Baylor crushes No. 1 Kansas State’s title hopes

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November 18, 2012

By Krista Pirtle

Sports Editor

This time last season, Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III had his “Heisman moment” with the 34-yard touchdown pass to defeat No. 5 Oklahoma 45-38.

This year, Baylor took down the No. 1 team in the nation, Kansas State 52-24.

“It was a great night to be a Baylor Bear,” head coach Art Briles said. “Our guys rose to the occasion. Our fans rose to the occasion and we got a much needed win.”

Baylor senior quarterback Nick Florence was 20-of-32 for 238 yards, pair touchdowns and two interceptions.

Florence also recorded 47 yards and a touchdown.

“We said all week, we knew we had a good team and had a good game plan against them,” Florence said. “We matched up well. All week, we believed we were going to beat them. We weren’t going to be surprised when it happened. We played a great game and overcame a lot of things.”

The Bears had a pretty balanced attack with 342 yards rushing and 580 total offensive yards.

Sophomore running back Lache Seastrunk was out of control, recording a career best 192 yards, including a career best 80 yard touchdown run, and junior Glasco Martin ran for 113 and got the hat trick with a trio of touchdowns.

Through the air, junior receiver Tevin Reese had 61 yards and a touchdown and didn’t catch any in the second half.

Sophomore receiver Levi Norwood had 43 and senior receiver Terrance Williams had 87 and a score.

On the defensive end, junior corner back Joe Williams recorded 11 tackles, nine solo and two interceptions.

Sophomore nickel back Ahmad Dixon followed with 10 tackles, nine solo.

Sophomore linebacker Bryce Hager had ten total, eight solo, a sack and two tackles for loss.

Kansas State senior quarterback and Heisman hopeful Collin Klein was held to only 27-of-50 for 286 yards, a pair of touchdowns and three interceptions.

Klein also ran for 39 yards and a touchdown.

The Bears made the scoreboard first just under two minutes into the game off a 28-yard pass to Reese.

Reese was wide open in the end zone, beating the backup safety in place of junior Ty Zimmerman.

Kansas State answered its next drive with an eight-yard pass.

Baylor would then go on a 21-0 run before the Wildcats would score again with 1:47 remaining in the first half.

The streak started with Florence taking it 12 yards to the house after a balanced attack 75-yards up the field that lasted 3:05.

The Wildcats’ next drive would end quickly after a quarterback hurry by Hager forced Klein to throw an incomplete pass.

Baylor wouldn’t capitalize on the opportunity and punt the ball away, and Kansas State would start the second half with the rock.

However, three plays into the second half, Williams intercepted Klein’s pass, giving the Bears’ offense the ball at its own 21-yard line.

After getting rocked by an unnecessary roughness call, Florence threw a pick of his own.

Baylor’s next drive would end the way most do, with a 22-yard reception by Williams.

Up 21-7, the Baylor defense would force another punt off a quarterback hurry by junior left end Terrance Lloyd forced an incomplete pass.

The Bears’ next drive would be run-heavy and capitalized with a two-yard run into the end zone by Martin.

Kansas State ended the first half with a 23-yard field goal.

The big story of the first half was the 40 yards in penalties Kansas State had, jumping offsides on multiple snaps.

So far this season, Kansas State has outscored its opponents 239-90 in the second half.

Against Baylor, the Wildcats were held to only seven points while the Bears scored 24.

“Coach Briles said the main thing was to kill them from the start,” Dixon said. “First drive, we scored. Then we came out on kickoff and tried to do a surprise pooch kick. We wanted to see how they would respond. All year, they’ve never been down.”

The second half would begin with back-to-back incompletions followed by an interception by junior safety Sam Holl, returned 18 yards to the Kansas State 38-yard line.

Four plays and 49 seconds later, Martin ran it in for the touchdown, making the score 35-17 in favor of Baylor.

Kansas State’s next drive had two passes almost picked off and an interception, forcing a punt, landing at the one-yard line.

Two plays into the Bears’ next drive, Florence threw an interception to a defender on the half-yard line.

Klein then bulldozed his way into the end zone, making the score 35-24, taking one play, going one yard for five seconds.

Four minutes later, Baylor would settle for a 50-yard field goal by junior Aaron Jones.

The Bears would have had the opportunity for a touchdown but a missed pass interference call on third and long didn’t help the Baylor offense.

Kansas State’s first play of the next drive, a reverse, was read perfectly by junior linebacker Eddie Lackie, pushing the Wildcats back 11 yards.

A five-yard Klein run was followed by a sack by junior right end Chris McAllister for a loss of eight yards, forcing Kansas State to punt.

Williams would go to work on the next Baylor drive with a 43-yard reception, spotting Baylor in the red zone.

Two plays later, Martin ran it in 16 yards for the touchdown.

Kansas State would drive down the field and set up shop in the red zone, but Williams would get his second interception of the game in the end zone.

One play, 80 yards and 12 seconds later, Seastrunk would break free and let the horses run. No one was close to catching him as he ran it in for the touchdown.

Kansas State would march down the field and make it to the one-yard line, but four downs later, the Wildcats left empty handed after four straight stands by the Baylor defense.

“That was just icing on the cake for me,” Florence said.

After the stop with 7:51 left in the game, Baylor ran 10 plays for 7:19 before punting the ball to Kansas State, ending the game.

“They took the fight to us, and I thought we weren’t well enough prepared for it,” Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder said. “We struggled on both sides of the ball, and I think we were just not prepared. I take full control for that.”

42 win streak comes to a halt

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Baylor Lariat

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November 17, 2012

By Krista Pirtle
Sports Editor

No. 1 Baylor’s 42-game win streak was brought to a close with a 71-69 loss to No. 4 Stanford in the first round of the Wahine Classic in Hawaii.

Junior point guard Odyssey Sims left the game in the first half with a hamstring injury and never returned.

Senior guard Jordan Madden stepped up big for Baylor with 16 points, eight boards and six assists.

Senior post Brittney Griner led the Lady Bears in points with 22, followed by senior forward Destiny Williams with 16.

Another Baylor streak was broken as the Cardinal shot 50.9 percent from the floor, the first time any team has accomplished that against the Lady Bears since Maryland in 2006.

Baylor advances to Sweet Sixteen with win against Georgetown

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Baylor Lariat

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November 17, 2012

Soccer vs TCU — No. 13 midfielder Hanna Gilmore passes the ball during the game against TCU on Friday, Oct. 26, 2012, at the Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field. The Bears defeated the Horned Frogs 2-0. Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor

By Greg DeVries

The No. 11 Baylor soccer team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen with a 2-1 overtime victory over the No. 14 Georgetown Hoyas. Senior forward Dana Larsen notched the overtime golden goal to give Baylor the win. The Bears will now take on the winner of North Carolina and Illinois at 1 p.m. Sunday. If the No. 2 seed North Carolina was to win, then the Tar Heels would have home field advantage against Baylor.

Through the first half, the game was scoreless. Baylor did keep the offensive pressure high, however. The Bears recorded eight shots to Georgetown’s three.

In the second half, Georgetown struck first. Hoya sophomore midfielder Daphne Corboz scored in the 82nd minute to give Georgetown the 1-0 advantage. Coming into the game, Corboz was the 10th best scorer in the country, so the Bears knew they had to keep her in check.

With just two minutes remaining, freshman forward Bri Campos evened the game at one. Campos had threatened goal earlier in the game, but finally found the back of the net for some late-game heroics.

In overtime, Baylor took advantage of an early opportunity. Senior forward Larissa Campos found her fellow senior forward Larsen for the game winning goal just two minutes into overtime. Larsen leads the Bears in scoring on the year, and this game-winner is her 11th goal of the year.

Baylor falls to Colorado 60-58

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Baylor Lariat

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November 16, 2012

Pierre Jackson, Nate Tomlinson — Associated Press

By Krista Pirtle

Sports Editor

With one second remaining, senior forward Jacob Neubert threw the inbounds pass to freshman center Isaiah Austin at the Baylor free throw line.

The shot didn’t fall and Colorado won 60-58.

After junior guard Brady Heslip sunk nine treys on Colorado in the second round of the NCAA tournament last season, Baylor was three-for-16 from downtown, and Heslip only had seven points.

