Just because you received an A in the class doesn’t mean you get a pizza party. Just because you apply for a job position doesn’t mean you get hired. Your participation doesn’t guarantee any symbol of accomplishment — you’ve got to earn that.

I spent most of my life thinking Texas had nothing more to it than reverence for the American flag and my greatest enemy, country music. My opinion remained unchanged until I arrived at Baylor and realized that I was predestined to live in Texas, the state I now deem as the most hilariously unique place in the United States.

Imagine walking around campus for the past couple of hours; you’re a prospective student deciding where to spend the next four years of your life. Your amazing and fun tour guide has been raving about the on-campus coffee shop you have got to try. You go to try the hyped-up cup of delicious iced coffee only to be left with a sickly sweet cup of bitterness — that was my introduction to Common Grounds.

Implementing recycling programs into Waco apartment complexes is an important step toward making the upcoming generation pay more attention to the environment. It’s the little things that make the largest difference.

If I had a nickel for every time a seemingly grown, educated man made a weird comment or had a strange excitement or stereotype about me being Latina, Filipina or whichever random race of the week he was trying to guess I was, I’d have a lot of nickels. If I combined those profits with my friends experiences, we’d probably be millionaires.

At a university that identifies itself as Christian, social media posts about Christianity are often akin to performative activism posts. Sharing stories or posts to prove that you are a good Christian is, in fact, decidedly unchristian and only adds to certain stereotypes.

Yes, the power of prayer is very real. Yes, it is important that as a community, we are educated on the issues that could have a monumental impact on our world. However, it is possible to do more. We aren’t asking for a full-tuition write-off, but to provide one panel with little follow through isn’t enough.