By Kalyn Story | Staff WriterBears for Leadership Reform, a nonprofit activist group with the goal of restructuring Baylor’s leadership, announced its support of a Texas Senate Bill that would require Baylor to comply with open meeting and records laws.In a statement released last week, the group stated a “call on Regents to support legislation by state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, requiring the world’s largest Baptist University to hold open meetings and make certain records available to the public. [Bears for Leadership Reform] is demanding greater transparency, accountability and wholesale reform to restore unity and trust with students, their families,…

By Kalyn Story | Staff Writer Waco Independent School District (Waco ISD) is made up of almost 90 percent students of color, 57 percent of which are Hispanic students. In 2014, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported that Waco ISD had a 14 percent increase in the number of non-English-speaking students since the 2009-10 school year. This was almost double the state’s non-English-speaking residents growth, which had a 7.5 percent increase within the same time. Of the non-English-speaking students currently enrolled in Waco ISD, 99 percent speak Spanish. The district had 13,125 non-English-speaking students enroll between the 2009-10 school year and 2013-14…

In 2012, then-President Barack Obama signed an executive order called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA. It meant that children who were brought to America illegally could apply for a DACA card that allowed them to stay in the United States for a two-year period and get a worker authorization. In response to this policy change, Baylor Law School professor Laura Hernández, with the help of a student, started the Baylor Law School Immigration Clinic. “We knew there would be lots and lots of people in the Waco area who would qualify for a DACA card, but we…

By Kalyn Story | Staff WriterThe Christian Academy for the Deaf in Waco is still in a fundraising stage, but the president of the board said the board hopes to open the school in fall 2017. Lewis Lummer, president of The Christian Academy for the Deaf Board and Baylor American Sign Language professor, said he wanted to start a school for deaf children in Waco because he believes the programs for deaf students at hearing schools in Waco are not meeting deaf children’s needs. He said he wanted it to be a Christian school because in America only about 1…

By Kalyn Story | Staff WriterThe Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 576, the Campus Sexual Assault & Violence Elimination Act on Tuesday and the bill will go on to be voted on in the House.The bill, known as “C-SAVE,” requires that every public and private university employee and the highest-ranking member of a student organization report incidents of sexual violence to the institution’s chief executive officer within 48 hours of becoming aware of the incident. “It is time that the State of Texas takes the appropriate steps to protect our students from all forms of sexual assault on college campuses,”…

By Kalyn Story | Staff WriterBaylor’s department of public safety recently completed the first phase of a four-phase security project designed to increase campus safety by installing cameras around the perimeter of campus. Brad Rosebure, director of technical security, said the perimeter security camera system is the next step in a layered security system to protect students on campus. “We’ve been working on this project for months and are very excited to continue its implementation,” Rosebure said. The first phase was installing cameras from Dutton Avenue to University Parks Drive. In phase two, which the department started working on about…

Jessica Morrow, assistant director of stewardship, went through the maternity leave process for Baylor staff over a year and a half ago and said she was very frustrated by her experiences. Upon returning to work and talking with other coworkers, she realized several employees were not happy with Baylor’s maternity leave policy for staff. “I thought, if so many people want the policy change, why don’t we change it,” Morrow said. Along with Sarah Brockhaus, director of contract administration, Morrow began researching, drafting letters and talking to human resources about changing the policy. Morrow said the administration valuing staff opinions…

By Kalyn Story | Staff WriterBaylor interim President David Garland testified at a Texas Senate Higher Education Committee hearing Wednesday regarding a bill that would require Baylor to comply with state laws from which it is are currently exempt. If passed, Senate Bill 1092 would require any school that receives more than $5 million in Tuition Equalization Grants from the state to comply with state open records and open meetings laws. Under current law, because Baylor is a private institution, it does not have to obey state open records and open meeting laws. During the hearing, Garland told the senators…

By Kalyn Story | Staff WriterBaylor launched an Academic and Work Environment Survey on Tuesday in hopes of measuring the perceptions of respect, cooperation, diversity, inclusiveness, accessibility and support within Baylor’s community. “I cannot emphasize strongly enough that the information gathered through this effort is critical to ongoing management and decision processes that impact the experiences all of us have at Baylor,” interim President David Garland said in an email sent out to students on Monday.An important part of this survey is that it is being conducted by an outside consultant to ensure that all reports will remain anonymous. The…

By Kalyn Story | Staff Writer Beginning in fall 2017, there is a new course repeat policy for undergraduate students. A big change is that starting in the fall, all grades earned at Baylor will be factored into GPA. Previously, if a student retook a class only the second grade would count. Now they will be averaged. Along with this new policy, Baylor is also instating an “academic forgiveness policy” which would allow students to request to have the first grade earned from a course they repeated dropped from their GPA. Students may do this up to three times; after…

