While I’ve long given up my parents’ Christian faith, there are parts of institutionalized religion that I just can’t shake. Thankfully for me, a few of those parts are positive. Outside of the church, nowhere else have I seen considerable effort for building community. Our family’s small Methodist church of 100 people had a shopping list of volunteer opportunities for members to choose from. As a teenager, I chose to join my church in passing out free groceries to people who lived without shelter in my hometown. Almost all of my church friends were plugged in to one charity or…
Author: Rachel Leland
Hey bro, this summer I started lifting. I didn’t achieve Instagram-worthy results or anything, but I committed to a day-to-day workout plan and met the small fitness goals I set for myself. Looking back, most of the benefits I got from going to the gym weren’t physical but mental. My weight training journey involved more than a few obstacles, but the one that stood out most was that of muscle failure. “Training to muscle failure” is a strength-building method that embraces regulated overkill. Muscle failure occurs when an individual’s muscles can no longer physically function after lifting a maximum number…
As the spring semester comes to a close, Baylor University students will now have the opportunity to take advantage of Campus Crates, a recently-launched moving business. The business was co-founded in January by Plano sophomore Ryan Snitzer and Boynton Beach, Fla., sophomore Ryan Robinson. Campus Crates is an alternative moving service that caters specifically to Baylor students. “Moving out sucks,” Snitzer said. “At Baylor they hand it off to you when you are a freshman and then after that, you have to do it by yourself.” Both Snitzer and Robinson experienced difficulties moving out their freshman year, including not having…
Baylor University and the city of Waco are in the exploratory phases of installing a buoy system on Waco Creek. “Mark McComb and Cooper Groves of the Sustainability Student Advisory Board came to me with the idea, and I encouraged them to reach out to the city of Waco to explore the possibility,” Smith Getterman, director of the Office of Sustainability, said. The buoy system would be located near the Baylor Sciences Building where Waco Creek enters campus. “Everyone knows that the Waco Creek that runs through Baylor gets nasty with trash buildup after heavy rains,” Getterman said. “The buoy…
As a teenager, Waco native Gabriel Dominguez sold drugs and went in and out of the juvenile detention center. At 23, a conviction of machine gun possession landed him in federal prison, according to his biography on the Life Church Waco website. After his release Dominguez experienced difficulty readjusting to life as a free man. It was not until he discovered the love of God that he learned that faith in Jesus could transform his life for the better, Dominguez said. Now ‘Pastor G,’ Dominguez leads Life Church Waco, which emphasizes ministry on the streets. ‘Hope Through Everything is a…
This year, the Office of Sustainability is making extra strides to create a more environmentally-conscious community at Baylor. Today, the Baylor Sustainability Student Advisory Board will host its first Dr Pepper Hour. Last year, the Office of Sustainability hosted a similar reception, but organizers hope this year’s event will attract more attention to the organization since it will be at the weekly Baylor tradition. The event comes just in time for Earth Day, which is on Friday. “We hope that students will get an opportunity to hear a lot of ways they can get involved to take care of God’s…
Baylor University president and chancellor Ken Starr announced his appointment of Dr. Elizabeth Palacios to the post of special assistant to the president on diversity. Palacios currently serves as the dean for student development in the Division of Student Life and was a faculty member for 10 years prior to joining the department. Palacios will work closely with the president and his advisory council on diversity while continuing to serve as dean. Last semester, Baylor’s administration first considered creating a diversity officer position to increase the diversity of faculty and students at the university. While Baylor is one of the…
Project asks students to speak out against sexual violence
Computer Science and Papyrology, the study of ancient texts written on papyrus, may not appear to intersect, but digital imaging technology offers benefits and collaboration opportunities for researchers in both fields. Baylor University hosted researcher Dr. Brent Seales who gave a lecture called “Digital Unwrapping: Homer, Herculaneum and the Scroll from Ein Gedi.” Dr. David Jeffrey, professor of literature and humanities, introduced the distinguished researcher, who has received $18 million in research grants from sponsors, including the National Science Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, U.S Army and Google. Seales is a professor and chairman of the department of computer science…
Baylor will move Baptist history collection after new building buy
Baylor gender and women studies minor is taking steps to grow and publicize the well-developed but relatively unknown minor. Created in 1996, the minor works to prepare students to live in a diverse society and consider the experiences of men and women worldwide while encouraging a better understanding of gender, race and class relations. “It would give you the ability to recognize sexist thinking and writing, and hopefully give you the ability to be open and aware,” said Dr. Lisa Shaver, associate professional writing professor. “There isn’t a week or a day that goes by when you see a news…
On Super Tuesday, students proudly displayed their decision to participate in the 2016 US Presidential Primary election with a small, oval “I voted” sticker. For students like Channelview senior Ashley Ramos, this primary was the first chance to vote in the presidential elections. Ramos, who voted in last year’s state elections said she was voting yesterday because she thinks her opinion matters. “The only difference between this year’s and last year’s is the scale,” Ramos said. Like many students, Ramos does not have a car but was able to make it to the poll by riding with her boyfriend to…
FORT WORTH — Former presidential candidate, and governor of New Jersey Chris Christie publicly endorsed Donald J Trump for president in front of approximately 8,000 Trump supporters at a rally Saturday at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth. Christie referred to Trump as a “good friend” who is the strongest Republican candidate to defeat Hillary Clinton, which he said was the single most important thing his party can do. “There is no one better prepared to provide America with the strong leadership that it needs both at home and around the world than Donald Trump,” Christie said. Trump…
With presidential primaries now less than a week away, Baylor students are forming student campaign groups in an effort to raise last-minute support for candidates. Most of the groups were created in the last few weeks, long after the candidates announced their bids for presidency. Taylor Nall, who graduated last May, created “Bears for Bernie” last week because, as a volunteer for the Vermont senator’s campaign, he was concerned that Bernie Sanders did not have a Facebook page for the Waco area. The Facebook page, which now has 24 members, is also open to students from other local schools like…
Truett Seminary will host the 2016 Pruit Symposium Lift Every Voice and Sing today and Friday. The two-day event will celebrate the heritage of black gospel music. Rev. Dr. Emmett G. Price III, an expert in African-American worship music, will be featured at the event. “The Pruit Memorial Symposium is such a significant occasion for Baylor, and what better time to have it than during Black History Month,” said Pattie Orr, dean of libraries and vice president of information technology. At 3:30 p.m. today in the Paul W. Powel Chapel of Truett Seminary, Baylor professors Dr. Coretta Pittman and Dr.…
By: Rachel Leland, ReporterNext fall, Baylor University will welcome the Department of Computer Science’s first PhD program. Nearly two years after the program was first approved by the department in the fall of 2014, the Baylor Board of Regents accepted the department’s proposal on Friday, February 12. “I’m very excited and proud of the hard work that the department has done to get the proposal forward,” said Dr. Speegle professor and chair of the Department of Computer Sciences. “I’m very proud of the fact that Baylor has recognized the accomplishments of the department. This is something we’ve wanted for a…
Sentiments of the university’s mishandling of multiple sexual assault cases involving students inspired one woman to action. The Friday following a vigil held for sexual assault survivors, Waterloo, Iowa, senior Kate McGuire created a Facebook page called BU Students Against Sexual Violence. McGuire said she has not been assaulted at Baylor, but wanted to advocate on behalf of assault survivors that she knows. “Once more cases became public, I thought the group could help us talk about it,” McGuire said. McGuire hopes that as more students and faculty demonstrate interest in the organization, the group can begin engaging in dialogue…