by Becca Risley | Jan 14, 2016 | News Slider
Like many college students before her, junior Anne Ware hoped to find a home within the Greek life community while at Lipscomb. After being invited to join Phi Sigma last spring and leaving Phi Nu’s rush process this fall, Ware said she finally felt what God had been placing on her heart all along. “I was actually in my interview for Phi Nu,” Ware said. “They asked me if there was anything holding me back from joining the club and I just had word vomit and ended up saying ‘I want to start my own club.’ “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t need to do something about it; God put it on my heart.” Ware, the club’s president, met with Laurie Sain and Sam Parnell of the Student Life department last semester to discuss what it would take to start another female social club on campus. During the meeting, Sain and Parnell offered the idea of reviving an old club on campus – Gamma Lambda. The club died out roughly five years ago due to dwindling membership and increased popularity among newer clubs. Gamma Lambda was founded in 1967 and was among the first 28 original clubs founded on campus. The club’s mascot is a lady bug, the flower is the iris and the colors are green and navy. Gamma Lambda embodies the motto ‘A friend isn’t always a sister but a sister is always a friend.’ “We reached out to the alumni to make sure it would be okay with them to start it up again, since it’s their club too,” Ware said. “They were so...
by Erin Turner | Jan 6, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
Story by Reese Lusk When she heard the snap of the ACL tear in her left knee, freshman Jenny Phelan knew it was bad. She’d been there before. “Thirteen games into last year’s season, my knee just snapped,” Phelan said, referring to the ACL tear in her left knee that ended her freshman campaign. This was devastating news to the defensive standout, but not something unfamiliar. “That injury was my second ACL tear of my career — the first happening back in high school.” Back in 2012, Phelan said she was a star at her high school in Chicago. Entering her junior year, she was looking to continue her successes of her freshman and sophomore seasons. She had already committed to Lipscomb University, and wanted to use her junior year to chase down a championship title. She suffered a right knee ACL tear, ending her season. But her commitment to Lipscomb didn’t change. “Lipscomb stood with me, and assured me that I was still wanted for the team,” Phelan said. Through difficult surgeries and hours of physical therapy, she battled back and eventually captured the Illinois Class 4A State Championship her senior year of high school. After graduation, she was on her way to Lipscomb. Flashing forward to her second ACL tear last year, Phelan mentioned a friend and mentor who walked with her through that dark time. “Jewell Dobson was awesome as a support,” Phelan said. Dobson, a red shirt senior with the program this year, also sustained a season ending injury in 2014. The two of them grew close during the challenges of medical rehabilitation. By leaning on each...
by Becca Risley | Jan 2, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
For sophomore musical theatre major Sarah Johnson photography is about more than telling a story with simple snapshots. It’s about opening people up and discovering who they are at their very core. “I think photography is about capturing people as they truly are,” Johnson said. “It isn’t about the right angle making (someone) look thinner, more mature, less award or more natural. It’s about capturing [them] as a person.” Johnson developed an appreciation for photography at a young age. Thinking back to her pre-adolescent years, Johnson said she could hardly remember something if there wasn’t a picture to set the scene. During high school, Johnson dabbled in portrait photography and provided free senior photo shoots to friends. She carried a camera with her everywhere she went, sometimes to the dismay of close friends and classmates. “I would take it into classes and if one of my friends said something funny, I would take a picture of their face,” Johnson said. “It became annoying for all of my friends in high school.” Around the same time, Johnson became interested in performance photography after scrolling through several artistic photos of a famous friend. “My friend Manna Nichols in on Broadway in Allegiance,” Johnson said. “We grew up in the same church, same schools and she kind of took me under her wing. “I saw pictures that a photography friend of hers put up on Facebook and it sparked my interest in the performance side of photography.” Since entering college, the freedom to explore different areas of photography presented Johnson with several unprecedented opportunities. Being a part of the theatre department, it...
