Viewpoint: Cyclists: Slow your roll for the safety of pedestrians

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November 15, 2012

By Connor Yearsley

The biker: capable of achieving speeds of 20-plus mph, capable of going from max speed to pain in less than one second, susceptible to blunt force trauma.

The pedestrian: capable of achieving top speeds of 12 to 15 mph, incapable of looking 360 degrees simultaneously, incapable of hearing inaudible bikes, incapable of taking flight or teleporting, capable of going from max speed to pain in less than one second, susceptible to blunt force trauma.

Thirty five percent of Americans will get hit by a bike at least once in their life (OK, I made that up, but 65 percent of statistics are made up anyway).

I hate to use this space to vent, or rant (whatever you want to call it), but I have that opportunity, so I think I’ll take advantage of it.

Bikers, for the love of all things, slow your roll.

I’ve had more than half a mind, on an excessive number of occasions, to throw my backpack in front of your front tire or stick a stick between your spokes.

Pedestrians shouldn’t have to be ever-vigilant, prepared to fling themselves out of the way at any moment because you only allotted 34.56 seconds to get from point A to point B.

You are not Moses and we are not the Red Sea.

If you’ve ever had any doubt about whether a bicycle-pedestrian collision is painful for both parties (maybe not the most accurate word in this case), let me remove it for you. I can, from firsthand experience, confirm the painfulness of being the “collisionee” at least, and I can imagine it’s not pleasant for the “collisioner” either.

When I was about 8 years old, I was hit from behind by a biker going way too fast. It went like this: crash!, I’m surprised, I go down, bike comes down on top, I get up, I look at kid, kid looks at me, we say nothing, kid gets back on bike, kid rides away, I’m stunned, I sit down, I try to make sense, I realize severe pain and blood.

Skin and blood were left on the pavement that day, and probably on the bike too.

I was attached to that skin and blood. I will never get those or the sleepless nights back.

Now, I would rather slow you down with writing than stop you cold with skin and blood. Hopefully, the former can prevent the latter.

But I got biked, and it took forever to clean the tire tracks off my forehead (OK, I made that part up). Nevertheless, it’s not an experience I care to relive and not one I recommend.

Like most kids, I was taught to look both ways before crossing the road. That experience taught me you might also need to look both ways before crossing the sidewalk. But even that’s not enough. Some of you seem to instantaneously materialize out of thin air, going a variety of speeds, traversing all traversable surfaces, and zigzagging in no predictable manner. Last I checked pedestrians still have right-of-way, so, please yield right-of-way right away and ride away at a safe distance. I mean, I always enjoyed playing dodgeball, but never “dodgebike.”

Also, bikers, when you’re coming from behind, more often than not, pedestrians don’t know you’re there until you whoosh past them. Bikes are very quiet. If only John Williams’ main theme from “Jaws” could alert us to your presence.

There seems to be a widespread, erroneous assumption (and you know what they say about making assumptions) that bikers are exempt from the rules of the road. A widespread assumption is no less erroneous because it’s widespread.

Too many times I’ve seen bikers run through stop signs and traffic lights. It’s a miracle someone hasn’t had to be pried from a Prius or un-fused from a Fusion.

For self-preservation’s sake, and grisly-scene-avoidance’s sake, stop at stop signs and traffic lights. Physics would say there is less leeway for bikes than for a Ford Super Duty.

So as you pilot your two-wheeled hazards, please try to have a little more regard for pedestrians. I have nothing against bikes.

I know they’re good for your cardio and your calves and carbon-emission reductions and, more importantly, your calves. However, my fellow pedestrians and I ask you, implore you even, to slow your roll. You don’t have to stop your roll, just slow it.

Thanks.

Connor Yearsley is a senior business journalism major from Garland. He is a lab reporter at the Baylor Lariat.

Editorial: Brace yourselves; the end of the world is coming

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Baylor Lariat

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November 15, 2012

It’s funny how the end of the world seems to have disappeared from our collective radar.

You know, December 21, 2012 (as predicted by the Mayan calendar)?

Only a few weeks from now?

It’s fast approaching.

For the past few years, it has been widely disputed among historians and theologians on what will happen when the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar comes to an end, the generally agreed-upon date being Dec. 21, 2012.

Some texts say “apocalypse” and some say “spiritual transformation” that will spread across the world on this dreaded date. And those in the Christian tradition have been predicting the end of the world since it started (you know, when the Bible was written).

But all speculations aside, now that the mysterious time is near, what should we do to prepare?

Considering that we have holidays for everything else (Arbor Day comes to mind), shouldn’t there be an ‘end-of-the-world day’ as well?

A time to spend with family, eating food and giving thanks for all of the wonderful things in your life before they’re snatched away by the earth’s imminent demise?

We should appropriate Thanksgiving to celebrate the end of the world.

Thanksgiving this year is especially important, as there won’t be a Christmas. It’s our last chance to hear the sweet voices of our relatives and friends before normal life resumes (if briefly) and we’re all pulled away into our respective worlds to await our doom.

It’s a chance to consider what is really important — to reflect on the snuffing out of life on Earth.

And then, on Black Friday, we can indulge in mindless, hedonistic consumerism during our last chance to catch those great sales before all possessions become totally irrelevant.

Just be careful not to trample anyone in your rush to get into Best Buy to get a $300 Super-Macintosh-Mega-Computer; everyone deserves a chance at their last few days of life.

In fact, isn’t this combination of realizing the truly important things and mindless consumerism the answer to all of our problems?

Or maybe the ones we’ve scoffed at all along are right.

Maybe the one’s who are seriously preparing for a post-apocalyptic world will have the last laugh.

If so, we can only hope that some of them will be kind when the time comes and loan us a space in their underground bunkers and some of canned beans during the nuclear/zombie horde/alien invasion.

Knowing that we don’t have to be “good” much longer, can’t we afford a few weeks of patience, kindness and compassion for all life on Earth, coupled with a “live life like we’re dying mentality” that urges us to wring every last drop from the towel that is our collective life?

Help that old lady across the street, volunteer at a soup kitchen, and while you’re at it, buy that new 50-million-inch flat screen you’ve always wanted and watch movies with your closest friends.

It’s a win-win scenario. If the world ends, we’ll have lived full lives (at least in these last, few, precious weeks) and if not, then we’ll still have lived an awesome few weeks.

In fact, perhaps we could live that way forever. When you know the end is coming, you treat every day as a holiday or gift.

Even without the rapidly approaching destruction of everything we know, our lives could end any day.

We’re fragile and human.

Let’s not forget it.

Live like the world is ending these next few weeks, even if it’s not.

It will be worth it in the end, whenever that may be.

Border Patrol under fire for using deadly force

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Baylor Lariat

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November 15, 2012

Border Patrol Rock Throwing — In this Aug. 9, 2012, photo, vehicles are parked along the border fence as pedestrians cross the street in Nogales, Mexico. The location is near the site where a U.S. Border Patrol agent being pelted with rocks opened fire toward Mexico, killing a 16-year-old boy. The shooting has prompted renewed outcry over the Border Patrolâs use-of-force policies and angered human rights activists and Mexican officials who believe the incident has become part of a disturbing trend along the border _ gunning down rock-throwers rather than using non-lethal weapons. Associated Press

By Brian Skoloff

Associated Press

NOGALES, Ariz. — A pair of Mexican drug smugglers in camouflage pants, bundles of marijuana strapped to their backs, scaled a 25 foot-high fence in the middle of the night, slipped quietly into the United States and dashed into the darkness.

U.S. Border Patrol agents and local police gave chase on foot — from bushes to behind homes, then back to the fence.

The conflict escalated. Authorities say they were being pelted with rocks. An agent responded by aiming a gun into Mexico and firing multiple shots at the assailant, killing a 16-year-old boy whose family says was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Oct. 10 shooting has prompted renewed outcry over the Border Patrol’s use-of-force policies and angered human rights activists and Mexican officials who believe the incident has become part of a disturbing trend along the border — gunning down rock-throwers rather than using non-lethal weapons.

