by Kathryn Farris | Oct 22, 2020 | News, News Slider, Uncategorized
Wednesday afternoon, campus security released plans to help with traffic flow ahead of Thursday’s presidential debate at Belmont University. Beginning at 2 p.m. the campus will begin the transition into a three-way entry/exit. The three access and exit points for the campus will be University Park Drive off of Belmont Boulevard, the Steam plant entrance off of Granny White Pike and Ferndale Drive by Lipscomb University Health Services. Starting at 5 p.m., students will need their ID to get into these entrances. Lipscomb security also advised students to remain aware of certain points of portions of I-65, I-40, and I-440 becoming closed ahead of the debate, saying “We encourage you to plan ahead and seek alternative routes home to prevent being stuck in a difficult traffic situation during the afternoon.” These changes are being made in preparation for security concerns, while such a high-profile event takes place so close to campus. Demonstrations are scheduled to take place in front of Belmont by “Be Better Belmont”, a group aiming to call out the university for ignoring black and brown communities by holding a debate with president trump, whom they say refused to condemn white supremacist at the first presidential debate. On security concerns, Lipscomb security said in their email to students “while we don’t anticipate any issues, we always want to be prepared because the safety and security of the Lipscomb community is our top priority.” Photo Courtesy of Lipscomb...
by Kathryn Farris | Oct 19, 2020 | News, News Slider, Uncategorized
The final meetup of 2020 presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden is scheduled to take place Thursday, Oct. 22 up the boulevard at Belmont University. After an uncertain few weeks since President Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis and the cancellation of the second debate, Belmont is moving full speed ahead with debate plans. But those plans have sparked another controversy after officials announced microphones will be muted during portions so that candidates are able to make their points. President Trump has said he is displeased with this new rule sprung by his behavior at the first debate. Meanwhile, Belmont University has called for numerous area road and business closures, the majority of which will go into effect Wednesday. Belmont Boulevard from Portland Avenue to Bernard Avenue, is currently closed till Friday. Belmont Boulevard from 18th Avenue South to Delmar Avenue will close Wednesday at noon. Acklen Avenue from 17th Avenue South to 18th Avenue South closes at noon Wednesday. Acklen Avenue from 14th Avenue South to 15th Avenue South, closes 6 p.m. Wednesday. Delmar Avenue from 15th Avenue South to Belmont Boulevard, closes 6 p.m. Wednesday. Compton Avenue from 15th Avenue South to Belmont Boulevard, closes noon Wednesday. Caldwell Avenue from 15th Avenue South to 12th Avenue South closes 6 p.m. Wednesday. The excitement of a presidential debate is not felt by at least one Belmont-area business that already has been hit by COVID-19-forced closures during the pandemic shutdown. In an Instagram post to their more than 16,000 followers, local business Proper Bagel expressed frustration toward the road closures. View this post on Instagram ? please read ? thanks to the presidential debate taking place directly across...
by Kathryn Farris | Sep 23, 2020 | News, News Slider
So far, this year has consisted of a local tornado, wildfires burning up the west coast and the southeast facing an unprecedented number of hurricanes. However, extreme weather events like these are not predicted to disappear when the clock strikes midnight this new year’s, they just might be becoming the new normal. “Climate change is happening; we are seeing the effects now, and we can anticipate that the effects will continue into the future and likely become more severe,” said Emily Jones, Director of the Institute of Sustainable Practice at Lipscomb. Jones said, “What we know is that the Earth’s atmosphere moderates and plays a huge role in climate and that the earth does go through cycles of warmer and cooler periods based on a host of different factors,” “Carbon dioxide, methane and a handful of other manmade or human released substances in the atmosphere contribute to warming.” According to NASA, the planet’s average surface temperature has risen about 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit (0.9 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century. “This doesn’t mean that warming is equally spread out across the globe,” says Jones “Sometimes that means some places are wetter than usual or drier than they were historically… the phrase climate change is more broad than global warming because global warming is talking about one change to climate and climate change encompasses other changes like changes in weather patterns.” These changes in weather patterns are demonstrated by what’s been occurring this year. On the west coast, higher temperatures have dried out vegetation, creating the perfect breeding ground for massive wildfires and making them harder to contain. “With regard to hurricanes,...
by Kathryn Farris | Sep 12, 2020 | News, News Slider
In recent months, the United States Postal Service has found itself becoming deeply politicized ahead of November’s election. Amid a global pandemic, the USPS is critical in order to handle the expected record number of mail-in ballots. Last month, United States President Donald Trump expressed opposition to funding an additional $25 billion in aid to the postal service, citing fears over fraud from mail-in voting. Despite Washington battles, the bipartisan agency is still held in high regard with the public (a Pew Research survey in April found that 91% of Americans have a favorable view of the Postal Service). The USPS’s critical role takes shape in communities across the country, including here on Lipscomb’s campus. “The post office is a vital part to keeping us connected,” said Ronnie Farris, postmaster at the Lipscomb post office. Farris has been involved with the Lipscomb office for nearly 40 years, starting first as a student worker and evolving over time just as the postal service has. “You know, it’s just, it’s changed so much…I always have been asking this question, ‘what’s next?’ What is the next thing we need to be doing that we need to be aware of to serve our community?” These changes took shape this spring when coronavirus concerns shut down the campus. “We never closed. We were here…we still had packages coming in, we still have mail going out there, all these other functions were still happening.” Similar to other campus institutions, the postal office adapted by installing plexiglass to pick up windows, enacting mandatory temperature checks for employees, and using a whole bunch of hand sanitizer. “What we’re trying to do...
by Kathryn Farris | Sep 12, 2020 | News, News Slider
Lipscomb students, with families trying to survive the firestorm consuming the West Coast, anxiously await word from home while also watching news reports about the most-extensive wildfire carnage in history. The West Coast, from down near Los Angeles all the way up into Washington State, is on fire, forcing states of emergency to be declared in the big cities as wildfires incinerate whole towns, flames lick at the edges of urban areas and skies turn orange/yellow as fire and smoke pollution filters out the sun. “There’s really hazardous air quality, smoke everywhere, ash on all the cars,” said Sophie Corwin, a Lipscomb nursing major from Salem, Oregon. “My sister says it smells like a campfire no matter where you go and feels like you’re coughing up ash.” The flames are not the only safety concern for regions affected, air quality from smoke settling in valleys has created hazardous conditions that are only expected to worsen. The areas around Corwin’s hometown are under advisory for these conditions. “It’s tough, because I keep calling my family…. It’s hard to see everything being affected by it and just seeing pictures. It’s just completely insane. … I just like feel like I wish I could be there with them,” said Corwin. “My family camps every year.… We had a reservation for this year but it got canceled for COVID, and so my grandpa hopped on (the computer) and made sure to get it for next year because we all wanted to go camping…. They emailed him and sent a refund because literally everything was destroyed,” Corwin said. “It was terrible, I cried, and I was like, out...