Junior forward Cory Jefferson led the Bears in points with 17, followed by senior Pierre Jackson with 12.

Colorado’s game plan for containing Jackson after his 31-point outing against Boston College was to put 6-foot-6-inch guard Spencer Dinwiddie on him, hoping his wingspan would limit Jackson.

And it did.

Jackson only had one assist and three turnovers.

For Colorado, sophomore guard Askia Booker had 19 points followed by Dinwiddie with 11.

Junior forward Andre Roberson finished with seven points and 13 boards.

As a team, Baylor shot 36.7 percent from the floor, and Colorado shot 45.5 percent.

Colorado struggled at the charity stripe, however, going four-for-18, but it was 40 percent from beyond the arc.

The Bears perimeter defense struggled, jumping at shot fakes and closing out poorly.

With under a minute to play, Baylor put Colorado at the foul line three different times, but failed to come up with the killer rebounds needed to get a bucket at the other end.

Baylor will play at 5 p.m. Sunday against either St. John’s or Murray State on ESPNU.

11/16/12: The Baylor Lariat

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Baylor Lariat

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November 16, 2012

Dress up, roll down

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Baylor Lariat

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November 16, 2012

Race down Fifth Street on a decked-out hospital bed and grab some chili to celebrate the fun during the annual Alpha Tau Omega and Chi Omega Bed Races and Chili Cook Off benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The event will take place from 6 to 11 p.m. today in Fountain Mall. Costumes are encouraged.

Baylor talks leaving union

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Baylor Lariat

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November 16, 2012

By Lindsey Miner

Reporter

Secession recalls the American Civil War, in which 11 Southern states withdrew from the Union, citing their desire for a different government. More than 150 years later, following the re-election of President Obama, secession has again entered the national consciousness – this time with petitions from all 50 states.

Though all 50 states have submitted petitions, those petitions range in support on a state-by-state basis.

The petition with the most support belongs to Texas, with 109,969 signatures, roughly 0.42 percent of the population, as of Thursday night according to petitions.whitehouse.gov.

Web viewers are able to register their names with the website and sign petitions.

The first petition was filed in Slidell, La., on Nov. 7. Texas followed suit two days later last Friday.

All of the sates combined had a total of 798,435, roughly 0.25 percent of the population.

The White House provides a 30-day window of time for petitions on the website to reach 25,000 signatures. If the minimum number of signatures is reached, a response from the White House is supposed to follow.

Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and North Carolina have also met the 25,000 signature requirement necessary for White House attention.

“I don’t think it’s the number one priority on Obama’s agenda to respond,” said Kerrville senior Jacob Reagan, president of Baylor’s Young Republicans of Texas. “I’m sure he’ll get enough pressure to say something and the White House will release some generic statement that they understand our frustration, but they won’t let us leave the Union.”

Although the petitions are not filed by the states and are not legal instruments in any way, they serve as a barometer of public sentiment.

Colene Coldwell, a senior lecturer in the Hankamer School of Business, said she understood why some might sign a petition for secession.

“An individual who longs for smaller government, less intrusion into my life, an end to Obamacare and the like, might sign the petition just to be heard without any sincere belief that Texas might secede,” she said. Coldwell said she did not sign the petition.

Coldwell said she received emails from friends and acquaintances out-of-state in response to the petition.

“Thank God for Texas, You gotta love Texas, and the like. The petition is entirely in keeping with the image that Texas has, at home and in the outside world, the ‘take no prisoners’ approach where we say what we think is right no matter who is offended,” she said.

Dallas senior Travis Parker, a supporter of Texas secession, said the current government contradicts the ideals the Founding Fathers meant to create.

“I think we’ll definitely have the possibility to secede,” Parker said. “If you want to stop us, come stop us. The good thing is 70 percent of the military is from the South. Who has the guns?”

Parker said he was “planning on the South to rise again.” However, he said there are holes in the plan.

“The biggest issue would be how to handle the people who didn’t want to secede,” Parker said. “There would obviously need to be a vote to secede and what would we do with the people that didn’t want to? Would we deport them? ”

And those who want to leave the United States because of Democrat control might find the plan backfires.

“Republicans would never be able to win a nationwide election again if Texas leaves, taking with it 38 electoral votes,” Reagan said.

Not everyone wants to secede. Some cities, like Austin, are resisting a Texas secession and are opting for petitions to remain in the union.

El Paso has also started a petition to secede from Texas because “El Paso is tired of being a second class city within Texas,” the petition said. Austin’s petition currently has 7,327 signatures while El Paso’s has 859.

“I think it’s kind of ridiculous that people think we have the right to secede legally,” Reagan said. “I think it would be a really bad idea if Texas was allowed to secede.”

Westminster, Ma., junior Alex Pecoraro said she thinks that as a whole, the United States works well together because of all the various opinions that citizens have and for any state to secede would be detrimental.

“The American people should respect that the president is who the majority of people voted for, and they should respect him as commander-in-chief.”

Caroline Brewton and Alexa Brackin contributed to this report.

Mission Waco celebrates Thanksgiving with homeless

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Baylor Lariat

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November 16, 2012

By Laurean Love

Staff Writer

Mission Waco’s annual Thanksgiving Day Lunch With The Homeless will be held Thursday at the Meyer Center for Urban Ministries, beginning with a worship service at 11 a.m. followed by lunch at noon.

According to the Heart of Texas Homeless Coalition website, as of 2009 there are 312 homeless in Waco which is down from the 2007 survey, when there were 431. However, according to a National Alliance to End Homelessness survey done in 2009, there are 37,671 homeless in Texas.

Jimmy Dorrell, director of Mission Waco, said he expects about 100 homeless and about 70 volunteers to attend this year’s event. The event is not open to the public, only to the homeless and volunteers. Mission Waco is no longer accepting volunteers for the event due to concerns with space. They are currently at full capacity.

Dorrell said one of the blessings of the holiday is people come out of the woodwork to help, but the challenge is to find people to be 12-month volunteers, not just holiday volunteers.

“We participate as a family, our kids join us [my husband and I] as well,” said Melissa Naylor, national account manager at ServiceMaster Recovery Management. “It is just what our family does for Thanksgiving and it is our way of giving back, but what we have learned in the process is we get so much more back.

“I can’t explain the feeling it is to do this, but whatever we give of ourselves, we get back 100-fold. It is an incredible event. Our favorite time of year and we look forward to it, as well as the kids, all year long,” he said.

Donations of food have been given this year from CISCO, who donated 16 turkeys. The North West Optimists Club donated $500 and the Woodway United Methodist Church youth group donated $400 to purchase additional items for the event.

Naylor said Aramark, a food services and facilities management company, has helped this year by holding a canned food drive.

They provided the green beans, corn, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce. Naylor said that because of their generosity Mission Waco will not have to purchase these items.

Hygiene kits will be given to the homeless at the event and if the budget permits, there will be donations of warm clothing.

“We do not work out of pity, we work out of a model of empowerment at Mission Waco,” Dorrell said. “Which means this is not a time to get together to feel sorry for homeless people. It is so much more than that; it is a friendship. Our goal is to empower the poor and give them dignity, and so they are a part of the worship service. It is not for them, it is with them. We work really hard not to just feel sorry for people because we know they have a lot to teach us, so it is a reciprocal relationship.”

Dorrell said nothing is worse in life than being alone on a holiday, especially one focused on family, so this is a chance to bring people together and celebrate.

“We do more than just eat turkey and dressing,” Dorrell said. “Homeless and volunteers talk about the things that they are most thankful for. It is pretty overwhelming to hear, even the homeless more than the volunteers’ gratitude, and things that they are thankful for. It is overwhelming to hear as many things that have gone wrong in their lives, they’re still so much more thankful than we are.”

The Meyer Center is located at 1226 Washington Ave.

The joys and dangers of holiday feasting

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Baylor Lariat

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November 16, 2012

By Holly Renner
Reporter

Dr. Suzy Weems – Professor and Chair in the department of Family and Consumer Sciences

How can people prepare for the dreaded weight gain over Thanksgiving?