by Rebekah Stogner | Dec 28, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
Out of several okay movies I saw this year, five films stood out as great. Whether they made me laugh, cry, cheer, scream or all of the above, I enjoyed all of these films immensely, and I’m sure a lot of you did, too. Pitch Perfect 2 Despite some of its cheap jokes and shortcomings, this movie was still a lot of fun to see. The a cappella music is amazing as always, and the whole movie is worth it just for the riff-off halfway through. Definitely best to watch with a group of friends, PP2 is currently available to rent through Redbox or on DVD everywhere. Amy I love documentaries, and this one was definitely a great one. I knew nothing about Amy Winehouse outside of her death and rehab stints when I entered the theater, and I walked out wanting to fight whoever said a bad word about her and her angelic voice. Definitely heart wrenching at times, this film paints a beautiful, though truthful, portrait of the life of the jazz singer. Amy is available to rent through Redbox or for purchase on iTunes. Star Wars: The Force Awakens As if this surprises anyone, the new Star Wars is smashing box office records worldwide, and with great reason. With enough nostalgia to make any fan squeal mixed in with the perfect amount of new scenery and characters, The Force Awakens is the most classic, wonderful entry in the Star Wars saga since Return of the Jedi. The Force Awakens is still playing in theaters everywhere, but get your tickets fast! Inside Out I’ve seen this movie...
by Erin Turner | Dec 24, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
Story by Courtney Craun Four years ago senior Kelli Smith was planning to give up basketball and head to an SEC university with intentions of joining a sorority and living a traditional student lifestyle. On Oct. 29, the 5-foot-5 guard played the last season-opener of her college basketball career at Lipscomb University. She’ll finish this season and basketball will be a part of a college experience full of growth and memorable experiences, she said. Smith never planned on being a college athlete. As a senior at Lipscomb Academy, she said she did not believe the college athlete lifestyle was for her. Then, when it was almost too late to do anything about it, she had a change of heart. “When my season ended my senior year of high school, I realized I wasn’t ready to let it go,” Smith said. Knowing it was too late for typical recruitment, Smith approached former Lipscomb basketball coach Frank Bennett, who told her there were no remaining spots on their roster. She also approached a coach at Belmont University, who told her she could only join the team after being a manager for a year. Smith said she had almost given up hope. “I remember telling my dad that I was tired of talking to coaches and being rejected,” Smith said. “I basically said that I was done trying, and if it was meant to happen then God would make it happen.” One month later, Smith received a call from the newly appointed head coach of the Lipscomb team, Greg Brown, who allowed her the opportunity to walk on the team her freshman year....
by Erin Turner | Dec 20, 2015 | News Slider
Celebration of graduates started days before Saturday’s Commencement Ceremony in Allen Arena, when Lipscomb awarded 466 students with degrees. On Thursday, Lipscomb awarded the first certificates of career exploration studies to three IDEAL students. IDEAL is a two-year certificate program for students with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Students in the program attend academic and skill-building classes, work daily internships and hang out with peer mentors and the student body. The three IDEAL graduates — A.T. Banks, Rashaad Harrell and Matthew Loveland — paved the way for the program, which now has 19 students. And just Friday, seven graduates from the Tennessee Prison for Women received their Lipscomb diplomas. Lipscomb partners with the prison for this unique program that allows inmates to take courses along with Lipscomb students to earn college credit. “Theres a sense of courage of leaving the safety in wherever they were and entering into this process — that takes courage,” President Randy Lowry said. “There’s a sense of being transformed — the experience of having their lives changed, becoming what God has called them to be intellectually, emotionally, relationally and spiritually — but they’re not all outside of this arena.” In Saturday’s ceremony, 231 students received graduate degrees. Two of the them were the first recipients of a Master of Fine Arts and Master of Science in Applied Behavioral Science. The number of graduate-level graduates has consistently outnumbered the number of undergraduate graduates in the December commencement. Lowry honored several students whose stories he said he believes exude courage. A group of students who came from universities across the nation received graduate degrees in education. These students are a...
