Baylor University

Date: Dec 31 1969
Major: Geography and Geosciences (This Major's Salary over time)
While I do love a lot of things at Baylor (the group of friends I have made, good dorms, pretty decent dining hall food, the occasional wonderful professor, and the general college atmosphere), I am afraid that I must be a traitor, if you will, and point out several of its poorer qualities:

Where to begin????

1) The University has, as of late, been in the practice of admitting people with sub-standard GPAs and standardaized test scores in order to supplement the exorbitant amount they charge in tuition to those of us who are actually intelligent enough to be at a Big XII university such as Baylor. A friend of mine works in the admissions office and is appalled countless times each day when she sees the transcripts of the, for lack of a better word, morons the school is letting in these days. It's all about the money, though.

2) Speaking of money, shall we discuss the misappropriation of funds (in my humble opinion) that occurs every day within the administration. For a quick example, let me relate the latest superfluous expenditure: over one million dollars spent to tear down perfectly good signs (you know—the large marble type that mark entrances and important buildings) around campus (some of which were gifts of various graduating classes down the years) and replace them with hideous and completely unnecessary metal signs that look as if they were brought back from 1982. Of course, we wouldn't want to spend that million dollars doing something useful, like replacing the rotting desks in the science buildings or the primed-to-explode ovens and/or dryers in the dorms. Or, God forbid, paying our poor professors more money. Blue-collar laborers in Arkansas make more money than our professors, which is why we can't seem to hire any good ones these days.

3) From the moment you set foot on campus, you are treated as a small child, unable and forbidden to attempt to take care of yourself. I mean, you're only a college student, right? How much freedom should you really get? Little to none, according to the University. Dorm visiting hours: 1 pm to 6 pm, Saturday and Sunday. Internet access: severely restricted and monitored at all times. Greek housing: forbidden under all circumstances. Alcohol anywhere near campus: you might as well just kill yourself now, because if you take a sip of that Shiner, you're goin' straight to Hell, Missy. Chapel: mandatory for graduation. But Free Dr. Pepper Hour on Tuesdays? Sure! Wouldn't want to ruin all the fun, would we???

4) Here's an interesting fact for you males out there: "Playboy" magazine rated Baylor University #2 in the nation for "hottest girls." Plus, the girl to guy ratio is 3 to 1. I kid you not. Now, some males are saying to themselves, "Sweet! I'm going to Baylor!" Not so fast, kiddos. What "Playboy" failed to mention is that these girls are some of the most vain, evil, foul creatures to walk the earth. *Let's begin with vain.* These women show up for 8 o'clock classes like they were the Miss Texas pageant, perfectly coiffed and teeth all Vaselined up. Clothes do not touch their body unless they were bought in a store that offers you beverages when you enter and provides you with a personal shopper during your visit. They date based on income level. *Moving on to evil.* Sororities are the biggest social activity on campus and are difficult and expensive to join. They are also the largest gatherings of self-hating, self-righteous (yes, those two can go together), hypocritical women in the state. Well, perhaps with the exception of the Dallas Junior League. If you are not in a sorority, you will not be spoken to. Ever. Under any circumstances. And, you will be gossiped about behind your back regardless of who you are and what your relation is to any sorority. The girls inevitably get bored of attending formals and coordinating their outfits and eventually turn to gossip. Happens to the worst of them. *Finally, foul.* I am not quite certain if I can write this on a message board, but here goes: I personally know a large number of girls who have anal sex with the guys they date in order to remain virgins until they are married. I don't know about anyone else, but if you've had anal sex YOU ARE NOT A VIRGIN ANYMORE. Sorry, sweetie.

5) I promise this to be my final rant. Waco is a horrible place to live, even if it is for only four years. My fellow Baylor students will understand. Waco is a small town of 100,000 residents that is under the misguided delusion that it is a "city" on par with Houston and Dallas. Being from Houston, I find Waco to be stifling, culturally lacking, closed-minded, dirty, crime-ridden, and generally horrid. The locals do not see it that way, even though the town has only one cinema, one mall, a handful of cheap chain restaurants, and almost no industry besides the university. What culture there is in the forms of symphonies, operas, museums, and the like is all a product of Baylor's various arts departments. The locals resent Baylor and the students for obvious reasons: the students are not going to have to spend the rest of their lives in this dank pit of a town. We will graduate and go back to living normal lives and will have good jobs. The locals, with a few exceptions, will remain in Waco and be unhappy white trash. Needless to say, there is next to nothing to do in Waco besides hop onto I-35 and drive to Dallas or Austin, and university-town relations are poor at best.

I promised that was my final rant, and it is. Baylor does have its good qualities, but those are not nearly as fun to discuss and its poorer qualities do need more attention than they presently get. E-mail me with any questions. Cheers.

Katie