Black History Month Trivia Night ends after Double Tiebreaker

Black History Month Trivia Night ends after Double Tiebreaker

Lipscomb kicked off Black History Month by hosting a Black History-oriented trivia Wednesday night. The event, which was held at the Bennett Campus Center, had students team up as they were tested on their knowledge of various people and events throughout Black history. The Office of Intercultural Development and the Student Activities Board worked together on forming the event. The two organizations had previously collaborated on numerous cultural events on campus, such as Welcome to Our World Week and Hispanic Heritage Month. For Britany Gonzalez, a Junior Law, Justice, and Society major from Memphis and OID Intern, the trivia night was a success. Especially since it was her first time hosting the event since she’s been an OID intern. “We had a pretty good number of people show up and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves,” Gonzalez said. “I would say it was an overall success!” Britany Gonzalez & Esteban Gonzalez After four rounds of trivia, the teams found themselves competing in two different tiebreaker rounds. Finally, Team “Goo-Goo Clusters” broke the tie by answering “When did Dr. Martin Luther King deliver his ‘I Have A Dream’ Speech?” correctly. The team was comprised of Abigail Gunter, a sophomore Nursing major from Raleigh, NC,  Dustyn Baker, a Junior Theology and Ministry major from Atlanta, GA, Dan DiGrazia, a Sophomore Theology and Ministry major from Elgin, IL, and Tim Earles, a Junior Mechanical Engineering major from Damascus, MD. The four students won tickets to The National Museum of African American Music and free merchandise for the museum’s gift shop. Baker, along with his teammates, was excited to win the trivia contest...
BREAKING: Mask mandate extended until Feb. 7

BREAKING: Mask mandate extended until Feb. 7

While other schools delayed the return to in-person for remote learning, Lipscomb returned to school with an indoor mask mandate that has been extended from Jan. 21 to Feb. 7. “Currently, our overall number of COVID-19 cases in the Lipscomb community remain fairly consistent. We also had a significant increase in the number of cases among faculty and staff this past week,” Dr. Matt Paden, executive vice president, said in the email Thursday. Positivity rates on campus have been increasing steadily since the start of 2022, and on Jan. 4, Lipscomb reached its highest rate so far. According to the Campus COVID Statistics, more than 40 positive tests occurred on Jan. 18. The majority of the positive tests were from students.  Maggie Bradford, a junior marketing major from Onekama, Michigan, is in quarantine after testing positive last Wednesday. Bradford originally went into quarantine with her roommate in their dorm room Monday after showing symptoms.  After receiving her positive test results, she was moved to the quarantine floor Wednesday. “I feel like it might go up a little bit more just because of how contagious the Omicron variant is and just with how many people are (together) all the time in class and things,” Bradford said via Zoom. “…With this [variant] especially, it’s easy to have and not realize you’re sick with it until you come down with symptoms. You can be contagious before you have symptoms.” Despite the cases on campus possibly going up, Bradford said Lipscomb has done a “good job” in keeping their students safe through protective efforts, such as encouraging students to wear masks. The mask...
Classes remain in-person, on schedule; masks required indoors through Jan. 31

Classes remain in-person, on schedule; masks required indoors through Jan. 31

As the upcoming semester gears up, questions have been circling over the current rise in COVID cases across the state and postponements of in-person learning for other area universities. Lipscomb notified students and faculty via email on Tuesday morning that the university will welcome back students for in-person learning as previously planned.  “We continue to believe that it will take every member of the Bison Herd doing their part to ensure we can have a productive and engaging semester,” said Dr. Matt Paden, executive vice president, in his email to students.  “An effective way to mitigate the spread of the virus is to wear a mask.” Lipscomb is “temporarily” reinstating the indoor mask mandate for students, faculty and guests regardless of vaccination status. Masks will be required indoors through Jan. 21. Lipscomb has since updated the policy and extended the mask mandate to Jan. 31. “The CDC, as well as state and local health officials, recommend wearing an N95 or KN95 mask if possible,” Paden said. “These masks provide the greatest protection of everyone against the virus. We will continue to monitor the situation and adjust as appropriate.” Vaccinations are additionally being encouraged by the university. Free COVID vaccine and booster drives are scheduled to take place this semester on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 1-3 p.m. in Bennett Campus Center. University faculty (including student workers) are “currently required to comply” with the OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) federal vaccine mandate for employers with 100 or more employees. This means, before Jan. 10, Lipscomb employees will be required to receive the COVID vaccine to adhere to federal guidelines. “The U.S. Supreme Court has...
Lighting of the Green returns to bring Christmas spirit

