by Cole Gray | Nov 7, 2018 | News Slider
Republicans swept Tennessee’s major races Tuesday, capping a contentious midterm campaign season with a victory. Marsha Blackburn (R) will become the state’s first female senator after being declared the winner over Phil Bredesen (D), the former two-term governor of Tennessee. Blackburn campaigned on her support of President Trump, immigration restriction and tax cuts. It was the most expensive Senate race in history. “Thank you for believing in me, and for hearing our message, and for giving me your vote, and for allowing me to be the first woman ever elected to the Senate from Tennessee,” Blackburn said. “Just imagine this, it is a conservative woman to boot!” In his concession speech, Bredesen encouraged young voters to “stay engaged and never, ever, ever give up.” Bill Lee was voted Tennessee’s next governor, handily defeating Democratic nominee and former Nashville mayor Karl Dean. The Franklin business owner focused on rural issues, such as expanding broadband access to rural communities. “Tennessee can not only be a place that leads in this region, but Tennessee can be a place that leads in America,” Lee said in his victory speech. “I believe all Tennesseans have more that unites us than divides us.” Dean served as Nashville’s mayor from 2007 to 2015 and was facing an uphill battle as a Democratic candidate in a traditionally red state. “I’m too old to cry and it hurts too much to laugh,” Dean said in his concession speech. “Tennesseans have made a great choice for our next governor,” current governor Bill Haslam said in a statement. “Bill Lee is a man with strong character and love for our...
by Russell Vannozzi | Nov 6, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
The wait is finally over for college basketball fans. The Lipscomb men’s basketball team begins its quest for a second consecutive ASUN championship on Tuesday when Sewanee pays a visit to Nashville. Lipscomb is loaded with experience, but that means expectations are high. The ASUN tabbed the Bisons as the preseason favorite to win the league, and numerous media outlets also have projected Lipscomb to return to the NCAA tournament. “Regardless of how last season went, which everyone still wants to talk about, we’d still be ready to play and excited about what’s ahead,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “It’s a fun group and a group that has a lot of potential.” Here are five storylines to watch as Lipscomb begins its season: Can the Bisons recreate last season’s magic? Championship seasons usually require the stars to align, and that’s exactly what happened for Lipscomb last year. The Bisons swept Belmont for the first time since the 2009-10 season, finished atop the ASUN with a 10-4 conference record and knocked off Florida Gulf Coast on the road to take the league title in front of a national TV audience. With each of its top six scorers returning, it’s reasonable to assume that Lipscomb’s offense could be improved in 2018-19. Couple that with the attrition that other ASUN teams have experienced during the offseason and it’s easy to see why the Bisons have been tabbed as the favorite. “We’ve got a new team with a new schedule and a new season,” Alexander said. “Our only goal is for this year’s team to be as good as this year’s team can...
by Spencer Boehme | Nov 6, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
This year’s women’s basketball season brings Lipscomb fans a lot of exciting possibilities. If you ask Lady Bisons head coach Greg Brown, “it’s going to be a fun season.” All things considered, the 2018-19 year might also be a tough season. After finishing last year as a fourth seed that destroyed USC Upstate in the ASUN quarterfinals, the Lady Bisons will return this year with some expectations —but seven former seniors, including superstar Loren Cagle, won’t be there to help. “[The team] expects to go back,” Brown said. “They expect to host [a tournament game]. And I think that’s the thing that we finally have gotten to now, they expect to win. And they expect to go into practice knowing the things that it takes to win.” The Lady Bisons will have to rely on redshirt sophomore forward Emily Kmec, junior guard Lauren Rau, and sophomore guard Taylor Clark, who each had impressive seasons last year. This year’s roster will also feature six freshmen, whom Brown said he anticipates to undergo “a lot of growth.” The schedule is daunting, both in and out of the ASUN conference, featuring road matchups against teams like Clemson, Cincinnati, Belmont and Georgia, alongside home and road games against Florida Gulf Coast and Liberty. “If we continue to work hard, get better and play with a little bit of hunger and a lot of humility, then we’ve got a chance to be pretty good,” Brown said. Here are six storylines to watch this season: Loren Cagle’s absence When you look at the stats from last season, Cagle played well over 1000 minutes, converted on 192...
