Conerly (right) cheering at a Baylor football game in early September.
Impact of COVID on Freshmen Students
Freshman and coed cheerleader Chandler Conerly, has experienced a different first semester than she envisioned. Reflecting on the past few weeks, she gave her opinions on mask mandates at Baylor University. She explains how, while masks are important, they make meeting people difficult.
“I know its important to wear masks, and in the dorms its been helpful to stop the spread. But it has also made it harder to meet people in a way. It feels very separate,” Conerly said.
She says that masks make it hard to breathe in class when students run across campus to get there. They also cause her breakouts, something that most 18-year-olds struggle with already.
Being a cheerleader, Chandler has to be an example of wearing masks across campus and at football games. In regards to being masked at games, she responded, “I’m honestly OK with it because we still get to cheer at least.”
Conerly said she is not afraid of the virus because she contracted it during the summer. She was asymptomatic and quarantined at home with her family. Despite the fact that she has antibodies, she said she will adhere to all of Baylor’s COVID-19 rules.
Though she says understands the reasons for mandates, she expresses her frustration because of the way it has affected her senior and freshman years.
Waco’s Best Steak House
Sept. 21, 2020
Waco is full of great places to eat, but Lawson Corkern, Baylor sophomore’s favorite spot is Lone Star Steakhouse. Corkern’s ideal restaurant, located in northeast Waco, is home to some of the best steaks in the area, and an atmosphere that’s hard to beat.
Lawson remarked that he loved the atmosphere as it gives “mom and pop” feelings. He shared that Lone Star reminded him of home, “there are a ton of rednecks there, so I feel right at home.” When Corkern misses his home in Arkansas, he likes to take a drive to Lonestar to eat a steak and enjoy the country music that is often played.
He says the restaurant great because it’s “far away from all the busyness of Waco, it makes you feel like you’re in a small town.” Corkern says that Lone Star is his favorite place to go with buddies and take his girlfriend of five years on a date.
Owners of Lone Star, Josh Hale and Scott Studer, wanted to keep this home-like feeling when they took over in 2012. Though named as Lone Star Steakhouse in 2012, the restaurant has been around since 1962.
Charlie and Irene Mueller turned their already popular tavern into strictly a restaurant when they realized they could make more money selling food instead of just beer. Charlie’s time as a cook in the US Navy and experience with cattle made for an easy decision that they would turn their tavern into a steakhouse.
Many recipes used in the establishment in 1962, are still used today. The restaurant has been located in the same building since 1972. The current owners, Hale and Studer, according to their website blog, want to keep the authenticity of the original steakhouse. They have kept the tradition of using paper menus that the guests fill out themselves. The owners also state that they use the same “cooking style and recipes for their steaks” as the Muellers used.
Lone Star Steakhouse, despite being managed by many different owners, proudly sports the title of “Waco’s oldest steakhouse”. Lawson Corkern, and many others around Waco, appreciate the classic steaks and welcoming environment that are offered at Lone Star Steakhouse.