Cardboard shields gleam under streetlights, pool noodles whip through the air and laughter mixes with shouts. The apocalypse has arrived, and the Honors Residential College couldn’t be happier.

Friendship rates among adults are steadily dropping, which research attributes to various factors like the increased mobility of people, isolation driven by technology and a decrease in accessibility to third places.

Described as “nostalgic” at best and “elderly” at worst, residents of Dawson and Allen often felt their residence hall was more like Grandma’s house than a college dorm. But after 60 years of housing Baylor students, Grandma’s place just got a $44 million facelift, and probably even a handful of organ transplants.

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.

Among these unfinished projects are missing baseboards, furniture and glass panes for interior buildings. Some individual dorms are lacking window blinds, with others missing the window trim entirely. The elevators are still floored with plywood and missing ceiling tiles. Numerous students have also reported air conditioning and electrical issues.

By Abbey Ferguson | LTVN Reporter Which dorm will win in a heated field day competition? LTVN’s Abbey Ferguson shows…

Home to 330 Baylor students enrolled in one of the Honors College’s programs or majors, the Honors Residential College is a multiyear community known on campus for its assortment of traditions.

Love of God. Love of learning. Love of neighbor. This motto, for which the Honors Residential College is founded on, has transcended mere speech and moved a group of honors students to action within the East Waco community.