by Charissa Ricker | Jan 10, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
Student Life and Campus Ministries co-sponsored a special screening of the new film Forever My Girl in Shamblin Theater on Tuesday night. Produced by LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions, the film features a small-town love story and the road to forgiveness. Originally a novel, Forever My Girl tells the story of high-school sweethearts Liam Page (Alex Roe) and Josie (Jessica Rothe). The tale begins on their wedding day in the small town of St. Augustine, Louisiana. Josie learns only minutes from the ceremony that Liam decided to pursue his new-found music fame, leaving his family and her behind. Fast forward eight years and Liam Page is a heart-throb country star living the dream on stage. But Liam is unhappy with his life when he is not in the spotlight. When an unexpected death brings him back to St. Augustine, Liam finds out he left behind not only Josie but also a daughter, Billy (Abby Ryder Fortson). Liam is immediately drawn to the funny and adorable Billy, and he decides to stick around his hometown and get to know her. While re-discovering his roots, Liam faces the ghosts of his past and his insecurities about being back in Josie’s life and being a father to Billy. The emotional and heavy issues brought to light in Forever My Girl are complemented by light-hearted humor and cheesy romance. The film showcases the same themes of love and redemption seen in classic romantic comedies, and for sophomores Haley Cable and Leah Hampton, the film exceeded their girl’s-night movie expectations. “I thought it was a really cute movie,” Hampton said. “It had a great storyline...
by Charissa Ricker | Mar 24, 2017 | News Slider
Thursday night Stand Together Lipscomb welcomed guest speaker Megan Caddell to educate students on the global refugee crisis. Stand Together Lipscomb is an on-campus organization dedicated to raising awareness for the devastating refugee crisis. This newly-instituted group wants to start a movement on Lipscomb’s campus by educating, advocating and acting on the crisis. Megan Caddell is a Child Ambassador Team Leader at World Vision and has seen first-hand the effects of the refugee crisis and so many other crises around the world. Her passion for the people has led her and thousands of others to dedicate their lives to helping in any way possible. “God didn’t intend that these would be stories of his children. We are responsible for this,” Caddell said. “This is a hard conversation. It’s political, it’s religious, but we’re going to go there.” Caddell shared a brief history of the country of Syria and of the violence that has led to millions of people’s fleeing the country. “These are people just like us. Families are literally fleeing to keep their children safe. They are fleeing out of utter desperation, having to make unimaginable decisions,” Caddell said. “We get to be the resolution. We get to be the hope on the other side.” World Vision is the leading organization for providing clean water to nearly 100 countries around the world. Caddell shared how World Vision is providing food, sanitation, clothes, blankets and fuel to refugee camps in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Along with these necessities, World Vision also provides children’s supplies such as diapers, toys and education centers where children can continue their education....
by Charissa Ricker | Mar 3, 2017 | News Slider
The International Justice Mission, an on-campus group dedicated to raising awareness for human trafficking, hosted “Slavery Still Exists” Tuesday night in Stowe Hall. The event happened only a few days after the popular End It Movement took over social media, where participants post pictures and show a red “X” on their hand to combat slavery. After offering the first-look screening of the movie Priceless in the fall, Lipscomb welcomed Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) agent Jason Wilkerson and End Slavery Tennessee advocate Jill Rutter to speak more on human trafficking. “Very recently the TBI got jurisdiction over human trafficking,” Wilkerson said. “TBI agents can go hunt human traffickers and look for victims of our own volition.” Unlike the police, the TBI is only called into cases when there is specific need, and the attorney general requests their presence. Now that all cases dealing with human trafficking fall under the TBI, the agents can freely investigate any suspected situations. “On our own, without asking anybody, we just go after it ourselves,” Wilkerson said. “I am part of the unit that does that. I have been with TBI a little over 20 years.” Agent Wilkerson discussed the different types of human trafficking cases that happen in Tennessee and dispelled some common Hollywood enhanced myths. After Wilkerson explained the law enforcement side of ending human trafficking, Jill Rutter talked about how End Slavery Tennessee helps rehabilitate victims of slavery. “The most important thing I do as far as advocacy is to try to make sure that all of you realize that it happens here in the United States just as much as...
by Charissa Ricker | Feb 25, 2017 | News Slider
The Leading Edge hosted “Confessions: Part One” to allow Lipscomb students and staff the opportunity to anonymously share their spiritual journeys. The Leading Edge is a group of students who strive to seek out areas on campus that need improvement and to help make those improvements. “We know that sharing our stories can sometimes be difficult,” said Russell Vannozzi, Leading Edge student member. “While some people might have stories that are full of joy and happiness, other people have stories that aren’t full of that. They might be frightened to reveal details about their path. “Strive to create an environment where people can be vulnerable with each other and people can share their stories without fear or shame.” The anonymous speaker told his spiritual journey and, after a series of questions, revealed himself to the audience of students. Sam Smith, dean of student life, opened up about his struggles and how God has led him to where he is now. “I remember loving hearing my dad preach and wanting to be just like my dad,” Smith said. “I was your typical preacher’s kid. I was a Bible-thumping, Jesus-loving, God-enthusiastic preacher’s kid.” Though Smith seemed to be set on a perfect path, he was introduced to pornography at a young age, and it began to shape his life into something far from God. “Satan found a way to get me off track,” Smith said. “Satan found a way to help me exit out of the age of innocence. Then, I was introduced into this age of rebellion.” Smith recalled how his school called his parents several times thinking he was...
by Charissa Ricker | Feb 9, 2017 | News Slider
Lipscomb’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences held another HumanDocs event Wednesday night in Ward Hall, screening the documentary 13th: From Slave to Criminal with One Amendment. Partnering with Lipscomb’s Office of Intercultural Development and the Nashville Film Festival, HumanDocs wanted to raise awareness of racial inequality in light of Black History Month. The Netflix original documentary, directed by Ava DuVernay, focuses on mass incarceration in America and how it leans heavily toward African Americans. Though America only holds 5% of the world’s population, the land of the free also holds 25% of the world’s prison population. This astounding rate started with the passing of the 13th Amendment after the Civil War. This amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, with the loopwhole exception for criminal punishment. 13th brilliantly displays the adaptation of slavery from the 19th century definition to today’s lesser known, but equally brutal methods. The film shows progression from slavery, to lynching, to segregation, to the political war on drugs (punished harsher in predominately African American communities), to cases of fear such as Trayvon Martin, and growing police brutality. The movie’s ultimate and important message is that the prison industry is getting rich off of punishment, while African Americans are facing the modern phase of slavery, criminalization. The event held a discussion panel after the film with several esteemed guests. Communication & Journalism faculty member, Aerial Ellis, moderated the discussion. The panel included Robert A. Jackson Jr. (Lipscomb Student), Brandi Kellett (English and Modern Languages Department), Dr. J.B. Angus (Lipscomb Alumni), and Alexander Bissell (Nashville attorney for criminal and juvenile law), who all spoke on the documentary. The idea...
