Baylor News
Baylor designed the faculty-in-residence and resident chaplain programs to help students grow in their faith. However, some faculty and chaplains said the programs have helped them as much as they have helped students.
Nichole Bekken, project manager of construction services, said she began planning for the $7.5 million renovation of both Allen and Dawson halls following the Board of Regents budget approval for the year in May. She said she is focused on creating community spaces that will enhance the connections between the LEAD Living-Learning Community—which is the community currently in Dawson—and the IMPACT LLC, following a fall 2022 merger of the two.
In remembrance of 9/11, Baylor students and the general public joined Baylor Army ROTC to do a stair climb at McLane Stadium, climbing the entire distance first responders covered on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. Cambridge, England, senior Cadet Sidney Gradney said this is the first time they’ve done this event, which had around 125 attendees.
The Central Texas Cyber Range hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday to mark the start of the multimillion-dollar center’s partnership with Baylor and McLennan Community College to provide research and training for cybersecurity.
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.
