by Colleen Casner | Apr 27, 2016 | News Slider
Sigma Omega Sigma and Delta Omega won Male and Female Clubs of the Year at a reworked Greek Life Awards ceremony in Allen Arena Tuesday night. Styled in the form of an awards show, the event featured food, entertainment and eight new award categories in addition to Male Club of the Year and Female Club of the Year. Previous awards ceremonies were titled the Greek Life Appreciation Awards and were held in Collins Alumni Auditorium. Senior and former Pi Delta president Lauren Cassetty helped plan the ceremony along with Sam Parnell and Laurie Sain. “Last year we had an event in Collins Auditorium, which was great, but because Greek Life is in Collins a lot with Singarama and Stompfest and the Cowboy Show, we thought it would be a great idea to go bigger and better and Allen is just a venue that is different from what Greek Life is used to,” Cassetty said. Cassetty, Parnell and Sain also created the list of eight new awards to highlight the accomplishments of the social clubs that go beyond Club of the Year. “We wanted a more awards-style presentation,” Cassetty said. “Part of being in Greek life, there’s several qualifications that you have to reach. There’s a jersey or having a philanthropy and raising money and being involved at intermurals and so I thought it would be a great way to not just award the Club of the Year but also give individual awards to several clubs based on their accomplishments throughout the year.” Delta Omega president Natalie Perry enjoyed the changes made to the event but also enjoyed the way...
by KJ Lauck | Apr 27, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb Lady Bisons’ (25-24) strong bats run-ruled the Tennessee State Tigers (10-40) 10-1 Tuesday evening at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium. Lipscomb put on its annual “Think Pink” and “Strike Out” cancer fundraiser. All proceeds went to cancer research and allowed the Lady Bisons to sport their pink tops for the game. In the first inning, freshman Mandy Jordan got rolling early and struck out the side to start for Lipscomb. “I thought Mandy had a great first inning to set the tone,” head coach Kristin Ryman said. The Lady Bisons’ offense helped her by drawing three walks and collecting four hits that turned into five runs and a commanding 5-0 lead. One of those hits was by freshman Malorie Giere, who hit a shot off the wall that scored three of those early runs for Lipscomb. Senior Dee Baddley made a leaping grab to steal a homerun from Danica Gleason and record the last out of the top of the third. “We’ve talked so much this year about staying in attack mode, not just offensively but defensively too,” Ryman said. Caitlin Plocheck got the bottom of the inning started by smashing a solo homer to add another run for Lipscomb to increase the lead to 6-0. “She’s [Plocheck] been in a real groove,” Ryman said. “Having Plocheck doing what she’s doing right now is such a key for our lineup.” Freshman Abi Stephens got the Tigers on the board with a solo homerun of her own in the top of the fourth inning, cutting the lead to 6-1. “One of things we’re trying to work on with her is...
by Colleen Casner | Apr 23, 2016 | News Slider
During Sexual Assault Awareness Week, students had the opportunity to share their thoughts and personal stories about sexual assault. One of the ways was through the prayer walk Thursday night. Graduate student Pieter Valk, who helped plan the prayer walk, explained the purpose behind the event. “So the big hope with this Take Back the Night event was a first step in giving students a public way to share about their experiences, share about their thoughts and even their anger, their sadness around this, and around the brokenness of our society with this,” Valk said. “And then a way for us to take action even more and to go across campus and pray for this, as you can imagine, like spots of little hallowed ground across campus where we can ask for God’s blessing on this campus and the work that’s being done.” Valk said he was pleased with how the event turned out. “I think we were hoping that it would be a small group of students that really wanted to be here and that would really engage and share about their experiences and really take part in the prayer and we’re really happy that there was that participation,” he said. The event was the culmination of Lipscomb’s first Sexual Assault Awareness Week, in which a team of students led by Lipscomb Title IX coordinator Kathy Hargis sought to make students aware of the resources Lipscomb provides to survivors and bystanders of sexual assault and to raise students’ awareness of the problem. “The whole issue of Title IX on college campuses has been really huge, really in the last...
