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.
Browsing: politics
“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.
According to the National Library of Medicine, only 16.5% of students who intend to major in pre-medicine graduate with the courses required in order to attend medical school. Most students that go to medical school major in biological science, as it is one that extensively overlaps with working in the healthcare field.
While the plan promises increased security, it raises concerns about military spending and the potential for escalating global arms races. Thompson also pointed out that the race to develop better defense systems is “never-ending.”
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.
A major legal issue that federal unions and lawyers are addressing is the fact that the lump sum that’s being promised may not be given to the employees who accept, since only Congress has the authority to approve the budget and payments, not the executive branch.
We must not put more unfit people in power just because of the party they affiliate themselves with. To ensure a better future for America we must improve the system we have been given by voting for candidates based on their merit, not their party.
We’re living in a world where a figure involved with the new administration does a Nazi salute at the presidential inauguration, books about government censorship are being banned by the government and cities are destroyed during “peaceful” protests. We’ve seen this unfold before. Make no mistake, political extremism is alive and and well, feeding off strategically placed propaganda running rampant through our media.
Sitting 80 years from the reign of concentration camps, some of the most influential people in the world have accepted, forgiven and laughed off a gesture that insulted generations. Hundreds of news publications and thousands of people stated their disbelief, but their opinions were quickly swept under the rug when their reasoning was dubbed “wokeism.”
America stands at a crossroads. Political divisions run deeper than ever, fracturing not just our ideologies but our relationships and communities. Yet, there are signs that a more peaceful transition and a renewed commitment to democracy might be within reach. The real question is: Can we overcome our differences and build a path forward, or have we passed the point of no return?