by Grant Bricker | Nov 7, 2020 | News, News Slider
Lipscomb, like school all around the world, has had to adapt its schedules to deal with the pandemic. Changes had to be made to accommodate holiday breaks and also to deal with COVID-19 regulations. Earlier in the semester, university leaders decided to cancel breaks for Labor Day in September and fall break in October. There likely are more changes to come as the school and students grapple with the impact of the COVID pandemic. “This is what we have consistently announced in the All Bisons Care plan,” said Kim Chaudoin, assistant vice president of public relations and communications. “All classes and exams after Thanksgiving break will be virtual.” All of the residence halls on Lipscomb’s campus will be closed from Nov. 21-28. Students will then be allowed to return to their dorms after Thanksgiving break. Any students who are unable to vacate their dorm room and go home during the break will need to have their exceptions approved by the dean of housing and residence life. Once classes begin after Thanksgiving break, there will no longer be any in-person meetings for classes or exams. This change only applies to those who are enrolled in undergraduate classes. Students may stay at their homes or return to dorms. The ability to move around on campus will still be the same. Students will be allowed to eat on campus, leave campus, and to socialize on campus. This is so that students who are unsure about their health after Thanksgiving break won’t have to worry about spreading or getting the virus. It will also make it so that students won’t have to spend...
by Kathryn Farris | Nov 4, 2020 | BREAKING NEWS, News, News Slider, Politics
Tuesday night, Americans turned their eyes upon electoral maps and social media updates in order to catch a glimpse of the winner of the 2020 Presidential Election. However, a pandemic-caused increase in mail-in-ballots has led to uncertainty in certain swing states on who will take the victory. Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia and Pennsylvania are among “swing states” currently dominating headlines because of unreported ballots. However, what is clear is that this race will be far from a landslide for either candidate. The close race will likely be decided in the coming week and could be legally disputed. Wisconsin is currently favoring Biden, yet 5 percent of the vote has yet to be counted. However, the majority of those uncounted votes are from mail-in-ballots which have statistically favored democrats. Michigan is currently favoring Biden, yet officials say it could be until Friday Nov. 6th for all ballots to be processed and counted. Georgia is favoring Trump, but the race could come down to a number of votes and Georgia Democrats remain optimistic due to uncounted mail-in-ballots from blue counties. Pennsylvania currently favors Trump, yet officials have held that it could take up to Nov. 6th for final numbers. Nevada currently has only 67 percent of the vote in. The state went blue for Clinton in 2016, but Joe Biden currently maintains a lead of only 8 thousand votes. Political science professor, Dr. Susan Haynes talked with us on the instance that a decision wasn’t made on election day. “The constitution does have deadlines and dates, which you have the general election, and then you have the electors of the electoral college...
by Mckenzi Harris | Nov 3, 2020 | News, News Slider, Politics
As election day winds down and the nation gets closer to learning who will be president for the next four years, some Lipscomb students were eager to share their opinions about just how important it is for American citizens to vote. Political science major Austin Travis said voting is a key part of keeping a republic and the government running. “I think it’s so important,” said Travis, “Turning out to vote is how we keep our democracy and our system of government. Elective leaders don’t have a mandate to govern if nobody turns out for their elections. They don’t really know if they have the support of the absolute majority of the voting population because they just don’t turn out to vote.” Political science major Elena Walker said she was just thrilled to get the opportunity to exercise the right to vote in a presidential election for the first time. “It was exciting,” said Walker. “But I think also with the two options it was kind of hard to choose I think with the current political environment. “But it’s still important to vote, so I voted. I think its really important because there are a lot of countries around the world where people don’t even get the opportunity to vote. Especially being a woman, that’s kind of an anomaly in today’s world, so I think it’s really important that we exercise our right even whether or not we think it’s going to have an effect or not.” Lumination Network will have you covered with the details as the election day winds down and the decision is made. Check back here for more information...
