At first thought, some people may associate research with mad scientists in a lab with test tubes and chemicals. Plano senior Olivia Ho does research every week, but she doesn’t work with test tubes or chemicals.

Social science research, which includes fields like sociology and psychology, involves the study of people and their interactions with one another.

The Baylor Bears host the West Virginia Mountaineers at 8 p.m. today in the Ferrell Center. It’s a pivotal matchup for both teams as Baylor and West Virginia are neck and neck in Big 12 Conference standings.

After a lightning hot 5-1 start in conference, the Bears cooled off during a three-game losing streak. On Saturday, Baylor bounced back to end the losing streak by defeating Texas Tech.

Baylor makes sure to equip the football team with the best gear. The Baylor Science Building has state-of-the-art science equipment. Armstrong Browning Library has beautiful art throughout its halls.

But no bathroom on campus has quality toilet paper.

For those still searching for a Valentine’s Day gift, an arts and crafts event being held tonight by local Waco boutique Harts N Crafts may be the answer.

From 7 to 9 p.m., Harts N Crafts, located at 1125 S. Eighth St., next to Common Grounds, will host a Valentine’s Day party complete with free cupcakes and drinks where patrons will also have the opportunity to create handmade gifts for their loved ones.

Amid all the “House of Cards” chatter (e.g., ‘Hey, Kevin Spacey takes down the 4th wall Ferris Bueller-style!’ and “I watched all 13 episodes in five hours” OK, that was a stretch), Netflix has offered another talking point by announcing its partnership with DreamWorks Animation to produce a children’s series.

The Lady Bears stayed on top of the Big 12 after beating Texas Tech 89-47 last night.

Though the ultimate result was the same as when they last battled the Lady Raiders, the statistics were noticeably different.

The Baylor men’s golf team competed in its first tournament of the spring Monday and Tuesday at the UTSA Oak Hills Invitational in San Antonio and one of its golfers came out on top. Sophomore Kyle Jones finished 7 under par with a total score of 206, and even tied a career low round of 67 to claim his first career victory.

Baylor won both games of Tuesday’s double-header against Southern Mississippi. After a dominant first game, No. 22 Baylor (5-2) squeaked out a win after a walk off home run by freshman right-handed pitcher Heather Stearns to seal the deal.

Baylor licensed jewelers will be showing rings with the Baylor brand seal from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today through…

With a few words in Latin, Pope Benedict XVI did what no pope has done in more than half a millennium, stunning the world by announcing his resignation Monday and leaving the already troubled Catholic Church to replace the leader of its 1 billion followers by Easter.

Not even his closest associates had advance word of the news, a bombshell that he dropped during a routine meeting of Vatican cardinals. And with no clear favorites to succeed him, another surprise likely awaits when the cardinals elect Benedict’s successor next month.

Baylor will soon be getting a new business school building capable of promoting a 21st century learning environment.

The new 275,000-square-foot facility will be located on a development area close to the East Village, west of Bagby Avenue and between Third Street and Fourth Street.

Valentine’s Day came early to South Waco Elementary.

The Parent Resource Center at South Waco hosted a Valentine’s event Monday. Students and their families decorated sugar cookies and made valentines out of paper.

Campus Kitchen at Baylor baked the cookies and took them to the school.

At Baylor, the season of Lent will begin with a university-wide service observing Ash Wednesday.

The service will be held at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday at the George W. Truett Seminary’s Paul W. Powell Chapel.

“The service will focus on our need for forgiveness and grace, as we begin a season where penance is one of the primary themes,” said Dr. Burt Burleson, university chaplain.

South Russell Residence Hall will officially close down for renovations this summer, but tuition for the 2013-2014 year will not increase due to the construction.

The Baylor Board of Regents authorized $12 million for the refurbishment process at its meeting on Friday. The residence hall will be closed next year and work is expected to be finished in 2014.

The No. 22 Baylor softball team played a triple-header this Saturday to conclude the Getterman Classic.

Baylor won two out of three games, putting them at 3-2 for the season. Baylor ended up winning the Getterman Classic for the seventh time.

Those who choose to see Joe Paterno as a blameless scapegoat now have their own thick report to wave in the air and cite as proof.

Those who believe Paterno and other Penn State officials failed to act properly in 2001, allowing Jerry Sandusky to continue to prey on children, have the Freeh report and the grand jury presentment. As of Sunday, when the results of an investigation commissioned by the Paterno family were released, Paterno loyalists have their own gospel from which to preach.

Just over halfway into the Big 12 Conference basketball season, six teams are within three games of each other for the Big 12 regular season title.

The Kansas Jayhawks, the unanimous preseason choice to win the Big 12, have lost three consecutive games. Kansas’ shocking losing streak has created a logjam among the Big 12 standings.

Baylor women’s tennis team had a tough weekend in Charlottesville, Va., at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.

The team opened up against No. 2 Duke with a 4-2 loss. Despite the loss, head coach Joey Scrivano was pleased with the focus and mentality from the team compared to last weekend’s match against No. 1 University of Florida.

The Baylor theater is bringing a timeless theme to the stage with “Born Yesterday,” a play by Garson Kanin.

Opening at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the Mabee Theater of the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center, “Born Yesterday” will be the theatre department’s first production of the spring.

Two men dressed like Bruiser and Bevo, the mascot of the University of Texas, jumped into a pool.

It wasn’t the start of a Big 12 brawl. It was the Polar Plunge for Special Olympics.

Twenty-eight people jumped into a pool  at 11 a.m. Saturday at Hawaiian Falls Water Park in support of Special Olympics Texas.  Hawaiian Falls Water Park is located at 900 Lake Shore Drive.

Required Human Performance classes are Baylor’s way of encouraging students to work out more, and it works.

For a very small percentage of students.

There is no one-size-fits all solutions for the way students choose majors or learn material, so why assume their is for the physical stuff? A set number of required Human Performance classes is not going to work well for most Baylor students.

In previous State of the Union addresses, American presidents have used the word “freedom” 695 times. Freedom has been an important principle of our nation ever since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Tonight is President Obama’s first State of the Union of his second term. The date chosen is not arbitrary; in fact, it coincides with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln.