In anticipation of the coming Christmas holiday, Baylor’s advancement office is encouraging alumni with daily Advent devotionals, featuring reflections from 24 Baylor staff, faculty and students, plus an introductory message from President Linda Linvingstone.

Most student-led organizations are lucky to sign up a few new members and get funding for an occasional meal. But one group, led by a network of college students across the country—including a Baylor freshman—has already gotten hundreds of students to sign up and received commitments for over $1 million in charitable donations. And they don’t launch until next month.

With endless blocks of skyscrapers, millions of fast-shuffling feet and only a tiny presence of Baylor alumni, it’s easy for the Bears of New York’s finance scene to feel as out of place as the 1600-mile distance from Waco would suggest. But there’s a world out there where Baylor’s footprint in the Big Apple is just as sizable as the dominant ones in Dallas and Houston.

Once the high-cost event took off, seven student performances commenced, broken up by giveaways and raffles in between. The second half of the show was a premiere screening of “The Celebration of Everlasting Color,” a student-produced feature film written by 2025 Baylor graduate Aaron Rivera.

“We sit under shade trees we did not plant,” Baylor Regent Dr. Michael McFarland said in reference to the forced labor by which Baylor was built. “We drink from wells we did not dig. And we are warmed by fires that we did not light … Baylor’s story, like the story of our great nation, is both complicated and redemptive.”

As diverse as Baylor’s offerings are, though, the academic makeup of the student body is not exactly the intellectual rainbow that the triple-digit number suggests. The palette is probably better described as dozens of thin strips with slightly different shades, sprinkled among a few very wide bands of dominant colors.

The Memorial, which was recommended by the Commission on Historical Campus Representations in 2020, addresses Baylor’s historical relationship with slavery. It recognizes the university’s construction through enslaved labor and Judge R.E.B. Baylor’s own possession of enslaved people, while continuing to acknowledge all parts of Baylor’s story.

A Night Under the Stars, which takes place on the evening of November 7 at Fountain Mall, will feature eight performances with live voting from the audience, an array of food trucks, and a premiere of “A Celebration of Everlasting Color,” an hour-long feature film created entirely by Baylor students. But before the event became a reality, it dealt with questioning when seeking approval and funding. And for good reason.

Depending on when they graduated, Baylor alumni will give you a different profile of their time in Waco. From year to year, those differences might be as small as a better football record or a few new faculty, but when you compare Baylor of the 1970s to the campus we call home today, the two schools are vastly different.

Slapped on the side of Brooks Residential College, the words, “To you I hand the torch,” are for many, the extent of knowledge on Samuel Palmer Brooks’ Immortal Message. But Homecoming is a better time than any to remember the story behind those words: they’re a message of hopefulness and responsibility, even when the times around us are full of uncertainty, struggle and death.

What seems like the most reasonable answer to this commission problem is to reduce the number of agents in the market, allowing brokers to make fair compensation while homebuyers and sellers aren’t victim to inflated commission rates.

Presentations spanned the spectrum of industries — and even created industries of their own. From stock trading algorithms, to road-trip planning apps, to programs that calculate the best way to produce a chemical compound, students brought their best ideas in an attempt to secure a portion of the $5,000.

Now 2-2 in conference play, the Bears’ chances at a Big 12 Championship appearance have regressed into long-shot territory. Baylor’s breakout season, which seemed imminent in early August, is not to be.

Although no plans to upgrade or expand the intramural fields have been announced, Assistant Director of Competitive Sports Reid Jackson said that the current intramural space is constantly busy.

Beginning in February 2025 and lasting until 2029, My35 Waco South works on the three-mile stretch of I-35 between 12th Street and South Loop 340. Along this stretch, crews will widen I-35 to eight lanes, reconstruct overpasses and bridges and complete various other work on sidewalks and on-ramps and off-ramps. Also, at Valley Mills Drive, the project will add a novel intersection design, according to Jacob Smith, Waco TxDOT public information officer.

