I am writing in response to a few issues raised in The Lariat’s excellent coverage of the controversy over the petition my colleague Dr. Blake Burleson and I wrote opposing Sen. Brian Birdwell’s Campus Personal Protection Act.
It is stated in the article “Students’ take” from the February 26 issue of the Lariat, that “Baylor professors expressed concern for their safety in a classroom that permitted concealed carry.” My personal safety is not the issue. As a professor and the father of two Baylor students, I am concerned first and foremost for the safety of my students.
We’ve all seen them. We all hate them: the countless bloggers, tweeters and commenters who incessantly force their consciousness into the Internet under the faceless mask of anonymity. And let’s face it: We do it, too.
Thanks to constantly developing technology, this is inescapable and pervasive. However, a recent bill proposed by an Illinois senator suggests these commenters should be ripped free of their masks and that anonymous Internet posts should be done away with completely.
In just over a week, thousands of conservatives will gather at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel and Convention Center at National Harbor in Maryland, just outside Washington. The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) moved this year to the new location to accommodate more guests after record-breaking attendance last year.
The conference will feature most of the forerunners of the conservative movement, providing an opportunity for potential presidential nominees to test the waters.
The Baylor Lariat printed an article titled “Professors unite against concealed carry” on Feb. 21, detailing the Baylor professors that have signed and filed a letter in opposition to Sen. Bill 182.
The bill was filed by Texas Sen. Brian Birdwell on Jan. 17 and would allow concealed handgun license holders to carry concealed weapons on college campuses.
February brought with it a new choice for people with severe allergies.
A new epinephrine auto-injector, Auvi-Q, hit pharmacies. Epinephrine is given to people experiencing severe allergic reactions. Auvi-Q is the first injector that has an audio component that talks through the injection process.
Before the release of Auvi-Q, the EpiPen was the only epinephrine auto-injector available. These devices use a needle to inject the medicine. Epinephrine is a drug of choice for many abusers, and owners of epinephrine should be wary of the dangers of their medicine falling into the wrong hands.
Your recent editorial, “Regents shouldn’t choose rep for students” on Feb. 27 suggests a misunderstanding of the goal of Baylor regents when they chose to appoint to the board, in a non-voting capacity, a member of the student body and a faculty member.
Last year, regents decided to include in their future meetings one individual to provide a student perspective and one individual to provide a faculty perspective. The board did this without the expectation that these individuals would represent the opinions of all faculty or students. Instead, the board was acting to ensure that the voice and perspective of a Baylor student and faculty member would be present during board discussions and deliberations. This is consistent with the process by which others are appointed to the Baylor board. Leaders who are pastors, educators, physicians, corporate CEOs, lawyers and more bring their expertise to bear in service to Baylor as Regents. What these regents provide is a valuable perspective that emerges out of their experience. Such is the board’s expectation with the appointment of a student and faculty regent.
In a typical day, how many online or digital accounts does a person access?
Most of us have at least 10 profiles and accounts we use on a daily basis all with different security settings and passwords (or variations of the same password). Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, email accounts and not to mention the several Baylor accounts we need just to function in school have bogged down our lives with the constant need for connection to the cyber-world. We don’t mean to get overly morbid, but what honestly happens to all of this when you die?
There seems to be a general dislike of independent voters who vote party lines, based on ideas that those who vote party lines are uninformed, follow the crowd or are lazy.
Perhaps that reasoning is based on more than just their party labels, however.
Independent voters are generally not associated with a party of their own, though “independent voters” is slowly growing into its own party.