The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General has launched a probe of the agency’s policies, the first such broad look at the tactics of an organization with 18,500 agents deployed to the Southwest region alone. The Mexican government has pleaded with the U.S. to change its ways. And the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has questioned the excessive use of force by Border Patrol.

At least 16 people have been killed by agents along the Mexico border since 2010, eight in cases where federal authorities said they were being attacked with rocks, said Vicki Gaubeca, director of the ACLU’s Regional Center for Border Rights in Las Cruces, N.M.

The Border Patrol says sometimes lethal force is necessary: Its agents were assaulted with rocks 249 times in the 2012 fiscal year, causing injuries ranging from minor abrasions to major head contusions.

It is a common occurrence along the border for rocks to be thrown from Mexico at agents in the U.S. by people trying to distract them from making arrests or merely to harass them — particularly in areas that are heavily trafficked by drug smugglers and illegal immigrants. Still, Gaubeca balks at what she and others deem the unequal “use of force to use a bullet against a rock.”

“There has not been a single death of a Border Patrol agent caused by a rock,” she said. “Why aren’t they doing something to protect their agents, like giving them helmets and shields?”

The Border Patrol has declined to discuss its use of lethal force policy, but notes agents may protect themselves and their colleagues when their lives are threatened, and rocks are considered deadly weapons.

Kent Lundgren, chairman of the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers, recalled a time in the 1970s when he was hit in the head while patrolling the border near El Paso, Texas.

“It put me on my knees,” Lundgren said. “Had that rock caught me in the temple, it would have been lethal, I have no doubt.”

It is extremely rare for U.S. border authorities to face criminal charges for deaths or injuries to migrants. In April, federal prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to pursue charges against a Border Patrol agent in the 2010 shooting death of a 15-year-old Mexican in Texas.

In 2008, a case was dismissed against a Border Patrol agent facing a murder charge after two mistrials. Witnesses testified the agent shot a man without provocation but defense attorneys contended the Mexican migrant tried to hit the agent with a rock.

Mexican families have filed multiple wrongful death lawsuits, and the U.S. government, while admitting no wrongdoing, has paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars. Last year, the family of the illegal immigrant killed by the agent whose murder case was dismissed reached an $850,000 settlement. The agent remains employed by Border Patrol.

Even the Mexican government has asked for a change in policy, to no avail, though Border Patrol points out that Mexico has put up no barriers in its country and does little to stop the rock throwers.

“We have insisted to the United States government by multiple channels and at all levels that it is indispensable they revise and adjust Border Patrol’s standard operating procedures,” Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said in a written statement.

Professor addresses concerns of divided government

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Baylor Lariat

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November 15, 2012

By Travis Taylor

Reporter

Pat Flavin is an assistant professor of political science at Baylor who earned his Ph.D. in political science from Notre Dame. He sat down with the Lariat to give his insight into the results of the election and his predictions for the next four years.

Q: After seeing the results of the election, were there any surprises?

A: It was surprisingly unsurprising. What I mean by that is that all the polls going in showed, at least at the presidential level, that in the swing states the president had a small but robust lead, so two or three percentage points, and he won every one of those states; so states like Iowa, Wisconsin, Colorado, Ohio, Virginia. I guess the one surprise was Florida, because that was kind of a toss-up, and they finally got done with counting their votes Saturday, and he won that one as well. Going in, that was probably the most toss-up or undecided. It was hard to tell who was going to win that particular race.

Q: A lot of people focus on the presidential race. What happened in the congressional races?

A: Well, if we take a step back and just look at what we have after, there isn’t a whole lot of change. The Democrats picked up a couple of seats in the Senate; they’ll probably have 55- 54 plus one independent that’s going to join them- so 55 seats in the Senate, and in the House they picked up a couple of seats, but still the Republicans have a pretty strong majority there. So I think that’s the biggest result of the election, that we still have a divided government.

That means any legislative deal has to be compromised because the Senate can’t make laws on its own, the president can’t make a law on his own. It takes all three of them. So I think, oddly, after two years of complaining about nothing getting done in Washington, we’re back in the same place, which is a set-up for gridlock basically because we have opposing parties in the government.

Q: What would you say we could expect from the government in the next four years?

A: Well, with a divided government, sadly my expectation is not a whole lot. There’s indication there might be a deal on immigration; an actual comprehensive immigration bill as opposed to something that’s kind of piecemeal. I hope I’m wrong, but I kind of expect more gridlock. But with this fiscal cliff thing, something has got to happen. We risk dropping back into a recession.

But I gave you the pessimistic view; the optimistic view is that it’s the kick in the behind that we need to actually make a long term deal on getting control of the debt.

So maybe this is what we need. But in terms of the next two years, with a divided government, immigration is the one that stands out as a possibility. And the reason that I think that is because if you look at who voted for which candidate in the election, the Republicans have a demographic problem in that their core constituency is actually a demographic group that is getting smaller: whites, especially white men. Whereas the growing demographic group is Hispanics, and one way to kind of reach out to that group would be to get on board with the kind of immigration reform that sets a policy for all the people who are in the country illegally.

Q: Is there anything in particular that college students should be looking for in the next four years?

A: Yeah, I guess two things. One, you want the government to do something about this fiscal cliff or it’s going to be, for those graduating seniors, it’s going to be difficult to find a job.

The economy will most surely slow down and even go back into a recession, so that means people aren’t hiring, that means you’ll be graduating and it will be tougher to find a job. That’s kind of in the short term. In the long term, if we don’t get our debt under control, we do have to pay for that just like when you rack up things on the credit card. It doesn’t just go away. It’s going to fall on the backs of people that are your age and that means a bigger piece of the budget pie every year spent on paying that interest. That means there’s less money to spend on all the other things that we want government to spend on. So everyone has an interest, but I would say especially young people in getting control over the national debt.

Otherwise it’s going to crowd out all the other things we want government to spend money on. So, young people in particular want to see a bargain struck here that’s not just a short-term thing, it’s a long-term fix. And something has to happen in the next month and a half or so, so stay tuned.

The full transcript of this question-and-answer interview can be found at www.baylorlariat.com.

Sudoku solution: 11/15/12

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November 15, 2012

Crosswords Solution: 11/15/12

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November 15, 2012

Don’t Feed the Bears — Episode 12

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Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

The latest installment of the Don’t Feed the Bears podcast

[soundcloud url=”https://soundcloud.com/dont-feed-the-bears/dont-feed-the-bears-nov-14″ iframe=”true” /]

Baylor Quidditch team flies across the hearts and minds of students

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Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

Quidditch Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor

By Travis Taylor

Reporter

When you think about sports, equipment, cleats, water bottles and sweatbands all come to mind.

For the Baylor Quidditch team, broomsticks are just as important as jerseys and shorts.

Born from a number of different sports, Baylor Quidditch has grown to a team of more than 25 players.

Keller junior Stuart Miller, a member of the team, said it’s hard to decide what sports have influenced Quidditch the most.

“It’s a combination of dodge ball, rugby, track and lacrosse,” Miller said. “Pretty much any sport is just thrown in there.”

Quidditch is a sport that was created from the imagination of J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series. Usually confined to the world of fictional wizards and witches, “Muggle,” a term meaning “non-magic,” was adapted into a sport that is now an international organized association.

According to the International Quidditch Association, the first Muggle Quidditch match was played in Middlebury, Vt., on Oct. 9, 2005. It took two years for the first intercollegiate match to be played between Middlebury College and Vassar College, dubbed the “First Official World Cup.” By 2009, the third annual World Cup involved 21 college teams playing in front of 2,000 spectators.

Today, Quidditch is a sport played in more than 40 countries with more than 1,000 registered teams. Texas has more than 40 teams, the majority of which come from college campuses around the state.

Keller junior Paul Williard, president of Baylor Quidditch, said the sport is growing at Baylor as well.

“As long as the future leaders of Baylor Quidditch see this as an organization that really stands out to students, I think it will continue to grow and be successful,” Williard said.

Williard said Quidditch offers a unique blend of sports ranging from dodge ball to rugby, and that “if you get out there you better put on a mouthpiece.”

“Really we’ve seen a lot of injuries since this whole thing started,” Williard said.

