by LeBron Hill | Nov 14, 2017 | News Slider, Opinion
The recent shooting of the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, has brought the conversation of gun control back to the forefront. The gunman, Devin Kelley, was able to purchase firearms after being dishonorably discharged from the Air Force for domestic violence in 2014. To purchase a gun, an individual cannot be dishonorably discharged or convicted of domestic violence. An article from the New York Times reports that the Air Force did not enter Kelley’s court martial in a federal database used for background checks. If that had been put in the database, it would have prevented him from purchasing the guns. The background check system should be stricter than what we have now. A 2012 study showed that three-quarters of the guns that were used in the shootings were purchased legally. It also revealed that the most purchased weapons were semiautomatic handguns and assault rifles. Background checks are necessary, but they are not extensive enough to filter out those who will not cause harm from those will. Certain weapons that are offered in gun stores, such as assault rifles, should not be allowed to be purchased at these stores. This regulation would reduce the legal purchasing of these weapons and would heighten the price of the weapons, therefore making them harder to purchase. There are places like gun shows where background checks are not required to purchase guns. That can be seen as careless to assume that because you are at a gun show, you don’t have a negative reason for buying guns. An assumption that is usually made when talking about gun violence is that the shooter suffered from mental illness....
by LeBron Hill | Nov 9, 2017 | News Slider, Opinion
With the holidays coming up, people will often spend some time giving back; one of the most popular ways to do this is by volunteering at a homeless shelter. This time of the year brings back memories of my experience in a shelter…not working there, but living there. When I first arrived at the shelter at the age of 18, I began to fall into a depression. The cold and dark November days represented how I felt — alone and without a home. The shelter was just a house, filled with strangers who were there through a common experience of abandonment. We would spend time around the table, talking about our favorite Thanksgiving memory. The table had people from all walks of life. There were soldiers who came back from war to no home and homosexuals who were kicked out of their home due to their sexual orientation. My heart was still hurt by the actions of my family, so I did not contribute a memory during this time. Instead, my focus would be on their stories, seeing the happiness hit their faces, hearing the joy in their voices as they would share. For that designated time, we were not homeless or abandoned; we were a family who came together on the premise of joy. During the week of Thanksgiving, many people came to the shelter, either to give food or spend time with us. I was ashamed to be there, afraid that I was going to see someone I knew. Families brought their kids with them to show them the “other side” of society. I felt like I was on display for people...
by LeBron Hill | Nov 3, 2017 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
The third installment in the Thor series, Thor: Ragnarok once again delivers fans an action-packed, visually-stunning movie experience. In the Taika Waititi directed film, viewers first find Thor (Chris Hemsworth) attempting to prevent Ragnarok — the prophecy of darkness to destroy Thor’s beloved city of Asgard — by killing the demon beast, Surtur. After killing Surtur, Thor comes back to Asgard to find that his father has been replaced by his brother, the god of mischief, Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Oden (Anthony Hopkins) tells his sons that Ragnarok is still coming in the shape of their sister, the goddess of death, Hela (Cate Blanchett). While attempting to escape Hela, the two demigods get knocked out of the portal and into another planet where warriors are forced to fight against each other. The ruler of the planet, only known as the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum), forces Thor into fighting, claiming that he will let Thor go if he defeats his champion. A fellow Avenger, The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), soon appears, which sets up a new dynamic duo within The Avengers franchise. The film does a remarkably good job at completing Thor’s journey to becoming King of Asgard. In the past two movies, viewers have seen Thor find himself be the hero of Earth. Now that his relationship with Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) has ended, and Earth is protected for the time being, Thor sees this as a good time to focus on his home world and his people. Nevertheless, Jane Foster’s abrupt departure lacked any emotion. The couple dated for nearly two years, so there should have been more explanation as to...
by LeBron Hill | Oct 13, 2017 | News Slider
“Happy Death Day” delivers a unique take on the “Groundhog Day” inspired genre. Jessica Rothe (La La Land) plays Tree Gelbman, a stereotypical sorority girl who lives a life of late night parties and early morning hangovers. With her mother’s passing and birthday on the same date, she has become reluctant to celebrate. She begins her day by waking up with a hangover and realizing she’s in Carter’s bed, played by Israel Broussard. He offers to cure her hangover but she quickly denies the help and begins the walk of shame back to the sorority house. On the way home, she receives multiple phone calls from her father, which she ignores. Her roommate and loyal friend, Lori (Ruby Modine) attempt to celebrate Gelbman’s birthday but are both soon turned down. Gelbman later stops at her professor’s office inside a hospital, where the audience learns that the two are having an affair. While walking to a party later in the day, she finds herself approached by the killer. In a last attempt of survival, she fights to get rid of the killer but to no avail. To her surprise, she wakes up at the beginning of the day and begins to relive it. Gelbman initially believes that she has had a bad dream and continues the day as normal, but in doing so the same outcome happens. Realizing that this is not a dream, she confides in Carter about her situation and he helps her find out who the killer is. She spends her each repeated day investigating which one of her friends or acquaintances wanted her dead. During her investigation, she realizes the error of her ways in how she treated people and how her actions affect the people who truly care about her. At the end of the...
by LeBron Hill | Oct 8, 2017 | News Slider
You’re Not Alone (YNA) was once a program for only graduate students, but the organization has now become accessible to the entire student body. YNA is different from the counseling center, being a student-led organization. The current President, Lis Leudemann, is acting in her second semester as president, earning the position last February. For Leudemann, the desire for YNA was to give students with mental health struggles a safe place and to a establish an overall more welcoming environment on campus. “I wanted YNA to be something that looks out for the student body,” Leudemann said. “It makes for a better community for people who are mentally ill and makes Lipscomb a more accepting and aware society.” She expresses that before YNA was established, Lipscomb was not necessarily putting the issue of mental health on the back-burner, but rather they “put it to the side.” She recalled that during September in 2016, which is nationally known as suicide-awareness month, nothing was publicly done in acknowledgment. This past September, however, has presented many events to raise awareness for the issue, such as a viewing of the documentary “Looking for Luke.” The junior psychology major shed light on some of the issues that victims of mental illness face in America. “There’s a stigma surrounding mental illness,” she said, “that people with mental illness or who have anxiety are crazy or messed up or it is their fault.” Leudemann sayid that might discourage those struggling with mental health from seeking help. Since being diagnosed with OCD at age 13, Leudemann has dealt with the issues firsthand and understands what it is like to cope with the illness on campus. After realizing she needed help, Leudemann started counseling through the counseling center as a...