by Danielle Kinnen | Apr 22, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
For the first time since 2013, the Lipscomb men’s tennis team will compete in the Atlantic-Sun quarterfinals Friday in Spartanburg, South Carolina. “The conference season started slow but has finished well with two conference wins at the end,” said Coach Mario Hernandez. “I am proud of how the guys stayed mentally tough when we were struggling at the start of the conference.” Hernandez said he hopes the Bisons will continue their two match conference winning streak as they go into the championship as the No. 5 seed. “As long as individually we do what we need to do and play within ourselves we will be fine,” said senior John Tougher. “We must stay together from the first to the last ball and bring a lot of energy.” The Lipscomb men’s team will play against the hosts USC Upstate on Friday at 8 a.m. where the winners will take on top-seed FGCU. “We have played a very hard schedule and have learned a lot this year,” Tougher said. “We will use the tough matches to push through the last portion of conference strong.” The Spartans have beaten the Bisons on their last five meets, including a 6-1 defeat at home in Nashville. However, the team has seen improvements in the last couple of weeks and Hernandez said he hopes they take the momentum into this weekend. “I expect the guys to be excited and to fight extremely hard tomorrow,” Hernandez said. “These opportunities don’t come around everyday, so you have to be prepared to take your opportunities when they come.” On top of a successful season, the Bisons made All-Conference...
by Becca Risley | Apr 22, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Class was back in session as two-time Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist Lecrae dropped by Collins Auditorium Thursday night as part of his 2016 Higher Learning Tour. In a speech to the audience, Lecrae said that the purpose of this college-only tour was to inspire all walks of life. The theme of the night was Unashamed. “Being unashamed is more than just wearing a t-shirt,” Lecrae said. “Being unashamed is saying that you can, without a doubt, stand up for what you believe in. Being unashamed is saying, ‘I’m willing to go to the hard place, and do the hard thing.’” For the Higher Learning tour, Lecrae partnered with Food for the Hungry, an organization that travels to and provides food to impoverished third world countries. “One of the reasons I partnered with them is that they’re unashamed to go to places that no one wants to go,” Lecrae said. Lecrae challenged the audience to spend $35 and invest in the lives of children in Uganda and East Africa. For every $35 donated, one child is taken care of physically and financially. “They’re giving us an opportunity to feed the soul, the bodies, the kids that nobody is caring for,” Lecrae said. “If all of us do this for one kid, we’d change an entire city, an entire country. “There’s no way I’m going to ask people to do something I’m not doing. I’m a part of this too.” During his performance, Lecrae performed hits from his 2011 album Rehab, the 2014 album Anomaly and consecutive singles from Church Clothes 1, 2, and 3. Lecrae alternated between sharing personal anecdotes...
by Brianna Langley | Apr 21, 2016 | News Slider
Local business leaders, professors and students gathered in Shamblin Theatre Thursday morning for the purpose of honoring Donald S. Freeman, Jr. as the 2016 recipient of the Lipscomb College of Business’ Heroes of Business Award. Attendees were offered breakfast, coffee and a short presentation by Freeman, during which he addressed his experience at the U.S. Naval Academy, the intricacies of operating a family-owned company and advice for students regarding ethical business practices. “My experience here at Lipscomb has just been spectacular,” Freeman said. “I’ve met some wonderful people and really enjoyed visiting with the students.” Business students particularly appreciated having the opportunity to interact with a prominent business leader on a personal level, according to business student Josiah Lockard. “Events like this really show the investment that Lipscomb puts back into its students,” Lockard said. “It’s more than just an education here; it’s a mentorship.” When Freeman resigned his commission in the Navy in 1964 to join the business his father had founded, Freeman Decorating Company, he became manager of the Des Moines branch in Iowa. Freeman resigned his commission in the Navy in 1964 and joined the business his father had founded, Freeman Decorating Company. He became the manager of the Des Moines branch in Iowa. By 1972, Freeman became president of the company before naming his son-in-law Chief Operating Executive in 2008. Today, Freeman continues to serve the family business as chairman. “One piece of advice I’ve thought of over the years revolves around the issue of patience,” Freeman said during his presentation. “I always feel like there’s time to make the right decision. You should never feel rushed into...
