This is for the reading assignments and the class discussions that follow. Here’s to our BIC reading.
I know I may have just lost you all. What? We’re going to miss our mountains of assigned reading?
Ok. It may be hard to appreciate the literature when you find yourself reading Monkey in the library at 3 a.m. Maybe you will not miss all of it. But can you really tell me that you have not been grateful for a single reading?
Think about the essence of assigned reading. People who care about the engagement of your mind took the time to create a list of novels and articles which they think will benefit you. Some you will enjoy reading, and others benefit you in some other way.
Still not following? I do not blame you. Had I been talking to myself two years ago, I would have the same reaction. But one day, you are going to miss this.
Here I am sitting in Capstone, and I cannot help but be grateful for the class which makes me read books and articles that I enjoy, pieces of literature that make me think in ways I do not expect.
Not only do our beloved BIC professors present us with a list of reading which will benefit us, they provide the space for our minds to digest that material, and even lead that process in our classes.
We are approaching midterms, and many of you may not be at a place where you can hear what I am saying, but I will ask that you store it away for another day because one day this will make sense.
My time in the BIC is coming to an end. Gone will be the days that I simply show up to a classroom at the right time and get handed a reading list which a trusted guide has selected to lead us on a journey into new perspectives and new ideas. I will no longer automatically find myself surrounded by peers who have read the same material I have and share the desire (or willingness) to explore it.
Our time in the BIC is unique. Where else would we find a community dedicated to understanding new perspectives and engaging different cultures together? While we cannot stay in the BIC forever, we can take our experiences with us.
Long after our time in the physical community of the BIC is over, we can carry the spirit of academic exploration and openness with us, wherever we may find ourselves. After graduating from Baylor, this particular community of professors and colleagues will not surround us on a daily basis, but this does not mean that we must learn in solitude. Soon, it will be up to us to continue our education, to create our own reading lists and find peers willing to dive into them with us.
But right now, we have the BIC. We have impactful readings built into our day-to-day lives and communities that are encouraged to congregate and discuss those readings. This is a gift, friends. Let’s enjoy it.
Kara Blomquist is a senior BIC student majoring in linguistics.
By now you have probably heard that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a man known for his conservatism, died last weekend, leaving a vacancy in the Supreme Court bench. Yet do you know exactly what this means?
This is a big deal, especially for our generation. As justices are appointed for life, whoever fills the vacant seat will serve for many years to come. The appointee will serve as we enter into the work force and start our families.
Therefore, at a time when our nation is divided on many issues, the Supreme Court will play a large role in the policy that will define our futures. Sometimes we forget how much influence the Supreme Court has over the laws of our country, and it is important to remember that they hold one third of the governing power. This means they are just as powerful as Congress.
Scalia is seen as on of the most prominent conservative justices in history who upheld the principles of the Constitution and embodied Reagan’s beliefs. His death is a huge loss to the country, and it means that the Supreme Court’s political alignment could undergo a major shift, thus changing the core principles of our nation.
The court is set to review a greater number of controversial issues than usual this term, including medical regulations of abortion clinics, President Obama’s immigration orders, and non-member fees for unions. This means that Scalia’s death comes at a particularly unique time. Prior to Scalia’s death, the court was composed of five right-leaning justices and four left-leaning justices. Consequently, the new appointee will have immense power over the outcome of these decisions.
If a liberal justice were to fill the vacancy, the balance of the court would be eliminated in favor of the left. Similarly, until a new justice is appointed there is a strong possibility of four-four decisions on some or all of these cases, meaning that the decision is split. If that happens, the ruling made in the lower court will be upheld.
Furthermore, his death occurs just months before President Obama leaves the White House. This is essentially the only time in history that the death of a justice has coincided so closely with the final months of a president’s term. Hence, there is no protocol for this situation, although it seems that it would make the most sense for the next president to fill the vacancy. Even so, President Obama is attempting to fill the seat before leaving office in hopes to create a liberal majority on the bench.
