Campus Chronicles 18: Of All the Ages to Come

Baylor University has no business existing.

The concept of an institution of higher education that is both faith-based and fully committed to research is ridiculous according to our society’s current understanding of the two ideas.

Waco, Texas has no business being a growing, bustling, trendy, or even remotely interesting town.

Baylor has no business having a football team with two Big XII championships or ranked in the Preseason Top 25.

And yet, here we stand.

By the grace of God, an inextinguishable belief in our principles, a hope in the promise of a better tomorrow, and the audacity to achieve what is believed to be unachievable, here we stand.

Baylor University in its current form is the yet unfinished product of over 170 years of continued belief, hope, and audacity. Those three key tenets have been at the center of Baylor’s identity since 1845 and in this critical period of uncertainty - a time where each and every decision we make has an outsized impact on our future as a university - belief, hope, and audacity must remain in our hearts and be the lanterns to light the way, as they are all we have to guide us along this path no one else has ever charted.

“Do not face the future with timidity nor with fear. Face it boldly, courageously, joyously. Have faith in what it holds.” - Samuel Palmer Brooks

Baylor Football’s meteoric rise from years of obscurity and struggle to elite status in college football mirrors the larger university’s own history. It is only through belief, hope, and audacity that we ever reached the heights we did. And now, as we’ve reached one of the lowest lows we’ve ever seen, it is our university’s three key tenets that will bring us through as they always have.

No university in the modern day has ever been simultaneously as academically elite, as athletically superior, and as fully committed to Christian ideals as Baylor is. We are far from perfect; we’ve made many mistakes along the way and we will make more. The victims of sexual assault are not mere casualties on our path to greatness, but, they are valued women whose voices require our ears and whose call for justice require our action. However, now more than ever we cannot forget what makes this place special. We cannot forget why we were drawn here. And above all, we cannot forget fighting to change it for the better is not only a worthwhile task, but it is at the core of who we are.

“Jesus Christ inspires our best, and nothing less than our best is worthy of him. We should be ashamed to describe as "Christian" that which is mediocre and second-rate whether it is higher education or health care. What we do as a witness for our Savior should be winsome and praiseworthy.” - Abner McCall

So this football season, this school year, and for all the ages to come.

Believe,

Have hope,

Have audacity,

And Sic ‘Em Bears!

-lord.hinton