By Kalyn Story | Staff WriterWaco’s 10th Court of Appeals reversed former Baylor football player and 2015 graduate Sam Ukwuachu’s sexual assault conviction yesterday morning. Ukwuachu was found guilty in August 2015 on two counts of sexual assault. He was charged with sexually assaulting a former Baylor student in an off-campus apartment in October 2013.The 10th Court overturned the ruling and ordered a retrial because a series of text messages between the victim and a friend were deemed inadmissible as evidence in the first trial.A portion of the messages were used as evidence, but not all of the messages were…

Chief of Police Brad Wigtil said Baylor Police Department wants to earn the respect and trust of Baylor students everyday, and that is why he is focusing on community policing. “Establishing good relationships between students and police is vital to the safety of our students,” Wigtil said. “If you don’t know and trust us, you will be hesitant to report, and that is the last thing we want.” Wigtil said he asks officers every shift to get out of their car and introduce themselves to students and ask if there is anything they can do to help. Wigtil said that…

At the beginning of the month, Chance the Rapper donated $1 million dollars to Chicago Public Schools Foundation “for arts and enrichment programming.” Why private citizens need to donate to public schools so kids in Chicago can get a decent education is a discussion for another time, and really a question only Illinois Governor Rauner can answer. Lack of funding for arts education in public schools is an issue nationwide. President Trump released his budget blueprint “America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again” Thursday. You may have seen the funny but sad video PBS put out this…

By Kalyn Story | Staff WriterOpen mic nights usually have emphasis on the mic, but Baylor’s American Sign Language Club hopes to show students how another culture expresses itself through an “Open Light Night” at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Common Grounds.Gladwater senior Emilye Harris, ASL Club president, described the event as similar to an open mic night or a poetry night with performances by ASL students and the deaf community.“It’s a laid-back event open to anyone and everyone interested in ASL,” Harris said.Harris said ASL students from Baylor, McLennan Community College, local high schools and members of the deaf community…

In honor of Women’s History Month, the women’s and gender studies department and department of multicultural affairs are hosting a Lunch and Learn at 12:30 p.m. today in the Lipscomb Room of the Bill Daniel Student Center.At the Lunch and Learn, participants will watch a TED Talk titled “Three Lessons on Success from an Arab Businesswomen” by Leila Hoteit. After the video, there will be small roundtable discussions led by Dr. Lisa Shaver, director of the women’s and gender studies department. “We hope this is a casual way of getting students and faculty to talk about women and gender issues,”…

Houston junior Ilse Vielma said it wasn’t until this year when she took a women’s rhetoric in writing class that she began to recognize that there was an intentional effort to hide women’s accomplishments throughout history. “We need Women’s History Month to recognize the amazing things women have done that were overlooked for so long,” Vielma said. According to https://womenshistorymonth.gov/ , Women’s History Project petitioned Congress asking that March 1987 be named Women’s History Month. Congress agreed, and every year since 1988, U.S. presidents have issued proclamations naming March Women’s History Month. “Personally, as a young minority woman in college,…

By Kalyn Story | Staff WriterKeep Waco Beautiful, a nonprofit organization committed to making Waco more beautiful, cleaner and a safer place to live, named Mission Waco’s Jubilee Food Market its Business of the Month. The executive director of Keep Waco Beautiful, Ashley Millerd, said the organization found the Jubilee Food Market to be the perfect group to recognize. “Mission Waco realized a need for a market in that area and put a lot work into economically expanding it,” Millerd said. “It’s an eco-friendly way to give great food to citizens that desperately are in need of it. They recycle…

By Kalyn Story | Staff Writer Baylor’s Title IX Coordinator Kristan Tucker sat down with the Lariat to talk about changes made to Baylor’s Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment and Interpersonal Violence Policy and a Social Climate Survey that the university sent to students a few weeks ago. Q: Can you walk me through the changes made to the [Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment and Interpersonal Violence Policy]? A: We have renamed our policy and made it the Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment and Interpersonal Violence Policy, just some updated terminology. Staying up to date with all the new developments in the field…

By Kalyn Story | Staff WriterJancy Briles, daughter of former head football coach Art Briles, emailed the Lariat a letter signed by Briles on Thursday morning denying he had any role in a sexual assault cover-up, expressing his love for the Baylor family and calling for more transparency from Baylor’s leadership. “Let me be clear: I did not cover-up any sexual violence,” Briles wrote in his letter. “I had no contact with anyone that claimed to be a victim of sexual or domestic assault. Anyone well-versed in my work as a coach knows that I strove to promote excellence, but…

By Kalyn Story | Staff WriterRicky Dickson, Baylor alumnus has been named president of Blue Bell Creameries by the Blue Bell Creameries Board of Directors last week. Previously, Dickson served as vice president of sales and marketing where he oversaw planning, implementing sales and marketing programs for Blue Bell, as well as designed future growth strategies, according to a press release.Dickson replaced Paul Kruse as president, making Dickson the first non-Kruse family member to lead the company since the family took over Blue Bell in 1919.“I am honored by the Board’s confidence in me and humbled by the opportunity to…

