By Matthew Muir | Copy Desk Chief In January 1980, Playboy photographer David Chan’s planned trip to Baylor was generating a low rumble. By March, it snowballed into a controversy which made national headlines and left a gaping wound in Baylor’s Department of Journalism. Having previously completed features on “Girls of the Pac 10” and “Girls of the Ivy League,” Chan set his sights on the Southwest Conference, which included Baylor at the time. Chan had already visited the University of Texas – where he interviewed more than 350 women – and Texas A&M when he confirmed his intent to…
Author: Matthew Muir
By Matthew Muir | Copy Desk ChiefPresident Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump both tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday night. The news comes just two hours after the president’s announcement that the pair would go into quarantine after close contact with senior adviser Hope Hicks, who also tested positive Thursday. Trump announced the positive tests in a tweet sent late Thursday night. Trump also said he and the first lady would “begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately,” and that the pair would “get through this TOGETHER!” Hicks, one of the president’s closest advisers, traveled with Trump aboard Air…
By Matthew Muir and Matthew Soderberg | Copy Desk Chief and News Editor, Contributing Reporting by Grace Smith | Broadcaster Reporter Baylor announced the cancellation of spring break and Diadeloso for the spring semester Wednesday. Winter break has been extended by a week, and classes will now start on Jan. 19, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The changes serve as a measure to prevent future COVID-19 outbreaks. Provost Nancy Brickhouse announced the change and said Baylor’s priority is a “safe completion of the spring semester with campus-based instruction.” “Like many major universities across the country — and…
By Emily Cousins | Staff Writer and Matthew Muir | Copy Desk ChiefBaylor University announced a temporary quarantine of Martin Residence Hall’s third and fourth floors Saturday night. From Thursday to Saturday, the number of COVID-19 cases on the two floors jumped from five to 21.Residents of Martin’s third and fourth floors are required to “reside in place” and not leave their floors through Wednesday. Residents living on the first and second floors are barred from visiting the quarantined floors and were directed to schedule a COVID-19 test with Baylor Health Services.Students who tested positive will follow Baylor’s established protocols…
By Matthew Muir | Copy Desk Chief Waco’s coronavirus outbreak shows tenuous but steady improvement. After a significant spike during the summer, the estimated number of active cases continues to slowly decrease.The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District reported 47 new and 5,760 cumulative cases in the county as of Sunday afternoon, including an estimated 1,732 active cases. The rolling 7-day average of new cases continued the downward trend it’s followed since July, though the 112 new cases recorded Wednesday represent the highest single-day total so far this month.The rolling seven-day average test positivity rate has also decreased from its mid-July…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer Texas is set to begin reopening the state Friday, but a full return to normal is still a long way away. Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order Monday detailing the process for reopening businesses and services across the state. Reopening will happen in phases, with phase one beginning Friday and set to last through at least May 18. During phase one, retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls can reopen, but must limit their capacity to 25% of their normal maximum occupancy. Other businesses like bars, gyms, salons, barbershops and tattoo and piercing…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer, Video by Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter With face-to-face outreach programs stalled, a recent Cornell grad and a serial entrepreneur have taken their empowerment and education model online. DFW area-based Let’s Thrive Now produces and aggregates content aimed at helping young people “thrive” during the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics include health, finance, education and lifestyle advice. The site was founded by Cornell University graduate Alex Quian and Greg Weatherford II, serial entrepreneur and Southern Methodist University’s director of community engagement. The pair previously founded the outreach group Young Leaders For Change, but Weatherford said recent…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer Baylor’s Zoom users were treated to an upgrade when the university purchased an enterprise license for the software. The license gives anyone logged in to the teleconferencing program with their Baylor account increased security and fewer limitations. First announced by Baylor Information Technology Services Wednesday, Baylor’s adoption of Zoom integrated the program with existing university systems. Zoom accounts were registered for each Baylor email address. Users with existing accounts tied to their Baylor email were asked to “move [their] Zoom account to the university’s license,” or “change the email and password associated with the…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer It took 36 hours for Kyle Larson’s NASCAR career to crash down around him. During a special event Sunday night on the online racing simulation iRacing, the 27-year-old Cup Series star keyed-up the wrong voice-chat channel and broadcasted “hey, [N-word],” (yes, with the hard-R) to all of his competitors, many of whom were streaming their views from the race at the time. The story spread like wildfire, and a video apology the next day did little to douse the flames. By Monday morning it had been picked up from ESPN to the New York…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer The Waco City Council extended its shelter-in-place order Tuesday to carry through April 30. The order was previously set to expire April 21. The extension ensures Waco’s shelter-in-place will cross the one-month threshold. Waco Mayor Kyle Deaver’s initial order took effect March 24. A Facebook statement from the City of Waco announcing the extension said all citizens should “continue to be safe and practice social distancing.” Under the order, Waco has not experienced the exponential growth in cases seen in epicenters of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District