You know, I think one of the things people really wanted to think about is that you don’t save up so you can gorge out on that one day, but that isn’t just another day with a healthy eating pattern and the issue is not eating everything you think you’re going to want all at once, but rather, eat a normal meal, maybe eat a small breakfast, then eat a normal meal. It’s OK to have leftovers and it’s OK to have those leftovers again for snacking at night if that’s the way your family does it. Or even saving those for the next day so it can be something you can enjoy all week, not just a “let’s see how much I can possibly eat” type of thing.

Do most people over-indulge on Thanksgiving?

I think sometimes what people choose to eat during the holiday season, which really runs from Thanksgiving through New Years, is that there are things available then that are not available the rest of the time, so they want to snack on those – they are in sight, they’re easy to grab. There may be some thoughts like, “It’s the holiday season, I can enjoy this.” But enjoying healthy foods and healthy snacks and really tasty foods shouldn’t be something you do just during that period of time – and so maybe we tend to give ourselves permission to do things during that month of just, “OK, we’ll just do it this way, and I’ll worry about it in January.” But it’s better to go ahead and eat normally and if you want to eat a little more, that’s fine, just go outside and walk a little bit more, or go get on the bike – do something that gives you a little more activity, and there shouldn’t necessarily be that weight gain.

What are the healthiest food options for Thanksgiving?

There’s pumpkin delights and dessert delights that don’t have to be quite as high in calories as some of the things we may traditionally eat. Instead of eating one-fourth of a pumpkin pie, maybe one-sixteenth of one would work as well and you can still enjoy the flavor that’s traditional, but take time to eat it – take time to enjoy it. The other thing that I find is that Thanksgiving and Christmas both, at least in a lot of cultures, is really heavy on casseroles. And many times, that’s a hidden way extra calories are introduced. Broccoli doesn’t have to have cheese and rice with it in order to taste good. Green beans don’t have to have tons of creamy kinds of sauces on them and lots of fried onions. Casserole itself is really quite good, but there’s some ways to cut the calories on that. You can use those lighter soups if that goes into the recipe. Choose things that have lighter levels of fat and lighter levels of salt. Sweet potatoes are an incredible dish, but I think that a lot of times, people look at them as a dessert because when you have the sweet potatoes with the brown sugar and the mushrooms and all of that – you’ve really made them not so much a calorie-limiting kind of food, but maybe, could be used in place of a dessert, and it’s much like the sweet potato pies that are out there. I know sweet potatoes are really good by themselves – they don’t have to have cinnamon, and they don’t have to have sugar to taste good – and that’s one of the things that sometimes I think people can adjust a little bit. Dressings – I think it all depends on who’s doing it and how much you choose to eat. I know one of the common things that was advertised years ago that really made sense was to cook some dressings in small muffin tins and that way, that’s a serving, and you don’t have to worry about getting super-served on the dressing levels. Think of covering it with cranberries. Fresh cranberry sauce is really tasty, but if you make it at home, you can make it with about half as much sugar as it says, and it’s still very good, and you can kind of bolster up the flavor with some cinnamon and some other kind of flavoring you might enjoy – make it more like a chutney.

What are the negative effects of tryptophan in turkey?

Tryptophan is just an amino acid. What it does in the body is it attempts to elicit a feeling of sedation and satisfaction, and so really, in a normal serving of 3 to 4 ounces of turkey at Thanksgiving, if everything else is in balance, you shouldn’t really feel anything that negative. Some people blame the turkey and blame the tryptophan for making them sleepy. There are a lot of things that make us sleepy. One thing I think about – the only negative with turkey – and I always try to think, “What could be a problem with turkey?” – about the only thing I see a problem with, is that people tend to eat too much, and so there’s that over-indulgence which comes back into play. Tryptophan by itself – it’s just one of those things that elicits serotonin responses, and that makes people sleepy or tired or feel content. So you have a really big meal, you go sit in front of the television to watch a football game, and it’s probably warm. Your body is probably content. There are a lot of carbohydrates in a meal, which is also likely to put you into a more relaxed and calming mood.

Do you think portioning is a big problem?

Portions are critical, I think. In fact, I keep looking at the plate concept, and looking at that and thinking, you know, if you fill half of it with those vegetables – and not all of those need to be in casseroles – they really just need to be vegetables. And then also, the other part of the plate, fill half of it with the lean protein – turkey is a really good source of that, unless of course you eat the fried skin on the fried turkey. But then the other part is where the starch normally goes, or the carbohydrate, and trying to figure out ways to keep that in balance. I kind of look at it as you have really small portions of a lot of different ones, like some dressings, some sweet potatoes, some corn casserole – whatever – or you can have a generous serving of one. So it’s like, fill the plate, and when it’s filled, go sit down and enjoy it, and that’s it.

What are fun ways to avoid weight gain over Thanksgiving while still eating the food we want?

You still eat the food that you want, but the fun things I think are activity, and that is to take a walk more than likely on Thanksgiving Day – it’s going to be beautiful in the majority of the United States. It’s a great time to go walking with a friend, to go walking with parents or to go have an outside adventure. Get yourself away from the kitchen. Get yourself away from the food, and go play football, or tag football, or yard football, or basketball, or tennis – something that you really enjoy doing, and just play instead of sitting in there, watching everybody else do it so much. When you write papers for the next week, you probably want to do it without food in place. Just enjoy Thanksgiving and enjoy the season and the spirit of it, and let food be a part of that joy, but not the total focus of everything that you do.

Farmer’s Market turns 1

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Baylor Lariat

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November 16, 2012

Farmers Market_MH 06.30.12_016 FTW — A vender sells peaches to customers at the Waco Downtown Farmer’s Market on Saturday, July 30, 2012.
Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor

By Amando Dominick

Staff Writer

To celebrate one full year of its market on the Brazos, the Waco Downtown Farmer’s Market is hosting an anniversary party from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Waco Mayor Malcolm Duncan will commence the event with an opening statement.

“People who have never been to the market would be very surprised to see what Waco has to offer,” Sara Shoup, executive board member for the Waco Downtown Farmer’s Market, said.

The anniversary event will include a petting zoo, special menu items, live music from local bands, yoga, a person grinding wheat into flour using an antique tractor and many other events and activities.

The event is free and open to the public, but yoga costs $5.

In addition to the extra festivities, the vendors’ booths will still be stocked with produce for sale.

The Farmer’s Market is a year-round, open-air market that is open from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. every Saturday.

At least 80 percent of the material available for sale is local agriculture, as required by the market’s ordinance from the city of Waco.

“The market gets you in touch with people and the ones who are actually growing crops and livestock around Waco,” Shoup said.

The Farmers Market is located at 400 S. University Parks Drive.

Westboro to protest BU vs. K-State game

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Baylor Lariat

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November 16, 2012

By Linda Wilkins
Assistant City Editor

Picketers from Westboro Baptist Church plan to protest at the Baylor vs. Kansas State football game from 5:30-6:30 p.m Saturday.

According to the organization’s website, the picketers plan to be at the game because “God hates K-State and God hates Baylor and we’ll be there to remind you of it.”

The organization, which was not available for immediate response, states on its website that Baylor is not teaching its students the Word of God and that Baylor has not published anything regarding divorce and remarriage, gay marriage, abortion and other topics of controversy.

In addition, the organization cites Kansas State University fans as ignorant of Bible passages while they are still able to quote statistics about football.

Baylor Police Chief Jim Doak said, “The best response I have is that we are very aware of the suggestion that they may be present and we will respond appropriately.”

Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, Kan, began protesting in demonstrations in 1991, opposing homosexual marriage.

The organization has demonstrated at the funerals of U.S. soldiers, specifically soldiers that claimed to be gay.

The demonstrators generally display colorful signs that contain Bible verses and sayings such as “Thank God for AIDS” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.”

The full list of their various sayings can be found on their website.

Chamber music in library to ease students into final exams

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Baylor Lariat

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November 16, 2012

By Reubin Turner

Staff Writer

As a student, the weeks leading up to final exams can be a rather uneasy time. Between studying, balancing club activities and scrambling to register for next semester’s classes, the life of an undergraduate student is stressful to say the least.

Accordingly, the School of Music is offering “Music in the Libraries,” an event featuring the flute chamber music of university students within the School of Music, set to take place at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the foyer of Moody Library.

