts be allowed in the campus weight room. Currently, the McLane Student Life Center’s policy states that full length T-shirts with sleeves are required in the weights and fitness area of the gym. Student senate members Chase Hardy, Dane Risinger and Ryder McCool authored a bill that would free the upper-arms of weight room goers. The bill passed with a vote of 36 for and 12 against. Hardy said this rule is outdated and that other areas in…
This flash mob came as the conclusion to the choir’s annual Men’s Day Out, which began at 11:00 a.m. and welcomed over 200 high school students from local schools to Baylor’s campus. These students got the opportunity to participate in sectionals led by members of Baylor’s Men’s Choir, rehearse as a large group, fellowship over lunch and then perform a concert alongside the Men’s Choir.
A trio from Baylor’s speech pathology department is starting a speech impediment support group to encourage stutterers. The first meeting will be held at 6 p.m., on Oct. 8, in Baylor’s Neill Morris Hall room 123.
The Baylor Golden Wave Band and Be The Match will be hosting a campus wide bone marrow registry drive on Thursday and Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the lobby of Baylor’s Student Union Building.
In light of congressional debate and the subsequent creation of a bill to defund Planned Parenthood, the nationwide discussion about abortion rights continues to thrive, both around campus and on social media.
The official ribbon cutting ceremony for the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation kicked off the 2015 Leadership and Innovation Summit with a full conference center and multiple standing ovations.
The Diana R. Garland School of Social work was closed Tuesday and remains closed today in mourning for the school’s namesake and former dean, Diana R. Garland, who died on Monday night. “She was one of the sweetest ladies I’ve ever met,” said Amarillo junior Heath Holland. “She was so excited I chose to be a social work major.” Holland said when he met Garland, she was excited to see him and told him to come by her office and talk with her anytime, though he never got the chance to. Garland spent six months battling pancreatic cancer. She stepped…
The first performance of Baylor’s annual After Dark variety show will take the stage at 8 p.m. tonight at Waco Hall. There are 13 acts, for a total of about 30 performers, and over 20 stage hands participating in this year’s show.