However, it is unlikely that the Republican controlled Senate will approve of any of President Obama’s nominees. If that is the case, it will be up to the next president to appoint a new justice.
Assuming that President Obama is unable to appoint a justice, it makes the presidential race more important than ever. When the nation chooses a new executive in November, this executive will have the power to define the legislative branch. This means that when selecting a presidential candidate in the current primaries, it is crucial that voters look at candidates’ stances on the role of the Supreme Court, their views of the Constitution, and potential nominees. Your vote will directly affect two branches of government, and it is important to understand this fact. It is also worth noting that the next president may also appoint other justices if the situation arises, giving him or her even greater power over the judicial branch.
The future of our nation will be defined by this presidential election and Supreme Court justice appointment. Please carefully consider each candidate’s view of the Supreme Court before you vote. Moreover, please, please vote in the primary!
As a younger generation, the policy interpretation emerging from the Supreme Court is going to have the most significant impact us, especially when our country is at such a defining turning point. This means that it is up to us to vote for our convictions this election and ensure that the next leader we elect will use the immense amount of power he or she holds to create a brighter future for our country.
Brittany Gamlen is a sophomore BIC student majoring in international studies.
A Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) near Livingston, Louisiana:
A laser sends out two perpendicular beams about 4 km long. These two beams should cancel each other out. However, if hit by a gravitational wave, one is squeezed and one is stretched leading to a detectable change.
In 1905, Albert Einstein came up with a physical theory called the “Special Theory of Relativity.” In 1915, he finished an expansion upon his theory and created the “General Theory of Relativity.” For now, I will put these ideas into layman’s terms. Normally, relativity works like this: if I am judging the speed of a moving car, the speed will appear differently based on whether I am standing still or moving. However, things change when we are talking about light. Light moves at speed “c” (3.00×108 m/s). If I were looking at a beam of light while standing still, it would appear to be moving at speed “c.” Special relativity says that if I started running and then looked at the beam of light again, it would still be moving at “c.” However, for this relationship to hold true, space and time must bend. Distorting space and time? That may sound like a line from Dr. Who, but it is a very legitimate physical phenomenon. Einstein said that an object could dent the fabric of the universe. If the object were big enough, the dent would pull objects towards it. As objects move, they could create gravitational waves, ripples in space itself (3). Theoretically, if these ripples were big enough, the right machine would be able to detect them. However, he struggled with this aspect of his theory for a long time, at one point even revoking it (1).
That was over 100 years ago. For decades, scientists were looking for these waves. The math said they were there, but no instrument had been able to record them (5). If someone could find these waves, it would open up a whole new section of science. Gravitational waves could be used to recorded data in a similar manner to light, but they are unimpeded by gas, dust, and even black holes (3). This reduces anomalies in data. At times, researchers such as Joseph Weber believed that they had found the waves, but the scientific community always disregarded such claims (5). In the 1990s, Congress approved a budget of two hundred million dollars to build two gravitational wave detectors in Washington and Louisiana (5). There was an entire discipline for studying the mathematics of gravitational waves. All the evidence suggested that they existed. Someone just had to find one.
On September 14, 2015 at 4:50 AM, everything changed. Two LIGO observatories, the ones Congress had approved many years before, recorded a small blip (1). This small blip was the first legitimate detection of these gravitational waves that Einstein had spoken of one hundred years prior. That blip was infinitesimally small in comparison to the humongous machines that detected it. The event this blip signified, however, was no small feat. At some point in the distant past, around 1.3 billion light years away, two humongous black holes collided. One black hole had the mass of twenty-nine of our suns and the other of about thirty-six suns. If that does not seem more powerful than the human mind could every really comprehend, keep in mind that the mass of one single sun is 1.989×1030 kg (6). When these two black holes collided, they combined and released energy equivalent to ~3 suns. I don’t have words to describe how big of a cosmic event that was, so I will let the science speak for itself. Energy was released in the form of gravitational waves, which traveled all the way across the universe to those LIGO detectors in Washington and Louisiana. The data directly matched Einstein’s predictions of relativity (7). A century later, there was finally data to back his ideas.