reported two new…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer, Video by Julia Lawrenz | Broadcast Reporter Candidates for Baylor Student Government laid out their visions for making Baylor better in debates released Monday by Lariat TV News. Students running for Student Body President, External Vice President and Internal Vice President took turns answering questions and making the case for your vote. The Student Body President is the official spokesperson for the Baylor student body and Student Government’s chief executive officer. Boerne junior Sutton Houser, Houston junior Prabhjot Thandi and Jones, Okla., junior Jackson McNeece are running for the position. Candidates were asked about…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer, Video by Sarah Gill | Broadcast Reporter Baylor Student Government candidates running for Student Body President, External Vice President and Internal Vice President discussed their platforms during debates released Monday by Lariat TV News as they prepare for student voting this week. The Internal Vice President presides over the Student Senate and coordinates between Student Government’s legislative branch and Baylor’s internal affairs. The Internal Vice President also oversees the disbursement of the Student Government Allocation Fund. Birmingham, Ala. Sophomore Piper Latham and The Woodlands junior Matt Cole are running for this position. Candidates were…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer, Video by Grace Smith | Broadcast Reporter Student Body President, External Vice President and Internal Vice President candidates discussed a variety of Baylor and Waco related topics during debates released Monday by Lariat TV News. Student Government’s External Vice President works to connect the Baylor student body to the Waco community and to state and national partners. McAllen junior Pato Peña, Waco junior Christopher Sharon, Sierra Vista, Ariz. Sophomore Gracie Kelliher and Hoffman Estates, Ill., sophomore Zach Tufenkjian are the candidates for this position. The EVP position deals extensively with outreach, and candidates were…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer McLennan County suffered its second confirmed death from COVID-19 Thursday morning. The death was announced Thursday afternoon in a statement from Waco Mayor Kyle Deaver. The 69-year-old male died Thursday morning at a local hospital and had underlying health conditions. Deaver also said the Wednesday-night death of a 61-year-old male was under investigation, but had not been confirmed to be tied to the virus. In the statement, Deaver said the death was a “tragic development, but not an unforeseen one,” and said the city is continuing to take actions to protect its population from…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer A Baylor environmental science professor played a starring role in a global webinar discussing how to prepare for public health disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Benjamin Ryan, clinical associate professor of environmental science, joined a panel of other health experts to present “Resilience of local governments: A multi-sectoral approach to integrate public health and disaster risk management.” Presented by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the webinar drew just shy of 1,000 participants from around the globe. Ryan focused on implementing the Public…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer Waco and McLennan County extended their shelter in place orders until April 21 Tuesday as the number of cases in the county rose to 44. Both the Waco City Council and the McLennan County Commissioners voted for the respective extensions Tuesday. Essential businesses will still remain open and essential activities are still permitted. The City of Waco also voted to postpone its May 2 elections until November 3. Waco suffered its first death from COVID-19 Tuesday morning when 49-year-old Phillip Perry, principal of the G.W. Carver Middle School in Waco passed away. Perry was…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer A Baylor-backed initiative to feed rural students during the coronavirus pandemic received national recognition at a White House press briefing Friday. The Baylor University Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty partnered with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), McLane Global and PepsiCo for the Emergency Meals-To-You effort. The program’s goal is to deliver 1 million nutritious meals each week to rural students who would normally rely on school meals and are too remote to pick up food from those schools. McLane Global handles the sourcing, assembly, packaging and delivery of the meals, which are…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer, Video by Julia Lawrenz | Excutive Producer Baylor University will offer all undergraduate students the option to switch classes to a pass/fail grading scale at the end of the semester. The changes are only for the spring 2020 semester as the Baylor community adjusts to online classes necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. University Provost Dr. Nancy Brickhouse announced the measures in a statement Tuesday. The new system will have faculty submit final grades at the end of the semester as normal, but after final grades are submitted, students will choose which if any classes…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer The City of Waco issued a shelter in place order to combat the spread of COVID-19. Waco Mayor Kyle Deaver announced the order in a press conference Monday. Per the order, all residents in Waco “are ordered to shelter at their place of residence” unless leaving their residence for “essential activities, essential governmental functions or to operate essential businesses.” The order is likely to last through April 7, but its duration is not yet official. The City Council will hold a virtual meeting tomorrow to discuss how long to maintain the order. Essential activities…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer McLennan County’s number of COVID-19 cases climbed to 13 Friday as the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District reported six new cases. The City of Waco released updated counts on the number of COVID-19 cases in the local area. Including the 13 confirmed cases, 65 people have been tested with 20 coming back negative. The results of 34 tests are still pending. These numbers do not include tests done by private labs. Larry Holze, director of municipal information with the City