Staff writer Lucy Ruscitto rounded up her favorite holiday-themed cookies friendly for the budget-conscious, time-limited college baker.
Author: Lucy Ruscitto
Staff writer Lucy Ruscitto shares tips on how to make your Pinterest account full of Christmas cheer.
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff Writer This year, with Baylor University’s decision to keep students at home , favorite Baylor and Waco holiday traditions have also been abbreviated or will be missed entirely.With Baylor’s decision to keep students at home through the end of the semester after the Thanksgiving break, favorite Baylor and Waco holiday traditions have also been abbreviated or will be missed entirely.San Antonio sophomore Abby Dotter said since 2020 has been awful and because of the unprecedented semester Baylor students have endured, her roommates and her decided they deserved to celebrate the Christmas season two months early.Dotter…
Those interested in participating in a Harry Potter-themed scavenger hunt can head over to the Cameron Park Zoo this Saturday.
Students have the opportunity to join Baylor Missions & Public Life for their first “Love Where You Live: Street Art Tour” through downtown Waco on Friday from 3 to 5 p.m.
Students can join Baylor’s Indian Subcontinent Student Association chapter for a night of painting fun to benefit literacy learning in Pakistan and India.
From the comfort of one’s computer, those interested can view the 4th Annual Climate Crisis Exhibit and can still virtually experience the importance of climate change and its effects.
Martin Museum of Art offers “Halloween Days at the Martin” for the first time in its new exhibit.
Baylor students and Waco community members alike can experience the upcoming sinister season with the decoratively abundant market and visit with performers and vendors in Woodway this Sunday.
Being a responsible member of society means fighting the urge to completely disconnect from current events.
Students and Wacoans alike have the opportunity to participate and enjoy a day full of outdoor fall fun amid the pandemic’s challenges at Autumn Fest, held just outside of Waco.
Baylor’s Mayborn Museum is partnering with local artist Eric Linares to create a new exhibit titled “Ofrenda Display: Celebrating Hispanic Heritage.” The project aims to teach about Hispanic culture and unite the Waco and Baylor community.
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff WriterThis year, the annual fall tradition of the Heart O’ Texas (HOT) Fair & Rodeo held at the Extraco Events Center will carry on with its festivities throughout the month of October on its 67th anniversary.Charva Ingram is the HOT Fair & Rodeo vice president of marketing & sponsorship development. She said that this year, in order to accommodate guests due to COVID-19, the fair will consist of three parts: the livestock shows, the rodeo and Fair Food Drive-in.Unfortunately, this year, the typical concert series held at the fair will not happen, but Ingram said…
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff WriterThis past weekend, Baylor Opera Theater held its first two productions via livestream, “La serva padrona” by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi on Friday and “La canterina” by Joseph Haydn on Saturday, to showcase the program’s efforts thus far this semester.While navigating the COVID-19 crisis, Baylor Opera Theater has worked to make their performances shorter in length and smaller in cast in order to have more of a variety as well as give those in the program more opportunities to work with a plethora of distinct roles within the shows themselves.Aliso Viejo, Calif., second year graduate student…
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff WriterIn February of 1996, Baylor President Robert Sloan Jr. — after lifting the 151-year-long on-campus dancing ban — celebrated the rule reversal with his wife, Sue Sloan, by dancing to a Beethoven minuet in front of the student center.Breaking from the strict Baptist ways of the university and catching national attention in the process, Baylor’s reversal of the rule seemed to pave the path for greater university inclusivity. Because of Baylor’s strict relationship with the Southern Baptist Convention, dancing, like drinking and tobacco use, was viewed as sinful.In a Baylor Lariat article from 2011, Baylor…
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff WriterChristian musician Chris Tomlin will perform in front of an audience of cars to benefit Waco’s local non-profit Restoration Gateway at 7:30 p.m. Friday at First Woodway Baptist Church.Jenny Chandler is head of donor relations at Restoration Gateway. She said she and her team had to think a bit unconventionally for the nonprofit’s annual concert.“We have done a concert as our fundraiser every year since 2017 … This year, we had to get a bit creative in how we would host the event due to COVID,” Chandler said. “Turns out, artists such as Casting Crowns…
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff WriterWith the never-ending stressors the pandemic hurls our way, one thing we can control is our personal health and nutrition habits. Maintaining a healthy and balanced diet is especially critical for college students who go to and from busy classrooms and university buildings. But how can students take in their recommended amounts of protein, fruits and veggies when there is nowhere that simply presents all three?Freshii, a health food franchise, opened a branch of its restaurant in the Bill Daniel Student Center in the fall semester of 2014, offering new options with more nutritional value…
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff WriterAfter newly admitted students are welcomed to the Baylor family, freshmen are prompted to apply for housing through Campus Living & Learning to complete the required first-year on-campus housing requirement — no matter their living preference.Terri Garrett, associate director for academic initiatives, has served in the department of Campus Living & Learning since 2002. Garrett said the university is purposeful in its plans behind the first-year on-campus residency requirement. “The first-year residency requirement started in fall 2004 as part of Baylor’s 10 year vision plan called ‘Baylor 2012,’ in which 12 different university imperatives were…
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff WriterEvery semester, pre-nursing students are faced with a sentimental task: packing their bags and moving 2-hours north to the heart of Dallas to study at the Louise Herrington School of Nursing, taking all of their nursing knowledge and Waco memories with them.According to Nursing Schools Guide, the Louise Herrington School of Nursing is “competitive, and priority is given to applicants that have taken at least 32 credits of their 66 credits of general education classes at Baylor in Waco.” In order for a student to be a qualified applicant, they must have at least a…