The science is amazing, awe-inspiring. I cannot help but go back to a quote from journalist Tom Siegfried. He said, “There’s a deeper sense in which both discoveries have something in common that reflects an even more outstanding realization: the power of the human mind to discern deeply hidden features of physical reality” (1). He goes on to say that, “Gravity waves will forever stand as a sign that the math conceived in the human mind coexists in some sense in the fabric of reality” (1). For a century, gravitational waves had never been detected. They were an idea thought up in someone’s mind and understood in the minds of others. However, no piece of technology had ever been found. There was no direct observation. Gravitational waves were just an idea. That idea was right, however.
I believe our greatest scientific tool is our own minds. There is nothing more powerful than a human’s ability to make connections and to turn numbers into ideas, which drive hundreds of millions of dollars of research. Einstein once doubted himself, just as we are likely to doubt ourselves. The human mind is an amazing thing with the immense power to persevere. Let your ideas be heard. Who is to say that the next Einstein, the next person who will change the world, is not here at Baylor University, sitting quietly on an amazing idea?
Katherine Estep is a sophomore BIC student majoring in neuroscience
The transition from high school to college, from your teens to your twenties, can be really daunting. You might feel like a new person! Your twenties are meant for exploring your options, growth, and change. You have likely gained responsibilities and freedom since being in college and it is easy to lose balance in your life. In order to help you pursue the balance that we all desire, here are five actions that will help you to make the best out of your college experience!
CARE LESS (ABOUT LESS IMPORTANT THINGS)
When I say this, I mean start caring less about what other people think of you, NOT to start caring less about school or your responsibilities. Since you have been out of high school for a couple years, it is time to let go of the negativity that comes with comparing yourself to others and thinking you have to dress a certain way. If you do not like what you ordered, send it back! If you no longer like your hair, change it! If you want to redecorate your room, do it! It is time to be confident in yourself, and realize that nobody in their twenties knows what they are doing.
In high school, I never did anything alone. I would not eat lunch alone, I would not go shopping alone, I would not even go through a drive alone. When I first realized I had to eat breakfast by myself, because none of my friends had the same schedule as me, I was terrified. Since I specifically asked for my parents to pay for the dining hall breakfast (because I love breakfast food), I knew I had to just do it. When I got to Penland, almost everyone was sitting alone. Since being in college, I have become more confident and comfortable with myself. I have started caring less about what people think of me because this is not high school. I realized that everyone is doing their own thing. If you do not like something in your life, you have the ability to change it. If someone is taking the time to judge you, then he or she is just not ready for the responsibility of analyzing his or her own life.
GO OUTSIDE OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
Now that you are living on your own, you have the opportunity to expand your horizons. This means you should do things you have never done before! Take these opportunities and make them into experiences you will not forget. You should do everything you are going to do to your fullest potential.
I love trying new things, and I know that doing those the things that seem scary will come with a great result. However, I’m the type of person who would be fine with lying in bed all day. This split in my personality makes me eager to try new things, but I am scared of actually doing them. Again, college has forced me to go through with things when I would have rather just stayed in bed. Yet when you are looking back at your college experience, I doubt you want to only remember naps. Get out there. Do something different!
PAY ATTENTION TO THE NEWS
It is time to start paying attention to the world around you since you are technically an adult now. Since our generation is so technologically advanced, it’s really easy be updated on the news constantly. If you just want to get a quick dose of the news, Twitter is probably the easiest way to do this. Publications have started tweeting most everything that happens in the 140 characters, and if it catches your eye, you can always read the full article. You can also have breaking news and live updates come up as notifications on your phone.