by Schyler Jones | Nov 3, 2020 | News, News Slider
Vandals who tried to destroy the Black Student Union’s message on the Lipscomb bison only succeeded in angering that organization and making it more determined to get its message across. “Honestly, I was ticked off, but not surprised,” said BSU Vice President and Chaplain Trey Phillips. Saturday afternoon, the BSU painted the bison in celebration of the “Educate, Empower, and Elevate” event they held the previous Thursday. They originally planned to paint the bison the day of the event but had to postpone due to rain. BSU’s president, Dorie Harrison, made sure they followed all protocols required to rightfully paint the bison. She went through both Student Life and their sponsor, Asa Bailey, to get permission. When the BSU finished painting the bison, they wrote the time 3:30 p.m. on the back. This was done to comply with a new rule that was put in place last year. It ensures no one could mistakenly paint over the bison within the 24-hour time period in which the approved painting is required to stay on. They had originally painted the bison black, with a raised fist and the acronyms “BSU” and “BLM” below it. On Sunday morning, however, Phillips woke up to find someone had defaced the bison. “BLM” had been marked out and rewritten at the top, with what appeared to be the letter “F” in front of it. “When we got done painting it the first time, I expected the resistance, but you know, it still angered me when I saw that someone did it,” Phillips explained. Phillips sent a picture of the defaced bison to the BSU GroupMe, trying...
by Kathryn Farris | Nov 2, 2020 | News, News Slider, Politics
As the reality of the upcoming election sets in, uncertainty about what the night will look like sets in across the nation. During a global pandemic, the US has had an increase in the number of mail-in-ballots, resulting in questions over when exactly we’ll know our next president. “I’ve read about several scenarios, and nobody really has a definitive answer about it,” says Dr. Marc Schwerdt of Lipscomb’s political science department. “Either the victory is going to be by a razor-thin margin, or we really don’t have a good handle on exactly what turnouts going to be like, and you’ll be able to see a fairly significant victory.” So far, voters have cast more than 94 million ballots for this election, a number that makes up more than 68% of voter turnout in the 2016 presidential election. In Texas, a possible swing state for this year’s election, voter turnout has already exceeded that of 2016. Schwerdt believes that the record number of early voters can be contributed to a rise in total turnout but also fears over Covid-19, he says “Certainly, we are having record early voter turnout, but I think it’s also driven a lot by people who are scared that if they try to go on election day, they’ll have a higher risk of catching something,” “This is happening especially among older voters or maybe more vulnerable voters who have a pre-existing condition of some sort. I also think we will see higher turnout because that just seems to be the trend for the last two or three elections.” However, Schwerdt doesn’t see this record turnout favoring one candidate over another. “What’s concerning...
by Schyler Jones | Oct 28, 2020 | News, News Slider, Politics
Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the United States Supreme Court on Monday, becoming the fifth woman to serve on the Supreme Court. The proceedings were more controversial than usual as this vote now gives the Supreme Court a 6-3 conservative majority. Three of these justices have now been appointed by Trump. A primary source of contention came from the vote taking place so close to Election Day. Although the Constitution allows such a vote, the issue was one of precedent. In 2016, Republican senators refused to consider President Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland after Antonin Scalia’s death because the election was nine months out. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, who refused to consider Garland in 2016, has currently been a driving force to get Barrett confirmed only weeks before the election. McConnell claimed this time is different because the Senate and Presidency are currently held by the same party. Barret was confirmed in a 52-48 vote that was almost entirely split down party lines (with the exception of Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine). Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer called it “one of the darkest days in the 231-year history of the United States.” Schumer feels that the Nov. 3 election, in which millions of Americans have already voted, should have been the determining factor in who names a new Supreme Court justice. After her swearing-in ceremony by Justice Clarence Thomas, Barrett stated, “It is the job of a judge to resist her policy preferences…The oath that I have solemnly taken tonight means at its core that I will do my job without any fear or favor and that...
