Baylor News
Senate Bill IV was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on Dec. 18, 2023. The new law clamps down on illegal immigration in various ways, but its largest impact is making illegal immigration a state crime in Texas. Two months before taking effect on March 5, the law has been met with opposition. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas on Jan. 3.
Stanley Wilfong, senior lecturer and program coordinator for nutrition sciences, debunked some common nutrition myths and advised students on how to discover a healthy, individualized diet. While many advertise themselves as “better than the Western diet,” Wilfong said, “that doesn’t mean it is necessarily good.”
For several years, Baylor’s diversity initiatives have primarily been overseen by the Campus Diversity Committee, which has been tasked with enhancing and promoting diversity. However, since the committee was first created, the university’s diversity initiatives are now overseen by departments across campus.
A Baylor Kappa Kappa Gamma member wore a full-face black purge mask to the sorority’s annual new member event, “Kappa Kappa Goth,” in the bowling alley of the Bill Daniel Student Center. Members were encouraged to attend the event in goth-themed attire.
Waco News
State News
President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, the former Army major convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooting, with the execution scheduled for 1 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Central Texas military installation, roughly an hour from Baylor’s campus.
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.