My favorite way to read the news is by getting “Morning Briefings” from the New York Times to my email. Every morning I wake up with an email that tells me what happened last night and what’s happening today. Waking up early enough to enjoy reading these emails leads me to my next point.
GET UP EARLIER
I know this is not what you want to hear. I am not saying to take 8am’s either. Simply getting up earlier can help you reduce stress and comes with health benefits. When you wake up with the sun, it leaves you with more time to be productive. When you wake up and get ready twenty minutes before class, you just do not feel prepared to learn. However, if you have time in the morning to read the news, drink coffee or tea, and not rush when you get ready, it can make a big difference in class. Read this article to learn how to become a morning person (I promise it works!): http://thelala.com/becoming-morning-person/
REALIZE THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE TEMPORARY, AND THAT IS OKAY
In your twenties, you will meet a lot of temporary people. That girl in your chemistry class you studied with last semester, that boy you hung out with a few times who never turned out to be anything, that friend you lost touch with over the years. It could even be your significant other or best friend from high school who you never thought would be temporary. It is difficult to deal with, knowing that your friendship or relationship could have turned into something amazing. It is hard not to caught up in the “what if’s.” There will be people, however, that will stick by your side forever.
Bethany Dickerson is a freshman BIC student majoring in journalism.
Everyone already knows that Baylor bears are smarter than the average bear, but they are often brilliant and multi-talented too! This week, I spoke with a bear that wears so many different hats, she has to duck when she enters a room so they do not get knocked off.
Tirzah Reilly is a senior English major with a minor in studio art. She is originally from Waco, and she liked it so much that she decided to stick around for her college years. “I like Waco,” she told me. “It’s got a bad rap, but it’s a nice town.”
Tirzah Reilly in all her artsy glory
It’s certainly true that the Wack has a particular artsy charm that would appeal to anyone with an artsy bone in his or her body, and Tirzah has at least fifty artsy bones. Honestly, she probably has some artsy muscles as well. When discussing her hobbies, she mentioned that she draws and paints like a pro, and she also plays the mandolin and the ukulele. As a studio art minor, she is also required to dabble in photography, woodcutting, and a plethora of other artistic media. Truthfully, she is brilliant at all of them. Her other hobbies include watching BBC (I’m right there with you, T) and torturing her cat with hugs (“He hates them!” she said).
An original Reilly watercolor
Tirzah is a fantastic poet as well. In fact, when I asked her about what she feels has been her greatest accomplishment at Baylor so far, she mentioned that her work was first published at Baylor in the Phoenix Literary Magazine, a compilation of the best of Baylor’s undergraduate poetry and prose. She has also won the The Poetry in the Arts, Inc., Dr. Robert G. Collmer Prize associated with the annual Beall Poetry Festival student literary competition (which, for everyone not familiar with it, is a pretty big deal). I have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to sit in a couple of poetry workshops with Tirzah, and if her accolades were not already enough to prove her talent to me (they were), then hearing her poetry read firsthand sealed the deal.
For all her great literary achievements, however, Tirzah told me that she felt her greatest Baylor accomplishment was her continued involvement with Kokernot Residence Hall. Kokernot was where Tirzah spent her freshman days, and she served as a CL there during her sophomore year. These days, she works as an OA at the front desk. “I am so glad that I got to be a CL there, and I’m proud that I can continue to work there in a different way!” she told me. The fact that Tirzah considers working in a place she loves to be a more significant accomplishment than all of her prizes and awards is pretty telling her sparkling personality, if you ask me.
Towards the end of our talk, I asked Tirzah what her best Baylor memory has been so far. She told me all about her study abroad trip to the UK last summer, about becoming so close with all the bears that went with her, and about all the new and different places they visited. “We took a weekend trip to Scotland,” she said. “To Edinburgh, and there’s this mountain there called Arthur’s Seat. The first day, we climbed all the way to the top, and I looked down at the city, and it sank in for the first time where we were.” But the best part of that trip was the next day, she told me, when she and some of her friends climbed up the mountain again to sit and write and just enjoy each other’s company on the Scottish mountainside. “I’m so glad Baylor brought us together!”