Baylor Quidditch competes in a number of tournaments, including a competition at Texas State University on Saturday. The Baylor Quidditch team placed second in the Texas State tournament, beating the University of Texas at Austin and Texas State University.

Azle sophomore Reed Marchman said the Baylor Quidditch team is working hard to be one of the more competitive teams in the nation.

“After the last tournament, we have a lot of confidence,” Marchman said. “We didn’t really know what kind of team we were.”

Cypress junior Chris Rhodes said that tournaments can bring out a lot of competition among the players.

“They made us tone it down because it gets really intense and people really get into it,” Rhodes said regarding a game against Texas A&M University during their past tournament.

Quidditch is played with all players mounted on broom-like objects, ranging from vacuum hose extensions to pieces of bamboo. Players must remain on their brooms throughout the game. There are seven players from each team on the field at a time. Three of the players are called chasers, whose goal is to throw a volleyball (called a quaffle) into one of three hoops, which are stationed on either side of the field. The hoops are vertical PVC pipes with hula-hoops clamped on top of them. Each goal is worth 10 points. Two players, called beaters, serve as a type of defense, using dodge balls, or bludgers, to hit opposing players, who must retreat back to their side of the field if they are struck. A keeper serves as a goalie to guard the hoops.

A seventh player, the seeker, plays a different game from the rest of the team. The seeker’s responsibility is to catch the “snitch”, a neutral player dressed in yellow, who has a has a yellow ball hanging from their belt. When the seeker successfully removes the ball, the seeker’s team is awarded 30 points and the match ends. The team with the most points after the seeker catches the snitch is the winner.

Grapevine junior Montgomery Turner-Little said that the sport draws a fair amount of attention.

“We do get people to stop and watch every now and then,” Turner-Little said.

Beissy Sandoval, a junior from Kaufman, said the competition is fierce at tournaments.

“You can’t really explain how competitive it is,” said Sandoval. “You have to see it.”

Sandoval said tryouts for the team will be held at the beginning of the 2013 spring semester.

Baylor Quidditch currently fields two teams: an A team and a B team. Practices are held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday on the Minglewood Bowl by Brooks Flats. Baylor Quidditch also hosts games on Sunday at 4 p.m. that are free and open to everyone. The team’s next tournament is at Kansas University from Nov. 17-18.

11/14/12: The Baylor Lariat

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Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

Photos: ROTC

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November 14, 2012

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Photos: Homecoming Part 2

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November 14, 2012

[slideshow post_id=”25878″]

Find your business

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Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

Explore career options and network with individuals in various industries at the Baylor Business Professional Development Program Marketing and Sales Career Fair at 4 p.m. today in the Blume Conference Center of Cashion Academic Building. To enter the event, students must be dressed in business attire and have a resume and Baylor ID on hand.

Grab your mask

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Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

The Indian Subcontinent Student Association will host a Masquerade Ball benefitting Development in Literacy from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday at the Waco Convention Center. Tickets are available from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Friday in the Bill Daniel Student Center.

Let loose

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Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

Take a break from studying and join the University Libraries as students from the Baylor School of Music perform at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Baylor registration unveiled at last

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Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

Priority Registration — Photo Illustration by Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor

By Travis Taylor

Reporter

The stress and worry for students that they won’t get the classes they need can cause them to engage in practices to beat the system – like holding classes.

Students who hold classes register for classes they don’t intend to take to create a space in the class for friends with later registration dates.

Once the friend can register, the student who held the class drops it, leaving an open space that might have been filled by other students with earlier registration times had it not been held.

Dr. Wesley Null, vice provost for undergraduate education, said the practice of holding classes is a serious problem because it is in violation of Baylor’s Honor Code.

“That’s submitting dishonest information to the university that is unfairly advantaging one student over another,” Null said.

“Students are expected to register for the classes they need and no more.”

Some students, as members of priority registration groups, register at special early times. Dallas senior Travis Parker said students not in a priority registration group are at a disadvantage to get the in-demand classes.

“It’s just the availability of classes and how there’s so many well-known teachers who aren’t necessarily easier, but are just good teachers,” Parker said. “Sophomore year you’re required to take so many prerequisites and there’s a lot of competition for those teachers. I was subjected to a terrible teacher and was not getting as good of an education just because I didn’t get to register as soon as others.”

Parker said registration status can be tied to academic performance.

“Getting registered early allows you to get a better GPA,” Parker said. “If you have an easier teacher, or you get a better teacher, you’re going to get a better class grade than you would if you get a harder teacher who doesn’t teach as well.”

College Station senior Carlos Aguilar, despite not being part of any priority registration group, said he has been asked to hold classes because of his status as a senior.

As a senior, Aguilar registered in the Nov. 5-6 registration group, earlier than some other students.

“I’m not holding them, though,” Aguilar said.

Aguilar said he was asked to hold classes by two other students. Aguilar said in his experience, HP classes are the classes most likely to be held because of the small section sizes.

“Going back to freshman year, I couldn’t ever get an HP,” Aguilar said.

Waco sophomore Ryan Reid, who registered early as a dependent of a Baylor employee, said registering early allowed him to take classes that usually fill quickly in the registration process.

“Last semester I was in a backpacking course as a freshman that usually fills up a few minutes after registration begins,” Reid said. “I was the only underclassman in that class.”

Reid said people often ask him to hold classes because of his early registration status.

“It’s not the most practical thing, but some people do it and you can’t really stop it,” Reid said.

Some students may feel their only option is to have other students hold classes for them, Reid said.

“It might be an insurance thing,” Reid said. “Usually it’s an HP, but they normally get into it.”

Null said depending on the facts of the case regarding a student who is holding classes, the Honor Code allows for a number of different punishments for a violation, including “anything from dismissal from the university to a warning.”

Null also said students who have priority status when registering could lose the privilege of early registration if it was discovered that they were holding classes.

While the registration technology in place allows the office of the registrar to track student registration records, Null said it would be difficult to know for sure whether a student was holding classes.

“We would have to have hard evidence before we would move forward with something,” Null said.

Null said the early registration system that is currently in place is designed to encourage students to stay on a 15-to 16-hours-per-semester track so students can graduate on time.

“If they’re a freshman or sophomore, it may be that they need to put off a class or two,” Null said. “But as they move up, the chances of them getting into these classes will get better.”

Baylor registrar Jonathan Helm said the office of the registrar is looking for ways to prevent students from holding classes, including implementing an electronic waitlist program.

The program would place students in a queue for classes that are full; when space opens up, the first student on the waitlist would either be automatically placed in the class or given an unspecified amount of time to join the class.

Helm said this program may be implemented in the next few years.

For now, Helm said he recommends communicating with the professor of the course and with the department chair to petition to be let into a full class.

“There’s nothing that says that the department chair must or should let the students into the class, but there’s nothing wrong with the students at least asking if that’s possible,” Helm said.

Null said that students are also welcome to contact him with any specific concerns or comments about registration.

“I want to make sure we’re offering enough sections for students to register for classes,” Null said.

Jessica Chia contributed to this article.

Early registration groups defined

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Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

Jessica Chia

Reporter

Even Bruiser gets to register early.

More than 6,245 undergraduate students are eligible to register before their classification’s normal registration date as members of early registration priority groups.

That number is close to half of the 12,918 total undergraduate students enrolled at Baylor for the 2012-2013 academic year.

The early registration priority group list was created before Dr. Wesley Null, vice provost for undergraduate education, and registrar Jonathan Helm were in charge of registration.

“We inherited priority registration,” Null said. “I’m in the position of sort of imagining how certain groups got on there.”

Null said several early registration priority groups reward high-achieving students, like those on the dean’s list or in Baylor Business Fellows.

The early registration priority system also includes students who participate in groups that require them to travel for university-sponsored reasons, like student athletes, debate team members and yell leaders.

Null and Helm said student athletes must satisfy NCAA requirements like being registered full-time, and meeting satisfactory academic yearly progress in addition to accommodating practice and travel schedules, which makes creating their schedules more complex.

Null said debate team members, like athletes, must frequently travel to competitions on behalf of the university.

