By Liesje Powers | Multimedia EditorThis year, the chant for “get out and vote” seems to have grown to a roar, and voter registration in McLennan County has reached an all-time high in the past decade. Sadly, that all-time high is still only 55 percent of the population, in comparison to Travis County, which has a record 93 percent of eligible voters registered for the mid-term elections, according to the Daily Texan. One way we might be able to raise the number of voters in our county is if young voters knew they would have a place to vote on…
Author: Liesje Powers
Last semester, I had the amazing opportunity to spend four months in Washington D.C., where I took journalism classes at American University and interned downtown three days a week. I loved my internship and my classes, but the economic downside of the program was a lot to bear. Living expenses were three times what I was used to paying in Waco, and the internship I accepted was unpaid. My hard-earned savings were gone in a matter of months, and I crawled back home with an empty bank account and a sour taste in my mouth.Because of my finances, I avoided…
A number of bright, nature-based oil paintings by Charles Wallis hang in Whitehall Center at the Carleen Bright Arboretum in Woodway. His collection is one of many year-round art installations hosted by the facility. “We are an arboretum supporting local artists and education, so that’s just part of what we have always done,” said Janet Schaffer, director of arboretum, tourism and recreational services at the Carleen Bright Arboretum. “Whitehall Center is actually a replica of the very first church that was in Woodway — it used to be in Whitehall Park. When they built [the replica] in the arboretum, they…
Liesje Powers | Photo EditorJohn McClanahan, a former Baylor art department chair and former director of the Allbritton Art Institute, will be speaking at an opening reception for his collection at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Martin Museum of Art. The collection, named “The Velasco Paintings”, will feature his water paint works.“[The Artist Talk] is always a great chance to get a firsthand perspective and some information about what you’re looking at on the walls,” said Allison Syltie, director of the Martin Museum of Art.The collection includes a variety of landscapes, something that Sylties sees as a draw to…
By Liesje Powers | Photo Editor The Board of Regents held their spring meeting at noon Friday at the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative, where they announced the structural completion of the 105 recommendations made following the Pepper Hamilton investigation. According to the Board, the university will continue to make efforts against sexual violence throughout campus. “There’s been a lot of work done by a lot of people to make that a reality and I appreciate the professionalism and the care that all of our Baylor team has done to make sure those recommendations are not just done as recommendations,…
The Inauguration of Donald Trump as 45th President of the United States was the first major political event I have ever attended. As a reporter, the experience felt almost distanced. I was there, taking photos and speaking to those around me, but my purpose of witnessing the actual inauguration was different from those around me. I was surrounded by people who felt the need to be there because of support for Trump, support for failed presidential candidates or allegiance to the United States itself. The passion I was able to find in this mixed bag was incredible. It gave me…
There are countless organizations and activities at Baylor to steal time away from the educational side of college. While it is important to be well rounded and enjoy your time on campus, students tend to pile a few too many things onto their already full plates. I am the type of person who likes to stay busy. Having an open schedule makes me feel unproductive and lazy, two traits that I hate to embody. Instead, I choose to throw myself into my two jobs, 17 hours of classes and a club sport that leaves me without much sleep or a…
Election Day is looming ever closer, pushing its way into the minds of voters.This is the first presidential election in which the majority of the undergraduate population has been eligible to vote for. With this new experience comes a pressure to begin aligning with a specific party.The drift from traditional Democratic and Republican standards can lead to an alienation of voters, both young and old alike. The Oxford Journals defines political alienation as “having an attitude of estrangement from the political system, and is conceptualized as falling into two broad categories: political incapability and discontentment.” Incapability is better characterized by…
As the presidential race continues to center on topics that pertain more to personal biases than legal action, cultural standards have found their way into the spotlight. One of the most recent issues has been women and how they are perceived by Americans. Expectations of females to have the right weight, height, occupation and reputation are constant battles. As members of a changing society, the “correct” opinion on many of these has been blurred — and for good reason. Women no longer need to be the homemakers; women no longer need to rely on looks to survive without a dowry;…
Baylor Crew will be hosting their annual Head of the Brazos rowing regatta from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8. The races will take place along the Brazos River with spectator seating available from the pedestrian bridge. Philomath, Ore., junior Annie Luksch, assistant coach, hopes for the pedestrian bridge to be filled with supporters. “I think [having supporters] really helps the overall attitude of the team in a very positive way,” Luksch said. “Come by and cheer on your Baylor Bears!” The regatta will consist of various boat races including four-member boats, eight-member boats, doubles and singles. Each…
Smoking has been banned from the Baylor campus since August 11, 2014. This policy has since been posted around the outskirts of campus, and has also largely been ignored. Currently, the only enforcement is a loose honesty policy: If someone notices a person who is smoking, they can kindly reminded them that the campus is, in fact, a smoke-free campus. Because doing this is often seen as confrontational, intervention rarely happens. In addition, there is an unspoken rule that if a smoker is photographed during the act, it can be sent to HR or the Baylor police. Once again, this…
Moving up the ladder one sale at a time
The Semi-Annual Pancake Break will be held from 10 p.m. to midnight on Tuesday at Penland Dining Hall. There will be free food provided for students both to eat at the dining hall and to take with them. Corner booths, airbrush and henna tattoos, caricatures, a live DJ and karaoke will be provided for entertainment. Hosted by Campus Programming, Baylor Student Activities and Baylor Dining Services, the event is meant to give students a break from their studies before finals the next day. Fort Worth senior Alex Tolar is involved in Student Productions, a branch of Student Activities, and was…
