The first in a series, Lumination asks Lipscomb students what their thoughts are about the mascot change. This will be an ongoing series until the decision is made final.

The following is written by senior biology major Alexander McMeen.

Lets Go Bison. The Bison played great today. We are the Lipscomb Bison. Sounds strange doesn’t it?

For all of you grammatically correct people out there, there is your correct usage of the word “Bison”. For all of us with feeling, the S is what adds the extra magic. We are the Lipscomb Bisons! Long before I was born we have been the Lipscomb Bisons.

Some say it is incorrect.

Others say it sounds funny.

Some (Belmont) make fun of it for being different, but I find that more than ironic.

For a University that prides itself on setting itself apart from others, giving in and changing our name to the Bison is crazy. Some say setting ourselves apart with the wrong form of the word is ignorant.

I disagree. The word Bisons is being more and more recognized as a correct usage of the word. Even ESPN recognized it as a now correct usage of the word. Next year, it will be in the Merriam Websters dictionary, AS A WORD.

What schools change their nicknames!? Some might say it is only an S, but to those who have been around Lipscomb, it is more than just an S. It is who we are. It is who our alumni are. It is whom I have grown up as.

We are the Lipscomb Bisons.

If you actually think about it, Bisons  makes sense. It has a ring to it. Would David Lipscomb want us to be like his outcast friend James A. Harding? No, that’s why he kicked him all the way to that outcast state named Arkansas to set up his school. That’s why we can wear shorts to class. That is why girls can feel safe walking on campus without the threat of a male jumping out of the bushes and forcing her hand in marriage.

Would the all-time wins leader in college basketball history want our name to be changed? No! Would the all-time leader in assists, steals, three’s, and the top 2 in scoring want our name to be changed? No way. Would Chuck Ross, Lipscomb’s biggest sports fan, want us to be the Bison? No chance!

If we change it to Bison it is like our school hasn’t existed until now, and who wants that?

Get on Lipscombsports.com now and vote to keep Bisons. Look around. It is who we are. It is who we always have been. It is who we always will be. We are Bisons!

Want to voice your opinion on Lumination? Email our editor in chief Hunter Patterson at pattersohl@mail.lipscomb.edu