In the future, Tirzah wants to study library sciences at the graduate level. “At Baylor?” I asked.
“We’ll see!” she said.
Chelsea Teague is a sophomore BIC student majoring in professional Writing.
Compassion is defined by Dictionary.com as “A feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.”
For one organization, the definition of compassion is embodied in a holistic context and put into practice by saving thousands of children everyday, spiritually and physically.
Compassion International is a child-advocacy ministry that pairs compassionate people with those who are suffering from poverty. The ministry assists children suffering from spiritual, economic, social, and physical poverty. The goal is for each child to thrive in adulthood and fulfill their potential as humans in this world.
On Monday, November 16, 2015, Richmond Wandera came to speak to the chapel services in Waco Hall and shared his story.
Wandera grew up in Kampala, Uganda – a small town in East Africa. At the age of 8, Wandera came home to see his father murdered at the front of their home and his mother in the hospital. Doctors were able to bring his mother back to full health, but Wandera recounts that things were never the same after that moment.
Wandera’s mother was prepared for marriage at 13 and married at 15. Without an education, trade, or skill, she was left helpless and unaware when it came to the care of her six children. As a single mother without a job and limited money, Wandera and his family were soon kicked out of their home.
In search of a new place to live, Wandera’s mother found a home for them in the slums of Naguru, Kampala, just three miles down from their previous home. Wandera remembered that three-mile walk as the longest walk of his life, as little was said between himself, his siblings, and his mother.
When the family reached their new home, it was a 10 by 10 foot shack with a tin roof that let rays of light in. It was the only home their mother could find and afford.
When things seemed like they could not get any worse, Wandera’s mother made an announcement to the family that they had run out of money for food. Wandera said that that single announcement changed everything. Starvation started to arise and so did a sense of hopelessness.
As Wandera told his story and recalled the tragic conditions of the slum, the story took a turn for the better. Wandera and his family received news that he had been given a sponsor from Compassion International. A 15-year-old girl named Heather had decided to sponsor a child halfway across the world that she would never meet. A 15-year-old girl who took up a babysitting job in order to sufficiently finance the needs of a little boy in Naguru, Kampala of East Africa.
Wandera was given a number, a special serial number that allowed him to receive healthcare from the community clinic whenever he felt ill. This number allowed him to receive food and clean water to drink. This number gave him hope for survival.
Today, Wandera stood before us in chapel, an accomplished man. With a bachelor’s degree in accounting, a masters of divinity, and a doctorate in leadership philosophy in the process, Wandera is determined to go back home and make a difference.
Wandera said, “We are all made to be significant. We are all blessed with gifts from God and given opportunities to be great.”
Richmond Wandera, once a child on the pamphlets of Compassion International, now stands before Baylor University’s chapel service to inspire thousands of students with his personal story.
Compassion International gives everyone, student or adult, teenager or parent, the ability to change a life across the world. Compassion is needed across the world, as can be seen in the recent attacks in Paris and tragedies on college campuses. The travesties in the world do not seem to be going anywhere, but where we place our compassion can end the tragedies sooner than later.
By joining Compassion International, we have the opportunity to start alleviating suffering across the world. Children are in need and we have the means to help them survive. We have the opportunity to be a beacon of light for these children and families and impact someone’s entire world with a single decision.
The minute sacrifice of minimizing restaurant meals or cutting back on Starbucks for a week can fund a child’s life. Our opportunities are ample and our time is now.
Make the decision to live simply, so someone can simply live.
We spend most of our days Monday through Friday walking through it, and some of us even spend our nights surrounded by it, too. But do we really see it?
Let’s take a moment and appreciate the campus that for four years we get to call home.
Baylor’s campus has long been considered one of the most beautiful in Texas, at least by faithful Baylor alumni. The trees in bloom and historic buildings are easy to appreciate. As students, we have a more unique experience. Here’s to the campus that looks beautiful from afar and has come to hold some of our most wonderful memories.
