by Madeline Smith | Sep 15, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
Details of underage drinking, fighting, racism and sex at a party on the Lipscomb campus in a former Vanderbilt basketball player’s upcoming “tell-all” book are not being overlooked by Lipscomb officials. “I don’t believe that this party happened, but I want to be real as a university,” said Sam Smith, associate dean of Campus Life. The claims are in former Vanderbilt University point guard Kyle Fuller’s book “Below the Rim.” An excerpt of the book was released recently in the Vanderbilt Hustler. The Tennessean has reported that the book, scheduled to be released next summer, is 40 percent completed. In the book’s first chapter, called “Dixieland,” the basketball player writes about this alleged party, and his account includes claims that the apartment hosting the party had alcohol, racist posters and “down” girls. Smith said he doesn’t believe the tale. Still, he said, “If this happened we need to take serious looks of what is going on. So we’re asking questions, but it’s still a very, very tough pill to swallow that this is really a possibility of something that happened on our campus.” The details in Fuller’s account are what makes the story unbelivable, according to members of the Lipscomb community. When it first was released, the chapter “Dixieland” claimed the party took place in Fanning Hall, despite Fanning being an all-girls dorm with very strict rules about visitors of the opposite sex. The story was later changed to say that the party took place in apartment-style housing, which was inferred to be The Village. “The problem with The Village is that there’s only one dorm a fight could...
by Madeline Smith | Sep 5, 2014 | News Slider
If sleep-deprived, goofily-dressed students are running around Lipscomb, do not worry, it just means Pledge Week has started. Bid Night kicked off the pledging process Thursday night in Alumni Auditorium. Pledges, or “new member orientees,” were introduced on stage in front of all of Greek life and many other members of the Lipscomb student body. “It was definitely nerve-wracking getting up on stage in front of everyone,” said Nola Mullican, a pledge of Delta Sigma who had to “grr” when she introduced herself as part of the process. The pledges of the various social clubs cheered and chanted in the auditorium, waiting to be called on to the stage to be formally introduced into Greek Life. Each club president announced the number of pledges they were taking, and then allowed the pledges to introduce themselves. Many of the female clubs had their pledges sing a song and do a dance number, while the male clubs took a more serious approach to introductions, but there were a few exceptions. New male social club Theta Psi had their pledges perform a stomp routine, and female club Kappa Chi had their pledges do their best runway walk while introducing themselves. Male club Sigma Omega Sigma had their pledges hold a garden gnome as they belted their introductions to the crowd. One spectacle that was missed at this semester’s Bid Night was male club Delta Tau’s skits that are usually performed by pledges. “This year is a little different because we decided not to take pledges,” said Blake Mitchell, a member of Delta Tau. “I missed seeing our guys up on stage, but...
by Madeline Smith | Sep 2, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
A new year means a new squad to cheer on Lipscomb’s men and women’s basketball teams. Last week, cheer hopefuls went through a weeklong process in order to become a Lipscomb cheerleader. “For tryouts, I am definitely looking for someone who can represent Lipscomb in the best form as far as school spirit is concerned,” head coach Shawn Despot said. “We want them to have a good game day appearance and vibe to get the crowd pumped. Also we want someone with strong skills and a back ground in cheerleading.” The process began with a general meeting for cheerleading hopefuls on Monday. Tuesday, the students trying out had a chance to learn two of Lipscomb’s cheers and time to practice stunting and tumbling. Wednesday, the men and women trying out headed to Premiere Athletics in Cool Springs to work on tumbling and stunting techniques. The final round of tryouts took place Thursday night, where cheers were performed and stunting and tumbling were showcased to the coaches. “It’s pretty intimidating,” transfer student Megan Gillon said. “You’re trying to pull out your best stuff so that they like you.” Each year, whether someone is a Lipscomb cheer alum or a first-timer they must participate in the tryout process. Senior Anna Claire Temple says the process has been daunting each year, even though this will be her fourth time on the squad and fourth time trying out. “It’s still as nerve wracking,” said Temple. “No spots are guaranteed since you have to try out every year, no matter how many times you’ve done it. It’s scary because you don’t know who exactly...
by Madeline Smith | Aug 27, 2014 | News Slider
A new school year means new beginnings, and for social clubs on Lipscomb’s campus those new beginning are on social media. Female social clubs Pi Delta, Delta Sigma, and Phi Sigma have joined various forms of social media in order to promote their clubs. Pi Delta was the pioneer social club to get on social media by starting an Instagram account. The brains behind the account, a transfer student named Sydney Smartt, said her sorority, Delta Zeta from The University of Alabama, inspired her. “Lots of sororities from state schools have accounts, and so I figured why not bring them to Lipscomb?” said Smartt. “I think it gives girls who want to pledge a glimpse at what the club is like and what events they do. It’s also a great way to get info out about prospectives and rush.” Anne Le, Phi Sigma’s historian, had similar reasons for beginning an Instagram account for her club. “I thought it was a good way to reach out to freshman so they can see events and things we do,” said Le. “And it’s also a place alumni can see what their club is up to.” The posts on Pi Delta and Phi Sigma’s accounts usually are from club events and contain information on the club’s event calendar. “I try to post before and after events to make sure people know what’s going on,” said Le. Delta Sigma is the only social club to have begun a Twitter account. The club tweets pictures and information from events, as well as retweets tweets about the club from various Lipscomb students. “We started off with...
by Madeline Smith | Apr 10, 2014 | News Slider
Need a gift card or a VIP parking spot? Lumination Radio is giving Lipscomb students the chance to win all of these things at a scavenger hunt to be held on Friday. “Students should come out and enjoy time away from school, work, and have some fun,” said Thomas Jones, director of radio operations. The scavenger hunt is organized to where students get clues to find various things on the scavenger hunt list. Whoever completes the list first will get first prize, a $100 J. Alexander’s gift card. Second place gets a $50 Target gift card and third place will receive a $25 Maggiano’s Little Italy gift card. The scavenger hunt will also feature a drawing that includes prizes such as gift cards, a surprise goody bag and a VIP parking spot at Lipscomb. The event takes place Friday from 4 to 6 p.m in Bison Square, with sign-ups at...