Null said supplemental instruction leaders have obligations to the university as well, and must be registered in certain classes so they can attend the freshman classes they are assisting with in addition to their own courses.

Null said other early registration priority groups help students who might be adversely affected by the structure of the institution, like students with learning disabilities or pre-nursing students, who are required to transfer to the Dallas campus after two years.

Null said the priority given to faculty, staff and their dependents benefits all students by providing well-qualified potential faculty and staff members incentives to choose Baylor.

Null said no new early registration priority groups have been proposed since he took his position as vice provost two years ago, but that a committee including Null, Registrar Jonathan Helm, Director of Academic Advisement Joyce Miller, a member of faculty senate and a member of student government would consider new proposals from groups with motivations related to university obligations or academic excellence.

Null and Helm have increased the level of prioritization in the registration system, however, by reducing the number of students who are released for registration at a given time to 300 students.

Null confirmed that students with earlier registration times within their groups have an advantage in class selection. Ultimately, Null said he was open to examining the current system.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to reviewing the full list and learning more from each of these programs when they were put on the list and what the thinking was,” Null said.

Travis Taylor contributed to this story.

Junior class teams with eateries to help animal clinic

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Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

By Maegan Rocio

Staff Writer

In celebration of Thanksgiving, Baylor’s class of 2014 is giving back to the community.

The junior class has partnered with three local eateries, U-Swirl, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse and 3 Spoons Yogurt, to help raise funds for the Animal Birth Control Clinic in response to the overcrowding issue the Waco Humane Society is facing.

Carrie Kuehl, the director of the ABC Clinic, said the junior class chose the clinic for its nonprofit organization project.

“This week, as part of their class projects, they have contacted area restaurants to do profit sharing,” she said. “A portion of the sales will be gifted to the ABC Clinic.”

Junior class president and Woodtock, Ga. junior Haley Davis said 15 percent of all purchases made between predetermined time slots at the locales will go toward funding the ABC Clinic.

“They are in desperate need of money to help spay and neuter pets and if they can spay and neuter pets, that will help prevent animals from having to go the Humane Society, which will help the Humane Society from becoming overpopulated, which will help them from putting animals down because they don’t have room for them,” she said.

Davis said the junior class decided on the fundraiser with the ABC Clinic after reading related articles from the Lariat.

“We contacted them and they were more than grateful and they told us if we could raise $1,000 that would spay 20 to 25 animals,” she said. “So that’s our goal. It’s to raise $1,000 through those three places.”

Davis said helping with the fundraiser is simple.

“Anyone can go in and say ‘I’m with BU Be Thankful Week’ and their purchase will go to help them,” she said.

Kuehl said the funds raised will benefit pets that are owned by low-income families.

Kuehl said the fundraising efforts by the Baylor junior class are not connected to the city of Waco or the Humane Society directly.

Davis said the efforts of the juniors is for BU Be Thankful Week, a yearly event that happens during the week of Baylor’s Thanksgiving on Grounds Dinner.

“This week is just a way to give back to the community,” she said. “We chose the Animal Birth Control Clinic because we felt the whole Humane Society was a huge issue towards the beginning of the year, with them being turned over to the city and not having enough room. We thought that was on so many people’s hearts.”

Kuehl said the ABC Clinic will have a table set up during the dinner on campus to further explain donations and inform members of the community about the clinic.

Kuehl said the fundraising efforts will end Friday afternoon.

Those who are interested in helping with the fundraising efforts can go to BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse from Noon – 11 p.m. on Thursday. Those who go to BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse must bring a flier posted on the Baylor student government’s BU Be Thankful Week at BJ’s’ Facebook page.

The fundrasing event at 3 Spoons Yogurt will happen from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Friday. The fundraising at U-Swirl took place Monday.

For more information, visit animalbirthcontrol.org.

New stadium will not disrupt bird habitat

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Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

By Linda Wilkins

Assistant City Editor

Contrary to other published reports, Baylor is not purchasing credits from a mitigation bank because of a bird habitat that would be displaced by the new stadium construction.

Rather, Baylor will purchase credits from the mitigation bank, which is a preserved area of land approved by the Army Core of Engineers that cannot be developed, because of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers statutory authorities that regulate navigable waters and protect water environments.

The stadium’s construction will touch the Brazos River, which is considered navigable water, by way of five piers that will hold up the bridge to the stadium. In addition, part of the stadium will be constructed over a lagoon that must be partially filled.

The purchase follows Baylor’s receival of a permit from the Corps that allows the Baylor Stadium project to progress on schedule.

The permit was necessary because water from both bodies would be displaced, and the Corps regulates these areas. In total, 2.98 acres of water would be displaced by the stadium project.

The permit, which was approved Nov. 7 by the Fort Worth district of the Corps, allows Baylor to build the stadium on the planned 93-acre site, said Brian Nicholson, associate vice president for facilities planning and construction at Baylor.

Nicholson confirmed there are no migratory bird habitats being disrupted by construction.

As a part of regulating navigable waters and protecting the water environment, the Corps of Engineers requires that any displaced water body be replaced with a mitigation bank or credits toward a mitigation bank.

Nicholson said the lagoon on the east side of the project will need to be partially filled.

The five piers supporting the bridge will also displace water, adding to the total. The bridge will begin on the east side of the Baylor Law School and extend to the opposite bank, where condos were once located.

Fred Land, a regulatory project manager with the Corps said the U.S. Army Corps had a pre-application meeting with Baylor to discuss the duties and responsibilities of the Corps and so Baylor could receive feedback on construction plans.

Land said the meeting is usually held to help applicants understand their job in evaluating their role to help minimize the impact on navigable waters.

Jennifer Walker, the permits chief of the regulatory program, said Baylor must comply with the conditions specified in the permit.

“They need to stick to the project as they proposed it and as they portrayed it to us, in both words and plans,” Walker said. “That’s what we’ve given them permission for.”

Walker said the Corps is not a proponent or opponent of any construction project.

It is meant to evaluate each applicant based on the Corps statutory authority over the laws protecting the water environment and navigable water laws.

The permit application was received by the Corps on July 2. Nicholson said Baylor had originally expected approval in January 2013, but the process went faster than expected.

Walker said permits can take anywhere from three months to 10 years to approve.

She said the process moves more quickly if the applicant takes all of the steps necessary to minimize the impact of construction.

“It’s a pleasant surprise,” Nicholson said. “It’s strictly a result of communicating with the Corps of Engineers as we put together the permit application.”

He said construction was planned to begin on the west side of the stadium in early December and the construction on the 35-foot-wide bridge will begin in June.

With the permit, however, Nicholson said construction on these portions of the project could begin at any time.

New season. Same ol’ Baylor

By

Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

WBB vs Kentucky — Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor

By Krista Pirtle
Sports Editor

After senior Brittney Griner was fouled in the second half making a move to the basket and fell, Baylor assistant coach Damion McKinney yelled, “Playin’ big girl basketball!”

And she was, leading her No. 1 Lady Bear team to an 85-51 win over No. 6 Kentucky in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic on Tuesday night.

With 27 points, five blocks, three steals and eight boards, three of which on the offensive end, Kentucky didn’t have an answer for her, even though it took her a little over six-and-a-half minutes to score.

The Wildcats tried to double off of senior forward Destiny Williams, but she ended up with a double-double, 14 points and 12 rebounds.

“The season is here,” Williams said. “I have to play every game like it’s my last and try to play with lots of energy.”

Junior point guard Odyssey Sims finished the evening with 18 points, six assists and four steals.

“I thought she just competed so hard,” Kentucky head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “She did not let us make the play. High-level player, fantastic guard. We have a lot of respect for her.”

Baylor ended up playing everyone on the roster, with only three players held scoreless.

“When you play your entire team against the No. 6 team in the nation, you’re doing something right,” Mulkey said.

No. 6 Kentucky’s motto, “40 minutes of dread,” represents the defensive pressure the Wildcats will bring with their full-court press.

It turned out to be 40 minutes of Baylor proving its No. 1 ranking.

“There’s a reason they didn’t press a ton,” Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey said. “That press is only good if you’re turning the ball over. I thought for the second game of the year to do what we did and do it comfortably, maybe I just need to sit down and not get so stressed out, huh?”

