by Hannah Cron | Jul 26, 2021 | Sports
A Lipscomb administrator and veteran of Olympic press coverage said this year’s 2020 Tokyo Games — occurring beneath the shadow of COVID that delayed the competition a year and with strict pandemic alterations in effect — could be the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Kim Chaudoin, Lipscomb’s assistant vice president of public relations and communication, covered a variety of events at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and forecasts a likely positive impact as the world takes a step toward recovery in Tokyo. “I mean, they were able to have the NCAA tournament,” said Chaudoin, noting those basketball competitions that were held in a bubble in Indianapolis this year after being canceled in 2020. “I know this is a lot more people, but I hope that they’re able to do it. “But hey, if they survive all that and then the big melting pot of it, then maybe you know it’s like, ‘Oh, OK, we’re all good now.’” The Games feature more than 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics – which were not renamed despite the year-long delay caused by the COVID pandemic – has athletes competing in 339 events across 33 sports. New sports for the Tokyo Games include surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing, karate, baseball and softball. While some might consider the Olympics occurrence as a positive step toward normalcy in the unpredictable pandemic, this year’s Games are anything but normal. The city of Tokyo has been in a state of emergency multiple times in the past weeks due to a resurgence of COVID cases. A year ago, if the games...
by Hannah Cron | Jun 3, 2021 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
Since her debut single “driver’s license” was released in January, Olivia Rodrigo has taken the world by storm. Her first album, SOUR, came out in May and quickly topped the charts, earning her appearances at awards shows and Saturday Night Live mere months into her music career. If you aren’t familiar with Rodrigo, she is the latest in the long series of Disney Channel stars turned pop artists, following in the footsteps of singers such as Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato. Rodrigo currently stars in Disney’s High School Musical: The Musical The Series (bet you can’t say that three times fast), a series spinoff of the popular High School Musical movie franchise. Rodrigo’s album SOUR pays tribute to her musical inspirations through the 11 tracks which focus on lyrical themes of heartbreak and the coming of age of the artist and her peers. While SOUR is an impressive debut album, it does leave Rodrigo plenty of room to grow and improve in the future. What really holds SOUR back is that it isn’t sure what to be. Many of the songs are pure pop songs and ballads, but there are a couple of songs that lean into an early 2000s pop-punk sound. While variety can be a good thing, there isn’t really a smooth transition between the different sounds and there isn’t an even balance between the two types of songs (mostly pop with two rock songs). The rock-leaning songs are great, but they feel a little bit out of place here. But SOUR’s biggest issue isn’t its genre confusion; it’s how on-the-nose it...
by Hannah Cron | May 14, 2021 | Galleries, News Slider
Fresh produce, food trucks and music have returned to Sevier Park, offering one more destination for those who have felt locked up during lockdown for the last year. The local favorite 12 South Farmers’ Market has just reopened for the summer of 2021. Established in 2011, the Farmers’ Markets 10th-anniversary season is sponsored by local independent radio station Lightning 100 and features vendors from around Middle Tennessee. Nashville favorites such as Amelia’s Flower Truck, Music City Popcorn and The Peach Truck often make appearances as well as many other local businesses and farms. Located just down the road from Lipscomb in Sevier Park, the 12 South Farmers’ Market is a convenient option for off-campus entertainment. In addition to fresh produce and handmade goods, the 12 South Farmers’ Market hosts events each week for visitors of all ages. The Farmers’ Market has live music each week from a local act for shoppers to enjoy. This season, Outdoor Voices will host a free outdoor workout class for attendees. Visitors will also have access to a variety of local food trucks offering anything from snow cones to grilled cheese sandwiches. The 12 South Farmers’ Market is open from 4-7 p.m. every Tuesday from May to October in Sevier Park. For information on vendors and events, visit the 12 South Farmers’ Market website, Instagram or Facebook page....
by Hannah Cron | May 2, 2021 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Unless you have been off the internet for the past month, you have probably heard a lot about Fearless (Taylor’s Version), the first release of Taylor Swift’s re-recorded first six studio albums. If you are unfamiliar with the situation, in 2019, Taylor Swift’s original record label, Big Machine Records, sold her masters – original completed recordings used to make physical copies and digital files of music to be distributed – without her permission or knowledge. Essentially, this means that she has no control over what the original recordings of her songs are used for and will see only a small fraction of the profits from their sales. Due to the loss of her masters, Swift has planned to re-record each of her first six albums — 2006’s Taylor Swift, 2008’s Fearless, 2010’s Speak Now, 2012’s RED, 2014’s 1989 and 2017’s reputation. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) is the first of Swift’s re-recorded albums to be released. In addition to all 13 of the tracks included on the original record, the re-recorded album also includes six songs from the platinum version of Fearless, “Today Was A Fairytale” off the soundtrack to the 2010 film Valentine’s Day as well as six “From The Vault” songs written around the recording of Fearless that didn’t make it on to the original album. I don’t think it is a reach to assume that I’ll probably be doing quite a few of these “Taylor’s Version” album reviews in the foreseeable future, so I’m going to plan on giving out a few superlatives of sorts for each. For each, I will select a song that was a single...
by Hannah Cron | Apr 25, 2021 | COVID-19, News, News Slider
Over the past weeks, Lipscomb has begun to announce the precautions that will be in place involving COVID-19 for the fall semester. According to the new plans, many restrictions that were in place during the 2020-2021 academic year will be lifted in hopes that many things will return to normal. According to President Randolph Lowry, this is due in part to how well the Lipscomb community was able to follow the guidelines in place for the past two semesters. “We have not missed a beat as together we have turned challenges into opportunities, thriving in a way that will set the tone for our future in this new world,” said President Lowry in an email to Lipscomb students, faculty and staff. Not only will the upcoming fall 2021 semester see Lipscomb return to a regular in-person model for classes, but class capacity will be fully restored. Additionally, capacity will be increased for on-campus dining, residence halls and sporting events. As of April 22, face coverings are no longer required outdoors or when alone indoors. Masks are still required in all buildings on campus when there are others around and social distancing is highly encouraged. These guidelines will likely continue into the fall semester, but all plans are subject to change as governmental and CDC regulations are updated. Some questions remain as to what the return to campus may look like in the fall, particularly regarding COVID testing and vaccinations. According to Lipscomb’s Incident Management Team, these plans are being made and will be communicated to faculty and students as soon as they are finalized. “We are consulting with our...
