Baylor News
When most Baylor students eat Chick-fil-A on campus, they’re served by staff in the Bill Daniel Student Center. For the lucky ones who attend the business school’s “Nugget Pop-Ups,” that server becomes Dean David Szymanski. But yesterday, Szymanski took it up a notch by inviting Chick-fil-A Chairman Dan Truett Cathy to campus, where the chicken restaurant’s lead man took on a job well below his qualifications: handing out nuggets to hungry business students with a smile and a “my pleasure” each time.
Work began at the end of last month and is expected to be completed sometime this spring. While Baylor’s live mascots, American black bears Indy and Belle, will spend time at their off-campus site during some parts of the project, Associate Director of Student Activities and Director of Baylor Chamber of Commerce Dr. Austin Smith said that they’ll be around as much as possible, especially for some big weekends coming up.
Midterm elections are just around the corner, and Americans all across the country will be casting their ballot. To help students make their voices heard through their vote, Baylor Ambassadors, in collaboration with Student Government and over 10 student organizations, will host a free voter registration drive Tuesday and Sept. 30.
As the 2026 Vardaman Lecturer, Du Mez addressed a large audience on Monday at the Fudge Family Auditorium in the Hurd Welcome Center to speak on her new book, “Live Laugh Love: The Secret World of White Christian Women and the World They Made”. The book explores the theological exclusion of women in modern American Christianity and explains how religious innovators taught that positivity was the secret to spiritual and material success.
Waco News
BU 77 could look very different by 2030 as TxDOT plans to replace the freeway with an urban boulevard featuring roundabouts, pedestrian crossings and shared-use paths.
Opened in 1994, the shop has become a local icon. Started by Jill Barrett over 30 years ago, Blake Batson and his wife Kimberley — both Baylor alumni — acquired the business in 2012. Since then, they have expanded the original store on 8th Street to four locations in McLennan County: one in the Bill Daniel Student Center, one on Franklin Ave and another in Woodway.
The Central Texas Food Bank has finished construction on its new Waco location. This facility will provide food to Waco residents struggling with food insecurity.
The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District notified Baylor Wednesday of an active tuberculosis case in the greater Waco community. University officials said there is no ongoing risk of exposure to the Baylor community.
INTERNATIONAL
The Iran war is now in its 46th day. Iran responded by restricting access to Hormuz, which carries about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil, and moving to toll vessels transiting the strait. Waco drivers are already feeling it. The local average hit $3.38 a gallon last week, up 21 cents in seven days and 75 cents year-over-year, according to AAA data.
Gas prices in Texas have surged more than 70 cents per gallon since the U.S. went to war with Iran three weeks ago. The near-total shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz has driven oil prices up more than 40%, pushing the national average to its highest point since 2023 and sending diesel past $5 for the first time in three years.
The largest U.S. military operation in the Middle East in decades unfolded as American and Israeli forces struck Iran Saturday, killing its supreme leader and triggering retaliatory strikes from the Gulf to Israel. The White House said the campaign is aimed at dismantling Iran’s military and toppling its government.
Dr. Joshua Alley, assistant professor of political science, said part of the Trump administration’s interest in Greenland has to do with America’s national security strategy.