Pregame conversations around the country consisted of the intense Kentucky defense, but Baylor and its 6-foot-8-inch preseason Big 12 Player of the Year couldn’t be contained, shooting 51 percent from the floor.

The Wildcats, however, shot 27 percent.

“Griner is such an opposing figure around the basket,” Mitchell said. “Their defense is designed to force you into jump shots.”

Last season’s SEC Player of the Year, senior point guard A’Dia Mathies, was held to three-of-18 from the floor and five more points from the charity stripe.

“Jordan Madden guarded the SEC Player of the Year,” Mulkey said. “She was three-for-18. So lets don’t forget those kids. They don’t worry about their stats. They contribute, and we can’t win without them.”

One statistic that aided the Lady Bears was their force on the boards. Baylor pulled down 53 boards while Kentucky had only 35. The Lady Bears were cold from downtown but outscored the Wildcats in the paint 60-16.

“I thought there were three keys to the game,” Mulkey said. “The players listened and did it pretty well. We wanted to eliminate transition baskets, make sure we didn’t turn the ball over and keep their perimeter players off the offensive boards.”

Before the game began, three banners were revealed for the Lady Bears: Big 12 season champions, Big 12 tournament champions and the national champions.

“Proud for all the players,” Mulkey said. “Proud that we can represent Baylor on a national scale. Very few coaches and players ever get to do that. It was just a proud moment.”

For Griner, it was a symbol of how to finish her time at Baylor University. For Williams, it was a foreshadowing of what is yet to come.

“We can only get better from here on out,” Williams said. “Regardless of last year.”

Keep it electric, Baylor basketball

By

Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

Baylor guard Deuce Bello (14) drives the lane against South Dakota State during the first half of an NCAA men’s college basketball tournament second-round game Thursday, March 15, 2012, in Albuquerque, N.M.
Associated Press

By Greg DeVries

Sports Writer

When people think of Oregon football, they think about awesome uniforms. But Oregon’s uniforms do more than just look cool. High school football recruits want to play at Oregon because they know they will be wearing the nicest gear that Nike has to offer.

Last year, Adidas unveiled their “adizero” uniforms for three schools: Baylor University, the University of Louisville and the University of Cincinnati.

The uniforms were worn for postseason play, and the response was very positive.

Baylor’s electricity uniforms were 28 percent lighter in weight than the traditional uniforms.

Not only do the electricity uniforms give Baylor a slight competitive advantage, but they also look incredible.

This is why Baylor men’s basketball should switch to electricity uniforms full time.

Baylor men’s basketball can be what Oregon is to football. Recruits will want to play for Baylor; they know they are getting top-of-the-line equipment that looks sexy.

Electricity uniforms will also help grow Baylor’s fan base. Green and gold Baylor shirts are great, but many people that don’t go to school here will only buy a Baylor shirt if it looks nice. You know which shirts look cool? Baylor electricity shirts.

These have only been around for a limited time, and many students already wear them around campus and to games.

All of the sudden, people across the country notice Baylor because the men’s basketball team regularly wears uniforms that raise an eyebrow.

Baylor has only had two home games so far this season, but if you went to the games, you know that the player introductions played off of the electricity uniforms.

All of the lights in the arena turned off, and the screens turn neon green.

It looks great. It’s as if I were just sucked into my Xbox.

Then the team takes the court in the traditional white uniforms. It’s kind of a letdown because you expect such righteous colors to stay around, but they all go away once the referees are ready to toss the opening tip.

Adidas would also back the decision to switch to their “adizero” uniforms.

It helps with Adidas’ exposure in the basketball market. It also helps give Adidas the “in style” label that Nike gets from the Oregon Ducks.

The switch to electric uniforms should be coupled with some changes at the Ferrell Center.

Black sidelines with glow-in-the-dark neon paint that say, “Baylor Bold” would attract more five-star recruits than the basketball team has scholarships.

Paint the seats black and encourage students to wear electric tee-shirts. Other schools do it, but Baylor would do it better because the Bears have better colors.

Last year when Baylor played Texas at the Ferrell Center, Baylor had a neon shirt giveaway. That game was one of four times that the attendance went over 10,000 last season.

That game was televised on CBS, and once everyone changed into their electricity shirts, the arena buzzed with excitement.

It also got people talking about Baylor’s association with different, more exciting colors.

That buzz can happen at every game.

Electricity can be Baylor’s thing.

People will probably attend games in great numbers if we have a sleek arena that rings with the electric color scheme.

Assassin’s Creed III: a gaming revolution

By

Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

Game Review: 'Assassin's Creed' tackles a new frontier — New controls in “Assassin’s Creed III” take some time to adjust to for longtime players, but they’re an improvement in every way. MCT

By James Herd

Reporter

Some were skeptical when Ubisoft unveiled the time and location of the latest “Assassin’s Creed” entry back in March, but this skepticism was entirely unwarranted.

“Assassin’s Creed III,” the fifth installment in the series thus far, takes us to the end of the world, and the end of British rule in colonial America.

In the game, we are introduced to a brand new assassin who is a Native American from the Kanien’keha:ka tribe named Ratonhnhaké:ton (he is nicknamed “Connor,” and will be referred to as such) as he becomes involved in the growing civil war between the British loyalists and the American colonists.

Much of the skepticism came from the thought that the story would make either Americans and/or British look bad. It does neither.

If anything, it makes them both look bad because of its native viewpoint, but even then it doesn’t take any sides. It’s culture-neutral, so don’t let that stop you from playing.

In between the very frequent Connor missions, you finally have the pleasure of playing as duo-tagonist Desmond Miles in the year 2012 as he goes through several missions to obtain power sources for a door that holds the solution to the end-of-the-world disaster of 2012.

Overall, the game is sound, solid and aesthetically pleasing. Some may find that the story was rushed overall, as it attempts to go through the entire American Revolution in a game that will take (give or take) about 10 hours to complete.

Some glitches still exist, and some characters in the beginning looked like they were telepathic with how their mouths didn’t move.

The Fast-Travel system was used a bit too often in my play, though, primarily because of this: The developers were beating a dead horse with the fact that travel in that time period took weeks, sometimes months. There were too many times when the cutaway would say “one month later” or “three weeks later,” so it grew to be a tad bit annoying when they’d drill that into our heads time after time.

Overall, “Assassin’s Creed III” is an amazing game with fantastic graphics (minus what was pointed out before), and spectacular story elements that are different than the other games, but that’s what makes them great: They evolve.

I’m truly left wondering where Ubisoft will take the series after the ending that they gave it. I guess we’ll find out next November.

Theatre adds new flair to ‘Hecuba’

By

Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

By James Herd

Reporter

A 2,500 year old Eurepides classic is getting a steampunk makeover in the Baylor Theatre’s production of “Hecuba,” showing nightly until the weekend.

The show itself was truly a work of art. From the beginning to the end, the actors and actresses, including Michael Griffin as Polydorus and Nellsyn Hill as Hecuba, helped bring the performance to life through pure emotion.

Though the story contains historical elements, Waco graduate student and director Christopher Peck says the play speaks for itself.

“A little bit of backstory: the play happens in the aftermath of the Trojan War,” Peck said. So for 10 years, Troy and the Greeks have been fighting over Helen of Troy.

The Greeks win (the Trojan horse), and Troy’s kind of in shambles. So we have this character Hecuba who was the queen of Troy, her husband Priam is now dead, her children are dead, and essentially throughout the play more of her children die.”

The direction that those responsible took in setting up this play is most certainly an interesting one.

They’ve taken this historical play and applied a post-apocalyptic look to it, complete with costume designer Hannah Prochaska’s steampunk stylings.

“Chris Peck, the director, originally gave me the concept of steampunk for kind of an overall style of the show,” Prochaska said. “We looked at the setting of the play, being that it is a play post-war and we are mostly dealing with prisoners of war, and we took that as well and integrated it with elements of the steampunk that we liked, being the different mechanizations and weaponry pieces that are involved, the different masks that we could take from the steampunk style, and then we also went with a little of this post-apocalyptic look too. So you’ll see things like gas-masks, and different slip-shed weapons, and all of the costumes of the women who are slaves are very tattered and torn, and worn out.”

