The Pastiche Chamber Ensemble will travel from Louisiana to perform for free at Baylor at 3:30 p.m. today in the Glennis McCrary Music Building’s Meadows Recital Hall.

The free Waco Cultural Arts Festival will take over the city this weekend with three days of music, food trucks, dance, film, and more at the Waco Convention Center and Indian Spring Park.

Before his On Topic conversation with President and Chancellor Ken Starr last night, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani sat down with the Lariat for an exclusive newspaper interview on his faith, his legal career, and the time he almost became a priest. Now, even those who didn’t have the opportunity to see Giuliani speak in Waco Hall will have the chance to get some of the former mayor and presidential candidate’s advice. Why did you choose to pursue a career in politics and the law? Why did I choose a career in law and politics rather than the…

The On Topic conversation with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani began Wednesday night with the experiences the former mayor is best known for: the Sept. 11 attacks on the Big Apple. President and Chancellor Ken Starr asked Giuliani about his response to the attacks, as well as his leadership techniques and mayoral strategies. Starr reminded the audience of the country’s mourning after September 11th almost exactly fourteen years ago. He also brought to mind the symbol of healing that Giuliani represented to the American people at that time. “The leadership that Mayor Rudy Giuliani showed was just extraordinary,”…

People wishing to see tonight’s On Topic conversation with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Baylor President and Chancellor Ken Starr at 7 p.m. are still in luck. Even though tickets to see Giuliani in Waco Hall are no longer available, students and members of the public may still get tickets to see the conversation streamed live in Roxy Grove. Tickets, which are free, can be picked up at the Bill Daniel Student Center ticket office. “We are committed to bringing international and national leaders to Baylor’s campus,” said the Assistant Vice President of Media Communications, Lori Fogleman.…

The annual Family Weekend Choral Concert will take place at 5 p.m. this Friday in Jones Concert Hall. The concert will be the first time this semester that all of Baylor’s choral ensembles perform together in a single night.

This week’s drive-by is El Pollo Palenque, which operates out of a food truck at 1400 LaSalle. I’ve often driven past this trailer just long enough to wonder whether it was open before continuing to Starbucks, probably.

A new documentary and independent film series for students and locals will begin Monday at the Hippodrome.

The environmental group Sierra Club recently ranked Baylor 133rd out of 153 schools in its Cool Schools ranking. The ranking measures participating universities’ commitment to on-campus sustainability. Factors taken into consideration in the rankings are water usage, food waste, energy consumption and environmental innovation, among others. High-ranking schools included the University of California Irvine, Colorado State University and Middlebury College in Vermont. All schools submitted reports voluntarily and schools that chose not to participate were not placed on the list. Smith Getterman, Baylor’s director of sustainability, acknowledges several of the challenges the school faces in becoming more environmentally friendly. “Geographically…

Waco City Council unanimously passed Ordinance 544 on Tuesday night, which will expand the college and university overlay to the area bound by University Parks and East Loop 340 Access Road.The ordinance will expand zoning restrictions to impede student housing development in that area. The new zone, called Zone 3, expands upon the housing restrictions currently in place in the areas bound by 3rdStreet and Oakwood Avenue and 18th Street and Jack Kultgen Expressway. The new regulations will restrict building height, architectural features, and parking requirements.The rezoning was brought forward to create a buffer between single-family housing to the South…

By Helena Hunt, Staff Writer The football season can’t begin until the last fireworks of the Traditions Rally fade over Baylor’s campus. Today’s celebration, taking place the day before this season’s first home game against Lamar, will welcome Brad Paisley to Fountain Mall for an evening of tailgating, cheerleading and fireworks. Although the Traditions Rally began as an Interfraternity Council tailgate, it has expanded to include performances by outside artists as well as Baylor’s band and cheerleaders. Paisley’s addition to this year’s line-up has excited additional interest in the event, said Matt Burchett, director of Student Activities. This year’s Traditions…

The first First Friday Waco event of the school year will take place today, starting around 10:30 a.m. and running until 2 a.m. at various venues downtown.

Within the next several months, owner and operator David Gorham will permanently open food truck Honky Tonk Kid Barbecue after a soft opening in August.

Baylor University was largely unaffected by the outbreak of violence that took place between rival biker gangs at the Twin Peaks restaurant earlier this summer.

The summer Board of Regents meeting approved funding for Hankamer renovations and the department of communication sciences and disorders and designated Sue Getterman as new Regent Emerita.