The event will give students and passersby the opportunity to enjoy classical musical stylings while studying or chatting with friends. University Libraries have offered similar events in the past.

Cape Floral, Fla., graduate student Darbi Elliot, Copperas Cove senior Kate Kelley, Katy senior Jenny Lanham and San Antonio junior Allison Jayroe will play combinations of duets and trios. The finale will consist of a grand quartet.

Darbi said the event will be casual and she hopes it sparks student interest in classical music. She also said as music majors, they feel as though they have a duty to spread the knowledge of classical music by performing public concerts.

According to a press release, Sha Towers, director of Liason Services Department and event coordinator, Moody is a great place to have events such as “Music in the Libraries,” because libraries can serve as places of inspiration and creativity.

“I hope that events like this will also provide a moment of beauty, reflection and enjoyment to our guests and inspire us all to look for ways that each of us can be creative and in doing so, reflect the Creator in whose image we are created,” she said.

While the concert is being performed, listeners will have the opportunity to enjoy coffee and tea from Starbucks, as they will be open for drink purchases during the performance.

Dr. Doris Deloach, professor of oboe, said the chamber concert will give students the opportunity to become more acquainted with classical music.

Deloach said it is just as important for the performers to perform for the public as it is for the public to hear the music.

“The concert will benefit both the listeners and the performers,” Deloach said.

Deloach also said she believes classical musical elicits emotions conducive to spiritual and emotional growth.

“This is the type of music that can transcend the soul, and the event couldn’t have come at a better time than when many students are stressed to the max,” she said.

Wind Ensemble to feature new faculty at concert

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Baylor Lariat

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November 16, 2012

By Connor Yearsley

Reporter

Monday’s Wind Ensemble concert will help prepare the ensemble for its upcoming tour as well as feature a new faculty member, Dr. Jun Qian, on clarinet.

The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. Monday in Jones Concert Hall in the Glennis McCrary Music Building. Dr. Eric Wilson, director of bands, said he’s excited about the concert.

He said he enjoys going through a breadth of repertoire over the course of the semester, which ensures both students and audiences will experience a diversity of wind music.

“I have had some students tell me they particularly enjoy this program,” Wilson said. “There’s a lot of eclecticism.” He said the program includes some colorful, provocative pieces that explore vast soundscapes and is bookended by two more traditional pieces.

The six-piece program will begin with Yo Gotoh’s arrangement of French Romantic composer Hector Berlioz’s “Marche Hongroise” from “La Damnation de Faust.”

The concert’s program notes describe the march, composed in 1846, as “a spectacular and brilliant composition ideally suited to the medium of the wind band.”

American composer Christopher Theofanidis’ “I wander the world in a dream of my own making,” composed in 2005, will be performed next.

Theofanidis has said, “The feeling that pervades the work is one of a sense of mystery, and this sentiment is primarily conveyed through the harmonies and orchestration.” Garland senior Austin Aeschbacher said he likes this piece the best.

“The piece is full of beautiful textures and sounds the audience can easily understand,” he said.

American composer Morton Gould’s three-movement “Derivations for Clarinet and Band,” from 1955, will then shine the spotlight on Qian, assistant professor of clarinet.

The piece was written as a tribute to famous bandleader and clarinetist Benny Goodman. Wilson said it has a dance band and swing-based feel.

Aeschbacher said he thinks people will be pleasantly surprised by the piece. The world premiere of Dr. Scott McAllister’s “Gone,” from 2012, is also on the program. McAllister is professor of composition at Baylor.

“Gone” is a wind band transcription of one movement from McAllister’s clarinet concerto. It was written after a car accident ended his performing career.

He said the piece requires utmost control from the ensemble due to its quiet and introspective nature. It deals with love taken away and offers a cathartic approach to dealing with loss. Aeschbacher agreed that the piece demands a considerable amount of refinement. Wilson said it’s poignant and somber at times but suggests there’s a reason to move on and that there is a bright future. The Texas premiere of American composer Paul Dooley’s “Point Blank,” from 2012, will be next.

“We’re really excited about this piece,” Wilson said. “It’s contemporary in nature, intricate, high energy.” Wilson also described the piece as colorful, frenetic at times and palatable from an audience’s perspective. He said he thinks people will be intrigued by it.

“I think the students have enjoyed doing a piece that requires of them nontraditional techniques of playing,” he said. Wilson said “Point Blank” is challenging because it’s fast and has lots of musical changes that require the ensemble to respond quickly.

Dooley will be on campus today to offer the ensemble feedback and explain the mind behind the notes. Last on the program will be American composer William Schuman’s “Chester,” composed in 1956.

The piece is based on an anthem by William Billings, which was sung by the Continental Army during the American Revolution. The program notes attribute the piece’s longevity to its “freshness and exuberance.”

Wilson said this concert might be sentimental for the 10 ensemble members who will be student-teaching in the spring and, therefore, will be performing in their last Wind Ensemble concert.

They will be recognized from the stage.

Aeschbacher is one of those ten. Aeschbacher said he has mixed emotions about the concert.

“For me, it’s bittersweet because it’s my last concert,” he said. “But I know the group will continue to grow without me and the other student-teachers who will be leaving at the semester.”

Aeschbacher and the other nine will not be a part of the Wind Ensemble’s March tour of the South, which will end in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the 2013 College Band Directors National Association’s National Conference.

“I think the Waco society and the Baylor community need to support the musical outlets the School of Music has to offer,” he said. “It’s always exciting for the performers to play for a crowd of people.” Wilson said he hopes people come to see why the ensemble has been nationally recognized.

The concert is free and open to the public.

Lariat Letters: ‘Liberal hate’ letter misguided

By

Baylor Lariat

-

November 16, 2012

Regarding the Nov. 14 letter “Liberal culture of hate to blame for political division” sent by William C. VanRonzelen IV:

William, I read your letter, and I noticed it looked remarkably similar to what I have found, and read about for quite some time now.

The main difference is that the parties are switched.

There are bad people on either end and in between. I’ve read too many hateful opinions, read through extremist Right and Left blogs, articles, biased news outlets.

On one hand, you have folks that believe an influx immigrants (whether illegal or not), the giving of civil rights to LGBT folk, and the allowance of stem-cell research and abortions will soon destroy God’s chosen nation in a hell-storm of divine retribution for such sinful and blasphemous debauchery.

In reality it is their own fault they believe this, for the most common belief is that the Bible espouses love and tolerance to all men and women.

But these folk use their holy book to justify negative views of the world, to justify hate of other philosophies, claiming to be tolerant as they bar the way of scientific progress, the promotion of welfare among men, and the civil rights of others. And on the other, you have folks so jaded by bad experiences with religion, and a few negative people, that they have shut their minds off to all viewpoints, except their own.

They judge and jeer others, not because of their merit or actions but solely by their beliefs, and they would rather see such people burnt to the ground,than to stand their presence on this earth.

And so they go about their rude and overtly destructive way, claiming to be tolerant, unless one holds faith in a higher power, or clutching a holy script to their breast.

In truth, both of these kinds of people are in the minority, but are the loudest of all, and I fear that such minorities may be growing.

As people stick to isolated pockets, and only commune with like-minded people, their beliefs become more ingrained and their views inch ever closer to the extreme.

This effect is a real one, as any prominent social psychologist tell you. The Internet is surely partly to blame for this.

There are like-minded sites linking only to other like-minded sites. Droves of people only hearing and listening to only that which they want to hear and listen to.

I’ve thought about this a long time, and I believe the only way to end this “culture of hate” is to help strengthen a culture of love and compassion.

There are so few sights to behold as a single Christian congregation of so many people and backgrounds, everyone pitching in for a charity, shoeboxes full of toys and essentials to give to impoverished African children on Christmas. And I dare you to find as many happy faces as there are in an LGBT pride festival, so many folks able to throw off the facades they wear in a world where so many others think of them as less than people.

I could give so many more wonderful examples, but I’ll cut this short to tell you this: Don’t wait for the other side to change, go out there and promote it yourself.

You know the extrematizing effect I spoke of earlier?

It works both ways, surround yourself with good-hearted people, with people that give to charity, that volunteer, that are kind and compassionate, that would never insult others or hold prejudice in their heart, that know that with understanding comes love and acceptance. By communing with such people, your views and attitudes slowly become more accepting, and open.