By Kalyn Story | Staff WriterCara Cliburn Allen, a graduate student studying student hunger, said about 20 percent of Baylor students experience food insecurity, meaning they struggle with consistent access to sufficiently nutritious food.Allen spoke last night at a food drive and hunger awareness forum hosted by Baylor’s Texas Hunger Initiative, Baylor’s Campus Kitchen and No Kid Hungry. She described a survey and interview process she went through with Baylor students researching food insecurity at Baylor. She found that students who did experience food insecurity were ashamed and tried to hide their hunger from classmates and family.“At a private school,…

By Kalyn Story | Staff WriterGeorge W. Truett Theological Seminary student Benjamin Nelson was arrested Tuesday and charged with sexually assaulting a child and engaging in deadly conduct, according to the Whitney Police Department. Nelson is currently being held at Hill County Jail, and bail was posted at $755,000 — $375,000 for each of his two counts of aggravated assault of a child and $5,000 for engaging in deadly conduct, according to an employee at Hill County Jail.Baylor spokesperson Lori Fogleman confirmed that Nelson is a first-year seminary student but said she could not comment further due to student privacy…

By Kalyn Story | Staff WriterAlmost 200 Baylor students and staff will be participating in Baylor missions trips over spring break, as part of 11 teams serving six different countries. Baylor has been preparing for months to make sure these trips go smoothly and safely. Baylor’s Global Preparedness Group meets every Friday morning to look at current and future trips Baylor students may be taking, whether that be missions trips or study abroad or exchange programs. Holly Tate, assistant director for missions, trains students and staff on how to interact safely in the countries they are traveling to. “For a…

By Kalyn Story | Staff WriterLuisa Villafranca said she experienced a culture shock as a new student at Baylor after serving seven years in the U.S. Air Force. She said she would not have been able to succeed in her collegiate career without the resources and support she received from Baylor’s Veterans and Education Transitional Services (VETS) program.It was no surprise to Villafranca that Baylor was ranked sixth in the nation among large private schools for veterans by the Guide to Military Friendly Schools. MilitaryFriendly.com praised Baylor’s “outstanding commitment and programs for the nation’s veterans and their families.”Villafranca said one…

By Kalyn Story | Staff Writer Baylor student regent Daniel Thomas said one student regent gaining a vote on the Board of Regents is possibly the biggest innovation to happen for Baylor’s student body in decades. He called the changes Baylor’s board is adopting “unprecedented” and said it puts Baylor’s Board of Regents on the cutting edge of transparency. “If you had asked me four months ago if we were going to get a student regent vote, I would have said you were crazy,” said Thomas, a Charlotte, N.C. senior. “This is huge. I think most students will never realize…

By Kalyn Story | Staff WriterThe Board of Regents voted with an overwhelming majority to adopt the governance review task force recommendations at a meeting Friday, said Ron Murff, board chair.The task force recommended changes regarding input for regent selection, selection of board leadership, changes to the removal process for regents, greater regent emeriti involvement, rotation off the board of the past chair after one year, reorganization of committee responsibilities, and streamlining of committee meetings, according to a previous Baylor Lariat article.The board did make one change to the recommendations provided, voting to allow the student regents serving the second…

By Kalyn Story | Staff Writer The Baylor Line Foundation released a statement Thursday calling on the Board of Regents to delay their vote on whether to accept the recommendations provided by their governance review task force. The vote is scheduled to take place today. The Baylor Line Foundation, formerly the Baylor Alumni Association, held a town hall meeting Wednesday night to discuss the governance reform proposal and thinks there needs to be continued discussion before an informed vote can be held on the matter. “Clearly, the life of Baylor, as we know her, may depend on this decision,” the…

By Kalyn Story | Staff WriterSouth Russell Hall was evacuated Wednesday night around 2 a.m. after a broken sprinkler flooded the boys’ side of the second floor, residents said.”A damaged sprinkler head flooded 17 resident rooms and two apartments in South Russell,” Lori Fogleman, assistant vice president for media communications, wrote in an email to the Lariat.Baltimore freshman Luke Woo said some boys were playing soccer in the hallway when the ball hit and broke the sprinkler on the ceiling causing it to flood the hall. “A really strong stream of water came down from the sprinkler for a long…

By Kalyn Story | Staff Writer Four Baylor freshmen said they were tired of only seeing negative things about Baylor in the media and wanted to share some things they love about Baylor. “It’s shocking when I see the media trying to make these negative things our identity when it’s not,” Argyle freshman Britain Seago said. “It’s people who aren’t connected to Baylor that are always bashing us. We, as students, want to shine a light on the Baylor we know and love.” To show that they love Baylor, these four freshman walked around campus asking students to finish the…

Around this point in the semester, I can feel my motivation disappearing. The first round of tests is finishing, it isn’t close enough to spring break to have something to look forward to, advising for next semester is starting but summer and fall semester are still so far away. For me, February is the month where I am most susceptible to skipping classes, winging assignments and falling behind. For those of us in Greek Life, it’s that time in Sing season where the initial excitement has worn off, but the performance excitement hasn’t set in yet. It seems like I…