of Waco, provided the updated numbers. Now that the virus is spreading in Waco,…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer McLennan County has a seventh confirmed case of COVID-19. Waco Mayor Kyle Deaver announced the new case and stricter limits on community gatherings, at a press conference Thursday. Health officials have confirmed one of the seven cases was acquired locally, marking the first known instance of person-to-person spread in Waco. While the virus is now present in the community, Deaver said none of the cases so far have been severe. “None of the cases that we have reported so far have required hospitalization, and none of them have reached that level of seriousness,” Deaver…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer A Baylor student has tested positive for COVID-19, University President Dr. Linda Livingstone confirmed in a statement Thursday. The student, who was not identified in the release, contracted the virus after traveling out of state. Though the student returned to Waco, Livingstone said they did not return to campus. “The student returned to Waco after traveling out of state to an area with high community transmission, but self-isolated away from the Baylor campus,” Livingstone said. To prevent further spread, people who are known to have been in contact with the student will be “directly…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer Baylor has made the unprecedented decision to cancel in-person classes for the remainder of the spring semester Monday as the university tries to stay ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement from Baylor president Dr. Linda Livingstone came less than a week after the university extended spring break and moved classes online through April 3. While there are no known cases of COVID-19 in McLennan County as of Monday, Livingstone said the quickly evolving situation required more drastic actions. “Following the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and our federal, state &…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer Updated: 8:30 p.m., Friday, March 13, 2020. President Donald Trump declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency Friday. Trump delivered the announcement from the White House Rose Garden and said the declaration will allow the Federal government to more effectively combat the disease. “To unleash the full power of the Federal Government in this effort today I am officially declaring a national emergency. Two very big words,” Trump said. “The action I am taking will open up access to up to $50 billion … for states and territories and localities in our shared fight…
By Matthew Muir | Staff WriterWhile COVID-19, better known as the novel coronavirus, has thus far stayed away from McLennan County, authorities are preparing to combat cases in the local area.The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District announced the formation of the McLennan County Leadership Response Team Wednesday to plan a response to the global outbreak. While there were no confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases in the county as of Thursday, the announcement said the team is “actively monitoring patients for risk factors and working to ensure our local health care system is prepared to respond to the situation as it…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer and Meredith Pratt | Staff Writer, Video by Sarah Gill | Broadcast Reporter and April Oddo | LTVN Intern The major political parties of McLennan County gathered Tuesday eager to discover which candidates would win their respective nominations. As polls closed around the country, Democrats and Republicans found their respective election night watch parties. Members of the McLennan County Democratic Party met at the Klassy Glass Wine Bar, while McLennan County Republicans gathered at their offices around town. The Democratic race for the presidential nomination came down to a showdown between Bernie Sanders and…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer Some Waco voters left Super Tuesday confused and disappointed after discovering the McLennan County Records Building’s polling location was not open for election day. The Records Building served only as an early voting location, which the McLennan County website sorts to the top of the list of voting locations. Adding to the ambiguity, other early voting sites on the list also opened as polling sites for voting on Tuesday. This lack of distinction confused voters like Lionel Escamilla, who arrived with his family around 5.30 p.m. hoping to cast their ballots after a busy…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer Baylor’s first family invited parents and students into their home for a potluck dinner with a side of prayer on Thursday night.Baylor University president Dr. Linda Livingstone and husband Brad Livingstone hosted this month’s Waco Parents in Prayer meeting at the Allbritton House. The roughly 50 Parents in Prayer groups each meet monthly across the country to support each other, their students and the university through prayer.President Livingstone said the local group pitched the idea of a potluck at last month’s meeting and Baylor’s first family was happy to host.“We were happy to volunteer…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer Showing a willingness to fail and to learn from failure is Dr. Kalani Craig’s key to the unique study of digital humanities. Craig, co-director of the Institute for Digital Arts and Humanities at Indiana University Bloomington, presented a lecture on digital humanities and the role failure plays in the field Monday afternoon in Moody Library.Digital humanities exists at the crossroads of technology and liberal arts, and it draws from the strengths of both fields. The institute serves as the “hub” for humanities and digital arts at IU, and Craig said the department utilizes its…
By Matthew Muir | Staff Writer Dutton Avenue Parking Garage’s Dutton Avenue entrance will temporarily close at 3 p.m. Friday. The parking garage will remain accessible via the University Parks entrance. The closure is being done to accommodate the groundbreaking ceremony for the Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center, which is beginning construction directly across the street. Lori Fogleman, assistant vice president for media and public relations at Baylor, said the entrance would be closed for safety reasons regarding the groundbreaking ceremony, and that the closure would be brief. “The Dutton Avenue entrance should only be closed for a few…