Author: Olivia Turner

It’s vital to recognize the true situation of the places you travel to and to support them in their times of need. While “The Valley Isle” is evidently famed for a gorgeous landscape that attracts visitors from all over the globe, it’s much more than just a popular tourist spot. People live there too.

What I’ve learned is that it’s OK to envision your dream life, but don’t make the same mistake I did by ignoring some of the more unfavorable bits. For all you soon-to-be Bears, here are some things I suggest considering.

While the Baylor Bears are away, the city of Waco continues to stay busy through the summer, and that goes for its blooming art community, too. For art enthusiasts who remain in Waco through this sweltering season, Art Center Waco will provide plenty of paintings, sculptures and installations created by artists Ty Nathan Clark and Vy Ngo.

Graduating seniors and students alike swarmed the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat on a sunny Tuesday afternoon to attend a graduation party for one of Baylor’s most beloved icons — Judge Sue Sloan, better known as “Lady.”

Going through victims’ stories has not only helped Talluri to realize how many people experience assault, but also how many people likely haven’t told their stories yet. Albrarran said unfortunately, assaults occur more often than most are willing to admit, with one in four women and one in six men experiencing assault in their lifetime.

There’s no denying it: food insecurity is an issue for students on campus— 2,150 of them to be exact, according to The Store’s website. If such a sizeable number of students struggle with this issue, why is it that these students remain silent in their suffering?

Over 90 countries are represented in the Baylor student body. Some of these groups contains hundreds, some dozens and some with a sole student representing their nation.

When going about campus on a busy day, it’s not uncommon to see a dog or two accompanying one of the many students rushing to get to their next class. While some of these dogs are simply pets, some of them serve their owners in more ways than just being ‘man’s best friend.’

With finals fast approaching, Baylor students can plan for a fair amount of studying and hard work in the near future, but they can also anticipate a bit of fun thanks to Alpha Phi’s first-ever Jubilee, a co-sponsored event with Baylor Activities Council.

What would have been a regular Tuesday night was made grand and dynamic by the performance put on by Baylor’s Wayne Fisher Jazz Program during their finale concert of the season at Jones Concert Hall. Commenced with the drums, the heartbeat of the band, and concluded with one triumphant, brassy blast from the ensemble, the concert jazz performance was an eclectic earful throughout.

There’s no doubt that procrastination is not a fun feeling. So, if they know the anxiety and regret they cause themselves by putting things off, why do they do it?

Rowell said one of the most significant ways dance has impacted her is through the mind-body connection. Because of dance, Rowell said her sense of place and physical awareness has been much improved, something she said is unique to dancers.

The light-hearted name also reveals the purpose of the podcast, a platform on which she hopes to share her experiences and what she learns from her life in the current stage she is in as a college student, almost like a sort of verbal diary, Brooke said. Although the name suggests a ‘girls only’ requisite, Brooke said the podcast is open to anyone who is willing to listen.

Springtime at Baylor is, like most other places, a season of love. It seems everyone knows at least one person who got down on bended knee, received a ring or said their “I do’s” during these last few months on campus. It’s all in good fun to watch the relationships and marriages bloom, and the topic of officiation is not really on anyone’s mind, that is, until asked to be one.

For decades now, the air of love has lingered in the building from wedding ceremonies held in the Foyer of Meditation — one of the library’s most magnificent rooms — and many a knee has been taken in proposal on the stairs within. These stairs lead to two golden clasped hands — a symbol of Robert and Elizabeth Browning’s love, the mid-nineteenth century poets who were the inspiration for the library 72 years ago.

With the warming weather brought on by March come spring flowers, and ‘WILDFLOWER’ is no exception.

As bands like fooligan, Hunter Cox & The Big League Boys, sack lunch!, Montclair and Rococo Disco projected out into Fountain Mall, the ears of those in the crowd were met with colorful rock and indie tunes. Not far off, more music sounded at the SUB Bowl stage, hosting bands and artists like SUNNN, Braden Black, Secondhand Son and Brother Boy.

“For so long women have been confined and suffocated and not allowed to celebrate who they are; that fact that we’re able to now is just so amazing,” Almon said.

“My motto is ‘do stuff that scares you,’ and ‘Athena’ scares me in all the right ways,” Marrs said. “It’s about two women qualifying for the junior Olympics in fencing, and I’ve never been a woman or a fencer, so I’m learning a lot of things in the process.”

Without wheels, suddenly we’re stranded. We’re met with the inability to do things, like visit the store and go out to eat, without taking an Uber, ordering delivery or getting a ride from a friend.

As the piece came to a close after riding the highs of Beethoven’s hope and the lows of his torment, the piano accompaniment and voices faded, but the choir kept ‘singing.’ In silence their mouths moved, and Holmes continued to conduct as if to convince the audience and allow them a taste of Beethoven’s inevitable surrender to his deafness.

This May, the Martin Museum will welcome back one of its beloved alumni with an art exhibition to go along with her. Jessica Beachum graduated from Baylor University in 2011 with her degree in Sociology. Together, Beachum and her husband, Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum, said they have fostered an art collection that has grown throughout their marriage and been shared with public through exhibitions.

“We’re here for just a short time to enjoy it, so for me, it’s showing them ‘Hey, our culture’s so beautiful; let’s do something about it,’” Moreno-Gonzales said.

While most Bears go off to have their own adventures during spring break, North Russell Residence Hall residents stick together for their travels. This year, Baylor and Beyond, the living learning community at North Russell, will travel to the east coast for a week in New York City.

Whether you’re looking for something familiar or something a little off your radar for your marathon, hopefully these feel-good recommendations can lift your spirits and get you back into fighting shape for the last remaining weeks of classes.

Public restrooms should serve to welcome and suit the needs of anyone who uses them. That’s why institutions like Baylor hire staff to restock soap and toilet paper and to keep the facilities clean. Baylor should do the same for the women on campus by providing free and accessible feminine products in the bathrooms.

Partnered with and made possible by the Levitt Amp Foundation and Creative Waco, the city will be holding the concerts at the amphitheater at Bridge Street Plaza every Saturday from April 22 to July 23 of this year. The director of marketing and communications for Creative Waco, Kennedy Sam, said that the organization’s goal in offering these free concerts is to promote more community interaction with the arts without the barrier of an admission cost.

After the prayerful procession in the dark, the walk was concluded in the walkway of Draper Academic Building with a song, “The Hail Holy Queen,” also know as the “Salvē,” which the group sang in Latin a capella.

In Vienna, Blackwood played in a concert hall in a castle in Innsbruck, one of which halls composer Johannes Brahms once played. During her performance there, Blackwood said she could feel the history of the music she was playing, making it her favorite performance of her life so far.

When looking back on the Sing of the ‘80s and ‘90s, Taylor said she has seen tremendous changes since her days in the spotlight, which have left her overwhelmingly impressed.