Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter Have you gotten any ink lately? You may have not personally, but statistics show that tattoos are on the rise among college-aged adults. Dr. Kevin Dougherty, Associate Professor of Sociology at Baylor University, was thinking of unique ways to teach current trends to his intro to sociology class. After contemplating teaching the culture of graffiti, he decided to start lectures off with tattoos: graffiti on the body. “13% of baby boomers have tattoos”, Dougherty said. “Almost half of millennials have tattoos.” However, Dr. Dougherty doesn’t study just any tattoos. He studies the increasing trend of…
Author: Igor Stepczynski
Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter ESPN’s College GameDay came to Waco on Saturday for the Baylor men’s basketball game against Kansas. Although this may have been the second time in 6 months that ESPN came to Baylor, our students still acted as excited as elementary children on Christmas morning. Student’s had a lock-in at the Ferrell Center through the night starting Friday to make sure they get the best seat in the house and a ticket for the biggest basketball game this season. When it comes to waiting hours for a sports game, Baylor students get really creative in thinking…
Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter Baylor’s Martin Museum of Art is hosting a biennial faculty art exhibition where the university’s own art faculty and lecturers are given the opportunity for their own work to be put on display for the community. The exhibition is free admission and will be available through March 1st. Each section has the artists name, their work and a personal quote that gives a sneak peak of their character. One artist that may catch your eye is senior lecturer Greg Lewallen. The quote that appears under his name is as follows: “I could survive in a…
By Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast ReporterWhen we are college freshmen, one of our most fundamental standards of life is changed: living away from our family. Whether you are an only child or a sibling to many, simply existing without a leash is a drastic and magical change in our young adult lives. Once freshman year concludes, most people usually opt to move off campus with newly chosen roommates while cherishing the privacy of their own bedroom and bathroom. Yet there is often a common unspoken desire of the total privacy that comes with living alone, or as I prefer to…
Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter Baylor University hosted the Pruit Memorial Symposium on February 4th, which is meant to bring the perspective of the Christian intellectual tradition to contemporary issues of common concern. It has been focusing on the tradition of American black sacred music in honor of the Black Gospel Music Restoration project since 2013. That’s why Dr. Cedric Dent was a perfect guest for the occasion. Dr. Cedric Dent is currently a professor at Middle Tennessee State University. He was also a member of the grammy award winning and multiplatinum jazz vocal sextet called “Take6”. The group is…
Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter What was expected to be another quiet night on Baylor’s campus, turned into a lively celebration when a surprise snowfall drew many students out of their beds with excitement. What was supposed to be “light flurries” dressed campus in white snow that actually stuck throughout the night. Fountain mall was especially active at around 1:00 am on Thursday with students frolicking in the snow. Snowmen were made and snowball fights were declared. One students even seized the opportunity to use his snowboard, with friends taking turns pulling each other around. The students present sacrificed their…
Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter The time is ticking for electronic cigarette users and their favorite flavored pods. The Food and Drug Administration has passed a ban on all pre-filled flavored nicotine pods, with the exception of tobacco and menthol. Some major companies, like Juul, saw it coming and banned their mango and cucumber flavors months ago. The federal ban comes into effect Feb. 1. Smoke shops are offering huge discounts to customers in order to clear their stock before inspections of their stores. The owner of Waco’s Bosque Smoke and Vapor shop has some pods marked down by 50%.…
By Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast ReporterHappy new year, everybody. If you are reading this, you have experienced civilization’s shift into a new year and a new decade. Historically, you can trace New Year’s resolutions and parties as far back as the Babylonians, who were the first to record celebrations over 4,000 years ago. In circa 46 B.C., Julius Caesar marked Jan. 1 as the beginning of the year in honor of the two-faced god Janus who looks at the past with one face and the future with the other. The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, started covenant renewal services during…
By Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast ReporterWe all know this too well: we wake up in the morning under the covers in a freezing bedroom (if you are like me), take a hot shower, ask Alexa what the temperature is for Waco and she tells you a high of 75 degrees and a low of 40 degrees (that’s not over-exaggerated, she actually told me that a few days ago). Being the healthy and responsible college students that we are, we layer our clothes to keep warm and tread the bone-chilling walk of dread across campus. But hey, we got up and…
By Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter Baylor Athletics has been successfully flinging their green and gold afar with high-ranking performance, and Lady Bears Volleyball team is no exception. The team is currently the top seed in the country and headed to post-season play. The team is a family for each other to ensure excellent athletic performance. However, amid this busy season of Baylor championships, assistant volleyball coach Samantha Erger will soon deliver her baby girl. “Her name is Demi,” Erger said. “The middle name is a secret right now, and it’s named after somebody special.” Erger was scheduled to go…
By Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter The decade is coming to a close, and it sure has been an interesting one. This is especially in regard to the Internet. Viral Internet challenges have decorated all corners of the web, from the Cinnamon Challenge to planking. Some challenges went viral for a viral cause, like the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Others, like the Tide Pod challenge, had health officials sickeningly concerned. Baylor students were not immune to viral Internet fever and partook in many of the shenanigans. The most popular one seemed to be the Cinnamon Challenge. “This one is the…
By Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter The Baylor homecoming football game against Texas Tech had the entirety of McLane stadium at the edge of their seats from start to finish. However, some fans were out of their seat dancing until Baylor’s victory. One of those individuals is Baylor alumna Beverly Denny, who graduated in 1952. Denny’s daughter, Anne Alaimo, recorded her mother grooving to the Baylor beat and uploaded it on Twitter. The video has now over 36,000 views on Twitter alone. With Baylor Facebook pages following suit, Denny has become a viral sensation among the Baylor community. Denny said…
By Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter Baylor’s Phi Gamma Delta fraternity hosted its famous Fiji Fright Night philanthropic event for the 16th year this past week on Fountain Mall. This haunted house style experience, in collaboration with Baylor Activities Council, was a free admission event that Baylor students look forward to every year. FIJI Fright Night chair Wess Kunz said this event is planned very far in advance. “We start as soon as this event ends and just brainstorm what we want to do,” Kunz said. “We get really into it in February and March, and then the week of…
By Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter On Wednesday Baylor’s National Panhellenic Council threw a Halloween-themed hump day celebration at Russell Gym. The event had free food, music, pumpkin decorating and a halloween costume contest. The members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated dressed up as Care Bears. Missouri City senior Paige South said that they wanted to show the true colors of their sorority with their costume. “As part of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, we just love the community,” South said. “We care so much about everybody, so I make sure to share that and demonstrate that with everything…
By Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter Baylor celebrated 110 years of floats, balloons and passionate alumni this past Saturday. The oldest and largest homecoming parade in the country started in downtown Waco on Austin Avenue and ended on Speight Avenue on campus. While homecoming is usually associated with college students and alumni appreciating their university’s legacy, it also attracts another age group that looks for something just as sweet. Hundreds of children got an early bird wake-up call by their parents and family on the morning of the parade. They came dressed to the occasion with bear hats, bear claws…
By Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter The vape-related illness epidemic rate is rising in a shocking pace according to an update from The Center of Disease Control and Prevention. In just the past week, lung injury cases have climbed from 805 to 1080, along the death toll increasing from 12 to 18 deaths. Many state governments remain in a state of panic. Montana has joined Michigan in banning all flavored electronic cigarette devices. Five more states, including Washington, Oregon, Rhode Island, New York and Massachusetts have taken similar actions. With these alarming updates, many students using nicotine or THC vaping…
By Igor Stepczysnki | Broadcast Reporter Baylor University is located on a beautiful campus. However, some students take its captivating views for granted. One student who does not do so is Baylor student Aadil Sheikh from Austin, Texas. Aadil Sheikh currently works for Baylor Media and Communication after working for Baylor Roundup, the organization that creates and designs yearbooks. Aadil says his hobby for photography was inspired by his dad. “My dad loves photography, and he really got me into it. It really didn’t pick up until I started working for the roundup,” Sheikh said. Apart from still photography, Aadil…
By Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter Many Baylor student have received messages in their Baylor inbox claiming that someone has sensitive information of them. The scammer writes that their webcam recordings and account information will be leaked to the dark web unless a Bitcoin transaction of $800 is completed within 72 hours. These emails are nothing new to Baylor Information Technology Services. Information Security Analyst Will Telfer says DUO two-factor authentication has brought the frequency of these emails very low. “Forward those emails to abuse@baylor.edu, that lets the e-mail administrator see them as well as the security staff,” Telfer said.…
By Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast ReporterThe soundtrack of life has been replaced by a user’s own programmable playlists: in the car, in the shower, in the gym, or on the walk to class. We listen to music 24/7, and boy does it feel great with a group of friends. However, is it possible that we are turning a deaf ear to our overstimulated psyche? Ever since I was a little child, listening to my music was an integral part of my life. I remember coming home from elementary school, putting a Madonna or Kylie Minogue CD into my boom box…
By Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter Baylor’s Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority hosted a beauty pageant Wednesday night called “Baylor Beauties” in the Barfield Drawing of the Student Union Building. The 69th Annual Charity Show consisted of 32 female Baylor students, eight from each classification, who were nominated by their peers to compete in hopes of becoming one of the final 12 Baylor Beauties. The venue was packed with staff, students and family alike in support of the young women participating in the pageant. The contestants prepared for a casual walk, formal walk and interview question. Behind the glamour, the $5…
By Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter A college student is always in need of two valuable resources: cash and t-shirts. Baylor sophomore Lauren Gassel found a way to get both through some DIY creativity. “I saw a bunch of acid wash shirts on Instagram, but I didn’t want to pay for that,” Gassel said. “I went down to the basement and found some bleach.” Lauren Gassel is the founder and owner of LG Customs, a small student-run business that sells custom t-shirts. Most of the shirts come from thrift stores or from the bottom of student’s closets. No two shirts…
By Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter“Speak it into existence.” Not only is this a quirky thing college students like to say, but it is a powerful tool in understanding the potential of the human brain. Simply speaking good things about ourselves will increase cognitive agility, regardless of the validity behind those statements.Unfortunately, this power can be just as easily misused when speaking negatively about ourselves. If tweeting, snapping or instagramming are other forms of communication, then is it possible that we can post things into existence?Finstas, or fake Instagrams, are a type of Instagram profile rising among college students. These…
By Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter The Baylor Student Life Center has expanded its fitness amenities by installing an outdoor exercise court between the Student Life Center and Russell Gym. Lifetime fitness professor Beth Williams is excited about this initiative. “I think there is a great opportunity to make fitness even more accessible to people,” Williams said. “You can go inside to use the state-of-the-art machines or stay outside to do this total body workout. I think Baylor is constantly trying to improve what they offer to their students, and we see that at the SLC.” SLC fitness supervisor Brady…
By Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter Waco’s Common Grounds has released a specialty coffee blend in collaboration with BU missions called “The Baylor Blend”. For every bag sold, BU missions receives five dollars to subsidize future mission trip expenses for Baylor students. Rebecca Kennedy, assistant dean of spiritual life, said this launch came as an idea after Common Grounds became an on-campus vendor at the Baylor Student Union Building. “I have to give a shout out to my colleague Matt Burchett,” Kennedy said. “He started talking to Blake and Kimberly Batson, who are the owners of Common Grounds. Blake has…