And then go out, and be kind.

Don’t sit on your butt and grumble about how everyone is so mean. Be the change you wish to see.

“But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you.”

Matthew 5:44

Jack Williams

Junior

Psychology

Waco

Lariat Letters: Response to ‘liberal hate’ letter

By

Baylor Lariat

-

November 16, 2012

Regarding the Nov 14 letter “Liberal culture of hate to blame for political division.”

I normally don’t go out of my way to respond to Lariat articles like this, but your opinion piece really made me reel back.

Having been a Christian for 22 years of my life before finally letting my faith go, I can’t help but notice how easy my life had been.

When you are a part of the majority you grow up in, people praise you, encourage, feed your beliefs and support your endeavours no matter what they are.

People who dissent don’t do so publicly. They allow that mindset to continue unabashed because it is not worth the effort.

On the other hand, getting to experience how atheists are treated has been a real eye opener for me.

Society instantly shifts against you, family rebukes you, friends who were once close shun you, and you suddenly become less of a person for standing up in what you believe.

You can say that true Christianity, the true conservative mindset is lost on so many, but I could easily say that about the left, whatever mischaracterized notion you have of it is.

You want to blame them for their “culture of hate” and yet you so flippantly ignore your own accusations and playing the blame game.

No one is denying a person of faith their ability to believe. In fact, you have your beliefs protected more than any other group.

You say you shouldn’t have to “compromise” with people who see you as less than human, but the fact that they are willing to compromise at all means they see you as human.

Try being atheist here in Baylor, try being liberal in Waco, and see just how much of a culture shock it is for you before you accuse the left of harbouring a culture of hate.

Austin Findley
Senior
Computer Science
Marshall

Editorial: Obama’s command of media won the election

By

Baylor Lariat

-

November 16, 2012

In the aftermath of the election a lot of speculation has come from all sides as to exactly why the election wasn’t as close as it could have been.

And it wasn’t.

All the polls had Romney and Obama in a dead heat. Many politicos and analysts were predicting the various ways that they would tie.

And then they didn’t.

President Obama took 332 electoral college votes and 62.6 million of the popular votes.

Mitt Romney won 206 electoral votes and a little more than 59 million popular votes.

Not exactly the tie we all expected.

Why is this?

Some no doubt will say ballot stuffing, lament a stolen election, chalk it up to any number of problems with Romney himself or Republicans in general or claim some grand revolution and return to political sanity.

It’s not really for any of those reasons. It’s not really for any one reason either, but if we had to name one factor it would have to be the media.

Not “the liberal media” or the “conservative propaganda machine” or whatever people want to call the hardworking journalists miraculously bringing information and images from hundreds of miles away to your couch while you eat pizza bagels.

No, the sum total of the media that makes up the way we communicate with eachother. Social media, news media, electronic media etc. etc. ad nauseam.

It would not be unfair to say that media, and the way that it was used, helped clinch the election for President Obama.

It all comes down to effectiveness.

Marc Thiessen, Washington Post columnist, said essentially the same thing.

In his piece “Obama’s ‘Moneyball’ campaign,” he outlines how the Obama ground machine, codename “Narwhal,” far overshot the Romney machine “ORCA.”

Essentially, Obama’s worked and Romney’s didn’t.

Which isn’t surprising.

According to the Pew Research Center, about one-fifth of the electorate is between the ages of 18-25. That’s the demographic that Obama most effectively courted in 2008 and 2012, and it’s an increasingly wired section of America.

It’s also a section of America not well represented in the major polls.

Polling organizations use land lines to poll voters and people of the 18-25 cohort are much less likely to have landlines. That means that national polls and poorly run in-house polls for candidates don’t count our generation very well.

Except, of course, for Obama’s.

David Axelrod and David Plouffe, Obama’s two election gurus, deserve the lion’s share of recognition for this.

They connected their candidate to a generation of uncounted and overlooked voters, and we turned out overwhelmingly twice in favor of him (this is of course speaking in general terms — everybody knows how most of Baylor’s politics flow).

Anyone who ever signed up for one of those tempting dinners with the president or donated money even once to the Obama campaign can remember the slew of emails urging them to donate or tell their friends to sign up.

As annoying as these emails may have been, they obviously didn’t turn off many voters, and in the end the machine worked. Obama was re-elected.

Contrary-wise, the giant machine that was supposed to buoy Romney to victory on an election day surge failed spectacularly.

The site was down, the volunteers were in disarray and the phones weren’t ringing.

For someone who touted his business leadership and organization skills, Romney didn’t seem able to run a simple phone bank in Colorado.

This reflects poorly on his ground crew, but is also shows the age of the Republican approach.

The Democrats, especially Obama, are the party of the here and now, the new and the future.

The Republicans will have to catch up if they want to have any hope of a president any time soon.

Round 2: Soccer vs. Georgetown

By

Baylor Lariat

-

November 16, 2012

By Greg DeVries
Sports Writer

After defeating Arizona State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the No. 3 seed Baylor women’s soccer team will take on the Georgetown Hoyas at 3 p.m. today at Fetzer Field at the University of North Carolina, the host school for the region.

Baylor is currently ranked No. 11 in the country, just three spots ahead of the 14th-ranked Hoyas. Georgetown earned a spot in this game by defeating Virginia Tech 3-2 in overtime.

“At this point, there are only really great teams left in the tournament,” head coach Marci Jobson said. “They have a stellar defense, a very good offense, and they have an outstanding center midfielder. It’s going to be a tough, tight game. I think we’re going to have to play lights-out in a lot of ways.”

The strong offense that Jobson is referring to is led by Hoya sophomore midfielder Daphne Corboz. Corboz is the 10th best scorer in the nation. She has 17 goals and eight assists in Georgetown’s 22 games.

Jobson said that her team will not change what they have been doing for the game.

Instead, the Bears will stay with the game plan that helped earn them an 18-1-4 record this season.

“We have to execute our game plan,” Jobson said. “Any team that’s left at this point has a good defense and offense, so we’re just going to have to be ourselves and play like we’ve played all year, and I think things will end up good.”

Last year, Baylor lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to North Carolina.

If the Bears beat Georgetown, not only will they surpass last year’s mark, but they will also likely get a rematch with the North Carolina Tar Heels.

While the team is not looking past the Hoyas, they are handling the nerves of postseason play well.

“I think we’re just so excited to have this extended time together that we’re just looking to each game as a next obstacle to conquer with each other,” junior defender Kat Ludlow said. “Nobody is really full of nerves. We’re just excited to have one more game and one more chance to play.”

This Baylor team has two of the school’s best goal scorers in its history.

Senior forwards Dana Larsen and Lisa Sliwinski are both in the top five for goals scored, and both players have produced this year.

Larsen leads the team with 10 goals and nine assists, but Sliwinski is right behind her with nine goals and four assists.

Offense can come from a number of players, however.

This Baylor team has 13 players that have each recorded multiple goals on the year.

According to senior defender Carlie Davis, the key for this team is focus.

“We need to not get caught up in everything that’s going on,” Davis said. “We just need to keep focusing on what we’ve been focusing all year, which is preparing the right way, recovering our bodies the right way, coming out with the exact same mentality every single game and controlling what we can control. If we do that, then I think we’ll be fine.”

Aloha, Lady Bears

By

Baylor Lariat

-

November 16, 2012

By Krista Pirtle
Sports Editor

When head coach Kim Mulkey told her team they were going to Hawaii, senior forward Destiny Williams asked her, “Do I have to snorkel?”

Mulkey’s daughter, junior guard Mackenzie Robertson replied, “You’re going to want to.”

Here in Texas, Ugg boots are making their appearance, but the defending national champions Baylor Lady Bears are soaking up the sun in Hawaii and getting ready to face tough competition in Hawaii. While the games are high profile, they will not be televised, something Mulkey is fine with.

“I’ll be coaching in shorts, and I don’t want national television to see that,” Mulkey said.

This tournament is no cake walk for Baylor, ending on Sunday with a game against Hawaii on its home court. Saturday’s opponent is Tennessee-Martin, who won its division last season.

