by Anna Rogers | Nov 29, 2017 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Friends, family, students and alumni gathered in front of Lipscomb’s bell tower to usher in the Christmas spirit at this year’s Lighting of the Green Tuesday night. Spectators traveled from near and far to witness the annual festivities. Some students simply left their dorms; other families drove across the state. Former Bison Riley Adkisson’s family traveled from St. Louis, Missouri, to come watch Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith perform alongside Lipscomb’s choirs. “My family drove for five hours for this,” Adkisson said while looking for them through the crowd. Upon arrival, guests were greeted with twinkling lights and free hot chocolate. On the upper level of the Allen Arena parking garage, clips from family-favorite Christmas movies played in the background while visitors “ice skated.” The holiday concert kicked off at 5:30 p.m. with a performance from Lipscomb Academy’s elementary choir, followed by Grant and Smith, who sang both original and traditional Christmas carols. One of Grant’s originals included, “To Be Together,” a song she wrote about the presence of loved ones during the winter season. “It’s a song about being together, which is what matters most,” Grant said. “As I get older, I realize that’s what it’s all about.” Grant and Smith stopped in Nashville mid-tour. “We’re going to 19 different cities,” Grant said, “but now we’re at Lipscomb!” Other performances took place from winner of season nine of The Voice, Jordan Smith to Lipscomb University’s student choir. The audience sang “Silent Night” as the final song of the evening. President Lowry concluded the event with the traditional lighting of the Christmas tree, thus officially kicking off the Christmas season on...
by Russell Vannozzi | Nov 28, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
For at least the next week, Belmont Boulevard belongs to Lipscomb. The Bisons basketball team had to hold off a late rally from the Bruins, but ultimately pulled out a 74-66 road win at Curb Event Center. Lipscomb’s victory snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Bruins, marking the first time since January 2012 that the Bisons have claimed a “Battle of the Boulevard” matchup. “The reason this win feels so good is because [Belmont] is a great team,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “This win is incredibly meaningful for our players and for our school.” Junior guard Garrison Mathews poured in 22 points to lead the Bisons, while teammate Rob Marberry chipped in 18. The ending provided plenty of excitement, but the first half was a much different story as the two teams combined for 13 turnovers. The game was knotted at just 26 apiece at halftime. “I thought the first half was pretty sloppy on both sides,” Belmont coach Rick Byrd said. “[Lipscomb] was just the better team, and they were certainly the better-coached team.” The Bisons started the second half with a 14-0 run to swing the momentum in their favor. However, Belmont slowly clawed back and eventually cut Lipscomb’s lead to 64-63 with 3:14 left to play. “We weren’t too nervous – teams are going to go on runs,” Marberry said of Belmont’s attempted comeback. “We were confident that we could get the win.” Lipscomb used two pivotal moments to pull away from the Bruins in crunch time. The first came via a Kenny Cooper steal, and the sophomore finished with a layup on the other end...
by Hannah Pipher | Nov 26, 2017 | News Slider
The Black Death, which claimed nearly 50 million lives in the 14th century has returned — this time to a country southeast of Africa: Madagascar. According to World Health Organization, the first outbreak of the plague in Madagascar that can be confirmed was on Aug. 1. To date, over two thousand individuals have been struck with this deadly disease, and as of this week it has killed 195, with numbers continuing to increase daily. Dr. Jill Kirby, assistant professor of biology, mentioned that one of the things she teaches in her biology class is that the plague still exists today, but now we know a lot more about it and are able to treat it more effectively. “I think the fact that there is such a large outbreak right now is a little bit shocking,” Kirby said. “But when I consider the countries where the outbreak is happening, I am not shocked because of their lack of resources.” Madagascar is 9,390 miles from Nashville, yet it is still managing to impact Lipscomb and several members of the faculty. Dr. Jim Thomas, professor of communication, has strong ties to the country. The relationship with Lipscomb and Madagascar started in 2007 when the ambassador and president of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana, came to tour Lipscomb and speak with President Randy Lowry and Dr. Thomas. “The president [of Madagascar] said, ‘I am looking for a school to educate my students from Madagascar to come back and work for the government in Madagascar,” Thomas said. “I want them at a Christian school, and I will pay their tuition for them to come.'” After the agreement was made, Dr....
