Amid banners, flags and music, one element stood out: the growing presence of young people seeking to take part in shaping the nation’s future and the desire of the older generations for the younger ones to get involved.
Browsing: politics
As rivalry week continues, it’s important to examine how other national rivalries impact us, particularly those that sit atop Capitol Hill. Political polarization between Republicans and Democrats is at an all-time high, and students can combat this by engaging in civil discourse amongst each other.
The nation’s capital feels half-awake. The marble monuments still gleam under the fall sun, but the museums that give them voice stand dark and locked. Tourists wander quiet streets where government offices sit empty—a city paused by a shutdown now stretching into its third week.
When the government shuts down, it’s easy to shrug and think, “That’s Washington’s problem.” But here’s the truth: when the lights go out in D.C., the shadows reach our classrooms, our dorm rooms and our financial aid accounts. The shutdown may seem like political theater performed by distant figures in suits, but the damage has already spread not only to our campuses, but our faith in the system itself.
Federal cuts hit home as Waco’s KWBU fights to stay on air after losing key funding from NPR and Baylor.
As lawmakers on Capitol Hill struggle to find a consensus on the government’s spending bill, Baylor students continue to go about their day-to-day lives. Trouble in Washington doesn’t impact students in Waco, or does it?
“They’re more determined than ever … to have the chapter expand and have it be a presence on campus,” Ogden said.
Flanigan hopes events such as “Popcorn and Politics” will help educate students about current events, better informing them about what’s happening in the world around them and the role their representatives play in these issues.
Both Flavin and Van Gorder sketched an invitation and a warning. The real test isn’t in the heat of headlines, but in the quieter spaces — dinner tables, living rooms, classrooms and pews — where people chose to alienate or to listen. The health of democracy and national change, they argue, will be decided in those very regular, small acts of civility and grace.
“We want to briefly explore the history, causes, consequences and responses to political violence in the U.S.,” Villegas said, overviewing the panel’s discussion. “We want to role model and promote critical thinking, civil discourse and shared understanding. And lastly, we want to provide trusted expert insight, clear historical context and tools for informed civic engagement so that we can positively address the matter.”
During the Q&A, the District-17 U.S. representative gave some background on his 24 years as a congressman, family insights and motivation to continue civil discourse among students and citizens.
Public discourse unfolded online, leaving students to make sense of gun violence on high school and college campuses. With traditions like Homecoming and Christmas on Fifth Street around the corner, administrators are navigating safety measures in the current political climate.
Donning a blue tie with no court robes in sight, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh sat down to have a conversation with McLennan Community College history professor Ashley Cruseturner as part of the Ken Starr Lecture Series hosted by MCC Thursday evening.
The only thing that comes into fruition from the medium of violence is a wounded side and a less wounded side. No one comes out on top. There is no victory in destruction — only pain. And pain is the only thing that will continue in this country until we return to empathy.
The Baylor community worshipped hand in hand on Fountain Mall, honoring conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot at Utah Valley University Wednesday afternoon.
“Parents have a significant impact on the value system and the ideological system that children develop over time. We’re all impacted by the messages that we hear growing up in our parents’ home,” McAninch said.
Texas voters face new voting districts as Texas congress approves new congressional voting maps for the 2026 election cycle.
From Truman to Trump and Reagan to Obama, Baylor and Waco have played host to some of the nation’s most powerful political figures. Governors, justices and presidents alike have stepped into the green and gold spotlight — each leaving a mark on campus history.
“Noe is here legally. He has all of his papers. He’s done all of his work … He is not a criminal, and ICE picked him up. They will not let him go,” McGuire said. “We are out here protesting this because it is not American. It’s illegal, it’s unconstitutional and it’s just not right.”
Although the war seems like it could be worlds away, it impacts Baylor students in a more personal way than most generally assume — particularly in the grocery store runs, Stolze said.
Baylor’s Model United Nations team represented Switzerland at the 2025 National Model United Nations, New York Week B Conference last month and took home the highest possible distinction — Outstanding Delegation. The team, made up of 16 undergraduate students, created resolutions to global issues with the help of research and effective public speaking.
At noon, hundreds of residents from McLennan and surrounding counties gathered at a rally organized by the McLennan County Democratic Party. Speakers including Beto O’Rourke, Nancy Thompson and Wendy Davis addressed the seated but enthusiastic crowd at a “March for Democracy.”
“We have institutionally been in a pretty good position to weather all this,” Chambliss said. “We don’t have the exposure of say, the large academic medical centers that are reliant on indirect cost and more reliant on federal dollars than Baylor … Their funding for research can be as much as 80% out of a federal portfolio; ours is only 50%.”
As part of a national protest movement, McLennan County residents gathered on North Valley Mills Drive on Saturday to protest the new administration.
Since the start of his second term, President Donald Trump has been not-so-subtly expressing his desire to annex Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, though he first hinted at this in 2019. Initially, it almost seemed like a joke, but it quickly became serious when the administration began to send envoys of ambassadors to the chilly island this year.
Cowan’s deep dive into the chastity-crazed, right-wing militant leaders of Brazil came from the desire to learn how two teenage students kissing on a bus could be seen as the essence of communism — something a Brazilian official actually said after being on that bus, according to Cowan. Analyzing the origin and effect of this reasoning is the larger point of the “Mobilizing Morality” series.
Daniel closed by warning that when people become captivated by the intensity and reach of power, a whole society will fall apart, noting the relevancy of this notion present day, not just in the context of Russia, but in the U.S. too.
The Republican Party’s platform has lost its substance by only opposing and provoking the left. Conservatives, if they want to stay strong after Trump’s second term ends, will have to search for a platform that focuses on traditional, family values rather than purely opposing the left and “woke.”
In the final session of Baylor Libraries’ Readers Meet the Authors Series, political science and law come together with one common idea: the U.S. Supreme Court is the most powerful court in history — and it is the only institution that will protect minority rights, according to Dr. David Bridge.
The real issue is this: as political beliefs and systems are always changing, rooting morals completely in political affiliations can be an unstable ground.