by Charissa Ricker | Feb 9, 2017 | News Slider
Lipscomb’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences held another HumanDocs event Wednesday night in Ward Hall, screening the documentary 13th: From Slave to Criminal with One Amendment. Partnering with Lipscomb’s Office of Intercultural Development and the Nashville Film Festival, HumanDocs wanted to raise awareness of racial inequality in light of Black History Month. The Netflix original documentary, directed by Ava DuVernay, focuses on mass incarceration in America and how it leans heavily toward African Americans. Though America only holds 5% of the world’s population, the land of the free also holds 25% of the world’s prison population. This astounding rate started with the passing of the 13th Amendment after the Civil War. This amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, with the loopwhole exception for criminal punishment. 13th brilliantly displays the adaptation of slavery from the 19th century definition to today’s lesser known, but equally brutal methods. The film shows progression from slavery, to lynching, to segregation, to the political war on drugs (punished harsher in predominately African American communities), to cases of fear such as Trayvon Martin, and growing police brutality. The movie’s ultimate and important message is that the prison industry is getting rich off of punishment, while African Americans are facing the modern phase of slavery, criminalization. The event held a discussion panel after the film with several esteemed guests. Communication & Journalism faculty member, Aerial Ellis, moderated the discussion. The panel included Robert A. Jackson Jr. (Lipscomb Student), Brandi Kellett (English and Modern Languages Department), Dr. J.B. Angus (Lipscomb Alumni), and Alexander Bissell (Nashville attorney for criminal and juvenile law), who all spoke on the documentary. The idea...
by Ellen Butterfield | Feb 8, 2017 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
The Space Between Us is a heartwarming reminder of the complexity of love, but there are elements in which the film is ultimately lacking. There is nothing shockingly new or overwhelmingly picturesque about the cinematography, and while the soundtrack inspires a feeling of adventure, that’s the best sensation the audience receives from the film. Gardner Elliot, played by Asa Butterfield, is born on Mars after his astronaut mother left Earth unknowingly pregnant. Sixteen years later, all Gardner wants is to return to Earth to find his father and meet a girl he met online named Tulsa, played by Britt Robertson. He returns to Earth, and a breathtaking adventure to find love ensues. The Space Between Us may be the type of feel-good romantic comedy couples will flock to on Valentine’s Day, but the film doesn’t prioritize romantic love as the end-all be-all of relationships. The primary focus is Gardner’s search for his birth father and discovering all he can about his family. Despite the film’s releasing around Valentine’s Day, there is a crucial motif showing that being single is never the same as being unloved. The nature shots are stimulating and immersive, thanks to the beautiful color grading and artistic drone shots. However, if the best shots of the film were the drone shots, that’s not highly redeeming of the cinematography. Warmer color grading is used intentionally on Earth symbolizing the longing and passion represented on the planet. The film mostly showcases the adventurous scenery captured by Barry Peterson, the film’s director of photography. Besides the spirit of adventure, the defining feature of the film is the female characters. So often in films,...
by Anna Rogers | Feb 7, 2017 | News Slider
In Tuesday’s Gathering in Allen Arena, various faculty introduced Lipscomb’s new intercultural initiative, LIGHT, to the student body. Dr. Terry Briley, donning the new, free LIGHT T-shirt, recalled the story of the Good Samaritan. “Jesus doesn’t delve into the long-standing feud between the Jews and Samaritans,” Briley said. “Instead, he asks the question, ‘Which person was the neighbor to the wounded man?'” Briley announced that the heart of Jesus’ parable was that Christians are to treat others with mercy, which is also the concept behind the LIGHT program. Briley says the LIGHT program is geared toward breaking down walls of hostility. “We are to see the light, be the light and call others to that light.” Dr. Kimberly Reed followed Briley, articulating the more technical aspect of the program. She shared that every 10 years, the university attempts re-accreditation. As a part of that process, Lipscomb presents a Quality Enhance Plan that articulates the school’s mission and programs that will be offered to help achieve that mission. “Lipscomb is accredited,” Reed said. “It signals to the world that we meet standards.” These standards Reed mentioned include not only academic rigor, but also character development. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools will visit Lipscomb’s campus to better understand the proposed QEP. The LIGHT program will not interfere with graduation requirements. Some courses will be marketed now as LIGHT courses, events will count for LIGHT credits and students can choose to be LIGHT scholars based on their participation with the program. The ultimate goal of the program, Reed said, is to become more comfortable with communicating with those different from...
