“When it’s completed in a few months, Solyndra expects to hire 1,000 workers to manufacture solar panels and sell them across America and around the world,” President Barack Obama declared at the Solyndra plant in Fremont, Calif. That was in May 2010, over a year after the Department of Energy guaranteed a $535 million loan to the company, promising a bright future and more jobs for Americans.

When prospective students and their teary-eyed parents walk on to this campus, there is a invariably a certain awe that comes with viewing the pristine lawns, the vibrant and strictly manicured gardens and the simple yet complimentary fountains. Baylor all but forces people to take note of its verdant and overly-watered campus as a point of pride in its appeal to incoming students. We at the Lariat are happy to acknowledge that most of the expense and trouble Baylor has gone to over maintaining its grounds has contributed toward making it as sustainable as possible.

The debate on the correct balance between news and entertainment has been going on for decades.

A prime example of this debate can be found right here on Baylor’s overly-watered but oh so green grass: Castellaw Communications Building.

The bottom floor hosts the film and digital media department while journalism, public relations and new media stay on the top.

There is hardly any crossover.

Dear old-fashioned, outdated, face-to-face communication: We are no longer in need of your service, but thanks anyways – we have Facebook.

Cell phones, social media sites and computers – to name a few – seem to be replacing authentic, face-to-face communication. I remember the days where sitting at the dinner table each night consisted of conversational replies other than, “Oh, sorry mom, what? I didn’t hear you, I was texting my friends back,” or, “Hold that thought while I post how much fun we’re having on Instagram.”

The first thing that comes to mind when the word ‘anime’ is brought up is typically ‘immature’, or ‘childish’. This is a warranted thought, because some of the first shows considered anime that western audiences are introduced to are “Yu-Gi-Oh” or “Pokémon” (the latter of which some Baylor students STILL enjoy).

This year has been fraught with controversies, one after another: some big, some small; some tragic and some arbitrary. The nature of social media in an ever-shrinking world ensures that there’s always a new problem to fight about. Breast-feeding has been a long-standing point of debate with many sides and many points of view.

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney tasted the proverbial foot last week when secretly recorded footage of his speech at a private fundraiser held last May found its way onto the Internet.

In signature Romney style, the presidential hopeful attempted to convince the wealthy donors present at the event that he was primarily concerned with winning over the “5 to 10 percent in the center that are independents.”

The glitz, the glamour, the fame, the scrutiny.

What makes a big-name actor so popular is their fan base. They happen to perform that one role in just the right way and garners accolades and attention from the public. But sometimes that role can blind-side the thespian and force them to face the ugly side of their admirers.

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