by Becca Risley | Feb 17, 2017 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Set as a grown-up prequel to Peter Pan, Lipscomb Theatre opens Peter and the Starcatcher Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Shamblin Theatre. The show is adapted from the whimsical novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Under the direction of David Ian Lee, senior Joss Yarborough stars as Boy/Peter. Compared to the well-known Peter and Wendy, Peter and the Starcatcher is relatively unknown and gifts the audience with the unique experience of watching how the characters they’ve all come to love were brought to life. “It hasn’t reached that saturation point of certain other shows; it wasn’t produced by every middle school in the nation or anything, so that makes it kind of hard to compare,” Yarborough said. “But I think the integration of our ensemble is really remarkable. “It’s a pretty ensemble heavy show in its original pen, but we added a couple of cast members, and David spent a lot of time and energy crafting vibrant scenes that allow for seriously dynamic action. It’s really beautiful.” At the top of the show, an ensemble of actors assembles onto the stage and addresses the audience. With a bit of bickering, they welcome the audience to the world of the play and tell them what’s in store: flying, dreaming, adventure and growing up. The ensemble invites show-goers to use their imagination to create the British Empire. With the snap of an actor’s fingers, the audience is transported to a bustling port. This is where the audience meets Lord Leonard Aster (Hendrick Shelton), his daughter Molly (Robyn Smith) and her nanny, Mrs. Bumbrake (Nelson Tilley). Two identical trunks are...
by Bethany Rowland | Feb 17, 2017 | News Slider
Lipscomb Greek Life pledges expressed their club pride with multiple cheers on Square Day in Bison Square following Thursday’s chapel. New Member Orientation week – most commonly known as “pledge week” is this week on campus. Every semester on the Thursday of pledge week, Tau Phi, a men’s clubs, hosts Square Day in which each club’s pledges present a cheer all about their club. At this event, the clubs take turns sending their newest pledge class into the middle of the crowded square to sing and yell about the club they have joined. Most cheers consist of popular songs with the lyrics changed to represent the club. “Tau Phi Square Day is one of my favorite parts of pledging because it’s the only time other than bid night where everyone is together in one place,” senior Tau Phi cowboy and SGA president Jackson Smith said. “[It] gives each club the opportunity to showcase their traditions and their newest members. It is hands down one of the best parts of pledge week.” Smith expressed that one thing he loves about Square Day is the wide variety of emotions it presents — sometimes laughter and cheers roar through the square during a phenomenal performance, while at other times, giggles of mutual discomfort echo when watching an ill-prepared cheer. Junior Phi Sigma dolphin Savannah Stewart said that Square Day is the highlight of pledge week in her opinion. She loves that the pledges get to come together to perform in front of a large group of people, and that the actives get to be their biggest support group. “When I look back...
by Bethany Rowland | Feb 15, 2017 | News Slider
Dr. Lee Camp stressed to students the importance of knowing what they each live for and asking themselves “Why?” in The Gathering on Tuesday morning in Allen Arena. Beginning with a story about the late architect Albert Speer, Dr. Camp shared the concept of a “master narrative.” He told parts of Speer’s story and emphasized a quote from Speer himself: “I wanted, above all, to be a good architect.” This is what Dr. Camp called Speer’s “master narrative.” It was what Speer lived for and was the answer to the “Why?” in his life. However, Dr. Camp continued to explain that this is an insufficient master narrative because it is too small of a goal to base an entire lifetime on. Dr. Camp shared with the students his love for reading books about business and starting companies, stating that they can teach us three very important virtues of self actualization in a search for one’s own master narrative: Take your intellect seriously. Challenge your brain. Take your body seriously. Challenge yourself physically. Go on adventures. Take risks. Recognize the social virtues. Appreciate the people around you whom you love and who love you. “If self actualization is our master narrative, woe be unto us,” Camp said. “It’s way too small.” Camp noted that, along with self actualization, one must also consider the virtue of justice. He gave the students a moment to think to themselves about what their own personal master narratives are — what are they living for? He finished with a reference to the famous novel by Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, discussing the part of...
