by Charissa Ricker | Jun 18, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Alongside her grandma, student Veronika Jones worked with Music City Center throughout the entirety of the the CMA music festival and even found a potential career path she said she wants to pursue after graduation. The Junior International Affairs major worked the Fanfair inside Music City Center at the Radio Disney Country meet and greet. Jones was in charge of counting the fans that lined up and cutting off the line when the performers had to leave. “A lot of the times performers had somewhere to be right after they were done, like an interview or another show, so it was really fast paced,” Jones said. “I met a lot of really nice people that were really understanding if I did have to cut the line off.” Jones worked closely with artists Cam, Maddie & Tae, LANCO and more. She noted that one of her favorite parts about working the CMA Fest was meeting all different kinds of people, not just the performing artists. “Everybody I worked with was awesome, and I also met a whole lot of interesting people from all over the world,” Jones said. “I met these girls who all became friends through Twitter because they were all Kelsea Ballerini fans.” Despite the many people she met, Jones said her favorite person she worked with was her “Gran.” Jones’ grandmother works for Music City Center and has worked the CMA Music Festival the past nine years. Music is a big part of Jones’ family, and she spent a lot of her childhood at the Grand Ole Opry where her Gran worked as a tour guide. “If...
by Cavin Jacobson | Jun 15, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
There’s nothing easy about being a child. Within only half-a-decade from birth, you’re expected to walk, talk, socialize, behave and conform to the “adult” way of your culture. Nowadays, a conversation about emotion and the nuances of life are rarely shared with children outright; instead, children are expected to just grow and guess how the adults have it figured out (we don’t). This wasn’t always the case though. Several decades ago, a piano composer named Fred Rogers became upset with the way that early television treated its child audience. He was appalled with the silly and slapstick nature of TV shows aimed at younger audiences. So he put aside his goal of being an ordained Presbyterian minister and set out to create a show that would speak to children at their level, with dignity and sincerity, while also displaying authority and wisdom. And he did exactly that. Every day, Fred Rogers would be “Mister Rogers” to the children of the Pittsburgh area, and then to the rest of the United States. Won’t You be my Neighbor is a very special kind of documentary. It isn’t a biopic on the inner workings of the man Fred Rogers, and it isn’t some history piece detailing Mister Roger’s Neighborhood and the way it came to be renowned in the United States. It’s a barely even a documentary. Really, it’s something far more wholesome. Won’t You be my Neighbor is a celebration of a time long past. It’s a presentation of ideas and ideologies of one genuinely kind man. The film does not go deep into Fred Roger’s personal life, nor does it...
by Abbi Scott | Jun 13, 2018 | News Slider
Cyntoia Brown is a Lipscomb grad, a sex-trafficking victim and a prisoner serving a life-sentence. Brown was only 16 when the murder of Johnny Mitchell Allan took place. After running away from her adoptive family, Brown said she was forced into prostitution while she was living with a “pimp.” One day after, Brown was walking down the street when she was approached by Allan, who then offered her a ride near a fast food restaurant and then ended up driving her to his house. After bringing her to his home, Brown said Allan attempted to rape her. It was in this moment, Brown said, when she saw him reaching for something, which she thought was a gun. In self defense, she shot and killed Allan. Although she was only 16 at the time of the murder in 2004, she wasn’t tried as a child but as an adult. Through this trial, she received a life sentence. With this sentence, it doesn’t allow Brown to be eligible for parole until she is 69 years old. As she is presently serving this sentence, the guards at the Tennessee State Women’s Prison have described Brown as a “model inmate,” setting examples for the other prisoners. During her time in prison, Brown also achieved an associate of arts degree through Lipscomb University’s partnership with the Tennessee Prison for Women. Most recently, this past May, Brown had her first clemency hearing. “I am a changed person because I had no choice but to be,” Brown said in the hearing. As her case is publicly known due to social media advocates such as Kim Kardashian...