by Sara Jones | Nov 6, 2018 | News Slider
Bill Lee and Karl Dean will face off in the gubernatorial election tomorrow to succeed Tennessee governor Bill Haslam. Throughout the election, education has been at the forefront of debates and discussions. Over the past 16 years, governors Phil Bredesen and Bill Haslam have worked hard to improve higher education policy, implementing rograms like Tennessee Promise, which provides tuition-free community college for qualified applicants Due to the Tennessee Promise program and other initiatives, the state in 2017 had the highest rate of applicants for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in the nation. Tennessee’s next governor will he expected to build on this progress. Dean and Lee have both promised to prioritize Tennessee’s education system if they are elected to office. Dean, who served as Nashville’s mayor from 2007 to 2015, is the Democratic nominee. He publicly praised Haslam for his work with the Tennessee Promise program. In fact, Dean created public-private support for free community college before Tennessee Promise was implemented statewide. Although Dean supports Tennessee’s current focus on increasing the number of college graduates, he also wants to increase access to vocational training programs. These training programs will align with the fast-growing occupations and industries of Tennessee. Republican nominee Bill Lee is the president of Lee Co., a home services business worth $250 million. He also served on the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and Belmont University’s Board of Trustees. Lee’s diverse experience with business and higher education has led him to advocate for vocational, technical and agricultural education in Tennessee. During his campaign, he stressed the importance of providing opportunities for all Tennesseans, including those...
by Russell Vannozzi | Nov 5, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb women’s soccer team patiently waited to learn its fate for the program’s first NCAA tournament appearance Monday afternoon at a watch party in the Allen Arena Hall of Fame room. As luck would have it, the Lady Bisons (14-4-2) were paired with another NCAA first-timer in Mississippi State (9-6-2). The first-round match is set for Friday at 4 p.m. in Starkville. “It’s going to be a difficult game, but I’m excited about the opportunity to travel,” Lipscomb coach Kevin O’Brien said. “We thought we might get Vanderbilt and that would’ve been a great game, but I know the girls really were excited about being able to get on the road and get the [full] NCAA postseason tournament experience.” The two teams have a history – Lipscomb went to Starkville and emerged with a 1-0 victory over the Bulldogs on August 26, 2016. Ellen Lundy scored the lone tally in the 16th minute and goalie Anna Buhigas made nine saves to preserve the win. “We know Mississippi State and played them a couple years ago,” O’Brien said. “I’m actually friends with their coaching staff a little bit. They’re going to be motivated.” Lipscomb junior forward and 2018 ASUN Player of the Year Olivia Doak is one of seven current Lady Bisons that played in the 2016 match at Mississippi State. The nine-goal scorer said that experience should be a confidence booster for Lipscomb. “I remember their environment being really crazy,” Doak said. “Knowing that we won on [their] field before is good to have in the back of our minds.” Lipscomb clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA...
by Kathryn Farris | Nov 5, 2018 | News Slider
Dana Carpenter was in third grade when she discovered her talent for storytelling. While waiting for the school bus, she excitedly told stories to classmates and watched as their facial expressions reflected the emotions she was narrating. “I’d always come in with a fresh story, and it was always exhilarating to watch their faces react to being scared, sad or happy,” Carpenter said about her early experiences writing. Carpenter continued writing all the way through her high school years, but “chickened out” after arriving to college. Her unfamiliarity with writers on campus led her to dive into academics and put creative writing to the side. It wasn’t until she was working on her PhD at the University of Mississippi that she rediscovered her passion for writing. “My father who was a crop-duster was killed in a plane accident on Father’s Day weekend,” Carpenter said. After returning to school after the horrific accident, she spent her days working on her dissertation in the school library. With the difficult experience still on her mind, she found herself drawn to the library’s old records and census data. “I immersed myself in the genealogy of my dad’s family” Carpenter said. When she was growing up, Carpenter noted that her father would always tell her “write my story for me someday.” She found herself doing just that, researching during 15-minute study breaks that turned into 4-hour long dives into her family history. The microfilms and census data revitalized her Dad’s stories. “I felt him there, and it was like he was giving me my dream back.” Once Carpenter began teaching American Literature at Lipscomb,...