by Bethany Rowland | Feb 14, 2017 | News Slider
Last week, junior Summer Starkie traveled to Dubai with the International Model United Nations Association, an educational non-profit that promotes Model United Nations (MUN) conferences across the world. MUN is a style of debate that allows students to simulate the work of the United Nations. Starkie arrived in Dubai on Jan. 31 and returned to Nashville on Feb. 5. In Dubai, she worked eight-hour days with a middle school MUN conference, directing a committee of delegates ranging in age from 11-13 and teaching them what MUN is all about, how to write resolutions and how to debate. After her sessions ended, Starkie and her co-workers spent the afternoon exploring Dubai. “We went to the Mall of Dubai, the Burj Khalifa, the Arabian Desert, the Gold Souk, Palm Island, and all of the crazy extravagant things you see on the Internet when you look into visiting Dubai,” she said. Starkie explained that the importance of MUN is to step outside of one’s own opinions to learn how the world works in different cultures. “As an American who was born here and raised here and might live here for my entire life, I have had to step outside of an American mindset and learn about how the Middle East, South America, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe consider different policies and issues,” Starkie said. MUN teaches both the leaders and students a great deal about different cultures and why they tend to disagree. This, in turn, helps emphasize how to handle conflict in order to understand another’s opinions. Starkie said she loves her job because working with the kids brings her joy; she said she values the opportunity she is...
by Whitney Smith | Feb 12, 2017 | News Slider
In a chapel meant to foster cultural communication, racial reconciliation and acceptance, Freedom Rider Dr. Rip Patton spoke to students about his fight for desegregation through nonviolence. “Nonviolence is a way of violence,” Patton said to the group of students gathered. “It’s a way of fighting — fighting with love.” During his sit-down in Multicultural Awareness Skills and Knowledge (MASK) chapel with Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Norma Burgess, Patton began the conversation before the first question was asked by drawing a contrast between what Lipscomb students see every day on their walls with what he saw as a college student in segregated Nashville. “I’m sure we’ve all heard the prayer, but when I first walked in through those doors, I saw this up here,” Patton said, gesturing to the words of Mark 10:45 embossed into the top of the stained-glass window in Ezell chapel. “‘I did not come to be served, but to serve and give my life as a ransom for many.’ Think about that,” the Freedom Rider said. “Put yourself in that place. That’s what happened here in Nashville in 1960 through 1964. It took us about four years to desegregate everything in Nashville. Everything you could think of was segregated.” Freedom Riders are those who boarded the buses heading to the most notably segregated cities in the South to challenge Jim Crow laws by using peaceful means in 1961. The rides were a tactic established and organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) aimed at desegregating public transportation in the South after the Supreme Court ruled segregation in interstate buses...
by Lorena Coleman | Feb 12, 2017 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Some of the biggest music artists of the year will gather at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to celebrate their achievements on Sunday evening. Among them will be two former Lipscomb University students turned Country Music stars: Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini. Rhett, who attended Lipscomb from 2008-2011, is nominated for Best Country Song with his hit single “Die A Happy Man.” Ballerini, who attended from 2011-2013, is nominated for Best New Artist and is also making her Grammy performance debut with Danish, soul-pop band Lukas Graham. Seeing former Lipscomb students achieving such success in the music industry is inspiring for current students, such as Contemporary Music major Hannah McFarland. “It’s a blessing that we are fortunate enough to go to a school that has developed well-rounded people such as Kelsea Ballerini and Thomas Rhett,” McFarland said. McFarland had the opportunity to open for Kelsea’s show in Alabama last year and recalled getting to meet her. Her first impression of Ballerini was nothing but positive, proclaiming the country-pop star was “sweet, mature and outgoing.” “Going to Lipscomb has proven to me that this university creates not only amazing talent but strong-willed and overall amazing students,” McFarland said. “Their success proves that with perseverance and hard work, you can definitely reach your goals.” The Grammy’s will be hosted by late-night show host James Corden and will feature a star-studded lineup of performances from John Legend, Adele, Metallica, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and many more. Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Little Big Town and Celine Dion will be collaborating on a special performance to salute the music of the Bee Gee’s....