The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum is hosting its third bi-annual Lone Star History Conference this weekend. The event will span over three days, from Friday until Sunday, and will include a multitude of speakers over the Texas Ranger’s history and involvement, as well as two book debuts. Following a welcoming at 5 p.m. Friday, Wende Wakeman, Texas Rangers Lt., will be speaking on her personal perspective as the highest-ranked woman in the Rangers. Christine Rothenbush, marketing and development coordinator for the museum, has helped on advertising and publicizing the event. She is especially excited for Wakeman to…
Tarrant County College and Baylor will be signing a transfer agreement at 10 a.m. today on Tarrant Campus. The agreement will add TCC as the 9th college in the Baylor Bound partnership. This allows students to have access to Baylor advisers, online degree requirement guides, special mailings and access to the Baylor Library interlibrary loan system. Students in the program will also be able to apply for scholarships available to transfer students after completing degree requirements at TCC. President and Chancellor Ken Starr and Chancellor Angela Robinson of TCC will be present to sign the agreement. They, along with Janet…
Baylor Theatre presents “The Story of a Marriage,” directed by Marion Castleberry, professor of theater arts, beginning today. The performance includes three plays, “Courtship,” “On Valentine’s Day” and “1918,” which are the central plays of “The Orphans’ Home Cycle.” The original work consists of nine plays and focuses on playwright Horton Foote’s father and his parents’ marriage in 20th century Texas. Starting at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in Mabee Theatre, Baylor Theatre will also stage readings of all nine plays in “The Orphans’ Home Cycle.” Baylor alumni, faculty and students will read the plays in sequence for the first staging of…
Baylor University President and Chancellor Ken Starr announced the appointment of L. Gregory Jones as executive vice president and provost on Wednesday. Jones is currently the senior strategist for leadership and education at Duke University and the Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams Jr. Professor of Theology and Christian Ministry. He is a graduate of the University of Denver and re-ceived his doctorate from Duke University. Jones also served a 13-year term as the 11th dean of Duke Divinity School until 2010. Jones was a contender in the previous provost search, and had been selected as one of the finalists.…
Members of the department of communications sciences and disorders have made efforts to have American Sign Language be considered a foreign language at Baylor University. A bill requesting the change has been approved by both Academic Affairs and Student Senate. It is now being sent to multiple faculty at Baylor, including the provost and head of communication sciences and disorders, as was requested in the last clause of the bill. The bill was drafted by Chicago, Ill., freshman Kalyn Story, who is a Student Senate member and sign language interpreting minor. Story said she has been dedicated to ASL since…
Facebook was a thing of the past for a solid four years of my life. Now, as a freshman in college, I realize that Facebook still holds a large amount of power in the social world. Where Instagram and Twitter are concerned, it is not uncommon for a student to be inactive or uninterested. There are still sprinklings of students who choose to not be a part of Facebook either, but they tend to be more of a rarity. The social world used to be dependent on Facebook, as it was one of the first successful social media in the…
Baylor Undergraduate Admissions is hosting its annual Baylor Premiere this Saturday. Prospective students will be given a chance to explore campus and the possibility of future enrollment for an entire day. This year is the largest the event has ever been with 7,000 registered attendees, said to Ross VanDyke, director of admissions recruitment. Students make up about 2,300 of those coming this weekend, with about 1,500 juniors registered, close to 500 of those attending are seniors making final decisions about Baylor. Alpha Tau Omega and Student Foundation are among the volunteers for Premiere. Many staff and student workers will also…
Police arrested former Baylor football player Shawn Oakman Wednesday afternoon on charges of sexual assault. Oakman, 24, met with detectives at the Waco Police Department and was served with two search warrants for his cellphone and DNA samples. He was then arrested and taken to the McLennan County Jail, according to a Waco Police Department press release. Information regarding his bail has not been released. Tonya Lewis, assistant director of media communications, issued a statement on behalf of Baylor. “We are aware of the arrest of Shawn Oakman, a graduate of Baylor University and a former member of the football…
Food vendors and artists lined the street. A portion of the tents offered face paint to children as well as the opportunity to buy their artwork. Two buildings were open for viewing art — one for featured artists and another for youth art. Buckets filled with chalk were also sprinkled throughout Elm Avenue, leaving the streets covered with chalk art. The annual local arts festival, Art on Elm Avenue, ran from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. This year, the event moved further down the street and ran later into the evening compared to previous years. Claire Sexton, artist coordinator…
The College of Arts and Sciences held a STEM & Humanities Symposium on Thursday at the Mayborn Science Theater. The event featured a number of faculty members, both visiting and from Baylor. Department chair and French professor, Dr. Heidi Bostic, served as the moderator for the faculty panel and gave opening remarks. The symposium touched on a number of environmental issues and brought to light the work already being done to combat world issues. Bostic said she hopes that it will encourage students in their fields. “This symposium actually has several goals, one of which is to highlight the really…
The Baylor Democrats and Baylor College Republicans attended the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Convention in late March and experienced sessions geared toward bipartisanship and an effort to stand by Israel. Each session was led by a member of both political parties in order to blur party lines, something that is very important to Rachael Oury, president of the Baylor College Republicans. “We definitely want to advocate toward bipartisanship and the strength that comes from working together and blurring party lines for one very important purpose,” Oury said. “In this case, it was Israel, but that is not…
Baylor is hosting the 22nd Annual Beall Poetry Festival begins today through Friday. The three-day festival will have nightly readings from poets, a panel discussion and a Virginia Beall Ball Lecture on Contemporary Poetry. Dr. Richard Rankin Russell, English professor and Graduate Program Director, is the director of the festival. He and a committee made up of professors and graduate assistants helped decide who will be coming to the event and worked to plan and present the events. “It’s a great way for students to get to hear some of our best living poets and to watch them read poetry,…