by Erin Franklin | Nov 22, 2017 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
Over the years, Pixar has brought life to a number of things — toys, cars, monsters and robots, to name a few. With Coco, Pixar manages to bring light and color to death, a theme ordinarily off-limits or glossed over in children’s movies. Coco centers on Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez), a boy in love with music despite his family’s strict abhorrence of any musical note whatsoever. This hatred is due to an unwelcome story in the family’s past regarding Miguel’s great-great grandfather who abandoned his wife and daughter (Miguel’s great-grandma Coco) for music. Despite his family’s uncompromising ban on music, Miguel idolizes famed musician Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt), who tragically died after being crushed by a giant bell during his last performance. After Miguel attempts to “borrow” his idol’s guitar in the altar the town has built to remember him, he is suddenly transported to walking with skeletons as a live boy on the Day of the Dead — the one day of the year where one’s ancestors can come back and visit with family if they are remembered by having their picture set up by relatives left on earth. After finding his ancestors in skeleton form, it’s a race to get Miguel home before sundown unless he wants to stay in the Land of the Dead forever. The Land of the Dead is a bright, intriguing spectacle filled with striking visuals and vivacious color more elaborate than Pixar has every achieved. In typical Pixar fashion, the film manages to bring emotionalism, depth and realism to animated characters, and in this case, even manages to bring these attributes to walking skeletons. Coco’s finale is packed with warmth and emotion, but viewers are...
by Erin Franklin | Nov 17, 2017 | News Slider
With a mechanics-inspired routine, women’s social club Phi Sigma scored the top prize at the eighth annual Stompfest on Thursday night in Collins Alumni Auditorium. Men’s social club Theta Psi received second place with its boy-band stomp, and women’s social club Delta Omega took home third place as “DO Army.” Morgan Ellison and Ciara McKinney co-directed Phi Sigma’s show, and Katie Markham helped choreograph. Ellison said the level of competition among all the clubs was incredible this year, and that she felt very proud Phi Sigma came out on top. “We feel like it’s really long overdue, but especially since over the years, all the teams have gotten so good,” Ellison said. “It’s been such tough competition.” The annual event featured seven social clubs on campus performing a 10-minute, student-choreographed routine. Student Government Association and The Office of Intercultural Development sponsored the show. Other clubs that participated in Stompfest included: Delta Sigma’s “Firefighters,” Phi Nu’s “Shipwrecked,” Pi Delta’s “Candy Shop” and Sigma Iota Delta’s “Barbershop.” On Wednesday night, the clubs performed for a “Family and Friends” show, and on Thursday night, a guest panel of judges was brought in for the second performance. The winners were chosen based on the stomp choreography, theme of each club’s group and audience participation. Markham, one of Phi Sigma’s choreographers for the award-winning stomp, said she was proud of how hard everyone on the team worked to get there. “I’m ecstatic,” Markham said. “Very thrilled, very proud. Everyone on the team worked really hard. We put in a lot of hours of practice, and I’m just really proud.” Markham said the way that...
by Russell Vannozzi | Nov 17, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
Despite numerous chances on goal, the Lipscomb men’s soccer team couldn’t get its offense going on Thursday evening – spelling the demise of its 2017 season. The Butler Bulldogs used a pair of Brandon Guhl goals to top the Bisons, 2-0, in the first round of the NCAA tournament at the Sellick Bowl. Lipscomb (11-8-2) finished with a total of 16 shots, and seniors Ivan Alvarado, Ivan Sakou and Kyle Smith each had three attempts apiece. The Bulldogs (13-4-2) found the net just 7:29 into the game when Guhl snuck a shot past Lipscomb goalkeeper Christopher Zappia, who had come off his line to attempt a save. That scoreline held the rest of the half. In the 77th minute, Guhl added an insurance goal off a long pass from teammate Kieran Geldenhuys. It was Guhl’s team-leading 12th tally of the season. Lipscomb was making its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance after topping Jacksonville, 2-1, for the ASUN title last Saturday. It was the Bisons’ first ASUN title since joining the conference and NCAA Division I in 2003. The Bisons graduate 10 seniors including: Alvarado, Sakou, Smith, Eduardo Reza, Cameron Botes, Joe Kerridge, Scout Monteith, Jonathan Ramirez, Anthony Bellini and Brandon Braumuller. Butler advanced to the second round of the tournament and will take on VCU on Sunday in Richmond, Virginia. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...
