ROUNDING UP CAMPUS NEWS SINCE 1900 THE BAYLOR LARIAT VOL. 109 No. 15 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2009 © 2009, Baylor University MUSIC PAGE 4 LECTURER PAGE 4 PEOPLE PAGE 3 Blink 182 Climate talk In-depth angle No need to blink twice British Consul General Professor has seen —They really are back tells of Texas’ green efforts greats through a lens Student senators question alumni proposal BY BETHANY MOORE Alumni Association that invites fective in what we are doing for going on is good, our students After many senators brought the administration’s concern REPO R TE R it to become a part of Baylor the alumni,” Garland said. are good. That’s our motivation. up the two e-mails that were with the damage the university University once again, instead Garland also said he was dis- “We’re interested in protect- given encouraging students to has suffered. Interim president Dr. Da- of maintaining its current inde- appointed in the public opinion ing the Baylor brand. We haven’t back the proposal, Garland said When a senator asked how vid Garland addressed Student pendent status. of the university and alumni as- been aggressive in our quality he did not know anything about the BAA is supposed to perform Senate members’ concerns re- Garland said this request is sociation, stating that from what control thus far,” he said. the e-mails being sent. after Baylor removed the alumni garding the Baylor Alumni As- in line with normal operations he has heard from alumni and When asked about the uni- In response to why the pro- association from the university sociation, campus housing and at other private universities and others, the alumni association versity’s “PR blitz” over the pro- posal was brought forth at this Web site, e-mail and toll free parking at the Senate meeting that Baylor is the only private has given Baylor a “black eye.” posal, Garland said that he was time, Garland said the proposal phone this summer, Garland Thursday night. school in the nation with a sepa- “We wanted to give a positive not aware of such a campaign was presented two to three asked him if he understood The questions mainly sur- rate alumni association. view of Baylor from both sides,” and that after he submitted the weeks ago. However, one reason rounded a new proposal pre- “This is the most efficient Garland said. “We want to send proposal, the newspapers got a the university wanted the pro- see SENATE, pg. 8 sented Saturday to the Baylor way, and we can be far more ef- a message to the world, what is hold of it. posal passed now, he said, was Delays prevalent in soldiers’ school funds most significant expansion of the shooting range. And then, Bill is causing many education benefits since the wait for what can seem like an soldiers to wait, original GI Bill in 1944. Eligible eternity for anything to begin. depend on loans veterans receive payments for Veterans are now find- tuition, housing and a book ing themselves repeating that CHRISTINE AR M ARIO stipend. The VA says more phrase as they go to apply for ASSOCI A TED PR ESS than 50,000 veterans and their their GI Bill benefits. relatives have given notice that “We’re a patient group of COCONUT CREEK, Fla. they’re enrolled in college for people,” Thomas said. “Pa- (AP) — Brandon Thomas was the fall semester and hoping to tience only goes so long.” hit by shrapnel from a rocket- be reimbursed under the pro- According to the VA, 277,403 propelled grenade and twice gram, which started making claims have been filed for ben- grazed by bullets fired by the payments in August. efits under the Post 9/11 GI Taliban during his final tour Thomas submitted his pa- Bill. Some 205,704 claims have with the Army in Afghanistan. perwork to the VA in July, been processed and the rest are After risking his life, the but he’s still waiting for the pending. The average process- 27-year-old father and Purple first check to arrive. When he ing time is 34 days, up from 28 Heart recipient is one of thou- bought nearly $1,000 in books a month before. sands of veterans who now this semester, Thomas billed it “We’re continuing to work say they are waiting weeks to a credit card. hard and we’re not going to or months for education ben- “What was the alternative?” stop until this process is smooth efits under a newly fattened said Thomas, who is studying for everybody,” Keith Wilson, GI Bill, leaving many to scrape business. director of the VA’s Education up money from family or take In the military, there is a Service division, said in an in- loans to cover college costs phrase often repeated among terview with The Associated while the Department of