The lighting of the show really had an impact on the mood. When the mood was supposed to be one of sorrow and hopelessness, the lighting went down and generally focused on one or more subjects, giving the audience a clear image of who their attention should be focused on.

The lighting also helped when characters were depicted as evil, or as an anti-hero, as it darkened and lighted the stage respectively. At times, the use of smoke was applied to give an even deeper sense of hopelessness.

This show is highly recommended, because it’s not just an ordinary historical show. It’s so much more than that.

“The original production is 2,500 years old,” Peck said. “The biggest difference [between this production and the original] is if you’re going into this production expecting the traditional influences of Greek performance, then you’re not going to get it. I think we have found moments in the show where we’ve developed heightened presentational moments that kind of tip their hat to Euripides and that ancient style, but it’s still influenced, one by the Mabee Theater, which is a very intimate theater, and by 20th century conventional acting elements. It’s kind of a nice blend of a couple of very nice moments that we’ve shaped and sculpted that kind of throw back to that presentational Greek style, but it does have a contemporary feel, a modern accessibility to it, that I think a contemporary audience can get on board with.”

Hecuba is being shown at 7:30 p.m. in the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Building until Sunday, closing with a 2 p.m. performance both Saturday and Sunday.

Be warned, though, it does have a mature message and content that may not be appropriate for all ages. Did I mention that there’s a lot of death?

Widow sues Fox Cable Networks, National Geographic over film featuring deceased husband

By

Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A widow of a U.S. Army soldier killed in a blast in Afghanistan has sued Fox Cable Networks and the National Geographic Society over a documentary that showed her husband and family.

The documentary about a combat hospital called “Inside Afghan ER” featured Staff Sgt. Kevin Casey Roberts, who was serving with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division when an improvised explosive device struck his vehicle in Khost province in Afghanistan in 2008.

A year after his death, his wife, Donnice Roberts, got a call from a service member in Germany who saw her husband in the documentary. According to the lawsuit filed in Texas on Nov. 1, she never knew there was video footage related to her husband’s death and that the documentary existed.

She is seeking at least $750,000 in damages and wants a judge to prevent the film from airing again. She also wants the cable network to stop using images of military families without their permission.

The documentary was produced and distributed by the National Geographic Society, and was promoted and distributed by Fox Networks Inc. and Fox Entertainment Group Inc., which owns part of the NatGeo network.

Scott Grogin, a spokesman for Fox Networks Group, said the film never aired in the United States. Instead, it aired on the National Geographic International channel.

Donnice Roberts said an image of herself and her children that had been stored on her husband’s laptop was used in the documentary during scenes about his memorial service in Afghanistan.

Grogin said the image of the family members was on display at the memorial service and was not taken from any personal computer or family archives as claimed in the lawsuit.

“The filmmakers got permission from the military to shoot the documentary and as part and parcel of that, were granted permission to shoot the memorial service,” he said.

No one immediately answered the phone or email for National Geographic.

Donnice Roberts said she suffered mental anguish, shock and sadness from learning about the documentary.

“Moreover, Mrs. Roberts has fears and concerns that her minor children are depicted as the children of a warrior in the war on terror, which is fought by fanatic, radical individuals who have shown a propensity and desire to kill Americans, including women and children,” the lawsuit said.

The Roberts family has appeared in a “Today” show segment about gifts donated to the family, but Donnice Roberts said that she knew how the images would be used and gave permission because the family was proud of her husband’s service and sacrifice.

She said military families have a right to privacy.

“Those are our personal items. If you chose to show a family photo, that is your choice,” she said. “But having it done without your permission, I just think it is immoral and an invasion of privacy.”

Sgt. Roberts joined the Army after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and served two tours in Iraq before deploying to Afghanistan. He received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart and was buried in Texas, where his family lives.

The 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division is based in Fort Campbell, Ky.

Students pull together for charity

By

Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

By Amando Dominick

Staff Writer

Alpha Delta Pi will host its Third annual “Tug for Tots,” tug of war competition this Thursday, to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House charity, the sorority’s national philanthropy.

The tournament, which will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. at Bear Park, the green space behind of South Russell Hall, is open to any Baylor student.

Participants must register to compete as part of a four-person, same-gender team.

The brackets are divided into men’s and women’s components with first-, second-, and third-place winners for each gender.

Teams will compete in the double-elimination tournament, meaning each team must lose twice before being eliminated.

Registration ends Thursday. Students may sign up or buy event T-shirts by visiting stations set up at Memorial Dining Hall, Penland Dining Hall, Collins Dining Hall, and the main lobby of the Bill Daniel Student Center.

Those interested in forming a team may also email Alex_Farrell@baylor.edu before 6 p.m. today.

Each team must pay $40 to compete in the event.

Each participant will receive an event T-shirt and a dinner of fajitas, chips and a drink.

The food will be prepared by members of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.

The winning team of “tuggers” is given $200 to donate to a charity of it’s choice.

The second-place team is given $100, and the third given $50 dollars to give to the cause of their choice.

To cover the costs of the event and raise money for donations, members of the sorority reach out to community members and organizations to donate before the event begins.

“Our sisters go out into the community and their hometowns and acquire sponsorships from businesses that want to take part in this endeavor with us,” Jewett senior Hannah Stewart, the recruitment vice president for the event, said.

Houston junior Ashley Augustino, a member of the recruitment team, said even without the team money factored in, this year’s event has already raised around $4,000, which eclipses last year’s total of $3,500.

All the money is amassed at the end. After paying for the costs of the event and the winner’s donations, the funds are donated to the Ronald McDonald House in Temple.

Business students to apply ethical decision-making in forum

By

Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

By Maegan Rocio

Staff Writer

Believe or not, business and ethics go hand in hand. The Hankamer School of Business will host the annual Dale P. Jones Business Ethics Forum on campus starting today and lasting until Friday.

Dr. Mitchell Neubert, associate professor and holder of the Hazel and Harry Chavanne Chair of Christian Ethics in Business said the theme for this year’s forum is Starting with Integrity: Entrepreneurship and Ethics.

He said ethics is an integral part of the Baylor business school.

“We try to integrate ethics into all the classes,” he said. “We focus on bringing additional experiences outside of the classroom by bringing speakers and offering competitions for students to participate in to reinforce teaching in the classroom and focus on ethics. Ethics is part of our DNA.”

The forum will last three days and feature a variety of events.

The sixth annual Master’s of Business Administration National Case Competition, an all-day event in which participants will address and give a recommendation for an assigned, relevant ethical issue, will be held today.

Twenty-one teams consisting of four people, each from different universities across the country, will compete for the grand prize of $5,000. Twelve teams from Baylor will compete.

Anne Grinols, assistant dean for faculty development and college initiatives at Hankamer, said the competition began at Baylor due to an experience of a Baylor MBA team at a past competition.

She said the out-of-state event, which happened eight years ago, wasn’t run ethically and the Baylor students noticed. Grinols declined to comment as to how the competition was unethical.

“They asked ,‘Why doesn’t Baylor do this? Baylor would do it right.’ So I went to the MBA faculty members, and said we should start an ethics case competition that would be ethical,” Grinols said.

Grinols said the teams will be required to address a topical case in which a female entrepreneur is in conflict with the people she has partnered with for her business. Grinols said while the entrepreneur needs her connections, she is also protective of her employees.

Grinols said the point of the competition is to help students grapple with ethical issues in real-life business situations.

“It’s a real situation that outlines kinds of dilemmas that entrepreneurs can run into when they own their businesses ethically,” she said. “There’s not an answer between a good answer and a bad answer. They have to look at who’s going to be harmed and benefitted, and there is not a clear answer.”

Grinols said the competition is meant to teach students the ethical manner of business in order to prepare them for the future.

“We believe that if students come together, the experience to grapple with ethical issues in real-life situations will help them make ethical decisions when out in the business world,” she said. “If you start off ethically, you’re more likely to succeed,” she said. “Knowing what that ethical start entails is vital.”

