Bill Denounces Racial Clashes, Obama-Bound
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BOUNCING BACK: AROUND THE WORLD: WIGGLING TO A WIN: PREVIEW OF MEN’S FIRST ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL FILM FEST A LOOK BACK AT THE BASKETBALL SEASON SHOWCASES NINE FOREIGN FILMS PAGE 5 ‘WORM GAME’ MIRACLE PAGE 8 PAGE 6 ROUNDING UP CAMPUS NEWS SINCE 1900 THE BAYLOR LARIAT FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2008 Bill denounces Religion, racial clashes, satire at center of Obama-bound film, By Kate Williams Student Senate Activity Report Reporter 11/6/2008 debuts Interim president David Gar- Bill Approved This Week: land told Student Senate Thurs- BRH Choir Allocation Amount Given: $ 2,201.50 day evening that he was deeply embarrassed and extremely Bill Approved This Week: at Baylor disturbed by the post-election Miss Phi Iota Alpha Pageant activities of a few students. Amount Given: $ 4,037.46 A student reported a noose By Chad Shanks Staff Writer hanging from a tree outside of Bill Approved This Week: Morrison Hall Tuesday. African Student Association Later that evening, Baylor African Cultural Extravaganza Baylor students were the police broke up an on-campus Amount Given: $ 3,667.99 first American audience to shouting match between white screen a new documentary and black students. Level of Student Government on religious satire Thursday Garland said both the fight- Allocation Fund as of Nov. 6: Christina Kruse/Lariat Staff evening. ing and noose were upsetting $ 2,328.80 Canadian filmmaker Mur- and unacceptable. Interim president David Garland expressed his disapproval of the racially charged incidents during the Student Senate ray Stiller screened his doc- meeting Thursday evening. A bill was created that denounced the incidents and was distributed to appropriate outlets “This is not who Baylor is, including president–elect Barack Obama. umentary “Nailin’ It to the and this is not who our stu- Church: Religious Satire and dents are, either,” he said. “The resolution passed is The Gospel According to The In response to the incidents, intended to express senate’s transition of leadership,” said the appropriate outlets, includ- Garland, who was out of Wittenburg Door” to Prof. Student government passed a disapproval of Tuesday’s inde- Bryan Fonville, student body ing President-Elect Barack town on Tuesday, was informed Chris Hansen’s Film and bill of disapproval on behalf of cent acts and to express sup- president. Obama, as soon as possible, Digital Media Field Produc- the student body. port for our nation during this The bill will be distributed to Fonville said. Please see SENATE, page 4 tions class. Baylor was Stiller’s first U.S. stop on his promotional tour. “This class is all about independent film produc- Team created tion and students are making their own films this semester. Having an independent film- maker in town to engage the in response to students is an opportunity we did not want to pass up,” Hansen said. The film chronicles The Wittenburg Door, a Dallas- racial incidents based magazine that satirizes Christians and Christian cul- ture. According to Stiller, The Jade Ortego to the University of Indiana and Wittenburg Door, sometimes Staff Writer saw that they had a similar pro- known simply as The Door, gram. satirizes Christians who take In response to racially The team was supposed to themselves too seriously. charged events on Election Day, being work in January, but in Baylor journalism profes- Baylor has decided to imple- light of recent events, members sor Bob Darden, who appears ment a new initiative to allow decided to begin today. in the film, has served as students to come forward and Sometimes biased incidents senior editor of the magazine report prejudiced activity on that hurt people are not tech- for 20 years. campus. nically illegal, or the student “I hope this film brings The Bias Motivated Incident doesn’t have sufficient evidence attention to what the maga- Support Team is intended to to prove it , so t he y m ight not feel zine is trying to do – to use create a safe and confidential comfortable or justified going humor and satire to hold a environment for students to to the police, Leeper said. mirror up to the evangelical seek counsel if they feel they’ve The support team will have community,” Darden said. been treated unfairly because of no police officers, lawyers or Stiller, the son of a Pen- their gender, race, ethnicity or members of administration. tecostal minister, set out last anything else. This is so students won’t Alex Song/Lariat Staff year on a 17-state quest inter- “We believe this serves a have to worry about backlash viewing satirists to make a need that’s apparent right now,” or unwanted attention from ‘X’ marks the spot documentary on religious