Representing other cultures does not negate your own Christianity, the same way being a student at Baylor does not automatically make you a Baptist. As students, we represent Baylor as a Christian university as much as you, and we reflect God’s love by showing the same compassion and care to our fellow students.

In the desert, there was no air conditioner humming, no cars passing or machinery whirring. There were no signs of humanity; I was extremely uncomfortable, and that’s exactly why I think everyone should experience camping.

It’s not too late to relearn how to learn from experiences. Maybe that means leaving the phone in your pocket for one sunset, or asking a local a question instead of just taking a photo with them. Perhaps it means accepting that not every moment is meant to be shared on a screen; some are intended to be kept private.

When you hear a statistic as startling as the rise in autism rates, your mind immediately searches for a reason. And like a knight in shining armor, Trump rolls out the red carpet of rhetoric, parading right over the big picture.

It’s not easy to hear opposing viewpoints and beliefs that differ from your own while keeping an open mind, but it’s important nonetheless. It takes everybody to create a culture of understanding through civil discourse. Be the change in a conversation. Be the devil’s advocate.

Human interaction can’t compete with the dopamine spike that social media provides. The attention economy has made focus a rare commodity. Every app is engineered to pull us back in, fragmenting not just our time, but our relationships. Friendship now competes with algorithms designed to hijack our curiosity.

You don’t owe anyone your time, your energy or your emotional labor. But you do owe the world your basic decency. Because when everyone’s too busy proving they can survive alone, we all end up standing in locked rooms, thinking the title of “most self-sufficient” is how you win life.

In its 125 years, The Baylor Lariat has seen its fair share of news. Though we have had the privilege of being part of just a glimpse of The Lariat’s lifetime, it’s made a mark on us. In honor of 125 years of Baylor’s student publication, we thought it would be fitting to share our favorite memories and lessons we’ve learned from our time at The Baylor Lariat.

Before there were comments sections and quote tweets, there were letters to The Lariat — and Baylor students have never held back. From chef salad complaints to prison pen pals, the opinion page has always been where the campus found its voice.

The hardest version of forgiveness isn’t about someone else’s mistakes. It’s about your own. It’s easier to extend grace to people who hurt us than it is to look back and forgive the person we used to be.

Boredom has become a lost art. In an age defined by constant connection and endless digital stimulation, stillness is often viewed as unproductive or even uncomfortable. Yet boredom once served an essential purpose — one that is quietly disappearing in the modern college experience.

Disney must change how it handles franchises moving forward by prioritizing quality over quantity. The lack of high-level storytelling is lazy, and while sequels like “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” generate revenue, they tarnish the rest of the series.

We often describe perfection, determination or talent as the keys to success, yet we rarely mention creativity, as modern education actively suppresses it. Instead, we reward repetition and technical perfection over creative, original thought.

The key to navigating YouTube is having the power over it. The algorithm, thumbnails and titles are there to convince you that you have to watch a particular video, and you need to be aware that you actually don’t. In the end, the most important thing that being without YouTube taught me is that I don’t need it. It’s just fun entertainment.

To those facing struggles similar to mine, the truth is liberating and straightforward: nobody cares what you’re eating. And if they did, that is a genuine flaw in their character, not yours.

In just a few days, Baylor’s 116th celebration of homecoming will commence, ringing in all the craziness and excitement that comes with it every year. Events like Pigskin Revue, the parade and the football game are long-awaited and long prepared for, with students putting in the work toward these events for months prior.

Homecoming is a celebration — a time to gather, get to know one another, share ideas and memories and have fun. Ultimately, I always knew that homecoming was an opportunity, but I never knew it as a blessing until COVID-19.

Slapped on the side of Brooks Residential College, the words, “To you I hand the torch,” are for many, the extent of knowledge on Samuel Palmer Brooks’ Immortal Message. But Homecoming is a better time than any to remember the story behind those words: they’re a message of hopefulness and responsibility, even when the times around us are full of uncertainty, struggle and death.

What we post and how we curate our online presence feel like who we are. But the danger lies in how quickly we assume someone’s feeds tell the whole story. We should not be concluding someone based on what they consume or post.

It’s easy to dismiss elections, especially the smaller ones. Voting is regularly inconvenient, rarely straightforward and every ballot seems to be drenched in roles, propositions and names. If we want support, representation and protection from our state and nation, we have to take the time to communicate. Voting is the first step in that.

The band is more than its “Blurryface” era; they have a story. It takes a while to understand the direction and emotion within it entirely, but I think Twenty One Pilots is one of the greatest bands out there.

What is struggle if not the deciding point between failure and success? It is at this inflection point where I believe indispensable value is found. A value that doesn’t only pertain to a moment, but transcends that moment and becomes a life lesson.

What seems like the most reasonable answer to this commission problem is to reduce the number of agents in the market, allowing brokers to make fair compensation while homebuyers and sellers aren’t victim to inflated commission rates.

On a campus that preaches “love thy neighbor,” it’s worth asking what that really means. Loving your neighbor doesn’t just mean smiling at the people who look like you or go to the same church as you. It means stepping outside of your comfort zone and even loving thy neighbor, even if that neighbor has pink hair and a nose ring.

When it comes to finding a place on campus to study, research or even just relax with a book, Baylor students have no shortage of spots to go to. With six libraries on campus: Moody Memorial, Jesse H. Jones, Carroll, Armstrong Browning, W. R. Poage and the School of Law. I ranked each library on its materials, atmosphere and convenience.

The music world has resorted to the goal of being popular on TikTok or using samples. Music is now in need of innovation as more artists and bands conform to molds and standards to get famous.

The opportunity to attend renowned academic universities in America is a privilege, but the removal of unbiased K-12 history education is a tragedy. The people who change the world are those who know and learn from history. If we continue with this standard, we risk reliving and rewriting it.

Perhaps college is best experienced when you’re not looking for your husband or wife. Maybe not everyone is even meant to experience marriage. But one thing that we will all collectively experience is friendship.

Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl? I know it’s a headline that’s been sparking all kinds of reactions. But before you roll your eyes or scroll past, hear me out. Bad Bunny represents the global, limitless energy the Super Bowl needs.

Even in the midst of chaos, The Indiana Daily Student has continued publishing everyday news content on its website, showing the news never stops. Student media isn’t just the voice of journalists; it’s the voice for the entire student body — and it depends on you to keep it alive.