Today holds the biggest matchup between Baylor and its Final Four foe, the Stanford Cardinal. Friday’s contest against top-ranked Baylor is a rematch of last year’s national semifinal at the Final Four in Denver, which the Lady Bears won 59-47. Stanford’s double-teaming of player of the year, senior post Brittney Griner slowed the Lady Bears down all game, as the Cardinal became one of just three teams to hold Baylor to under 60 points in 2011-12.

Stanford led 23-21 with three minutes to go in the first half, and the contest was deadlocked at 31-31 with 16 minutes left in regulation, but a 15-3 Baylor run over the next eight minutes helped the Bears take control of the contest. Stanford’s defense helped hold Griner to just 13 points on 3-of-9 shooting but it was 13 points and key shots from Terran Condrey that made the difference for the Bears.

“Chiney [Ogwumike] guarded Brittney last year in the Final Four and fouled out,” Mulkey said. “We knew a couple of the players, Amber Orrange, a Houston player, and she’s got shooters all around her.”

Senior forward Joslyn Tinkle is also a shooting threat. Over Stanford’s opening-weekend wins against Fresno State and Santa Clara, Tinkle led with her play, averaging 19.5 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 67.9 percent (19-for-28) from the field.

Baylor tips off against Stanford today at 6:30 p.m., against Tennessee-Martin at 8:30 on Saturday and against Hawaii at 6:30 on Sunday. During the Lady Bears’ trip in Hawaii, time will be balanced between fun and basketball, with a little bit of education thrown in.

“It’s not like we’re going out there to play teams that can’t play, and at the same time you want to have fun,” Mulkey said. “And you also want to use it as an educational opportunity. We’re going to visit Pearl Harbor. We’re going to go meet a former player that’s in the military and see the wounded warriors. So there’s a lot of fun and snorkeling, but there’s also giving back to people who don’t get to do what we do.”

Griner is ready for everything Hawaii offers.

“It’s always good to just play. And on the other side, it’s Hawaii and I’m trying to surf – don’t tell coach. And I’m looking forward to Pearl Harbor. I’m just looking forward to all of it.”

Football hosts No. 1 Kansas State State

By

Baylor Lariat

-

November 16, 2012

By Daniel Hill
Sports Writer

The Baylor football team got off to a rough start in Big 12 Conference play by losing four consecutive games to West Virginia, Texas Christian, Texas and Iowa State. In its last two games, Baylor has shown marked improvement: a victory over Kansas and a narrow defeat to Oklahoma.

This Saturday, Baylor has a chance to turn the world of college football upside down with No. 1 Kansas State coming to Waco for a nationally televised showdown at 7 p.m. Baylor senior quarterback Nick Florence knows Kansas State presents a massive challenge.

“It’s motivation to play whoever comes to Waco,” Florence said. “They are a good team. They have a lot going for them, they play great football, and they play disciplined football. And yeah, they are number one. It is what it is. Our goal is for them not be number one when they leave Waco, so we are going for it and that’s the way we have to approach the game.”

Baylor senior wide receiver Terrance Williams leads the nation in receiving yards per game with 159.0. Williams was recently named one of the 10 semifinalists for the 2012 Biletnikoff Award. The Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to college football’s top receiver.

Although the Bears did lose to Oklahoma last Saturday, many positive signs have emerged from the last two games. For example, turnover ratio, rushing offense, total points allowed and total yards allowed are all heading in the right direction. On the season, Baylor is allowing opponents to score 39.4 points per game. In just Big 12 play, the Bears allow 44.3 points per game.

The Baylor defense is certainly improving, though. In the first four Big 12 games, Baylor conceded 52.5 points per game to West Virginia, Texas Christian, Texas and Iowa.

In their last two games against Kansas and No. 12 Oklahoma, the Bears have allowed just 28 points per game.

Not only are opponents scoring less, but they are also moving the ball less against the Bears.

In the last two games, Baylor is allowing only 401 yards per game. Compare that to Baylor’s first four Big 12 games, in which Baylor allowed 599.5 yards per game. For the season, Baylor allows 518.5 yards per game. Another area that has improved for the Bears is the turnover ratio.

The Bears are 4-1 this year when they win the turnover battle. Baylor did lose to Oklahoma despite winning the turnover battle 2-0. In the first four game stretch of Big 12 play, the Bears only had two takeaways and lost the ball due to a turnover a whopping 13 times. In the first three Big 12 games, Baylor didn’t force a single turnover and gave the ball away nine times.

In the last three games, Baylor has forced six takeaways. The Bears are not just taking the ball away from their opponents, but they are also possessing the ball for longer periods of time thanks to the newfound rushing attack powered by junior running back Glasco Martin and sophomore running back Lache Seastrunk.

In the last two games, the Baylor offense has rushed for an average of 275.5 yards. In the rest of Big 12 play, the Bears rushed for an average of 148.7 yards.

One reason Baylor has improved lately has been the growing cohesion among the offensive line.

The offensive line is gaining experience and comfort with each other and that has helped the rushing attack.

“I choose to believe we are getting better,” head coach Art Briles said. “I don’t know if the facts will prove me wrong or not, but as of now, I think we are a better team than we were a month ago on offense, defense and special teams. We have two new tackles, a new center and a guy who moved to guard, so four out of five guys were new. Now they’ve played nine football games, and they’re better than they were, and they should be.”

With Kansas State looming on Saturday, the Bears know that they have to play fundamental football in order to compete with Kansas State.

“Just being disciplined and playing our assignments and being where I need to be,” junior linebacker Eddie Lackey said. “I guess that’s just the biggest part of playing a team like Kansas State, just because they don’t make a whole lot of mistakes being the number one team in the nation. You have to be disciplined, and you have to play a role and play every play like that’s going to decide the outcome of the game.”

Kansas State’s Collin Klein is the pulse of the Wildcats. He carries the team.

Klein is the Heisman Trophy frontrunner for a reason. He has amassed 2,020 yards passing and 12 touchdowns.

Klein is also a major threat on the ground. He’s rushed for 748 yards and 19 touchdowns.

The Wildcats head coach, Bill Snyder, is known as the “scheme doctor” because he does such an exceptional job game-planning for Kansas State’s opponents.

As the No. 1 team in the nation, the Wildcats have a target on their back and they are sure to receive Baylor’s best punch.

If Baylor can continue playing solid football, then it can certainly present Kansas State with a challenging game at Floyd Casey Stadium.

Jackson leads BU to victory

By

Baylor Lariat

-

November 16, 2012

By Greg DeVries
Sports Writer

Senior guard Pierre Jackson led the way for the No. 16 Baylor men’s basketball team as the Bears earned their first victory in the Charleston Classic after defeating Boston College 84-74 Thursday afternoon Jackson led all scorers with 31 points.

Including Jackson, four players reached double figures in points. Freshman center Isaiah Austin was among them, adding 16 points and nine rebounds on 7-12 shooting.

Senior guard A.J. Walton added 10 points, but it was his defense and ball handling down the stretch that really helped the Bears. Walton’s four steals and five rebounds helped limit Boston College’s possessions and put the Bears at the free throw line. With eight minutes left in the game, the Bears were only up by one point, 64-63.

Austin converted a three-point play after drawing the foul. Sophomore guard Brady Heslip made a three-pointer from the corner soon after. This was followed by a Walton layup and an Austin three pointer. The Eagles only managed a layup and a free throw during this span. Jackson sealed the deal at the end of the game. With just 1:16 left in the game, Jackson sank two free throws to put the Bears up by nine points. Jackson went 5-6 down the stretch.

Boston College sophomore forward Ryan Anderson finished the game with 25 points. In his first game of the season for the Eagles against Florida International, Anderson finished with 29 points, but was 11-14 from the free-throw line and grabbed 17 rebounds. Baylor held Anderson to just 5 rebounds. Baylor plays Colorado at 11:30 a.m. today in a rematch of last year’s NCAA Tournament game.

Buzzard Billy’s brings the bayou to Waco

By

Baylor Lariat

-

November 16, 2012

Buzzard Billy's — Buzzard Billy’s, also known as the Swamp Shack, offers one of the most serene views of the Waco Bridge. Dining on the deck with the sunset on the Brazos River proves that Waco does have some perks. The entrance to the restaurant includes a walk across a bridge over a green marsh that makes you feel like you are on the History Channel show “Swamp People.” As soon as you walk in the door, the Louisianan decor lets you know exactly what style of food you’re going to get.

