by Kathryn Farris | Jul 27, 2021 | COVID-19, News, News Slider
As summer’s end steadily approaches, low vaccination rates and the rising transmission of the COVID Delta variant are sparking concerns for colleges across the country. “We’re monitoring cases on and off campus that affect our community right now. The Delta variant seems to be a much more aggressive type of the virus,” said Kevin Eidson, Lipscomb’s Director of Health and Wellness. “We want as many people to be vaccinated as possible… getting the vaccine allows you to have some more freedoms that you really don’t have without the protection of the vaccine,” Eidson said. In a video sent out to faculty and staff, Susan Galbreath, Lipscomb’s senior vice president for strategy, shared the results of a campus survey revealing 55 percent of Lipscomb’s total population is vaccinated. Full-time employees are at a 74 percent vaccination rate. While higher than Tennessee’s vaccination rates, Lipscomb still falls behind reaching herd immunity. According to Yale Medicine, COVID variants could indicate 80 percent of a population would need to be vaccinated in order to reach herd immunity. The CDC updated its recommendations on July 27 to encourage indoor mask use for vaccinated individuals in COVID “hot spots.” Earlier this summer, the center had rolled back all restrictive recommendations for vaccinated people (except during travel). Davidson County falls under the CDC’s rating of “high” for transmission levels. In response to the new CDC recommendation, Lipscomb says it will “continue to monitor local, state and federal guidance as we get nearer to the beginning of the semester.” Current policy dictates unvaccinated students are encouraged to practice mask-wearing and could be placed in quarantine if exposed...
by Jayme Foltz | Jun 29, 2021 | Arts and Entertainment, COVID-19, News Slider
COVID left most Tennessee residents and tourists and performers saying goodbye to the 2020 entertainment scene in Nashville. Now, it’s 2021. Forty-five percent of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated and 53% of the population has received one dose of the vaccine. As the world continues to slowly go back to normal, so does Music City. With venues being reopened, artists getting out of the studios and their homes and fans ready to cheer, big name concerts and festivals are making a grand comeback to Tennessee. Here’s a sampling: Let Freedom Sing! Music City July 4th @ Downtown Nashville – July 4 The free concert is the city’s first major post-pandemic event and will be headlined by country music star Brad Paisley. Lily Hiatt, Regi Wooten and Friends, Priscilla Block, and more will also take the stage. The event will also feature the Nashville Symphony in a synchronized performance with what officials are heralding as the largest fireworks display in Nashville’s history. Lifest Music City @ Hideaway Farm – July 29-31 Originating in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Lifest extends Music City for the very first time with Lifest Music City. The Christian music festivals are presented by nonprofit organization Life Promotions, focused on supporting mental health and wellness in today’s youth. With three days filled with music and fun, Lifest gives the option to its concert goers to camp on the festival grounds. The festival will include performances from Newsboys, Skillet, Lecrae, Sidewalk Prophets, Mandisa, Matthew West, Michael W. Smith, and more. Luke Bryan @ Bridgestone Arena – July 30 Fresh off his third ACM Entertainer of the...
by Kathryn Farris | May 25, 2021 | COVID-19, News, News Slider
Lipscomb is continuing its goal of protecting the campus community from COVID, especially with the plans for a full-capacity return in the fall. On Wednesday, May 26 the University is holding its second free vaccine clinic for students, faculty and staff. “We’re trying to do the right thing for our community in being able to protect the community as best as we can.” Said Dr. Kevin Eidson, Director of Health and Wellness to Lumination reporter Abigail Davis in April. The clinic is set to administer both the second dose of Moderna for April event attendees as well as the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Lipscomb previously had the intention of distributing the J&J vaccine at the earlier event. However, the distribution of the vaccine was put on a temporary pause by the CDC after six ‘rare’ cases of blood-clotting in recipients. The CDC has since recommended the use of the Johnson & Johnson be resumed. The free vaccine clinic is available to current Lipscomb Academy and Lipscomb University faculty and staff and university students ages 18 and over. No appointment is necessary. While no official announcement has been made regarding required vaccinations come fall, Lipscomb is pushing students to upload vaccine proof-of-dose to the online health system. Photo via Abigail...
by Camryn Given | May 7, 2021 | Arts and Entertainment, COVID-19, News Slider
When we look at industries that were hit the hardest in 2020, live music can be found at the top of the list. The music industry, and more specifically the live music industry, was stopped in its tracks last year once COVID revealed itself as a global epidemic. All of a sudden there were no more upcoming concerts, tickets were refunded, and tours were canceled. Now, as roughly ⅓ of Americans are now fully vaccinated, steps are being taken towards normalcy. But what do those steps look like for live music? According to visitmusiccity.com, concerts are back with precautions in place. For example, there are no dance floors open and there can’t be more than 2 performers on stage at a time. This year Nashville is already set to host several big-name artists, from James Taylor to Justin Bieber. There are plenty of upcoming concerts announced in venues like the Ryman and Bridgestone, but what about the small independent concert spaces? The pandemic has put a very large financial strain on many of them. In response to this, several independent venues formed the Music Venue Alliance last fall to support the live music industry and raise awareness of the challenges it faces. The Exit In was almost permanently closed until fans pulled through with donations recently. Now, since restrictions are loosening many are jumping at the chance to hold events. As of now, The Basement East is one of the smaller venues offering full capacity shows. About a week ago Governor Lee announced, “It’s time for celebrations, weddings and conventions and concerts and parades and proms and everything in...
by Hannah Cron | Apr 25, 2021 | COVID-19, News, News Slider
Over the past weeks, Lipscomb has begun to announce the precautions that will be in place involving COVID-19 for the fall semester. According to the new plans, many restrictions that were in place during the 2020-2021 academic year will be lifted in hopes that many things will return to normal. According to President Randolph Lowry, this is due in part to how well the Lipscomb community was able to follow the guidelines in place for the past two semesters. “We have not missed a beat as together we have turned challenges into opportunities, thriving in a way that will set the tone for our future in this new world,” said President Lowry in an email to Lipscomb students, faculty and staff. Not only will the upcoming fall 2021 semester see Lipscomb return to a regular in-person model for classes, but class capacity will be fully restored. Additionally, capacity will be increased for on-campus dining, residence halls and sporting events. As of April 22, face coverings are no longer required outdoors or when alone indoors. Masks are still required in all buildings on campus when there are others around and social distancing is highly encouraged. These guidelines will likely continue into the fall semester, but all plans are subject to change as governmental and CDC regulations are updated. Some questions remain as to what the return to campus may look like in the fall, particularly regarding COVID testing and vaccinations. According to Lipscomb’s Incident Management Team, these plans are being made and will be communicated to faculty and students as soon as they are finalized. “We are consulting with our...
by Micah Kennedy | Apr 23, 2021 | BREAKING NEWS, COVID-19, News Slider, Sports
Another COVID team quarantine forced a weekend doubleheader between the Lady Bisons and North Dakota Fighting Hawks to be canceled. This is not the first time that the Lady Bisons have had games cancelled due to COVID-19 precautions. There are currently no updates as to if the games will be rescheduled. Considering the season is coming to a close soon and the conference tournament starts on May 7, its tough to find room for rescheduling this late in the season. The team sits at .500 with a 16-16 record, and a 5-7 conference record. There are four games remaining on the Lady Bisons schedule. The team has a one-game stop at Tennessee State University at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 28, provided it’s not canceled. To close out the season, the team will is scheduled for a three-game home series against Bellarmine with a doubleheader at 4 and 6 p.m. Saturday, May 1, and a single finale at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 2. Lumination will have more on the cancellations and team schedule once more information...