After three years of on-campus living and learning, spots around campus are not just locations but places where things have happened, places that evoke memories.
Instead of reminding you of all of the objectively beautiful buildings and fields, today, let’s go on a more personalized tour.
Across the street from the student union building, you will find the most beautiful tree on campus, according to me. It is nestled between the tennis courts and the Marrs McLean Gym. The branches of this tree come down and create a haven for those who sit beside its trunk. To me, this tree is a place for book club meetings, happenstance encounters with friends, and quiet reflection.
In Carroll Science, you will find the English Department. Before I go on, let me clarify for all of you science majors out there. I have had this conversation many times over the years, so allow me to fill in your part.
Carroll Science?
Carroll Science, you know, the building across the street from Morrison.
Not the building across from the Bobo Spiritual Life Center?
No, no that would be Carroll Library.
And the English Department is housed within a science building?
Yes. As the name suggests, Carroll Science used to be home to the science departments, but in the late 1900s, those departments moved to other buildings, and the English Department moved in.
As you can see from the numerous departments that have called this edifice home, this building has history which makes it beautiful. However, it is not Baylor’s history I think about when I enter those doors but my own. These classrooms are where I have discovered my academic interests. Some of the faculty offices housed inside the building are where I have received invaluable guidance and support that has helped me get to where I am today. When thinking back on my years at Baylor, this building will be a part of those reflections.
Then there are all of those little, unmarked places throughout campus. One such place is the fifth street curb, before the fountain renovation took it away. There is nothing quite like Baylor’s campus in the rain, and that curb was my favorite part of it all. The water would rise up against the steep curb, essentially begging you to take your shoes off and give into the stream. I welcomed each time the weather gave me a socially-acceptable outlet for my inner-child in the middle of the school day.
We have the privilege of living our days out on Baylor’s campus. We get to live in these buildings and landscapes and create our own history here. Here’s to the unique chance we have of weaving our personal stories into the beautiful story of Baylor’s campus.
If you are curious about the general history of Baylor’s campus, this website shows photos of some of Baylor’s older buildings ‘then and now:’ http://www.baylor.edu/about/index.php?id=89428
“Part of my son’s skull landed here in the living room.”
-Terezinha Maria de Jesus
Over seven months ago, 10-year-old Eduardo de Jesus was shot to death in front of his home in Complexo de Alemão, one of the many favelas in Rio de Janeiro. While one might expect this horrible death to be the result of gang or drug violence, which so commonly plagues favela life, Eduardo was in fact killed by an unidentified member of the Pacifying Police Unit stationed in the favela. Ironically, these police forces which have been tasked with driving gangs and drug traffickers from Rio de Janeiro’s favelas have caused a great deal of civilian deaths.
Having been so saturated by an overwhelming amount of human of loss, Eduardo’s story was lost until this week when Rio de Janeiro authorities announced that they would not be charging any of the officers who were suspected of involvement with the young man’s death. Following the announcement of Rio de Janeiro’s decision to refrain from charging any of the officers suspected of involvement in young Eduardo’s death, protests have broken out in many of the thirty-eight favelas which are now under the influence of the government’s pacification initiative. Protestors are calling for the immediate expulsion of Pacifying Police Units from their local favelas in hopes of stemming the civilian casualties that have resulted from the initiative.
While Eduardo’s death serves as a stark reminder of the shortcomings of the initiative, the pacification process has dramatically benefitted certain communities. For instance, Vidigal, a pacified favela, once no stranger to gunfire and death, is now a popular tourism spot. Unfortunately, the situation is not as black and white as we might have hoped.
Before the initiation of pacification, many of these favelas were completely devoid of governmental representation. This lack of an authoritative presence allowed gangs and drug dealers to rule favelas however they pleased. Yet since pacification began in 2012, there has been a dramatic decline in reported deaths and robberies in affected communities.
