There’s nothing like the sound of a good drum line to get you in the spirit of homecoming.

Even the most jaded of seniors and alumni find themselves drawn to the sound of the referee’s echoing shouts in the stadium, to the smell of funnel cake and corn dogs, to the sound of an unknown cover band singing in the night and to the giant pile of wood reeking of gasoline in the middle of Fountain Mall.

We were there. We all saw it. The colossal pillar of fire that is the long-lived symbol of Baylor homecoming.

Like many of you I am a frequent visitor to the beach.

I fell in love with Texas beaches in 1955. I was 6 years old when I built my first sand castle on Stewart Beach. I built my last one with Tori, my 6 year-old granddaughter, just a few weeks ago. Public beach access is very important to me. I want Tori to be able to enjoy our coast as much as I have. Every visitor to the coast should have that same opportunity.

“And I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.” — Richard Mourdock, GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Life is sacred.

It’s hard to believe that anyone in this day and age would say something like “let’s lynch the scientists.”

Unfortunately, the sentiments once reserved for medieval peasants’ feelings towards the local “wizard” when he told a bad fortune are resurfacing in the modern world.

Let us imagine, for a moment, a hypothetical situation.

Many labs at Baylor began as courses of serious study, giving students hands-on experience to complement their class work. Now, however, many labs need serious restructuring.

Why? Well, from our research, many students say that lab degradation can be blamed on a combination of things.