by Charissa Ricker | Jun 8, 2018 | News Slider
Lipscomb hosted the 38th Annual Christian Scholars’ Conference this week, kicking off on Wednesday night with The Fred D. Gray Plenary in Human and Civil Rights and introducing keynote speaker Dr. Molefi Kete Asante. Lipscomb’s President Randy Lowry gave the opening remarks at the 6th annual conference. “You can’t be who you need to be if you remain who your are,” Lowry said. “As we engage in these conversations and the stimulations and the challenge that’s here, well, we never could’ve been who we will be had we not shared this experience.” The lecture honored civil rights attorney, preacher and activist, Fred David Gray who introduced the keynote speaker. Originally from Montgomery, Alabama, Gray attended Nashville Christian Institute and spent time working for professors at David Lipscomb College. Gray received his law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law before returning to Alabama where he worked closely with the Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King Jr. As a young attorney in Alabama, Gray also defended Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks. “We have been able to assist in changing conditions and bringing about justice for all,” Gray said. “However, the struggle continues. We have not been able to change the hearts and the minds of our brothers and sisters.” Gray recounted how he later filed a suit in the United States District Court in Nashville against the then-President of David Lipscomb College, challenging the school’s segregation policies. In 2012, at the 32nd Annual Christian Scholars’ Conference, Gray received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Lipscomb University. “Never did I ever think I would be invited back to...
by Cavin Jacobson | Jun 8, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
In 2013, Liberty University claimed all use of the abbreviation LU, banning Lipscomb from using it as an official logo. In 2018, Liberty and Lipscomb will face off again, though this time it will be out on the court and the field. Liberty University has officially joined Lipscomb in the Atlantic Sun conference to become it’s 8th member. The school, which was formerly a part of the Big South conference, has made the swap over to the ASUN conference for the 2018-2019 season. Lipscomb, who won the ASUN Men’s Basketball tournament to advance to the NCAA playoffs, has a potential rival in Liberty University. Both are Christian schools located in the South, and both appeal to the same demographics. They’re similar enough that there was quite the debacle involving the use of “LU” to represent Lipscomb in 2013. “On behalf of our coaches, staff, and student-athletes, we are excited and honored to join the ASUN as our all-sports conference,” said Liberty University’s Director of Athletics, Ian McCaw. “Moreover, we are deeply appreciative to Commissioner Ted Gumbart, the ASUN leadership and member institutions, for this opportunity. “The ASUN footprint will allow Liberty to further extend our brand into New Jersey, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. These states are fertile for recruiting students and student-athletes alike who fit Liberty’s mission.” All of Liberty’s athletics programs now in ASUN will be able to compete for any trophy awarded by ASUN for the 2018-2019 season. 17 of its 20 sports programs will join ASUN. Liberty’s football team will become independent this fall, the field hockey program will stay in the Big East conference and the women’s swimming...
by Erin Franklin | Jun 7, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
TPAC’s latest production in its all-star summer lineup is Waitress, the musical based off the hit 2007 film of the same name. Two-time Tony Award nominee and six-time Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles brings the narrative to life with an engaging, upbeat soundtrack that will make you laugh, cry, smile and everything in-between. Desi Oakley leads the cast as Jenna, a waitress at the local southern diner who has a propensity for making delicious, unique pies, and who also finds herself unexpectedly pregnant while in an abusive marriage with her husband Earl. Waitress is definitely a musical driven by vocal performance rather than dance (unlike last season’s American in Paris, which featured ballerinas in the lead roles and was driven more towards dance rather than acting and singing). Oakley’s vocal performance is outstanding, and she is by far the star of the show. Her rendition of “She Used to Be Mine” is especially good. Charity Angél Dawson plays Jenna’s cheeky coworker/best friend Becky, and Lenne Klingaman plays awkward Dawn, another fellow waitress and friend at the diner. However, Jeremy Morse nearly steals the show as Ogie, Dawn’s first love interest and future husband. Morse’s long rendition of “Never Getting Rid of Me” is sure to delight, getting the crowd laughing after emotionally-taxing scenes between Jenna and Earl. Waitress is raw, depicting the ups and downs of life without hesitation, and it is a show more geared towards adults than young families with children. It does have some coarse language and deals with heavy themes such as abusive marriage and adultery. In each scene that Ogie and Dawn appear, however, they lighten the mood;...