by Cole Gray | Feb 5, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
The struggling NJIT Highlanders (9-16, 1-8 ASUN) fell to the Lipscomb Bisons (15-11, 7-2 ASUN) 87-63 Saturday night in Allen Arena, as the Bisons earned their second win in seven days over the last-place team in the ASUN. Though the first half was a similar affair to last Saturday’s rock fight — Lipscomb’s lowest-scoring win of the year — Nathan Moran’s five second-half three pointers helped the Bisons open up a big lead in the last 20 minutes. The Bisons shot 10-of-16 from three in the second half, and 61.5% from the field, scoring 53 points in the half and stretching the lead to 26 late in the game. “Shots fell for us a little more readily,” coach Casey Alexander said on the difference between tonight’s contest and last week’s road win. “Nathan did a lot of that on his own, but really there wasn’t anything strategic. We were able to put a run together, and I think that that lifted the burden a little bit, and we were able to play with more confidence.” The Highlanders were without leading scorer Damon Lynn for the fourth straight game since he ended his season (and college career) by tearing his right Achilles against FGCU on Jan. 21. The senior guard was averaging 20.6 points per contest this season and is NJIT’s all-time leader in points scored. Without Lynn, NJIT struggled to find offense of any kind and resorted to force-feeding two-time ASUN Newcomer of the Week Abdul Lewis all over the floor. The sophomore forward, averaging 18 points and 14 rebounds in the previous five games, chipped in a game-high 21 points...
by Whitney Smith | Feb 5, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
After a promising first half, Lipscomb’s Lady Bisons (5-18, 2-6) lost 76-53 to the NJIT Highlanders (10-13, 3-5) in Allen Arena Saturday afternoon. Lady Bisons’ head coach Greg Brown reflected on the contest and the difficult season. “We let a little bit of frustration from our offense affect our defense,” Brown said. “I thought in the first half we did a good job of executing the game plan.” The Highlanders scored 24 points off of 17 Lipscomb turnovers while the Lady Bisons failed to capitalize on NJIT’s 13 giveaways, scoring only seven points on Highlander mistakes. Like the team looking to turn their turnovers into points, Brown noted the importance of also turning their trial into a testimony as the team moves into the home stretch of ASUN play. “I know its cliché, but we’re going to have to find a way to carry what we did well in this game over to our game against Upstate. I think our transition game has really gotten better over the last few weeks. So if we continue that, work on filling the gaps and improving our passing, that will help us continue to get better throughout the season.” Forward Riley Northway led Lipscomb with 16 points and also added three rebounds to the teams’ stats. “Riley continues to do a good job of finding gaps in the zone,” Brown said. “Those are things we can continue to build on.” Alana Dudley lead the Highlanders with 18 points and eight assists, and guard Kelly Guarino hit five three-pointers to finish with 15. Forward Leah Horton and guard Tatianna Torres also scored in the...
by Erin Franklin | Feb 4, 2017 | News Slider, Opinion, Sports
Ageless wonder Tom Brady, coming off one of his best seasons, faces likely-league MVP Matt Ryan in Super Bowl LI. The matchup between Ryan, who statistically performed better than any QB in the league, and the experienced Brady should be one of the better Super Bowl QB matchups in recent memory. The Falcons’ Super Bowl inexperience won’t permit an easy upset over the perennial-favorite Patriots. With both the Falcons’ and the Patriots’ high-scoring offenses and best quarterbacks in the league, the game will come down to strong defensive strategy and some offensive creativity. Brady, widely considered by many to be the best quarterback of all time, has taken the Pats to seven Super Bowls total, winning four. In the AFC Championship against the Steelers, head coach Bill Belichick won his 11th conference championship game, the most in NFL history. With Brady having a 384 yard day against the Steelers, the Patriots’ offense will continue to excel in the matchup against the Falcons. In the Patriots’ past five games, dating back to Week 15, they’ve won by an average of 21.8 points, and with Brady at the helm since Week 5, they have won 13 of their last 14 games. Expect Brady to do what he’s done all season — not make many mistakes. QB Ryan leads the Falcons, earlier picked by some experts to finish towards the bottom of their division this year, into the Super Bowl with a high-flying offense. With a plethora of weapons at his disposal, Ryan has thrown at least one touchdown pass to 13 different receivers, his favorite target being Julio Jones, who has...