Lighting of the Green returns to bring Christmas spirit

Students, family members and Nashville residents gathered on Lipscomb’s campus Tuesday night to celebrate the 17th Lighting of the Green. It is an annual tradition hosted by Amy Grant that ushers its attendees into the holiday mood.  Some family-friendly festivities began as early as 4 p.m. including a photo opportunity with Santa for the children and a holiday market with specialty vendors.  When the sun went down and the many Christmas lights began to glow brighter, the concert began. The grass outside of the Student Activities Center that usually lies empty was converted into a space for hundreds, complete with a large stage, speakers and seats for guests.  Since the event was entirely virtual last year, many expressed their feelings on returning in person.  “Are you happy to be back live this year?” asked NewsChannel 5’s Leland Stanton, the emcee for the event. He received delighted applause from the audience.  The opening act was Lipscomb Academy’s chorus followed by Amy Grant’s first appearance. Grant has been with the event since its first show almost two decades ago.  “I cannot believe we’ve been doing this for 17 years,” said Grant. “It’s so wonderful that you all made the effort – I have no idea where you parked or how far you walked!”  Her second song was her own classic “Tennessee Christmas.” CeCe Winans, a well-known gospel artist, performed next. “Alright, it’s Christmas,” Winans said before jumping into her upbeat performance. Let’s have some fun!” There were several other songs from the university choir and Corinna Gill, who is Grant’s daughter. Not only was there abundant Christmas music featured, but some clips...
Dates to know for upcoming breaks 

Dates to know for upcoming breaks 

As the winter holidays are approaching, students in dorms are expected to go home and are therefore not allowed to remain in the residence halls. If you are living on campus, below are some upcoming dates to keep in mind. For Thanksgiving break:  Halls close on Nov. 20 at 10 a.m.   Halls reopen Nov. 27 at 6 p.m.  For Winter break:  Halls close on Dec. 16th at 1 p.m.  For graduating students, halls close on Dec. 18th at 6 p.m. Halls reopen Jan. 8th at 6 p.m. For the holiday dining hours, you can find those...
Sigma Alpha embraces cryptocurrency, accepts Bitcoin as dues

Sigma Alpha embraces cryptocurrency, accepts Bitcoin as dues

Of the several social clubs at Lipscomb, only one will accept your club dues through Bitcoin. Sigma Alpha is pioneering the introduction of cryptocurrency to college organizations.  Sigma Alpha started in 2019 and is a smaller and relatively newer club that prides itself on its recent innovation. Sean Hagan, a junior philosophy major from Nashville, introduced the idea of incorporating Bitcoin.  Hagan is the president of the club and sees Bitcoin as a way for his younger group to build their reputation as well as their finances. This fall was the first semester that members were able to pay their dues in Bitcoin instead of dollars.  “We have to find these creative solutions and innovative ways to protect and maintain at least what we do have, potentially build our purchasing power, and increase what we’re able to do,” Hagan said.  Bitcoin is a relatively new and upcoming currency that takes place all digitally. Unlike fiat currency, government-backed money like the U.S. dollar, there is no paper trail.  Even before it was officially created in 2009, Bitcoin has had an interesting and somewhat mysterious history.  “Bitcoin is a digital asset. It was created in the wake of the [economic] crises by the man or entity under the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto,” Hagan said.   The identity of Nakamoto is entirely unknown. Prior to Bitcoin’s creation, it published a paper that explained its function and use.  “It’s built on the concept of digital scarcity,” Hagan said. “There are only 21 million bitcoins that will ever be in supply.”  Bitcoin’s set value is what makes it stand out from other value systems such...