My name is Joshua Madden and I will be serving as the Arts & Entertainment editor for The Baylor Lariat. Let me be the first to welcome you to this section of the paper. If you’re like me, this is probably the first part of the paper you turn to – to read film and book reviews, find out about local performances, to find things to make the school year a little more fun and to procrastinate your studying a little bit longer.

With a summer box office overrun by superhero and action movies, “The Help” might not seem like a go-to flick for a Friday night. It definitely should be, however. While Emma Stone (who recently starred in “Crazy, Stupid, Love”), Viola Davis (who was nominated for best supporting actress for her performance in the film “Doubt”), and Octavia Spencer (who is probably best known for her role on ABC’s sitcom “Ugly Betty”) may not look like the average heroines, their character portrayals in “The Help” give audiences a new definition of courage.

Are you feeling snazzy? Looking fly? Expressing your personality through the medium of fashion? Have you seen any fabulous people around campus lately? If you are (or you do), nominate yourself (or that fabulous person) to become Baylor’s Best-Dressed Bear.

By the end of October, Baylor and the Baptist General Convention of Texas expect to have a new relationship agreement to replace the 20-year-old one currently in place. The need to renegotiate with Baylor was brought up in February after the university’s board of regents decided to alter its bylaws so that non-Baptist Christians could occupy one quarter of its seats.