The second event will take place from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday in the Banquet Room on the fifth floor of the Cashion Academic Center, featuring keynote speaker entrepreneur and Baylor alumna Nancy Richards, the founder and chairwoman of First Preston HT, one of the largest real estate entities in the country.

Neubert said Richards will be speaking about her experiences as a leader in ethical decision-making and the ethical challenges about her position.

Thursday’s event is free and open to the public.

The third day of the forum will feature keynote speaker Cecillia Levine, president of MFI International, an international provider of Turnkey Contract Manufacturing and Shelter Services.

The event, which will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday in the Conference Room on the fifth floor of Cashion, is invitation-only.

Saudi man gets life in prison for Lubbock-based bomb plot

By

Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

CORRECTS NAME TO KHALID ALI-M ALDAWSARI, NOT KHALID ALI-ALDAWSARI - Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 22, right, is escorted from the federal courthouse in Amarillo, Texas by U.S. Marshals Tuesday Nov. 13, 2012 after being sentenced to life in prison on a federal charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction in a Lubbock-based bomb-making plot. Associated Press

By Betsy Blaney

Associated Press

AMARILLO — A former Texas college student from Saudi Arabia was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for trying to make a bomb for use in a religious attack, possibly targeting a former U.S. president.

Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari was sentenced in Amarillo, where jurors convicted him in June of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. Prosecutors say he had collected bomb-making material in his apartment and researched possible targets, including the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush.

A handwritten journal found in his apartment included notes that he believed it was time for “jihad,” a Muslim term for holy war.

Although the 22-year-old Aldawsari apologized Tuesday for “these bad actions,” Judge Donald E. Walter said the evidence against him was overwhelming.

Walter acknowledged he was conflicted due to Aldawsari’s youth and signs that outside influences had led him astray.

“But the bottom line is that but by the grace of God there would be dead Americans,” Walter said. “You would have done it. In every step, it was you all alone.”

Aldawsari stood silently in shackles as the sentence was read. The formerly clean-shaven, close-cropped man now had a full beard and long hair, and appeared to have lost a lot of weight.

There is no parole in the federal system for defendants convicted of recent crimes.

Aldawsari came to the U.S. legally in 2008 to study chemical engineering.

He was arrested in Lubbock in February 2011, after federal agents searched his apartment and found explosive chemicals, wiring, a hazmat suit and clocks, along with videos showing how to make the chemical explosive TNP.

Investigators say Aldawsari’s goal was to carry out jihad.

His attorneys claimed he was a harmless failure who never came close to attacking anyone.

FBI bomb experts say the amounts of chemicals he had would have yielded almost 15 pounds of explosive — about the same amount used per bomb in the 2005 London subway attacks. He also tried to order phenol, a chemical that can be used to make explosives.

Court records show that his emails and journal contained the explosive’s recipe.

Prosecutors said other targets he researched included nuclear power plants and the homes of three former soldiers who were stationed at Abu Ghraib prison.

Prosecutors offered to show the judge a video of the possible damage Aldawsari could have done had he succeeded in assembling explosives.

Walter declined.

“I’m fully aware of what 15 pounds of plastic can do,” he said.

During his trial, Aldawsari’s attorneys acknowledged that their client had intent, but they argued that he never took the “substantial step” needed to convict him.

Defense attorney Dan Cogdell repeatedly berated Aldawsari as a “failure” and poor student who never came close to threatening anyone.

Aldawsari did not testify at trial, but on Tuesday he told Walter he felt lonely and isolated from his family, friends and faith.

“I am sorry for these bad actions, but none of these bad actions did harm to the United States,” Aldawsari told Walter.

Aldawsari wrote in his journal that he had been planning a terror attack in the U.S. for years, even before he came to the country on a scholarship, and that it was “time for jihad,” according to court documents.

He bemoaned the plight of Muslims and said he was influenced by Osama bin Laden’s speeches.

Authorities said Aldawsari purchased bottles of sulfuric and nitric acids — chemicals that can be combined with phenol to create TNP.

Investigators say they were tipped to his online purchases by chemical company Carolina Biological Supply and shipping company Con-way Freight on Feb. 1, 2011.

The chemical company reported a $435 suspicious purchase to the FBI, while the shipping company notified Lubbock police and the FBI because it appeared the order wasn’t intended for commercial use.

Court records show that Aldawsari had successfully ordered 30 liters of nitric acid and three gallons of concentrated sulfuric acid in December 2010.

At his trial, prosecutors played recordings of a frustrated Aldawsari complaining to the supply company when his order was held up.

He had allegedly told the company he wanted the phenol for research to develop a cleaning solution.

Aldawsari had transferred from Texas Tech in early 2011 to nearby South Plains College, where he was studying business.

A Saudi industrial company was paying his tuition and living expenses in the U.S.

The judge moved his trial to Amarillo, about 120 north of Lubbock.

Viewpoint: We are all Americans and should learn to act like that

By

Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

By Maegan Rocio

Just last week, Americans went out in droves and exercised their right to vote.

While many people were pleased that Barack Obama was re-elected for his second term in office, others were less than ecstatic and expressed their disappointment.

And by “expressed their disappointment,” I mean debasing the President by using racial slurs.

Just a day ago, an ice cream store worker in California was fired after posting a racial slur about President Obama’s re-election on her Facebook page.

To further sweeten the deal, she also included her hopes about his “future” assassination.

Even worse, because similar threats have been made time and time before, she claimed she is not racist.

Last I checked, showing animosity toward a person because of their cultural background, race, ethnicity and/or skin tone shows a propensity toward bigotry.

My main concern over this occurrence and the many other similar instances, is the fact that we, as a nation, are still stuck in the past.

I’m not trying to claim that I am a saint by any means. I’m just wondering why we aren’t closer to simply accepting each other as we are.

I feel as if we are at a standstill because for every two steps forward, we take the same two back.

Social progression among our fellow man is at a standstill because of unfortunate occurrences like this, events that we take at face value as normal because it is so ingrained into our national history.

Why can’t we all as Americans change that?

Why can’t we make it so that such slurs and degradations are obliterated completely, on both sides?

Instead of reacting neutrally to race riots and acts of intolerance because it happened in a certain area in a certain state, why can’t we change that?

It may seem as if I am asking for a worldwide overhaul, and maybe I am. But it can start small and work its way up.

Anytime you find yourself damning your neighbor’s habits, ways, looks, anything, stop yourself and just accept them.

Realize that their are similar to you because they are human, but they will never be completely like you.

Make an effort to throw out the concept of “the Other.”

At the end of the day, we all bleed red and I think it’s time we all start to realize that.

Maegan Rocio is a sophomore professional writing major from Beaumont. She is a staff writer at the Baylor Lariat.

Viewpoint: Be wary of people claiming to act out of God’s will

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Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

By Leonard Pitts Jr.

I am not here to tell you God’s will.

The temptation to do so is powerful, in light of the news out of a hospital in the United Kingdom: Malala has received a miracle.

You remember Malala Yousafzai, of course.

She is the Pakistani girl from the conservative Swat Valley region of that country who came to international attention as a blogger and activist for the right of girls and women to be educated.

This basic human freedom is a matter of great controversy among Islamic extremists, particularly the Taliban, which used to stage house-to-house raids in Malala’s town, searching for girls in possession of books.

Last month, Taliban goons with guns attacked a van carrying Malala and her classmates home from school.

Two other girls were hit, through their wounds were not life threatening.

Malala’s were. The bullets took her in the neck and the head.

A little over a month later, we learn from CNN that Malala is walking, reading, writing, smiling and is believed to have suffered no significant neurological damage in the attack.

Against all odds, all reason, all sensible expectation for a teenage girl shot in the head and neck, it looks like she is going to be fine.

But I’m not here to tell you God’s will.

Granted, Malala’s miracle seems to deserve that — to cry out for it, in fact.

But putative people of faith are often too glib, facile and mean in claiming to have divined the divine. Just as often, their interpretations say less about God than about them, the things they hate and fear, the narrowness of their vision, the niggardliness of their souls.

