Baylor News
Every spring semester, Baylor mulches and fertilizes parts of campus that didn’t survive the winter months. On April 15, 2021, student government presented a bill — initially totaling around $9,000 — that would fund the planting of nine trees around campus.
Dean of Student Health and Wellness Jim Marsh said that in the 2018-19 academic year, the counseling center saw 2,400 students. This number declined during the pandemic and since, the counseling center worked toward an efficient and realistic solution to help students despite social distancing and health precautions, resulting in the Telehealth service.
Currently, the highest degree earned by 942 full-time faculty members is a doctoral degree. 166 faculty members have a master’s as their highest degree and just one possesses a bachelor’s as their highest degree.
Sytsma said over 45,000 meal swipes are used each week, and dining services is always looking for ways to improve per the students’ feedback.
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.
