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Being a 177-year-old university, Baylor has a deep-rooted history of tradition. Though the Lariat was founded 55 years after the school itself, the newspaper has been the primary news source for the student body, staff and faculty. This year, the Lariat honored the traditions of Baylor University through a special print and online edition highlighting the history of the school's annual homecoming week.

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All-University Sing is another beloved tradition of the university's where the Greek sororities and fraternities compete by performing up to seven-minute-long musical numbers. The Baylor Lariat's annual reviews are highly-anticipated by the student body and this year's judging of the 18 performances can be found in the All-University Sing print edition. The Lariat photographers also put together a slideshow of photos from the Sing's opening night.

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Kappa Omega Tau comes alive at night making you give a second look at your lawn. Brittany Tankersley | Photo Editor

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The Lariat also joined in the campus excitement for the long-awaited return of the Baylor University annual holiday Diadeloso (Day of the Bear) by creating a photo slideshow, a broadcast and stories previewing and recapping the event. April 2022 marked the first normal Diadeloso since 2019 and gave the Baylor community a day of fun that everyone on campus could appreciate.

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0:00 / 2:17•Watch full video

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On the 20th anniversay of the terrorist attack on September 9, 2001, The Baylor Lariat published a special online edition showcasing how the event affected different people connected to the university. The edition highlights each person's experience through a timeline of the day when time stood still.

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In February, The Baylor Lariat published a print edition honoring Black History Month. The edition included the history of the African American experience at Baylor, Black-owned businesses in Waco and the legacy of Black Baylor student-athletes.

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Over the course of the year, The Baylor Lariat helped shed light on those students who experience college in a unique way. Whether it be through the lens a deaf or blind student, a mom or a cancer survivor, Baylor students can more easily understand and learn from their peers because of Baylor Lariat stories.

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By Ana Ruiz Brictson | Staff Writer

"I'm not asking people to not see it and look past it," San Antonio sophomore Noah Cook said. "I'm asking people to see it and be OK with it. It's a part of me that I can't change."

"Living a relatively normal experience and then all of a sudden that getting changed through losing one eye - I remember it being really hard, just the adjustment, since it was so fast," Cook said.

Cook said losing his second eye was more of a gradual process that took a couple of years, but eventually, during his senior year of high school, he lost it due to buildup from a lot of small injuries.

Cook said it was tough to lose his sight during his senior year of high school because he had to hear his friends go to college while he was still trying to figure out how to adjust to his new lifestyle.

After losing his sight, Cook said he was very grateful that his parents let him live his life instead of coddling him. He said they never allowed him to live in fear, and it is ultimately one of the reasons why he is able to attend Baylor by himself.

"They helped shape me to be more courageous," Cook said. "I give them all credit for that."

When the pandemic began, it was difficult for Cook to take classes online. As he was trying to figure out what the best environment was for him to learn, he said he got in contact with Dr. Bryan Shaw, a professor in the chemistry and biochemistry department at Baylor, which eventually brought Cook to Baylor in January 2022 as a biochemistry major.

One of the things Cook said he investigated about Shaw's research was its focus on increasing accessibility and inclusivity for people with disabilities, specifically the blind.

"I can't believe I am actually here, at the forefront of this opportunity, where we're making the field better for everybody, and I get to be a part of that," Cook said.

Cook contacted Shaw via email after hearing about Baylor and his work at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. He expressed his interest in attending Baylor, and Shaw told him he would have a desk in his lab from day one.

Shaw said he has always had an interest in people with visual impairments. His initial work in this area, along with Dr. Greg Hamerly in the computer science department, began with trying to develop new ways to help parents and doctors detect eye diseases in children. Currently, they are interested in finding ways to teach science to blind people.

Cook said he would usually ask people what building he was in, which would eventually become landmarks in his mind. Then, he would use those as references when asking for directions.

"It's like another puzzle piece of my mental map is getting put in there," Cook said. "It starts with a very general map, and then details get added as I experience the campus."

Boise, Idaho, junior Aliya Endebrock - who is a student laboratory assistant and acts as an extra hand for Cook in some of his classes - said that while watching Cook do analytical chemistry, she has noticed two things: his memorization ability and mental math are both amazing.

"He'll remember answers he wrote down from weeks ago, and I'm like, 'How do you remember that?'" Endebrock said. "But he just does, because he's using his brainpower like that."

"If he was kind of a different personality, our relationship would be very different," Endebrock said. "He is very friendly. Instead of just being a tutor, I'm his friend as well."

"At the end of the day, I'm looking to just build relationships with people and just make friends," Cook said. "I don't want my disability to get in the way of that."

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Fully blind student navigates Baylor's campus through memorization, science

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By Ana Ruiz Brictson | Staff Writer "I'm not asking people to not see it and look past it," San Antonio sophomore Noah Cook said. "I'm asking people to see it and be OK with it. It's a part of me that I can't change."

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The Baylor Lariat served as the watchdog for the Baylor community by informing them of dangerous situations happening near and around campus.

In the event of shootings, sex trafficking scares and changes in COVID-19 regulations, the Lariat kept its audience in the know.

When possible, readers could also follow along with reporters' on-the-scene coverage through Twitter.

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BREAKING NEWS🚨Gunshots heard and police soon followed. Live from 15th and Lasalle, The Lariat is on the scene. Roads are currently blocked off.

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BREAKING NEWS🚨Gunshots heard and police soon followed. Live from 15th and Lasalle, The Lariat is on the scene. Roads are currently blocked off. https://t.co/P61JxAnb04

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Don’t miss what’s happening

People on Twitter are the first to know.

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BREAKING NEWS🚨Gunshots heard and police soon followed. Live from 15th and Lasalle, The Lariat is on the scene. Roads are currently blocked off. pic.twitter.com/P61JxAnb04
— Baylor Lariat (@bulariat) April 24, 2022

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BREAKING NEWS🚨Gunshots heard and police soon followed. Live from 15th and Lasalle, The Lariat is on the scene. Roads are currently blocked off. https://t.co/P61JxAnb04

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BREAKING NEWS🚨Gunshots heard and police soon followed. Live from 15th and Lasalle, The Lariat is on the scene. Roads are currently blocked off. https://t.co/P61JxAnb04

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BREAKING NEWS🚨Gunshots heard and police soon followed. Live from 15th and Lasalle, The Lariat is on the scene. Roads are currently blocked off.

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Baylor was hit by Winter Storm Landon in February, but the Lariat gave students an outlet to turn to for a glance at what to expect, safety resources and news of classes being moved online.

Each of these were not only posted to the website, but also to the Lariat social media platforms in order to inform as much of the community as possible.

When the storm hit, Baylor Lariat photographers went out to shoot on campus and made a slideshow so that even after the ice melted, audience members could see the campus blanketed in white.

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Two baylor students brave the cold temperatures on Fountain Mall. Brittany Tankersley | Photo Editor