The Rev. John Hagee, for example, said it was the will of God to drown New Orleans in Hurricane Katrina as punishment for the city’s willingness to countenance a gay festival.

He did not explain why the Good Lord swamped the rest of the city but left the sin-soaked French Quarter, site of the aforesaid festival, relatively unscathed.

Republican senatorial candidate Richard Mourdock, on the other hand, said it was God’s will if a woman is raped and then finds herself pregnant with the rapist’s child.

He did not explain why God would choose to inflict such physical and emotional violence upon a presumably unoffending woman.

And then, there is the Taliban itself, which said it was God’s will, required by the Quran, for this teenage girl to die.

If she survived, said a spokesman after the assault, they would try again to kill her.

Since then, a number of things have happened. Malala’s school has been renamed in her honor.

The United Nations instituted a worldwide day, also in her honor, and has launched a campaign for girls’ education. It is called “I Am Malala.”

Pakistanis, perhaps previously cowed by the terrorist bullying of religious fanatics, have risen in mass protest, finding courage in numbers. Malala has been asking for her school books so that she can study.

On a message board of CNN.com, a reader suggests she ought to get the Nobel Peace Prize, and the idea does not seem at all far-fetched.

Oh, yes, and there is a million dollar bounty on the head of the Taliban spokesman.

Take it all as a stark reminder that too often, people who speak glibly of the will of God really describe no will higher than their own.

They presume to interpret God like tarot cards or the stock market, forgetting that God is sovereign and does not need their help. He is a big God. He can speak for Himself.

So I will yield not to temptation. Unlike the Taliban, I will not presume to tell you what God’s will was. But in light of Malala’s miracle, it seems pretty clear what God’s will was not.

Leonard Pitts Jr., winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, is a columnist for the Miami Herald. Readers may write to him via email at lpitts@miamiherald.com.

Editorial: Questions to be answered in a pot-friendly America

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Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

To smoke it or eat it?

This is the question that law -abiding citizens of Washington and Colorado face now that both states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana for people over the age of 21.

The laws passed by voters last week allow of-age citizens to possess or buy up to one ounce of marijuana at any given time.

While we are divided on the medical use of marijuana, we understand that in many cases it can ease the pain, nausea and anxiety of people suffering serious ills.

Using marijuana for recreational use is another thing altogether.

After all, it is considered a Schedule I controlled substance by the federal government according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

As stated by the feds, in their eyes the drug has a high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use in treatment and the safety of the drug is not accepted for use under medical supervision.

It is a contentious decision on the states’ behalf because those in the business of cultivating, selling, distributing and facilitating any of these activities are still in violation of federal law and are therefore subject to federal enforcement and prosecution.

By allowing people to freely use marijuana, Colorado and Washington have opened the door for slew of questions.

Marijuana is already the most frequently used illicit substance in the U.S., and some studies show that states with medical marijuana laws have higher odds of marijuana abuse and dependence than those without.

In turn, the states must anticipate the daily use of the drug becoming a norm for a larger percent of the population, just as cigarettes have.

Studies show that people who use marijuana have higher depression rates, Attention Deficit Disorder, memory problems and other underlying psychological differences. It is still to be conclusively seen if marijuana actually causes these conditions or if people with them seek out marijuana. At worst, it seems, marijuana exacerbates these issues.

Some feel the number of people who suffer with all of these things has the potential to skyrocket.

What then? Do we treat them in the state and federally funded mental health system even though the federal government doesn’t condone the use of the drug?

Because the drug alters the chemicals of the brain, marijuana can impair driving as well. Are the state governments prepared to develop a driving test for those using the drug, as they do with alcohol?

Some claim marijuana is a gateway drug, leading users to more severe forms of substance abuse. Another correlation/causality argument could be made here as people likely to do hard drugs might also be likely to try marijuana and because of it’s availability on the street it may be the first one they try.

Regulation and the separation from the illicit drug market will largely solve this problem. If you don’t have to buy your pot from a heroin dealer, you are less likely to buy heroin.

One question that remains is: How will the government regulate the amount of pot that people are allowed to maintain at any given time?

The laws do not clearly state how the states will control the amount that is bought or possessed. It’s important to know so users can avoid breaking the law, and police can enforce it against those who abuse the system.

Many people that are in favor of the legalization of the drug for recreational use say that it is a natural and holistic drug because it comes from a plant.

To those advocates we ask, would you also condone the recreational use of psychedelic mushrooms?

This drug, which is also illegal, is just as natural as any strain of cannabis. It may come from the earth but that doesn’t mean that it will refrain from negatively affecting a person’s neurochemicals, thus altering motor skills, speech, sight and emotions.

That being said, multiple studies show that marijuana is no more harmful, and often even less harmful, than alcohol or tobacco.

If the federal government does legalize marijuana, the states’ should put the tax money collected from the sales of the drug to public service ads that warn citizens of the risks, like they do for tobacco and alcohol.

Either way, both the state and federal government need to proceed carefully and be clear on the laws to protect citizens’ rights.

No. 1 Baylor rolls over No. 6 Kentucky 85-51

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Baylor Lariat

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November 14, 2012

By Krista Pirtle

Sports Editor

After senior Brittney Griner was fouled in the second half, making a move to the basket and fell, Baylor assistant coach Damion McKinney yelled, “Playin’ big girl basketball.”

And she was, leading her No. 1 Lady Bear team to an 85-51 win over No. 6 Kentucky in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic.

With 27 points, five blocks, three steals and eight boards, three of which on the offensive end, Kentucky didn’t have an answer for her, even though it took her a little over six-and-a-half minutes to score.

The Wildcats tried to double off of senior forward Destiny Williams, but she ended up with a double-double, 14 points and 12 rebounds.

“The season is here,” Williams said. “I have to play every game like its my last and try to play with lots of energy.”

Junior point guard Odyssey Sims finished the evening with 18 points, six assists and four steals.

“I thought she just competed so hard,” Kentucky head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “She did not let us make the play. High-level player, fantastic guard. We have a lot of respect for her.”

Baylor ended up playing everyone on the roster, with only three players held scoreless.

“When you play you’re entire team against the No. 6 team in the nation, you’re doing something right,” Mulkey said.

No. 6 Kentucky’s motto, “40 minutes of dread,” represents the defensive pressure the Wildcats will bring with their full-court press.

It turned out to be 40 minutes of Baylor proving its No. 1 ranking.

“There’s a reason they didn’t press a ton,” Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey said. “That press is only good if you’re turning the ball over. I thought for the second game of the year to do what we did and do it comfortably, maybe I just need to sit down and not get so stressed out, huh?”

Pregame conversations around the country consisted of the intense Kentucky defense, but Baylor and its 6-foot-8-inch preseason Big 12 Player of the Year couldn’t be contained, shooting 51 percent from the floor.

The Wildcats, however, shot 27 percent.

“Griner is such an opposing figure around the basket,” Mitchell said. “Their defense is designed to force you into jump shots.”

Last season’s SEC Player of the Year, senior point guard A’Dia Mathies, was held to three-of-18 from the floor and five more points from the charity stripe.

“Jordan Madden guarded the SEC Player of the Year,” Mulkey said. “She was three-for-18. So lets don’t forget those kids. They don’t worry about their stats. They contribute, and we can’t win without them.”

One statistic that aided the Lady Bears was their force on the boards.

Baylor pulled down 53 boards while Kentucky had only 35.

The Lady Bears were cold from downtown but outscored the Wildcats in the paint 60-16.

“I thought there were three keys to the game,” Mulkey said. “The players listened and did it pretty well. We wanted to eliminate transition baskets, make sure we didn’t turn ball over and keep their perimeter players off the offensive boards.”

Before the game began, three banners were revealed for the Lady Bears: Big 12 season championship, Big 12 tournament championship and the national championship.

“Proud for all the players,” Mulkey said. “Proud that we can represent Baylor on a national scale. Very few coaches and players ever get to do that. It was just a proud moment.”

For Griner, it was a symbol of how to finish her time at Baylor University.

For Williams, it was a foreshadowing of what is yet to come.

“We can only get better from here on out,” Williams said. “Regardless of last year.”