by Kathryn Farris | Mar 15, 2021 | News, News Slider
Washington, D.C., lawmakers are scuffling over solutions to student debt and the rising cost of higher education, and any resultant policies will hit home for Lipscomb students who take out more than $11 million in student loans each school year. Lipscomb’s financial aid office is awaiting changes on the federal level and advocating on behalf of students, according to school officials. Tiffany Summers, financial aid director, and Amanda Martin, director of the Office of Neighborhood, Community and Government Relations, are working within college associations to obtain information surrounding upcoming policy changes. “I would say there’s a lot that we’re watching right now, certainly higher education was an important part of the administration’s platform,” Martin said. “There can definitely be a difference between what is on the platform and what actually gets done when somebody gets in office,” she said. Platform issues are basically “pie-in-the-sky” campaign proposals that are altered by legislative reality. One of the hot-button issues surrounding Biden’s higher ed plan is student debt forgiveness. Opponents argue forgiveness would disproportionately benefit high-income individuals, while supporters maintain Biden could do more. “There’s definitely a lot of debate nationally around student loan debt. …So one of the pillars of Biden’s higher education plan was that he wanted to forgive $10,000 worth of student loan debt for everyone,” Summers said. “It’s certainly unclear what any actual student loan action is going to look like, there are some that argue Biden should by executive order forgive $50,000 in student debt for everyone or forgive all student loan debt which would cost somewhere around $1.5 trillion,” she said. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Sen....
by Kathryn Farris | Mar 12, 2021 | News, News Slider
A year ago, crowded nights in Allen Arena and smiling faces in Bennett Student Center used to be the norm. However, in the time since, the Lipscomb community has become all too familiar with masks, social-distancing and virtual learning. The changes from the past year are causing students and faculty to evaluate: What exactly awaits us in the future? Just one year ago, on Thursday, March 12, 2020, the university sent out an email to students officially extending spring break another week. Lumination covered this day as a part of a live update series. COVID was developing across the nation, across Nashville even, and no one expected the extended break would turn the campus into a ghost town for months to come. LIVE UPDATES: Lipscomb extends online instruction for rest of spring semester, cancels commencement and closes dorms The next weeks saw canceled Singarama, Mission Trips and live music events. Slowly the culture shifted, creating a new bubble of Tiger King and Zoom calls. COVID halts 57th annual Singarama, but participants discuss informal staging and the relationships they established Music gets muffled by COVID-19 pandemic; Festivals, clubs and even Rolling Stones silenced These changes left the Lipscomb administration reeling for solutions, even as information about the virus was confusing and scarce. “There was a huge cross-section of representatives from different disciplines in the university,” said Kim Chaudoin, Lipscomb’s vice president for public relations and a member of the “IMT” (the Lipscomb taskforce for incident management). “We were meeting to just decide, ‘OK; what do we do?’ about classes, employees and the management of this pandemic,” she said, as news...
by Kathryn Farris | Mar 9, 2021 | News, News Slider, Uncategorized
The new administration and lawmakers in D.C. are wrestling with solutions to relieve the vast amount of student debt and the rising cost of higher education. Any solutions or changes will hit home for many Lipscomb students, who take out more than 11 million in student loans each school year. Lipscomb’s financial aid office is awaiting changes from the federal level and advocating on behalf of students. Director of Financial Aid Tiffany Summers and Director of the Office of Neighborhood, Community and Government Relations Amanda Martin are each working within college associations to obtain information surrounding upcoming potential policy changes. “I would say there’s a lot that we’re watching right now, certainly higher education was an important part of the administration’s (election) platform,” says Martin. “There can definitely be a difference between what is on the platform and what actually gets done when somebody gets in office.” One of the hot-button issues surrounding President Joe Biden’s higher education plan is student debt forgiveness. Opponents argue loan forgiveness would disproportionately benefit high-income individuals, while supporters contend Biden could do more. “There’s definitely a lot of debate nationally around student loan debt, and so one of the pillars of Biden’s higher education plan was that he wanted to forgive $10,000 worth of student loan debt for everyone,” said Summers. “It’s certainly unclear what any actual student loan action is going to look like. There are some that argue Biden should by executive order forgive $50,000 in student debt for everyone or forgive all student loan debt, which would cost somewhere around $1.5 trillion.” Early this February, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Elizabeth...
by Kathryn Farris | Feb 20, 2021 | News, News Slider
As multiple rounds of winter storms hit the Nashville area this week, Lipscomb extended remote learning through Friday. However, rising temperatures and clear skies allowed the university to announce a return to in-person classes starting Monday. “I want to encourage you to hang in there as we continue to wait out this winter storm,” said Vice President of Student Life Al Sturgeon in an email to students earlier this week. “There are multiple frontline heroes here for you, including security officers, residence life staff, food services staff and service operations workers that are all here to make sure you are safe, warm and fed.” As snow and ice fell, Lipscomb dining services shut down everything except Bison Café and Starbucks. Both places have expanded operation hours to serve the resulting increased need. The COVID pandemic added another set of challenges to the icy, snowy, cold week. As students crowded indoors to keep warm, Sturgeon reminded them to take virus precautions in terms of social distancing, especially: “Please do your best to spread out as best you can to prevent a dramatic increase in virus transmission after the winter storm that would threaten our ability to function as a residential community.” To overcome the concerns of treacherous travel to doctors’s offices and other facilities, Lipscomb increased medical staff on campus. This includes the 24-hour availability of medical assessments and treatments. “Being able to offer these enhanced medical services during this time of inclement weather will allow our students to receive increased care and medical assessments on campus rather than requiring transport to a local medical facility,” read a university email....
by Kathryn Farris | Feb 16, 2021 | News, News Slider
A blanket of ice covered Nashville’s streets and sidewalks Sunday, pushing in-person classes to at least Wednesday, according to the university. In-person learning had been set to resume Tuesday, but the worsening weather conditions changed the plan. The university, in an email, said that this really wasn’t a major setback thanks to all the work that’s been put into remote learning during the pandemic. “Over the last 11 months, remote teaching and learning opportunities have proven to be effective and productive at times when in-person classes are not possible,” reads the university email to students. “We are fortunate to have the experience and technology in place to enable learning to continue during these unforeseen circumstances.” The National Weather Service has placed Nashville/Davidson County and several surrounding counties under a winter storm warning through 6 a.m. Tuesday. The NWS warns of “major to extreme impacts.” Nashville Electric Service reported it is preparing for power outages and is encouraging people to prepare. This includes charging electronics and gathering flashlights with batteries, food and water. More snow and ice are expected overnight Monday, as freezing temperatures are expected to lock-in current conditions. The following campus amenities and nearby businesses are closed as of Monday: Lipscomb Units: Lipscomb Dining Units (excluding Bison Café, Starbucks and Bisons on the Go) Beaman Library Group Fitness Classes at the Student Activity Center Lipscomb Campus Store Local Businesses: The Well (all Nashville Locations) Kroger and Publix (Nashville locations closing early Monday, expected to reopen Tuesday) Baja Burrito Frothy Monkey Hattie B’s Hot Chicken Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint The Mall at Green Hills Chick-fil-a Melrose/Music City Trader Joe’s (Green Hills and White...
