Browsing: News

A drug ring distributing $30,000 to $40,000 of high-grade marijuana monthly near Baylor campus HAS resulted in four arrests and an investigation of more than 50 Baylor students.

McGregor, Lorena and Baylor Police departments, in cooperation with the Drug Enforcement Administration, served two warrants less than one mile from campus on Aug. 28. Marijuana, prescription pills, packaging materials, weapons and more than $12,000 were found in the two residences, according to the McGregor Police Department. The customer base of the suspected distributors is the Baylor student body, said McGregor Police Department’s Criminal Investigator Lt. Joe Coy.

President Barack Obama gained ground Tuesday in his drive for congressional backing of a military strike against Syria, winning critical support from House Speaker John Boehner while key Senate Democrats and Republicans agreed to back a no-combat-troops-on-the-ground action in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack.

Officials said the emerging Senate measure would receive a vote Wednesday in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Approval is likely.

Wasting less by feeding more is the name of the game for the folks at Baylor’s Campus Kitchen.

Tuesday afternoon, members of Campus Kitchen met at the Mary Gibbs Jones Family and Consumer Sciences Building to begin the first daily food collection of the semester. Memorial, Penland and Collins dining halls kept leftover food hot for the pickup after 3:30 p.m.

Campus Kitchen is a national service organization that helps students relieve hunger in their communities by working through universities and high schools.

Baylor’s chapter of Public Relations Students Society of America will hold their first meeting of the semester at 6:30 p.m.…

The Texas National Guard refused to process requests from same-sex couples for benefits on Tuesday despite a Pentagon directive to do so, while Mississippi won’t issue applications from state-owned offices. Both states cited their respective bans on gay marriage.

Tuesday was the first working day that gays in the military could apply for benefits after the Pentagon announced it would recognize same-sex marriages. The Department of Defense had announced that it would recognize same-sex marriages performed in states where they are legal following the U.S. Supreme Court decision that threw out parts of the Defense of Marriage Act.

OneSearch is all it takes to use the Baylor libraries’ new search engine. The search engine is part of the Baylor libraries’ new website.

The old search tool, BearCat, has been replaced as the primary library search engine by a more modern system called OneSearch. OneSearch can go through hundreds of online databases, giving students access to a much wider range of materials, whereas BearCat was limited to materials only at Baylor.

The number of people sick with whooping cough in Texas is on track to reach the highest level in more than 50 years, state health officials said Tuesday.

“It’s a big concern, particularly because of the impact it can have on young children,” said Chris Van Deusen, a spokesman for the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Two infants — both too young to be vaccinated — have died from whooping cough this year in Texas. Six people in the state died from the illness last year.

Members of a former Baptist church in Houston donated $1 million to Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary for scholarships.

First Baptist Church Spring Branch of Houston presented Truett Theological Seminary with the gift Aug. 26, establishing the First Baptist Church Spring Branch of Houston, George W. Truett Theological Seminary Endowed Scholarship Fund.

As part of Baylor’s annual Oso Safe Campus Safety and Awareness Day, students will have the chance to enjoy a Dr Pepper float, and then watch as a dorm room is set on fire.

The Waco Fire Department will place at 4:15 p.m. Today in a mock dorm room in front of the Bill Daniel Student Center on Fifth Street and,., intentionally set it on fire as part of this year’s fire safety lesson.

The entire Campus Safety and Awareness Day event will begin at 3 p.m. in the Barfield Drawing room. This “live burn” is the third one in a row on Baylor’s campus which started in the fall of 2011.

Local police arrested four men Wednesday near Baylor campus after searching two homes in connection to an extensive marijuana drug ring.

After three months of following leads and working with Drug Enforcement Administration officers, McGregor Police and Lorena Police served two warrants with the cooperation of the Baylor Police Department. While McGregor and DEA officers handled the the first search warrant Wednesday morning, Baylor police officers handled the second search warrant later that day, said Baylor Police Chief Jim Doak.

Noses run, eyes water and fevers burn as an unusual disease hits Tarrant County in Texas.

A recent measles outbreak in Tarrant County made international headlines this week with 16 confirmed cases of the virus, said a public health statement from the Tarrant County website on Thursday. The confirmed cases are no longer infectious, the statement said, but additional reports have been received of rash and fever illnesses.

“Tarrant County Public Health is investigating these reports,” the statement said.

Getting in shape can be an intimidating task, which is why Baylor Bearobics instructors try to make fitness fun and stress-free.

Bearobics offers a variety of classes such as Yoga, Zumba, Boxing, Pilates and more. From Tuesday to Sunday, Bearobics classes will be offered to students free of charge. This gives students the chance to meet instructors and see what different classes will be like throughout the semester.

To continue taking Bearobics classes after the first trial week, students must have a Group X membership, which also includes Bear Cycle, an indoor studio cycling class. Students must show their student ID to the McLane Student Living Center front desk to register.

Paul L. Foster is deferring his service on Baylor’s Board of Regents to serve in a position of leadership at the University of Texas System Board of Regents.

The decision was announced earlier today by Baylor University Board of Regents Chair Richard Willis.

More than 40 Waco first responders who aided the city of West during the April 17 explosion were honored by the Waco Police Department. West Mayor Tommy Muska and Waco Police Department Chief Brent Stroman handed out the awards, which included several Medals of Valor, during the second quarterly ceremony Thursday.

Baylor students, faculty and staff who have returned to Waco this fall with pet cats or dogs will face new regulations concerning spaying and neutering.

On Aug. 20, the Waco City Council unanimously approved the second reading of a new ordinance making it official that all Waco pet owners will be required to spay or neuter dogs and cats older than four months. All Waco pet owners are also now required to implant their animals with microchips, a radio frequency identification device placed under the skin. Animals with certain health problems, used by government agencies and animals owned by breeders are exempt from certain measures of the new ordinance.

