Marianne Dougherty

Why am I here? What was I made to do? Existential questions to be sure and ones that many students grapple with during their college years. In his experience as Assistant Director for Pastoral Care, Tyler Conway has found that students at Baylor have “a desire to connect with God or a community of people to find a sense of meaning and belonging,” and as an unapologetically Christian university, Baylor strives to help them make those connections. “There is a beautiful tapestry of ministers, staff and students whose dedication enhances the spiritual environment at Baylor and that ultimately has resulted in increasing numbers of church attendance,” said Charles Ramsey, Ph.D., Associate Chaplain, Director of Campus Ministries & Church Connections. “Can we track the numbers of students in church? Not yet. But from what we see and hear, there is a vibrancy of faith in our Baylor community, and this is translating into increased Christian commitment and church participation.”

Candi K. Cann calls herself a death scholar. Technically, the associate professor in the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core of the Honors College is a thanatologist, though she allows that most people don’t know what that is. For the record, a thanatologist is a specialist who studies death, dying, grief, and loss. It’s no secret that Americans have been remarkably averse to talking about death, but a 2018 survey released by The Conversation Project suggests that a huge cultural shift may be under way. “We have begun to break the taboo around talking about death,” Ellen Goodman, founder of The Conversation Project, reported at the time.

From miniskirts to platform shoes, leg warmers to parachute pants, ripped jeans to cargo pants, fashion trends come and go. Classic looks like a plain white tee seem never to go out of style, but even some fads, like athleisure, that seem like passing trends end up having real staying power. Others — acid-wash denim, stirrup pants, and jelly shoes — have become downright cringe-worthy in retrospect. So, what influences our fashion choices in the first place?