Baylor is now faced with a socio-political crossroad: uphold its commitment to diversity as a private university or blend in with the unavoidable fate of state education.
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Baylor University, as a private institution, has a unique and important role in the conversation of diversity, equity and inclusion in educational settings. We have the opportunity to be a leader and a trailblazer for DEI research and academia since our main source of funding doesn’t come from the government.
Burleson, who became chaplain in 2007 following 12 years as pastor of DaySpring Baptist Church, reflected on how Baylor’s spiritual life has now come to include a wide range of faith traditions and ministries.
With February kicking off, Black History Month is in full swing for the Black Student Union, and there is no shortage of events to attend and activities to participate in according to Cypress senior Brooklyn Joseph, the organization’s president.
The second-annual Global Cultural Fest was held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Thursday at the Hankamer School of Business. The event was sponsored by the Dean’s Office, Department of Economics and the McBride Center for International Business as a way to bring the business school together to learn about different cultures and countries.
The Mayborn Museum was filled with the harmonious sounds of native flutes for over an hour on Wednesday as a Waco local put on a concert in honor of Native American Heritage Month.
While many events are held throughout the month of November to celebrate Thanksgiving, the Multicultural Affairs department is responsible for sponsoring a variety of events to honor Native American Heritage Month.
From Caribbean spices to the flavors of Southeast Asia, Waco’s ethnic restaurant scene has a lot to offer. Here’s a spotlight on some of the best places to eat your way around the world in Waco.
Despite striving to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service, the Baylor Trends statistic reports the ratio of female students’ population to male has been oscillating the 60% to 40% range since 2017. With a high of 64% female population in 2021, the university has been experiencing an incremental decline to create a more evenly spread student population.
This energetic group, based on South Asian and Bollywood style dance traditions, is not solely about the skill — it’s about community, culture and creativity.
Some of the events that the Latinx Coalition organized to commemorate this month, included a Hispanic Heritage Month trivia questionnaire, luncheon, loteria, compra local, career workshop, karaoke night, Noche de Rezo worship session, mariachi masterclass and Festival de Desayuno, as reported by the Multicultural Affairs Office.
Baylor’s Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in STEM recently received national recognition for their efforts in celebrating culture on campus.
Other than diversity, Baylor was recognized in seven different categories this year: job satisfaction and support, mission and pride, faculty and staff wellbeing, compensation and benefits, supervisor effectiveness, confidence in senior leadership and professional development.
“We ask that students converse with other Baylor students who come from different backgrounds, so that everyone can better understand how systemic inequalities and identities come to fruition,” Serrato said.
“Everyone saw the value in being here, even though they came from so many other places and backgrounds.”
The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers began an official Baylor chapter in May and is now working to create a community for Hispanic engineers at Baylor.
“The hope was to bring people together to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, but also for students to know that the Latinx Faculty and Staff Association is here to support them as they are navigating their way through college,” Diaz-Espinoza said.
I mean, could you imagine the uproar if they added a Chipotle to the SUB?
The Holistic Fair on Sept. 22, this year titled “Healing Harvest”, featured several small business teaming up to benefit The Phoenix Project, an organization with the goal of providing aid to the homeless.
“I taught Amy Tan for years, but decided I needed to do better,” Hoffman said. “I needed to grow in my understanding of Asian American literature, and so I began a journey of reading and teaching other texts.”
“This is a time for family and friends to gather and gaze at the moon together — even if they are miles apart — and then enjoy some delicious moon cakes afterwards,” Lin said.
For Davis, it wasn’t just the on-field performances that made football games so grim last season. A lot of students find it hard to embrace the game day atmosphere whether the Bears win or lose, Davis said. For unaffiliated students, the experience can be lacking.
Asian Mosaic Night, hosted by the Department of Multicultural Affairs, celebrated diversity at Baylor by bringing students, faculty and staff together through music, food and tabling at 5:30 p.m. in the Barfield Drawing Room at the Bill Daniel Student Center. It was also an opportunity for students to learn about Baylor’s Coalition of Asian Students.
Several voices could be heard singing and echoing throughout the Bill Daniel Student Center on Thursday evening. Shortly after the singing stopped, thunderous applause lasted for several minutes. The building was filled with laughter and cheers as faculty, staff and students gathered around to watch the performances at the Black Student Welcome.
The event is a place for students to meet others and connect with cultural organizations on campus — with the added plus of free food, music and a cultural showcase. Throughout Mosaic Week, each ethnic group represented will have a night to put on a welcome fair and show off their campus coalition.
“I think we’ve really leaned into some of those things that have always been important to Baylor and we’re really seeing it pay off in the number of applications that we’re getting and… the quality of students that are coming to Baylor,” President Linda Livingstone said.
For several years, Baylor’s diversity initiatives have primarily been overseen by the Campus Diversity Committee, which has been tasked with enhancing and promoting diversity. However, since the committee was first created, the university’s diversity initiatives are now overseen by departments across campus.
While The Editorial Board isn’t trying to transform into a morning person or hit the gym, its members are setting goals to improve their work and better serve the Baylor community this semester. Hold us accountable for these New Year’s resolutions.
This is how we are trained as journalists, and I think when we live by these rules — and, most importantly, keep open minds and hearts — it can be a step toward a dependable and trustworthy future.
Based on the core themes of care and belonging, the Graduate Student Association will host its second Diversity Gala from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 29 at George W. Truett Theological Seminary. The gala will include a variety of speakers and panelists, bringing the Baylor and Waco communities together for a conversation about the importance of diversity.