Kolaches, music, Polka dancing and more are lined up for three days to honor West’s Czech heritage through the annual Westfest.

Almost five months ago, an explosion from a fertilizer plant rocked West, causing injuries, devastation to nearby homes and casualties. In spite of the tragedy that took place, president of Westfest John Hurtick said the hosts of Westfest still want to focus on the celebration aspect of the event.

The NFL has reached a tentative $765 million settlement over concussion-related brain injuries among its 18,000 retired players, agreeing to compensate victims, pay for medical exams and underwrite research.

A federal judge announced the agreement Thursday after months of court-ordered mediation. It came just days before the start of the 2013 season.

A military jury on Wednesday sentenced Maj. Nidal Hasan to death for the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, handing the Army psychiatrist the ultimate punishment after a trial in which he seemed to be courting martyrdom by making almost no effort to defend himself.

Baylor University took part in a nationwide event, remembering both the 1963 march on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.’s historical “I Have a Dream” speech.

More than 20 students, faculty and staff gathered in front of Pat Neff Hall at 2 p.m. Wednesday, the approximate time King delivered his speech 50 years ago, and listened to the Baylor McLane Carillon bells. Baylor’s carillonneur Lynnette Geary performed, “We Shall Overcome,” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to commemorate the day.

Shehan Jeyarajah, sports writer for The Baylor Lariat, takes a look at each of the Big 12 teams playing this week and their opponents in a preview of week one of college football.

Baylor Alumni Association members who joined the association after 12:30 p.m. today will not be allowed to vote at the BAA meeting Sept. 7, BAA President Collin Cox said.

The decision came after a unanimous vote during a conference-call BAA board meeting.

Members will be voting on the Transition Agreement, which was proposed by both the BAA and Baylor on May 31. The agreement would dissolve the BAA and allow Baylor to take over alumni relations and operations.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday declared unequivocally that the United States has “concluded” that the Syrian government carried out a deadly chemical weapons attack on civilians last week.

Obama did not present any direct evidence to back up his assertions. He said he is still evaluating possible military options in retaliation for the attack that killed hundreds near Damascus, but vowed that any American response would send a “strong signal” to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

International students got a taste of Texas Tuesday at a welcome dinner.

Over 175 international students from all over the world sat down to a Western themed dinner Tuesday in the Cashion Banquet room. Cow noises played on a CD player in the doorway, a giant light up cowboy boot stood in the corner, and Texas Barbecue was served for dinner.

Vice President Dr. Karla Leeper welcomed the new students to Baylor on Judge Ken Starr’s behalf.

Between 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Baylor and Waco police responded to an automobile accident on South University Parks Drive. Multiple squad cars blocked two lanes of the road at the scene of the accident.

A Waco police officer said it’s possible the driver of the vehicle, who was identified as male, had a medical problem while driving, causing him to veer across the road, hit a sign and crash into a ditch.

Every new semester brings with it new things­—new books, new courses, new fashion trends, new classmates, and this fall, new food.

The completion of the East Village Residential Community brings new dining options to campus, giving students and faculty the opportunity to broaden their appetite. The assorted food outlets are now open and ready to feed customers.

Who will come out on top? That’s the burning question many are asking as Big 12 teams went though the offseason. Eights teams are expected to have different quarterbacks this fall and some teams made coaching changes. Texas Tech gained a new coach in Kliff Kingsbury, the former Tech quarterback was Johnny Manziel’s former offensive coordinator at Texas A&M during his Heisman winning season. The Big 12 also didn’t get much respect in the AP poll. No Big 12 team is ranked in the top 10 this season. This was also the first time since 2000 that Oklahoma began outside of the top 10. The Big 12 is up for grabs this year with no obvious clear-cut favorite.

It wasn’t quite a Cinderella story. Sure, I was running around at midnight. It’s true, I’d just seen fireworks at a party. But instead of dropping a glass slipper, I’d left something a little more valuable behind.

The trip up to this point had been like a fairy tale. This past summer, I spent a month in Italy studying writing and photography through Baylor’s study abroad program. We’d been in Italy for a few weeks, had already seen Rome and were now starting classes in Florence.

After months of construction on Third Street and $73 million dollars, East Village Residential Community has opened its doors to about 700 students of all classifications.

“Most of our residence halls pre-1960s were not built in such a way that our upper-division students say, ‘Yeah, I want to live here,’” Dr. Kevin Jackson, Vice President for Student Life, said.

The living areas are styled with cove units that contain four double bedrooms as well as semi-suites and apartment-style living. Semi-suites have two rooms joined in the middle by a bathroom. The apartment-style rooms have a varying number of rooms including a bathroom and living room. In addition, there are study rooms, lounges and game rooms for students to use.

The study abroad trip wasn’t going as she’d hoped.

Austin junior Rachel Clark watched as one American student after another left for the Cairo International Airport.

On June 1, a little more than a month before Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi was deposed, Clark arrived in Cairo to take two six-week classes, Egyptian Polictics and Government and Arab Society. Originally, she was supposed to stay for eight weeks. Because of the turmoil of Morsi being removed from office, Clark was forced to leave three weeks early.

As Baylor students begin returning to campus this semester, they may notice several things missing – like 200 student parking spaces.

This year, Parking and Transportation Services has reallocated parking spaces and limited decal choices to the $300 all-access decal. Lori Fogleman, assistant vice president for media communications, said that 100 former student parking spaces have been allotted to faculty and staff. The remaining 100 former student spaces are either temporarily blocked by construction or will no longer be spaces in lieu of greenery.