Veter- troops: “Hurry up and wait.” Press. ans Affairs pledges to speed up Hurry up and get to the train- payments. ing field. Hurry up and get to The Post 9/11 GI Bill is the see DELAY, pg. 8 Faith and the South attend church regularly, post be explained with geographic SARAH GROMAN STAFF PHOTO G RA P HER Distinguished profes- | sor of Auburn talks on Coffee time with music on the mind South’s religious climate Senior Alex Muller and partner voilinist, members of the band “Las Playas,” play at Baylor’s first BY LENA WATERS Acoustic Cafe of the year at the SUB on Thursday. REPO R TE R The South, often referred to as “the Bible Belt,” is consid- ered one of the most religious parts of the United States. However, Dr. Wayne Flynt, professor emeritus and distin- U.S. jobless claims fall guished professor at Auburn Texas stays strong may be falling nationwide, the come in and fill out applica- University, argued in his lec- among weak times rate of unemployment around tions,” said Silvia Escobedo, a ture Thursday that those con- SHANNA TAYLOR | S TAFF PHOTO G RA P HER the country continues to grow. payroll processor at PDQ Staffing clusions are flawed. Dr. Wayne Flynt emphasizes a point in his speech “The South’s Battle MELISSA PERRY According to Dr. Kent Gilbreath, in Waco. Flynt’s lecture, “The South’s Over God” Thursday afternoon, in Miller Chapel. Flynt’s presentation REPO R TE R Baylor economics professor, the “A rise in applicants is still go- Battle Over God,” was held by was part of the McGee Endowed Lecture Series. decline in claims is both a good ing on.” the department of religion as The Labor Department re- and a bad thing. Not all agencies are reporting part of the annual McGee Lec- the 10 Commandments in pub- lines, Flynt said. leased a statement Thursday “The growth of new claims a rise, however, as some maintain ture Series. lic places?” “We also assume that reli- showing how national unem- has begun to level off, but the a steady number of job seekers At his lecture, Flynt dis- While the topics discussed gion in the South is homoge- ployment claims have fallen for decline in claims is also due to needing temporary or permanent cussed assumptions about were weighty and challeng- nous, but that is no longer cor- the third straight week, even after the number of people who have employment. southern evangelicalism and ing, Flynt presented them in a rect,“ Flynt said. “Needless to Wall Street economists predicted exhausted their benefits,” said “We have seen a relatively explained how the religious humourous manner, using the say, when a religious evangeli- a rise in claims. Gilbreath. steady number of applicants,” climate of the South is much analogy of college football. cal tries to witness to a religious The recent decline in claims “The rate of growth in unem- said Mark Elliott, co-owner of more complicated than most “We see things as God’s Jew [in the South], the religious reveals that the early stages of ployment is leveling off some- Express Staffing in Waco. people believe. team defending the southern line-up of what it means to be economic recovery are easing the what, but things are just getting “Even though higher unem- “We assume that south- goal, and secularism’s minions religious in the South gets re- burden of layoffs. Fewer layoffs worse slowly.” ployment can increase applicant erners are the most religious defending the northern goal,” ally complicated.” “would be an important sign of Because unemployment re- flow, slower economic times can people in the most religious Flynt said. The lecture served as an improvement,” said Pierre Ellis, mains high, some local tempo- cause fewer applicants because industrialized nation,” Flint These ideas were not to opportunity to challenge stu- an economist at Decision Eco- rary staffing agencies are still people are choosing to stick with said in an e-mail to the Lariat. paint a grim picture of religious dents’ thinking and force them nomics, as reported by the Asso- reporting a steady flow of people what they have.” “But it depends on what you life in America, but instead to ciated Press. looking for work. mean by religious: Belief in put forth the idea that Ameri- While unemployment claims “We see a lot more people God, practice Christian ethics, see JOBS, pg. 8 ca’s Christianity is not able to see SOUTH, pg. 8 Warnings of door-to-door scammers promote safety BY CHAD SHANKS Their uninvited visitor in- legitimacy grew days later after alarm system company based and failing to uphold their end acts and practices, the Better CONT R IBUTE R formed them of their excellent seeing a Texas Department of in Provo, Utah.