Unfortunately, many police officers and civilians alike have been killed on account of the initiative. In the winding and narrow pathways of the favelas, civilians find themselves caught in the crossfire all too often. Police officers have also been ambushed and executed by gangs looking to send a message. While the pacification initiative has been shown to have a positive impact in some cases, many people are paying the price with their lives.
Could such senseless death be unique to our modern world, or can similar examples be found in ancient history? Understandably, if any major ancient civilizations took violent action against their lower classes, any surviving accounts would likely be “neutralized” or destroyed. There is one civilization, however, ancient Sparta, where the people were as backwards as they were beefy.
Spartan society was increasingly dependent on its slave class, commonly referred to as Helots, as almost every Spartan male was tasked with serving in the military and women were confined to the city; someone had to grow the crops. Helots did not live in Sparta proper, but rather in slum towns on the fringes of the city, similar to the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.
The Helots were obviously treated very poorly. If they did not spend their entire lives growing food that they would never be able to eat, then they were conscripted to serve as skirmishers (bowmen, slingers, or peltasts) for the Spartan military, as true Spartans wouldn’t be caught dead (literally) without a spear and shield in their hands.
In order to prevent the Helots from rebelling against their cruel overlords, the Spartans organized annual “Culling of the Helots,” during which, according to Greek historian Plutarch,
“By the day they would disperse to obscure spots in order to hide and rest. At night they made their way to roads and murdered any helot whom they caught. Frequently, too, they made their way through fields, killing the Helots who stood out for their physique and strength.”
Such senseless violence suggests that humanity is not becoming more violent, but rather, more aware. When the Helots were culled year after year, there were no ancient Grecian Helot-rights activists who stood outside of Sparta with protest signs.
As educated individuals, we have a unique right which very few people possessed thousands of years ago: the right to be informed. What we do with this knowledge, this unique responsibility, is up to each of us.
If we stand by the oppressed, if we make their strife known, if we complain about injustice rather than red cups, I believe that we are doing right by our ancestors, those who, if they had been informed, would have been trembling with fear outside of Sparta, waving their protest signs which would have read, “Culling Helots? How ‘bout Hel-no.”
Lee Shaw is a sophomore BIC student majoring in professional writing and the current editor of the QuickBIC.
Post, like, tweet, share, comment, and repeat – these are words that have become all too familiar with our generation and the world of social media.
We are all accustomed to the apps on our smart phones that consume most of our attention on a daily basis – we use our thumbs to scroll up and down timelines and news feeds scanning endless pictures and posts.
Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Yik Yak, Vine, YouTube, and the list goes on. The Internet, and what seems to be the world, has become accessible to us at the touch of a screen.
Social media has grown to encompass our entire lives, from posting pictures of family gatherings to tweeting about the disappointment of a cancelled Baylor Homecoming bonfire.
Within these realms of social networking, there are popular profiles or pages that have attracted followers from around the world. These accounts are usually owned by young men or women who seem to be living the ultimate dream – young adults traveling the world, free of responsibility, and doing everything we wish we were doing instead of writing Essay 2 for Rhetoric.
We follow these people – celebrities, models, advocates, and athletes – in awe as we scroll through their profiles full of exciting escapades and beautiful sunsets. We refer to these icons as being “Instagram celebrities” or “YouTube famous.”
Recently, a string of uproar has occurred within the world of social media as one famous YouTuber and Instagram phenomenon decided to speak up about the reality behind her picture-perfect posts.
Essena O’Neill, an 18-year-old from Australia, amassed half a million followers on Instagram with selfies, outfit posts, and fitness inspiration. A couple of weeks ago, O’Neill deleted over 2000 photos and changed the captions on existing photos with truthful reflections about how many tries it took to get the shot, posts she was paid for, and the pressuring “suffocation” she felt to look perfect. Renaming her profile to “Social Media Is Not Real Life,” O’Neill stirred up discussion amongst followers and fellow social media celebrities.
