By Jessica Babb | Broadcast Managing Editor Nowadays, political conversations are often dreaded conversations. When having them, it seems as if most of the people doing the talking are those who either outwardly support or oppose the current administration. Meanwhile, those who are somewhere in the middle are just trying to keep quiet and avoid the political crossfire and polarized debates. It almost seems as if you outwardly support the current administration, you outwardly oppose the administration or you are somewhere in the middle and are just trying to keep quiet and stay out of the political crossfire. At this…
Author: Jessica Babb
By Jessica Babb | Broadcast Managing Editor Dr. Linda Livingstone has surpassed the 100-day mark of her new role as Baylor University’s president. Since coming to Baylor, she has focused on implementing new policies and leadership roles which aim at helping the university heal from past events. In an interview with Lariat TV News, Livingstone discussed an upcoming accreditation review, goals for the university’s endowment and her plans for future growth. This interview has been shortened and condensed, but the full version is available here. Baylor is facing an accreditation review in early October. What steps has the university taken…
Jessica Babb | Broadcast Managing Editor In an car accident she never saw coming, Austin sophomore Savannah Crain fell victim to distracted driving. On August 7, Crain was coming from a trip with her boyfriend when a distracted driver in a vehicle on the other side of the road crossed over multiple lanes and slammed into their car. Crain, asleep at the time of the accident, was then ejected from the vehicle. She suffered multiple fractures in her back, sternum, nose and toes. Crain has been in and out of the hospital for weeks. She has had 16 procedures and…
Jessica Babb | Broadcast Managing Editor Dale Mantey, a Democratic candidate hoping to unseat Rep. Bill Flores in the 2018 midterm elections, held a town hall at Shorty’s Pizza Shack on Wednesday, September 13. Mantey is a newcomer to the political scene and is running for office for the first time. He is currently a doctoral student at the University of Texas Health Science Center. He said he decided to run because he doesn’t feel like Flores, a Republican, is taking care of business in Central Texas. “I’m presenting solutions that will make lives better in Central Texas and he…
By Jessica Babb | Broadcast Managing Editor Social Media is something many college students can’t seem to live without. Beyond the likes and notifications many students seek, the dangers of it are often hidden. “It just kind of contributed to this feeling of worthlessness,” said Houston senior Rachel Craft. This is why Craft decided to open up and share her personal struggles on social media. She posted online writing “Instagram consistently reminds me that other people have it better because we post the happy moments and the good days. But what about the deep-dark-shame-moments and the overslept-running-late-can’t-do-anything-right days? What do…
Jessica Babb | Broadcast Managing Editor The first Christian Academy for the Deaf in Texas opened it’s doors this Tuesday. The Academy, located off University Parks Drive in Waco, is a tuition-free school that provides curriculum focused on religion and education to Deaf students. “We hope to help them develop their faith and develop leaders that can go out to the world and become models for the Deaf community and the Deaf world, throughout not just America but the entire world,” said Lewis Lummer, a Baylor American Sign Language Professor and President of the Christian Deaf Academy board. After Lummer…
By Jessica Babb | Broadcast Managing EditorDear seniors, Over the course of the last week, I have met many new, over-ambitious freshmen who are radiating with excitement, are not yet sleep deprived, are slightly overwhelmed and still of unsure of what to expect and are just eager to begin their new college journey. As a sappy senior, meeting these freshmen brought on the nostalgia, making me think back three short years ago when I felt the exact same way and had no idea of the adventures college would bring. Like other seniors, now on the other side of our college…
Jessica Babb | Broadcast Managing Editor Mission Waco opened the first fully sustainable greenhouse in Waco this afternoon. Located right next to the Jubilee Market at North 15th Street and Colcord Avenue, the greenhouse will supply fresh fruit, vegetables and fish that will be sold at the grocery store. The greenhouse comes with solar panels, a rainwater catchment, and both water purification and composting systems. Jimmy Dorrell, the Executive Director of Mission Waco, Mission World, said he hopes the greenhouse will provide healthy food and help educate nearby community members on how to live sustainably. “Our goal is to educate…
By Jessica Babb | Broadcast Managing Editor On Tuesday, Willow Grove Baptist Church, a Waco-area church, was broken into and vandalized. The vandals broke windows and spray painted swastikas and the words “Trump and Satan” inside the predominantly African-American church. The incident caused an estimated $3,000 in damage. Katie Mendez, a McKinney senior, wanted to show her support for the local church and started a crowdfunding campaign. Since the church has a small congregation, her goal was to raise the $3,000 needed to help with the repairs. “They are part of the community and needed to be helped,” Mendez said.…