By Kasey McMillian

Guest Reviewer

Buzzard Billy’s, also known as the Swamp Shack, offers one of the most serene views of the Waco Bridge. Dining on the deck with the sunset on the Brazos River proves that Waco does have some perks.

The entrance to the restaurant includes a walk across a bridge over a green marsh that makes you feel like you are on the History Channel show “Swamp People.” As soon as you walk in the door, the Louisianan decor lets you know exactly what style of food you’re going to get.

On the walls, they have gulf signs, pictures of boats on the dock and neon Budweiser signs in the shape of alligators. There are shelves filled with young adult alligator heads, colorful lights bordering the deck, all wooden walls and floors, and the bar, surrounded with red barstools, is the centerpiece of the restaurant. The layout looks like an abode on the swamp, and the atmosphere makes you feel like you’ve left Waco.

One of the most popular features of the seafood bar is the deck. The deck overlooks the river and customers are the reason for the plump ducks, fish and turtles that swarm below awaiting the leftovers.

Buzzard Billy’s offers traditional Cajun dishes: seafood, steaks, chicken, pastas, grilled, blackened or fried dinners, Po’ boy sandwiches and a wide range of unique appetizers including armadillo eggs and fried gator fingers.

Customers love Buzzard Billy’s not only for the quality but also for the prime location. Buzzard Billy’s is located on 100 N. Interstate 35. The hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. from Friday through Saturday. Buzzard Billy’s Armadillo Bar and Grill-o originally opened downtown in January 1993. Then when space opened up in 2008 right on the Brazos, Buzzard Billy’s moved, becoming one of the most compelling restaurants in Waco.

I went to Buzzards Billy’s for dinner. For an appetizer, I ordered the $7.49 monster-ella cheese sticks. They were served with marinara sauce, but I hardly dipped them in it because alone they were full of flavor. They were the cheesiest and most stringy cheese sticks I had ever eaten. I could tell they were hot and freshly breaded, right out of the oven. Instead of being long and narrow, they were monster-sized, and four was more than plenty. Then, for the main course, I ordered the $11.99 Crawfish Fettuccine Alfredeaux. Before I took my first bite I thought it was going to be mostly creamy, but there was definitely a twist. The noodles were very tasty, mixed with sautéed crawfish and a hint of spice. The crawfish was very tender and the entrée was extremely filling and generous in amount, so I got my money’s worth.

The second time, I dined for lunch and ordered the $13.99 Crawfish Étouffée, their classic Louisianan dish. The plate was as big as a placemat loaded with crawfish tails sautéed with garlic, Cajun spices and a buttery mahogany roux. It included a heap of Cajun rice with fresh baked rolls and hushpuppies.

Both times, the waiting staff did a superb job of always getting me a refill. The restaurant has plenty of space, so even when there were a lot of people, I was seated as soon as I was greeted.

The only negative thing for my visit was how long it took to get the rolls out, but the waiter was pleasant while taking my order when I was ready and getting my food out in no time.

‘1401 Speight’ lets Waco pick the plate

By

Baylor Lariat

-

November 16, 2012

By Debra Gonzalez

A&E Editor

Baylor students who wander around town looking for a great bite but find the same old options can finally have a say in their dinner.

You may have seen their advertisements on your Facebook sidebars, “Something exciting is coming to Waco!” The website, www.1401Speight.com, is letting Wacoans choose the cuisine of their upcoming Waco restaurant, via voting on their website.

The website, started by Baylor graduates Vincent and Chelsea Harris, gives four options: gourmet tacos, upscale franks or sausages, a burger bar or “other,” where you can write in your own vote.

Chelsea Harris said they came up with the idea of being involved in the community while living in Waco, and wanting to give back to Baylor and the city.

“We were trying to think of how we could do it, and we have very entrepreneurial spirits,” Harris said. “So we thought that since while we were at Baylor, we were always really happy with our favorite food places and restaurants, but Waco could always use more. We’re trying to think of a way, or a little niche, that we didn’t think had been reached yet. So we were just trying to think of different ideas and we thought that it would be a way that everyone else could enjoy whatever we came up with.”

Austin senior Ashley Pereyra likes the idea.

“That’s a very innovative idea,” Pereyra said. “It will draw more people to the opening of the restaurant. A restaurant created by locals for locals.”

The restaurant aims to open on homecoming weekend of 2013, but a winner is not definite yet.

“Everyone’s kind of voting for different things,” Harris said. “The gourmet tacos and the franks and sausages have been the top two, and they go back and forth. There’s been a ton of votes for both of those, so those are definitely where people I guess see the attraction. People are more attracted to that kind of food, or that’s just the little niche that hasn’t been reached yet.”

Besides the main choices, they’ve also seen a lot of write-ins.

“Sometimes it’ll be just a variation of one of the main ones. There’s some people requesting change, but we’re trying to come up with an original idea,” Harris said.

While they’re not sure of a name yet, 1401 Speight may stick.

“We originally were thinking it would be a different name, we just have ended up calling it that,” Harris said. “We could keep it that unless we come up with another, once we decide what kind of food it will be, or rather the people decide what kind of food it will be, I don’t know. It might still be 1401 Speight; it’s kind of catching on with us, so, we’ll see if it is with everyone else.”

Harris is really excited about the restaurant and incorporating social networking in its opening.

“If people still want to go vote on the website, we’ll be hoping to come up with the decision of what kind of food it is sometime after the new year,” Harris said. “Our Twitter handle will keep you updated on what’s going on with the restaurant. We’ll keep posting on the blog as we progress, on the website at www.1401speight.com, what’s going on, and pictures, even though everyone can probably see it since it’s so close to Baylor. But we’re just really excited for people to get their input and see what everyone else wants, because we definitely want it to be for y’all and everyone else to enjoy, not just us.”

Harris said their goal is to create a local, unique restaurant that everyone can enjoy.

“We just want it to be something fun, to be a relaxing place that Baylor and just people from around the city can go and relax and have a good time.”

For updates or more information on the restaurant, visit www.1401speight.com, or follow @1401speight on Twitter.

Business career fair fills Cashion

By

Baylor Lariat

-

November 16, 2012

Marketing and Sales Career Fair - 5th floor of Cashion November 14, 2012 — West des Moines Senior Elizabeth Lowe listens to Mauricio Padillatalk about Liberty Mutual at the Marketing and Sales Career Fair – 5th floor of Cashion November 14, 2012.
Dana Dewhirst | Lariat Photographer

By Mark Tarro
Contributor

Baylor’s fall marketing and professional selling career fair featured roughly 30 companies Wednesday, in the Blume Conference Center in the Hankamer School of Business.
The event, sponsored by Automatic Data Processing (ADP), gave students the opportunity to network with corporate representatives from around the country looking to fill job and internship positions in marketing and sales. Students gained exposure to top companies, including 11 in the Fortune 500 and two in the Fortune 100.

More than 200 students browsed company booths and shared their experience and career goals.

“The career fair was very informative and got me excited about figuring out my internship for next summer,” junior Arlington Heights, Ill., junior Brittany Verhulst said. “I even set up a few interviews for the end of the week with a number of the companies I researched.”

Students were not just involved as career fair participants, though. A number of senior professional selling majors helped staff the tables of companies they interned or have accepted full-time employment with.
There was even a ProSales alumni presence at the event. May 2012 graduate Colyn Squires now works for Concentra and represented her company at the fair.

“It was so exciting to be back and to see the new students in marketing and professional selling,” Squires said. “I loved having the opportunity to share my experience and how the professional selling program prepared me for my role with Concentra.”

While some seniors informed fellow students about different companies, Dallas senior Robert Howard and Fort Worth senior Warren Burt, helped organize the event and ensured everything ran smoothly throughout the evening.
“We’re all at Baylor to get ready for our next steps in life and its humbling to be a part of the team that brings companies and networking opportunities to campus,” Howard said.

The event did indeed run smoothly, as students navigated through the fair with ease and had the opportunity to talk with a variety of companies. Event sponsor ADP shared a wealth of information on their company and provided unique giveaways for fair attendees.

