With 11 different off-campus apartment complexes and dozens of individual homes in its real estate portfolio, Baylor houses far more than the 39% of students who live on campus, and the number is growing.

“Everybody deserves to be treated with a sense of respect, regardless of culture,” Hispanic Student Association (HSA) President and North Richland Hills senior Daniela Lopez. “In such polarizing times, it’s important that everybody remembers we’re all just people, and we’re all just trying to get through every day.”

Both Flavin and Van Gorder sketched an invitation and a warning. The real test isn’t in the heat of headlines, but in the quieter spaces — dinner tables, living rooms, classrooms and pews — where people chose to alienate or to listen. The health of democracy and national change, they argue, will be decided in those very regular, small acts of civility and grace.

Baylor Law HEAL (Help, Educate, Advocate and Learn), a student organization dedicated to advocating for victim-survivors in the legal system, will host its annual Domestic Violence Awareness Month event from 2 to 6 p.m. on Oct. 5 at Hotel Herringbone in downtown Waco. The event will feature community partnerships, donation drives and interactive activities designed to raise awareness and support survivors.