Instead of a big city high-rise, Morehead’s team works in a small red brick building in downtown Waco. Suits and ties are replaced with casual (mostly green and gold) clothes. And in an industry that’s mostly men, four out of the office’s five investment professionals are women. It all helps to put the attention on what really matters: making money for Baylor without touching students’ wallets.

With 11 different off-campus apartment complexes and dozens of individual homes in its real estate portfolio, Baylor houses far more than the 39% of students who live on campus, and the number is growing.

Even as I’ve grown further from the target reader’s age and my peers have picked up books that aren’t written in Comic Sans, I have stuck around. The elementary school days waiting in the library for the newest title are gone, but the books still come to me through Amazon orders and half-serious birthday gifts.

Though BSM has been housed in a single room in the Bobo Spiritual Life Center since the 1970s, the new facility on 4th Street and Daugherty Avenue will provide ample space for BSM’s staff and various ministries. The new building will be fitted with a 400-person capacity event room, offices for staff, a prayer room, a common area with ping-pong tables and a For Keeps coffee shop.

Announced to Baylor students via newsflash email in the evening of Sept. 15, the closures begin with a full shutdown of the eastbound 18th Street, which will reopen by 7 a.m. Friday, Sept. 19. Following the removal of the 18th Street bridge, the email said that westbound 17th Street will be closed from Sept. 21-24. The highway itself will remain open throughout the removal of the bridges, the email stated.

According to Parallel’s application to the Waco Plan Commission, the complex will be 85 feet tall, and the inside will include amenities like a double-height lobby, a fitness center with a sauna, a market, an outdoor terrace and study areas. The application also lists some more unique fixings, like a “Sky Lounge” and an “influencer room.”

The challenge came from the desk of Business School Dean Dr. David Szymanski, who, in his first year at Baylor, has pushed for the adoption of AI across all business disciplines. Working alongside the entrepreneurship department, Szymanski wanted to lead something that combines a top-10 program with the popular technology.

The project looks to build up the riverside between Mary and Waco Avenues by constructing parks and public spaces, building a new city hall, adding a sports entertainment district with a ballpark, creating a performing arts district and convention center and significantly improving overall walkability around the city.

If Aranda, his coaching staff, and his players are as confident in the scheme as they say, we should prepare for game-altering plays not just every week, but every quarter, and maybe even every drive. Whether these fourth-down bets save or squander the Bears’ season is yet to be determined, but one thing is certain: they make every play matter.

Described as “nostalgic” at best and “elderly” at worst, residents of Dawson and Allen often felt their residence hall was more like Grandma’s house than a college dorm. But after 60 years of housing Baylor students, Grandma’s place just got a $44 million facelift, and probably even a handful of organ transplants.

Alongside continuing to supply students with fresh food and basic products, The Store will add to its selection of special diet foods, implement an online shopping system and begin a marketing campaign to encourage students to donate to The Store through donated money, food items or meal swipes.

Szymanski, a marketing professor by trade, plans to use his background to make sure employers, colleges and alumni understand the value of Baylor Business. He also announced plans to enhance student experiences through continued growth of international education, a focus on internships, the implementation of AI in all classes and more combined graduate degree programs.

As tough as it is to swallow an unexpected $5,000 increase in annual bills, the price hike may not be entirely unwarranted when you take a closer look. But if Baylor expects 10% more money from its families, students are equally warranted to expect a 10% better Baylor experience.

On one hand, the prospects for seniors are as good as ever: with low unemployment across the country and a 92% success rate for Baylor graduates, some find that their dream job is just a few steps away. But for others, the job market is a heartless domain ruled by AI resume scanners, elusive recruiters and hundreds of dead-end applications.

Hundreds of students from a range of communities filled the Alexander Hall study area on Friday afternoon to remember the life of Paul Yannarelli, a 20-year-old, Totowa, N.J. sophomore and health science studies major. With members of Baylor Wake, the Honors Residential College, the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core, St. Peter’s Catholic Church and more present, there was not a single empty seat. President Linda Livingstone was also in attendance.