“Community is a space where you can ask questions, disagree and still belong,” Perryman said. “That is what the BIC stands for. The cost of acting is hard, but the cost of not acting is higher. Courage is the new currency; it’s what will take us from where we are to where we need to be.”

Instead of keeping with the trend of angrier and lonelier Americans, Brooks provided a guide to become an illuminator. In Brooks’ terms, illuminators are those people with a visible excitement to get to know and befriend someone.

The Carona Family Commons, named after a $5 million gift from John and Helen Carona, brings the men’s and women’s sides of the HRC together for the first time ever.

The University Scholars major is one of the most prestigious majors at Baylor. Students are excused from virtually all university-wide requirements and are given the opportunity to “create their own major” while working with University Scholars advisers. According to the University Scholars website, the idea is students “develop one or more intellectual foci, while also taking a variety of courses to round out their liberal education.”