By Jessica Babb | Broadcast Managing Editor Many students on campus have been advocating to get sexual assault nurse examiners at Baylor. These nurses can help those who have been sexually assaulted by performing forensic exams. This issue played a prominent role during the student government presidential election, with both candidates willing to push the initiative. Additionally, Student Senate recently passed a bill to get sexual assault nurses at Baylor. “I think it’s something we really need,” said San Antonio junior Paige Hardy, who authored the bill in Student Senate. “This is a really simple step to show the students…
This time three years ago, I was a senior in high school, and I was just itching to leave the town I grew up in and begin a new adventure. It felt like college couldn’t come fast enough. Now that I am on the other end of my college journey and graduation is drawing closer, I have realized how much harder it is to leave home.I love adventure, and my college years have been filled with it. I studied abroad in Italy; I spent a semester in Washington, D.C., during the presidential election; I covered the inauguration in D.C. and…
By Jessica Babb | Broadcast Managing Editor There will soon be a new way to enjoy your favorite food on campus. Next semester you can look forward to “Food Truck Fridays.” “I decided wow, what’s a good way for us to have some more options on campus?,” said sophomore student senator Elizabeth Larson. Larson decided to bring the idea to campus to give students more food options. She said it will benefit students by bringing more vegetables to campus, more diversity and variety. She said it will also give everyone another reason to love Fridays. “I think the most exciting part…
Student Government elections are right around the corner, and before you know it, it will be time to cast your vote. Hold on, wait a second before you roll your eyes and move to the next article: Whether the idea of electing new senators and officers in Student Government interests you or not, it is important that you pay attention to the upcoming election. Student Government is an organization on campus that seeks to represent and advocate for students at Baylor. It is composed of about 120 students who work in the executive, legislative and judicial branches. You may not…
By Jessica Babb | Broadcast Managing Editor It all began on Baylor’s campus in February of 1957 when Caroyln and Stan Wilkes met in front of Alexander Hall on a blind date. Reminiscing on that day, the couple came back to visit the dorm to celebrate their 60-year anniversary. Stan said it was love at first sight. “Just walking across the foyer of Alexander, it was an instant attraction,” he said. After meeting at the dorm, the two walked over to Waco Hall to enjoy both a ballet and each other’s company. After getting to know each other, they realized…
By Jessica Babb | Broadcast Managing Editor Baylor Parking Services has added a car counter in the Speight Parking Garage on campus. The counter lets students and faculty know when a parking garage is full. “We’ve gotten several nice comments on the counter and how effective it is,” said Matt Penney, director of Baylor Parking Services. There is a sign located right outside the entrance to the Speight Parking Garage showing exactly how many spaces are empty. “It counts cars going into the garage and it counts cars going out of the garage,” Penney said. The sensors that count the…
Right now, if you Google “the media,” the first three suggested searches that will appear include “the media is biased,” the “media lies,” and the “media was wrong.” In this unprecedented presidential election, many individuals to fault the rise of Donald Trump to the way “the media” covered the election, or even the way Trump characterized “the media” by suggesting they provided faulty and unfair coverage of his administration. This seems to be a common sentiment that is often discussed on social media and in personal conversations. However, there is a danger in grouping all media organizations into one collective…
By Jessica Babb | Lariat Washington BureauAt the end of a long deployment, Julia Smith said she was stunned to find her father waiting to surprise her in the back of her mother’s car. As a young child, she had no idea when her father would arrive home from his 15-month deployment, and after spending the night at a friend’s house, she was shocked to open the trunk of her mother’s car and see her father sitting right in front of her, still dressed in his uniform. In that moment, she said she immediately hugged him, began crying, and was…
WASHINGTON – Excitement was in the air as tens of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall saturday to celebrate the opening of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture. “It is well overdue that they have a museum that honors the story of African Americans who helped to create that very capitol that is the founding location of this country,” said Nadirah Moreland, a D.C. resident who attended the opening celebration. “I think they have done an amazing job, from the creation of it to the telling of all the kinds of stories. I’m really excited.”…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Paying bills and taking care of a family are often common stressors for many individuals, but they take on a whole new meaning for Victor Ramos, a groundskeeper at the Arlington National Cemetery. Ramos lost his job after going on strike. “We’ve been on strike for three weeks, and it’s been a little rough,” Ramos said. Groundskeepers in charge of maintaining the burial grounds at the Arlington National Cemetery went on strike after almost a year of labor disputes about wage increases and paid sick leave with the contracting companies Davey Tree Expert Co. and Greenleaf Services…
