by Jade Spilka | Aug 30, 2017 | News Slider
For over a decade, the true story of Liz Murray in Homeless to Harvard has inspired many people throughout the world. Many students on campus are unaware that a Lipscomb student has a similar story. Lebron Hill, a senior from Tullahoma, now calls Sewell Hall home, but just five years ago his setting was very different. Hill became a resident of the Shepherd’s House, a homeless shelter in his small Tennessee hometown, when he was just eighteen. Up until then, his life was plagued by psychological abuse from his mother and a home life that did not emphasize the importance of a good education. Hill, with the assistance of his mother, dropped out of high school during his senior year. Needing an escape, he went to the Shepherd’s House. On the way to the shelter, Hill and his brother got into an argument. Hill’s brother stopped the car and threw all of Hill’s belongings into a ditch. Hill later arrived to the shelter in tears and began to contemplate what direction his life would go. “I remember thinking ‘what’s next?’,” Hill said. “The first month in the shelter was a lot of praying, a lot of questioning and a lot of figuring out who I was as a person.” Hill decided to get his GED and began biking back and forth to school and his job at Kroger. During this time, he began a connection with his childhood pastor Randy Davis. Davis took an interest in Hill and encouraged him to attend Motlow State Community College; Davis would eventually drive him to and from school each day and to...
by Russell Vannozzi | Aug 30, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
When professional baseball scouts visit Nashville, they generally are bound for West End to see the powerhouse built by Tim Corbin at Vanderbilt. Who can blame them? The Commodores routinely churn out first-round draft picks and currently have 38 former players scattered throughout professional baseball. Despite the success of its of their neighbor, the Lipscomb Bisons have also contributed, though quietly, to the baseball pipeline running out of the Music City. Lipscomb currently has nine alumni in the professional ranks, including three who have appeared for major league teams in 2017. Below is a complete rundown of all of nine former Bisons in the pros, analysis for each player and thoughts from Lipscomb head coach Jeff Forehand: MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL (ONE PLAYER) Caleb Joseph, Baltimore Orioles 2017 stats: .274 batting average, 61 hits, 26 RBI, 12 doubles and eight home runs After a forgettable showing in 2016 that included zero RBI and a horrific groin injury, Joseph has bounced back in a big way. His .274 batting average forced Baltimore manager Buck Showalter to insert the former Bison into the lineup more often. For his efforts, Joseph will likely get a raise from his current salary of $700,000, as he is eligible to negotiate a new contract this offseason. Should Joseph and the Orioles fail to agree to a deal, the two sides will then go to arbitration, where a third party will decide how much Joseph will get. Joseph also paid homage to Forehand last weekend with a “Thank You” patch on his jersey as part of the MLB Players Weekend. “That was a very cool thing for Caleb to do,” Forehand said of the patch....
by Erin Franklin | Aug 30, 2017 | News Slider
To celebrate Lipscomb’s 127th year, President Randy Lowry announced during the annual President’s Convocation that Lipscomb has been recognized as a prestigious national university, ranking 176th in the nation in the annual U.S. News & World Report’s “2017 America’s Guide to Colleges.” “We’ve received new recognition,” Lowry said. “I think it’s a great moment when Carnegie looked out and looked at this University and said, ‘No longer will we classify you as a regional comprehensive university; you’re going to leave the group that includes Belmont and Harding and Freed and Elon and a host of really good schools, because Lipscomb University will be elevated to the classification of a national university.’ And when they elevated us in a category of 300 schools, we came in 124 spaces ahead of schools who have already been on that list.” During convocation, Lowry honored chair of the Board of Trustees David Scobey and his wife Debbie Scobey for their faithful years of service to the university. Lowry also addressed the current Lipscomb parking situation, an issue near to many Lipscomb students’ hearts currently. With the addition of a new dormitory, Bison Hall, according to Lowry, 250 new spaces were constructed within the past year. However, also this semester, all of the Ezell parking garage at Lipscomb is off-limits to students and is now reserved for faculty and guests only. “We also have done something else, and I don’t ever get enough credit here,” Lowry said. “I don’t get enough credit because I can’t ever get enough done, but it might be interesting for you to know that since this time a year...