“The quality of talent and level of preparation at Baylor is amazing. There is little disparity between the first and last in the class which is so rare to see,” vice president of sales for DFW with ADP, said Trent Huizar said. “We hired two Baylor interns this past summer and hope to continue building our relationship with the university,” he said. The Center for Professional Selling provides training and individualized coaching from experts in sales to professional selling majors.

These students are provided access to a variety of networking, internship and job opportunities through the program and upon graduation will have practical experience combined with professional instruction setting them up for success in sales careers. For more information about the Center for Professional Selling, visit https://www.baylor.edu/business/selling/.

Student Senate votes to install student level of Bear Foundation

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Baylor Lariat

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November 16, 2012

By Jocelyn Fowler
Reporter

Baylor students may have the chance to do their sic ’ems in luxury next fall.

At Thursday evening’s Student Senate meeting, senators passed a proposal to create a student level of the Baylor Bear Foundation. The current Bear Foundation is an organization of Baylor alumni who make contributions to Baylor Athletics and in return receive several benefits.

The proposal’s author, Rockwall senior Nick Pokorny, hopes to bring a similar program to students.

“The Student Level of the Bear Foundation’s purpose is to enhance the student experience when it comes to athletics and to begin to foster a culture of giving where they join as freshman and hopefully stay on as long as they can as alumni in giving back to student-athlete scholarships,” Pokorny said.

For a fee of $60, students can join the organization and have access to benefits such as Waco Chamber luncheons for sports teams, ticket priority for bowl games and tournaments and access to members-only areas such as the Stone Room of the Ferrell Center.

Senators also passed a support resolution written by Barksdale Air Force Base, La., freshman Markus Reedy and Moody, Ala., senior Cody Brasher. The legislation offered the support of the Student Senate to the psychology and neuroscience departments in their efforts to expand their respective programs.

Both programs are rising in the ranks among similar programs at other schools.

Brasher and Reedy argued that psychology is currently the second-largest major at Baylor and should be staffed with 25-30 faculty members rather than the current 22 if it wishes to remain competitive with other programs. The duo also maintained the lack of a minor in both fields was an inconvenience to students who may find either field complementary to their majors, but are only left with the option of a double major and a prolonged graduation date.

“This bill will help students because it will hopefully encourage increasing the amount of psychology and neuroscience professors,” Reedy said. “A lot students want to minor in psychology but major in something else. This will help them.”
“The psychology and neuroscience departments at Baylor are very successful and productive departments and we just want to see them grow for future students,” Brasher said.

The improvement and ease of students’ lives will be a hot topic at the next Student Senate also. Senators are currently reviewing bills to provide free laundry in all dorms, improve the Arabic minor and preserve benches and swings on campus.
Senators will vote on these bills at their next meeting.

Orphans to find homes at Law School event

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Baylor Lariat

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November 16, 2012

By Linda Nguyen
Staff Writer

In honor of National Adoption Awareness Month, McLennan County will host an adoption day at 1 p.m. today at the Baylor Law School for 20 children who will be officially adopted into their families. November is National Adoption Awareness Month.
The event is meant to celebrate the adoption of 20 children in McLennan County and raise awareness about the need to adopt children in foster care.

“It’s a special time to raise awareness that there are children in the foster system that need forever families,” said Julie Moody, public information officer for Region 7 for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
The adoption day is open to the public.

Families interested in becoming foster families or adoptive families are encouraged to contact the Department of Family and Protective Services.

Moody said although 20 children are being adopted Friday, there are hundreds more waiting for their special adoption day.

“These children were removed from their homes due to abuse and neglect,” Moody said, regarding children in the foster care system.
Moody said there are currently more than 6,400 children in Texas bfoster care.

“We have many more older children and teenagers than younger children because you can imagine people want to adopt younger children,” Moody said. “Thirty-eight percent of children in foster care are older children between the ages of 10 and 17.”
Moody said it’s important for people to realize how much children in foster care need homes and families.

“It’s very rewarding,” Moody said. “It may not be easy, but it’s rewarding. It’s hard to put into the words the joy and emotion that goes into adoption. It’s very emotional. There are a lot of tears of joy.”

Sudoku solution: 11/16/12

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Baylor Lariat

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November 16, 2012

Crosswords Solution: 11/16/12

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Baylor Lariat

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November 16, 2012

Big 12 Preview: Week 12

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Baylor Lariat

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November 16, 2012

By: Daniel Hill

Texas Tech at Oklahoma State: The Red Raiders narrowly survived overtime against Kansas 41-last week and the Cowboys stomped over West Virginia 55-34. There should be plenty of offense in this game as Oklahoma State is third in scoring and Texas Tech is 18^th. At the beginning of the season, Texas Tech started guns ablaze but lately they have faltered with losses to Kansas State and Texas plus an ugly win over Kansas. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State has won four of their last five games with their only loss coming to No. 1 Kansas State. The Cowboys are the hotter team and have been more consistent as the season has worn on. With the home field advantage, the Cowboys should put up more points than the Red Raiders. Prediction: Oklahoma State 45, Texas Tech 38

Iowa State at Kansas: At first glance, this seems like it’s going to be an easy Iowa State win because the Jayhawks are 1-9 and the Cyclones are 5-5. But the Jayhawks are due for a win and have played several teams tough but have come up just shy of a win. Kansas lost to Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech by only 17 combined points. The Cyclones have been an inconsistent team all season as they ride the high and low performances of their quarterback Steele Jantz. The Jayhawks have a superb rushing attack with James Sims. Kansas has played opponents extremely close in Manhattan and the Jayhawks have not played with the effort of a 1-9 team. The Jayhawks believe that they can win against anyone. On Saturday, Kansas will get its first Big 12 Conference win of the season. Prediction: Kansas 31, Iowa State 24

Oklahoma at West Virginia: Before the season, Oklahoma and West Virginia were thought of as the two premiere teams in the conference. Oklahoma has lived up to the billing while West Virginia is a train wreck. The Mountaineers started the season with five wins and now have lost their last four games. Oklahoma remains the best two-loss team in the nation with their only losses coming at the hands of the highly ranked Kansas State and Notre Dame. The Sooners are so strong they haven’t even played a close game this year. Aside from Kansas State and Notre Dame, the Sooners have manhandled all of its other opponents. While playing on the road in Morgantown can be difficult, the Sooners should earn the victory over the Mountaineers. Prediction: Oklahoma 49, West Virginia 31

Kansas State at Baylor: Arguably the most intriguing matchup of the Big 12 slate this weekend, Kansas State and Baylor presents profound opportunities for both teams. Obviously, the Wildcats are dreaming of a national championship and a perfect season. Collin Klein, Kansas State’s quarterback, is hoping to win the Heisman Trophy. Much like RG3 last season, Klein still needs to have that “Heisman moment” and he is looking to do so against the Bears in front of a national audience on ESPN. The Bears are trying to stun the nation by defeating the No. 1 Wildcats and they need to win at least two of their next three games in order to qualify for a bowl game. If Baylor can find a way to defeat Kansas State, it would be the defining moment of the Bears season and it would give them momentum for the rest of the year. The Wildcats play an overly methodical style of football. They slow down the game and they don’t make mistakes. If the Baylor defense can force some turnovers and the offense can put up some quick touchdowns, then Baylor has the talent to beat Kansas State. The bottom-line is that Kansas State plays mistake free football. If Kansas State plays to its ability then they will win the game. Baylor’s explosive offense should make this game immensely competitive and this game could come down to the wire. Prediction: Kansas State 38, Baylor 35

11/15/12: The Baylor Lariat

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Baylor Lariat

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November 15, 2012

A&M player missing

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Baylor Lariat

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November 15, 2012

COLLEGE STATION (AP) — Texas A&M police say freshman wide receiver Thomas Johnson is missing.
The department says that the 18-year-old was last seen leaving his residence in College Station at 5 p.m. Monday. Johnson went to high school in Dallas and police believe he might have traveled to that area.
Lt. Allan Baron says there are no other details available.
Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin released a statement expressing his concern, saying: “Authorities are working closely with his family, friends and law enforcement agencies to help locate him … We pray for his quick and safe return.”