In a picture of O’Neill posing on a beach in a swimsuit, she edited the caption to: “NOT REAL LIFE – took over 100 in similar poses trying to make my stomach look good. Would have hardly eaten that day. Would have yelled at my little sister to keep taking them until I was somewhat proud of this. Yep so totally #goals.”
On other pictures, O’Neill accompanied her edited captions with capitalized phrases such as, “there is nothing real about this,” or “social media is not real is my point.”
In her last post on October 27, O’Neill wrote: “[Social media] is contrived imaged and edited clips ranked against each other. It’s a system based on social approval, likes, validation in views, and success in followers. It’s perfectly orchestrated self-absorbed judgment.”
O’Neill created a platform to speak out about the imperfect reality behind her seemingly perfect accounts on YouTube and Instagram. She made her voice heard and liberated herself of the restraints she had placed on herself as a public figure on social media.
In light of O’Neill’s recent account change, the idea of social media’s purpose has come into question.
Yes, the Internet can result in social stigmas and pressures that can have a negative impact – whether it is the pressure to be perfect for thousands of followers or feeling invisible and finding comfort from strangers on the Internet.
The only thing is, the Internet can be a beautiful thing. I am not only talking about the beauty of Google or SparkNotes. I am talking about the beauty of widespread knowledge that can be dispersed through the use of social media.
The Internet allows every single individual, whether they have half a million followers or ten, an opportunity to create a platform for themselves or for something bigger than themselves.
Through the use of the Internet and social media, issues such as police brutality and the refugee crisis have become prevalent knowledge to young adults that would not have learned about it otherwise. Some people find their safe haven in inspiring bloggers on YouTube or a weekly blog from an unknown writer. It is all about how you use the Internet.
It can spread negativity or positivity, but the possibilities are endless with a positive platform in mind.
Kassie Hsu is a freshman BIC student majoring in neuroscience.
Students have a pretty sweet deal. We have vacations to look forward to throughout each semester.
Tell me something I don’t know, you say? Well, how about this: Once we’ve exited the education system and entered into the professional world, vacation days will be less of a given.
I know I do not need to remind college students to appreciate our vacation days. We are all counting down the days until Thanksgiving break (which is 16 days away, in case you’ve lost count). But we do not always realize the gift that these days are.
Our entire academic careers, from kindergarten until today, our school calendars have included vacation days. Days our teachers, and now our professors, cannot require us to come to class. We get to use these days however we like. While our breaks towards the end of the semester may resemble stay-at-home work days rather than true days of rest, a day which we get to decide how to spend is a gift no matter how we spend it.
In a few years, our calendars will no longer have these built-in days. Sure, there will still be Labor Day, and Thanksgiving will certainly occur, but we may not have these days off from work. (Ok, unless you are in residency studying to become a doctor, I am pretty sure we all get Thanksgiving off, but we may not have the three-day break like we do this year.)
The point of this message? Let us enjoy the days off we have stretching before us. Thanksgiving, Winter Break, and that three month respite we call summer break.
These breaks give us a chance to regroup from all that goes on during the school year. We have the opportunity to see our family and to simply have a change of scenery.
All of those things are wonderful, but our vacations are more than that; they can remind us of where we are in life. We are at a stage where someone higher above us is looking out for us. We have administrators who plan the academic calendar with our interests in mind. People we do not even know are trying to make decisions based on what will be best for us.
How many other people can say that? We are lucky. Not only because our next vacation is a mere two weeks away but also because of all that it implies.
A vacation is a sign that we are sandwiched between people who are looking out for us. Because of people here at Baylor who have our interests in mind, we have the chance to have a break from classes and go home to people we love.
As we count down the days until Thanksgiving break, let us remember this implication of our excitement. We are counting down to a manifestation of the way our community cares for us…and to pumpkin pie.
Kara Blomquist is a senior BIC student majoring in linguistics.