by LeBron Hill | Aug 28, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
For sports fans, heated debates are had over who is the “best of all time” — Michael Jordan or LeBron? Manning or Brady? Ali or Tyson? In the case of Mayweather vs. McGregor, fans got to see these two sporting giants fight to settle the discussion, with boxing veteran Floyd Mayweather taking home the victory of Conor McGregor. Saturday night, Sewell Hall held a watch party for the fight open for all Lipscomb students to view the historic event. Sewell Hall Residential Assistant Taylor Phillips planned the event and was excited to host a watch party for such an anticipated night. “We decided at the start of the year that our first event of the year should be the Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather fight,” Phillips said. “This fight means a lot because I am a huge UFC and boxing fan. Boxing is such a well-known sport; everyone can jump aboard and enjoy the fight.” Sporting a Conor McGregor shirt, Phillips said that he was rooting for McGregor to win the fight. Philips noted that Sewell Hall typically doesn’t hold events, but the fight was a good opportunity for the residence hall to host something for all students at the beginning of the year. First year Head Resident and former Lipscomb student Jackson Smith looked at the event as a chance to bring people closer together. “I love creating opportunities for memories, and that’s exactly what this is,” Smith said. The former Lipscomb student was in favor of Mayweather, learning his lesson from when he rooted for Manny Pacquiao back in 2015. Smith said he was happy with the...
by Olivia Waldorf | Aug 25, 2017 | News Slider, Opinion
A biology major on track for dental school, senior Graysen McConnell also keeps busy by managing her style and beauty blog and Instagram account “a hint of gray.” McConnell said her double passions in science and fashion make her feel like a walking oxymoron, but it has never bothered her. Fashion is something she shares with her friends, family and faith. “I try to allow my test scores and work ethic to talk for themselves,” McConnell said. “I enjoy marrying together my two passions even though it is unconventional.” Some forms of self-expression haven’t always come easily to McConnell — growing up she noted that she struggled with trying to fit into a “perfect mold,” or what others expected her to be. However, this crushing weight of perfectionism finally began to crack as she discovered the liberation of fashion. “In my opinion, fashion is the free expression and visual representation of someone’s personality,” McConnell said. “To be honest, I have to remind myself that it’s OK not to be 100% put together all the time. I remind myself that I am a human who deserves to roll out of bed and go to class sometimes. The stigma has definitely been a tough one for me to overcome, but I am getting there.” Once the new blogger started to give herself this “fashion leeway,” a new world opened in front of her. McConnell began to experiment more and started to receive feedback from her online community. However, McConnell noted that one of the best parts about her blog is being able to affect the lives of fellow believers. “The ways that...
by Erin Franklin | Aug 21, 2017 | News Slider
The 2017 total solar eclipse has many excited for the astronomical event, including some who view it as evidence of a Creator, and some who even believe the eclipse is a sign from God about the end times. Lipscomb Bible professor Dr. Terry Briley discussed religious aspects of the eclipse, and he also gave his take on the planetary occurrence to follow on September 23. “What it [the eclipse] reflects is the orderliness of the creation,” Briley said. “It often reminds us of our limitation, or control, over things.” Briley noted that perhaps God allows eclipses to happen on earth — the only planet with intelligent beings — to serve as a sort of wake-up call for His creation and to show His power and beauty. The Biblical scholar added that the eclipse also makes him think of the book of Job, and how one of the big messages that comes out of this book is how Job’s friends are trying to explain or control things that are beyond them. “It could be that we tend to get in to our routines, and sometimes something like this gets our attention and shakes us up a little bit. That can be a healthy thing; I think that for a believer today . . . it still is a wondrous event. It’s like, we might be able to explain how the Grand Canyon came to be, but it doesn’t make it any less wondrous. So in that sense, it’s another dimension of a creation that’s filled with wonder.” Following the total solar eclipse, another astronomical event is coming soon as well;...
