by Leslie Newman | Jul 6, 2015 | News Slider
Lipscomb’s three swings and a ring saying likely grew because there are so many swings on campus and so often passers-by see couples sitting on the swings. The basic premise of “romantic” myth is that if a couple is spotted swinging three times, then the woman will get a ring. Sometimes love does spring from those swings, other times not. “My brother and his girlfriend used to sit on the swings on campus all the time and they did get married,” 2010 grad Rachel Stevens said. “He even built a swing just like the one on campus in their backyard.” Beaman Library Archivist Marie Byers added another detail to Lipscomb students’ pursuit of a college-romance-turned-lifelong-commitment. Byers said before there were swings there were signature green benches all over campus which were known as “office spotlights.” The benches were placed in very public areas to make sure modesty was a part of any heterosexual seating. The swings of love didn’t even arrive on campus until the spring of 1989, when students spied them upon returning from spring break. The swings accompanied plans for some major buildings on campus. The new library, athletic facilities, an addition to Johnson Hall, more parking spaces and a new baseball field were all to begin construction that July. To make room six run-down houses — they must have been, as students referred to them as “the ghetto” — were demolished. That neighborhood stood where the baseball field is now. Ronnie Farris, head postmaster for The Connection, used to live in the old neighborhood that was displaced for the baseball field. He remembers having a picture of his son on a...
by Leslie Newman | Jun 7, 2015 | News Slider
While it’s a quiet campus during the summer months, there is action galore in the College of Pharmacy, where students are conducting research for a variety of projects. One of the projects is studying the drug that is used to treat the genetic disorder which causes some cases of obesity. Five percent of the overweight people in the United States suffer from a genetic disorder that causes severe obesity. These people have receptors in their brain that are “broken,” causing the body to store nutrients as fat. Rising junior Georgia McCartney is a dietetics major helping with the research for this drug. “Learning about research and using my understanding of obesity has helped me see dietetics in a new way,” McCartney said. “I can understand obesity in not only terms of food, but in a person’s genetics.” McCartney said she hopes to further her career in dietetics by helping people practice healthier cooking. Students majoring in pharmacy, bio-chemistry, dietetics, pre-med and more are gaining experience to further their careers. Senior Lincoln Shade aspires to be a doctor and is working on the research for a liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry with green tea catechins. “Doing research will not only be a resume builder but a good way to gain valuable experience,” he said, adding that he even participated by drinking more green tea. Shade is one of many students conducting summer research. What was once five has grown to be over 60 students working on research projects this summer. “I want to grow the undergrad population that come into the program along with the grad students in the future,” said Scott Akers, Pharmacetical Sciences...