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff WriterWith nothing to do except endlessly Instagram surf, get lost in the TikTok-sphere or find a new favorite YouTuber, the months from March to present have been an odd, Internet-obsessed time for adults and students everyday. According to Business Insider, before the COVID-19 breakout, the Harris Poll reported that 46% to 51% of adults in the United States used social media since the beginning of the pandemic. In another survey conducted from May 1 to May 3, “51% of total respondents … reported increased usage on certain social media platforms.”Orange County, Calif., sophomore Chad Carter…
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff WriterAlong with the recent universal delaying and cancellation of many other activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, study abroad trips were one of the many affected programs at Baylor University.Maxey Parrish, senior lecturer in the department of journalism, public relations and new media, has coordinated study abroad programs at the university for over 25 years. Parrish is currently is in charge of the Baylor in Budapest program, although he used to be the director and founder of Baylor in Florence and was the director of Baylor in Maastricht three times.“I was scheduled to direct the…
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff WriterWith recent social issues becoming more prevalent in the media and personal connections driving their posts, social media users everywhere have invoked their power of “social media activism,” including Baylor students.In 2018, “around half of Americans engaged in some form of political or social-minded activity on social media in the past year,” according to Pew Research Center.Additionally according to Pew Research Center, “on May 28, nearly 8.8 million tweets contained the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag,” which was the highest ever reported number of uses for this hashtag since Pew Research Center first tracked its use. College Station…
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff WriterI was raised on hand sanitizer, elderberry syrup and Clorox wipes. I was brought up by a germaphobe, and now I couldn’t be more thankful (despite my initial annoyance at incessant hand washing reminders and morning Emergen-C). In the midst of the pandemic, I truly believe the “pre-quarantine routine” my mother brainwashed me into practicing even before COVID-19 has done me so much preventative good.Growing up, my mom emphasized the extreme importance of cleanliness during my time living at home because of my compromised immune system. Throughout my life, even if I contract a simple…
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff WriterBlame for the COVID-19 crisis at Baylor has begun to spread between the freshmen and upperclassmen both on social media and in person.Tensions began to rise following the posting of a short video clip on Twitter by Easton, Penn., junior Cassie Nataro of what looked like hundreds of freshmen gathered on Fountain Mall the weekend before school started,“I was really upset to see the freshman so blatantly gathering without masks in large groups and not social distancing,” Nataro said.Nataro said she took the video walking down the sidewalk of Fountain Mall when helping the freshmen…
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff WriterAs the COVID-19 pandemic continues its global spread and as Baylor University continues to enact policies to keep its students and staff as safe as possible, other aspects of students’ health — such as mental well-being — continue to be affected.In a report from the U.S. Census Bureau, signs of depression and anxiety are prevalent in one-third of Americans, and these rates have been since boosted COVID-19’s existence.Dr. Michael Myers is a staff psychiatrist with the Department of Health Services at Baylor University, as well as an American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Diplomate. He…
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff Writer Just like everyone else, my life was put on pause during the months of March through present — no in-person class, no restaurants, no shopping malls, no trips, no gym.I’m no gym fanatic, but I do enjoy yoga, attending fitness classes at the McLane Student Life Center, the post-workout endorphins and my favorite — the StairMaster. Not to flex (literally), but every summer at my home gym, I practically owned that machine— I worked up from 10 minutes, to 25, then even 45 minutes straight on the machine.With the busyness of classes and extracurriculars,…
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff WriterAs the announcement about the newly-designated Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris circulates, so does information about the candidate: she’s the first Black vice presidential nominee of a major political party, the first Asian American and third woman to run for the same office, and burgeoning “birther” conspiracies are following her.NPR reported on Aug. 13 that President Donald Trump said he had reason to believe vice presidential candidate Harris may not be eligible to be Joe Biden’s running mate.“I just heard it today that she [Harris] doesn’t meet the requirements and by the way the…
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff Writer Baylor University has expanded efforts to increase voter registration within the student body. The efforts come ahead of the 2020 presidential election and coincides with the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment.Baylor is affiliated with campaigns and groups such as the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, the Big XII Voting Challenge and the League of Women Voters Waco Area, as well the Vote Everywhere program and the Andrew Goodman Foundation this year. McKinney senior Chantal Canales, president of Baylor’s Her Campus, said that she appreciates the university striving for voter participation among its student…
By Lucy Ruscitto | Staff WriterThe closure and disruptions of shops, businesses and events across the country in accordance with the pandemic has affected many of the consumers of local establishments. However, the Waco Downtown Farmers Market continues to operate in a modified way.This farmers market has been in functioning for more than eight years, starting by the river with a few nearby vendors, versus today’s 60 plus from all around the greater Waco area.Due to COVID-19, the market had to make some immediate changes in late March if they wanted to remain open.“We are currently functioning as a grocery…
Local Companies Hire Baylor Students