For many, a dollar may not mean much, but for Lindsey Foster and Maria Martinez, it made a huge impact. After working for Baylor’s Facility Services for 15 years as a custodian in Clifton Robinson Tower, Martinez’s years of service to the Baylor community took a toll on her health. Several weeks ago Martinez suffered from a stroke. A few days later, she went into cardiac arrest three times in the same day, and was then put into an induced coma. “It was shocking because everybody knew my grandma was hardworking and nobody was able to make my grandma stop…
They talk, they bleed, they vomit and they have real needs just like any patient would. However, they aren’t your typical patients. Instead, they are simulation mannequins that are designed to teach students how to care for and diagnose real patients. On Friday, professors from the Louise Herrington School of Nursing hosted a simulation event for students at Teal Residential College to give students a chance to learn from mannequins. “We want to engage Teal Hall residents [who are studying] nursing, engineering, computer science, premed and biology, so we can all engage together,” said Kelly Rossler, an assistant professor at…
Each morning when I wake up, I can look forward to seeing a new Facebook memory on my timeline bringing back middle school jokes and pictures from when throwing up peace signs was still cool. While they give me a good laugh and let me reminisce, they also let me see how much change has taken place over the years. Just recently, one of the memories that popped up on my feed was an article I wrote over a year ago detailing my battle with Ankylosing Spondylitis, a rare type of juvenile arthritis, and how I overcame some of the…
Nobel Laureate visits Baylor campus, discusses journey of scientific discovery
Candidates review platforms before election voting begins Thursday
In light of Baylor’s Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Achievement week, Baylor’s Undergraduate Research in Science and Technology organization, BURST, released the Scientia 2016 journal. The journal is designed and edited completely by students and features research done by undergrads studying STEM fields at Baylor. “We are really just there to highlight and show people in Baylor and outside of Baylor the really high-quality research undergraduates are doing,” said Lewisville senior Jade Connor, the vice president of Scientia. The journal is in its third year of publication and features research about cancer, therapeutics for parasitic diseases, turbine blades and statistical distributions.…
Before each game, student athletes at Baylor put in hours of work behind the scenes, training to be in top shape to improve their athletic performance on the field or on the court. Baylor University’s Athletic Performance department works side-by -side with all the athletes to help them maximize their workouts. However now, the Athletic Performance department has gone one step further and found a new way to improve an athlete’s training. Working with Athletigen, a sports genetics organization, the Athletic Performance department is working toward being able to tailor an athlete’s workout based on the genetic makeup of their…
Students involved with the Wells Project at Baylor raised awareness about the need for clean drinking water around the world through World Water Day on Tuesday.World Water Day is a day of international observance designed to bring awareness to different countries around the world that still lack clean drinking water. In addition, the day is also designed to celebrate the progress that has been made in providing greater access to clean water.“World Water Day is a day where we can take time to pause and reflect on the progress that’s been made toward clean water and encourage others to take…
Despite the common misconception, art and creativity are integral parts of science and clinical medicine. Dr. Carol Ann Courneya, associate professor and assistant dean for undergraduate affairs for the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine, came to speak about the interconnectedness of art and science at the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Building on March 17. Courneya spoke about how some of her medical students were able to express themselves and process what they were learning through different forms of art. “Seventeen years ago, I had an idea to give my medical and dental students disposable cameras while I taught about…
New technology allows nursing students to take a look inside
Donald Trump has been taking the polls by storm, winning state after state in the presidential primaries. He has had so much success he is currently the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. As the election season continues to wind on, I constantly find myself asking how an abrasive, rude, rash man with no political experience can be doing so well. The more I have thought about it, the more I realize much of Trump’s rise in the polls is likely related the amount of attention he receives from the media. There is a common saying that “all publicity is…