said Karla Leeper, chief of staff reporting behavior, Leeper satire, but decided to focus to the president, who will act as said. the film on The Door and its the team’s “liaison to the out- “This is not a group with Jeff Goodman, recreation superintendent of the City of Waco (left), and Kathryn Nichols, National Park Service scathing critiques of contem- side world.” formal authority to punish any- brainstorm new designs for the Brazos and Bosque River Corridor during the Rivers & Trails Conservation Plan- porary Christianity, especial- The group has been in plan- one,” Leeper said. ning meeting in McLennan Community College Conference Center. They reflect over some ideas from profes- ly of televangelists. sional sketch artist and community members. ning since last spring, when Stiller documents how The members of Student Life went Please see BMIST, page 4 Door used satirical humor to function as a watchdog for people being deceived and swindled by health and wealth televangelists like Robert Til- Campus ROTC detachment ranked best in nation ton and Benny Hinn. “This film was therapy for me,” Stiller said. “It’s very By Ashley Erikson At an annual AFROTC con- critical of Christianity, but Reporter ference held on Oct. 29, the it’s beneficial to Christians awards were announced. It because it helps us to sepa- Baylor’s Air Force Reserve wasn’t until the morning of the rate what we believe and what Officer Training Corps received Baylor Homecoming Parade is our own selfishness.” an award for the best detach- that Leonard informed the Stiller also notes that reli- ment in the nation, just in time cadet wing about their win. gious television is not as pop- for the AFROTC’s 60-year anni- “It made the cadets hold their ular in Canada as in the U.S. versary. heads a little higher (during the and he was shocked the first Detachment 810 of Baylor parade),” Leonard said. “When time he witnessed the brazen competed against 144 other people are cheering, it makes antics of American televange- detachments in the nation, the cadets realize that serving lists. receiving the “High Flight” our country is something that “The point of the film is award for best in the Southwest, people appreciate.” to create conversation,” he as well as the “Right of Line” By training and focusing added. “People are respond- award for best in the nation. on leadership, the AFROTC’s ing positively because they “Right of Line stems from efforts won them the “Right realize they don’t have to take an old military term, ‘Your best of Line” award, said Bay City t hei r fa it h so ser iously. People is always on the right of your senior and Cadet Colonel Chad Baylor Photography disillusioned with faith are line’,” said Col. Dan Leonard, Hossier, who is the AFROTC’s The Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps was recognized for having the ‘best detachment’ in the nation. ROTC beat responding strongly as well the detachment commander. vice commander. out 144 other schools for the award, including Texas A & M University and The University of Texas. as non-Christians and athe- Leonard, who has worked at “We’re really trying to focus ists who are learning more Baylor for more than two years, on things the wing can become with themselves,” he said. a chance to learn first-hand. ones we want,” Leonard said. about what it means to be a said Baylor’s detachment is one and we want the kind of peo- N e w l e a d e r s a r e s e l e c t e d e a c h “The Air Force has high stan- of the oldest in the country. ple who strive to do something semester which gives every one dards; we pick and choose the Please see ROTC, page 4 Please see FILM, page4 VOL. 108 No.36 www.baylor.edu/Lariat © 2008, BAYLOR UNIVERSITY 2 The Baylor Lariat OPINION Friday, November 7, 2008 Editorial Immediate action needed in response to racism Racial tensions soured jubilation on events of Election Day pushed commit- campus Tuesday night in response to tee members to start serving students the naming of Barack Obama as pres- immediately. ident-elect. A rope tied in the shape of The creation of this organization is a noose was spotted in a tree on cam- long overdue. Last spring, a student pus and Obama campaign signs were who recently converted to the Jewish burned in the Brooks Village fire pit. faith found a Swastika drawn on the Verbal altercations also arose. wall next to his dorm room. Why wasn’t These acts were disgusting and con- this committee established then? Why demnable. While the university spoke didn’t such a committee take shape out against the acts, more must be done after an unofficial Sigma Alpha Epsi- by university officials and students to lon ghetto theme party infuriated black raise awareness of racial tension at our students or after a Muslim woman was university and across the nation.