by Becca Risley | Nov 19, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
It was a long-established family motto that sealed the deal for senior volleyball player Brittnay Estes when she made the decision to commit her life to Christ. She was 18-years-old at the time on a two-week mission trip to Brazil with the Lipscomb volleyball team, ministering to a group of children in the Villas. Estes was rooming with the athletic department’s Women’s Spiritual Formation Leader, Shannon O’Brien, who led a conversation of faith with the girls each night before bed. “One night when we were talking, we professed ourselves to Jesus,” Estes said. “I just kept thinking ‘You’re right, Shannon. I want to change the way I’m living.’” A few days after this conversation, the girls passed by a waterfall tucked in the trees of a forest in the Villas. Both Estes and long-time friend and fellow volleyball player Molly Spitznagle ran into the water for their baptisms, performed by Garner Goode. “In my family, butterflies mean angels,” Estes said. “When you see a butterfly, it means an angel is there. I saw so many butterflies that day.” Estes met Spitznagel because of Lipscomb athletics and credits the department for bringing her several other close friends. The A-Sun Player of the Year said that being on the team for last four years has prepared her for life after college as well as in-game situations. “Volleyball is only going to be four years of your life and then you have to go into the real world,” Estes said. “[Coach Brandon] Rosenthal tries to prepare us for real-world situations — how to live our lives off the court, how to conduct...
by Haleigh Ker | Nov 19, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
For senior Andrew Johnson theatre is more about connecting with others and expression of technique rather than just being in the spotlight. Johnson transferred from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville during the second semester of his freshman year and will graduate from Lipscomb this December with a BFA in Theatre Acting. Entering the Lipscomb Department of Theatre presented opportunities for him to cultivate his acting skills as well as make many connections. “Considering I brought nothing to the table to start, being surrounded by a lot of really, really good contacts has been good for me,” Johnson said. “Just getting to do shows has been huge, including the push to go do stuff outside of the department.” One of those contacts is Steve Feldman, who worked on Sesame Street for several years. Several other contacts are fellow students, whom Johnson has spent countless afternoons with, hanging out in the University Theatre on campus, working on shows or performing with the group “Self-IMPROVment.” Johnson became president of the improv troupe in May 2015 after the former president, Austin Hunt, graduated. Johnson has been a part of the group for about a year and believes it to be a “stress reliever.” Junior Nelson Tilley, a member of Self-IMPROVment, said he believes Johnson to be a good leader. “Andrew is a wonderful person to work with,” Tilley said. “He really emphasizes ‘Hey we’re a group; we’re a team.’” Johnson has also performed in several plays, both in the department and with Nashville theaters. Most recently, he portrayed a “tragedian” for the Nashville Repertory Theatre’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. The show proved to be difficult with his schedule and...
by Andrew Trent | Nov 19, 2015 | News Slider
As Lipscomb’s study abroad program continues to grow, several opportunities for summer classes overseas are now available to students. These destinations include Florence, Italy; London, England and Scotland. There are three classes that students can choose from to complete their course requirements for the summer classes. One class is called Shakespeare and the Bible, which is an Engagements class. “It will give students the opportunity to examine the works of Shakespeare, which was mostly written in the 1590s and the first decade of the 1600s, and the King James translation of the Bible, which was published in 1611,” said Dr. Greg Carpenter, an English professor at Lipscomb and an organizer of the trip. “These two collections of texts are amongst the most influential writings in in the history of Western culture. We’ll be looking at comparisons between the two–especially individual stories that tackle similar themes such as the Book of Job and King Lear.” Another class offered on the trip is Fantasy Fiction, Film and Theatre. According to Carpenter, in this class students will read works of fantasy by J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling and Neil Gaiman and then analyze the dramatic adaptions that have been produced of those works. The third class that is offered during these trips is History and Theatre which discusses the history of the theatre and how history relates to theatre through the years. “While in Europe, our plans are to visit Shakespeare’s home in Stratford-upon-Avon, see a show at the Royal Shakespeare Company and take special tours related to some of the writers like Tolkien, Lewis, and Rowling,” Carpenter said in regards to activities outside the...
by Brianna Langley | Nov 18, 2015 | News Slider
Lipscomb Missions has introduced new mission trip opportunities including trips to Haiti, Honduras, Charlotte, North Carolina and Nicaragua. “This year, we’re going to offer some brand new trips with brand new host partners,” said Mark Jent, Director of Missions Outreach for Lipscomb University. “Then, we’re also going to have some trips that now have new host partners or new focuses, as well as opportunities to send a second team or third team per year to existing efforts.” Jent said Lipscomb Missions is relaunching two trips. In these cases, former mission efforts that have not been conducted for a year or more for various reasons are being reorganized and reincorporated into the missions program for the 2016 calendar year. These re-launched trips include the all-male spring break trip to Panama City Beach and the summertime trip to Perth, Australia. One of the existing trips that is now offered more than once per year is the Greek life mission trip to Baja, Mexico, which is now offered during winter break as well as during summer break for any students involved in Greek life. Another existing trip that is now offered multiple times a year is the trip to Brisbane, Australia, which is now offered during the winter and summer breaks. Lipscomb Missions is also involved in a yearly effort in the Navajo Nation in Arizona. This year, Lipscomb will send two teams during two different weeks of the summer to this area. One of these teams will be made up of university students and the other team will be made up of academy students. Aside from these efforts, Lipscomb Missions is introducing three entirely...
by Becca Risley | Nov 18, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
With a routine inspired by a retirement center, male social club Sigma Iota Delta (SID) took home first place at the sixth annual StompFest, presented by Kappa Iota Theta Tuesday evening in Collins Auditorium. “Our goal here was just to be the fan-favorite,” SID member and junior Travis Shumard said. “We weren’t trying to win. We just came out and had some fun. It was a big surprise to us because we didn’t think we were going to win.” Junior Luke Countryman was the captain behind SID’s retirement-themed dance routine. He said the idea was supposed to show the hilarious side of old people messing with the workers of retirement homes. “It was a lot of fun. I love dancing and this is something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile,” Countryman said. “The song ‘Hit ‘Dem Folks’ was a dance where the workers had a dance-off with the old members of the home. We just tried to have as much fun with the theme as possible on stage.” Hosted by comedian DJ Pryor, the theme of StompFest was “The Next Level” and many teams choreographed the dances to bring their team’s routine to the next level as well. The stomp team from Phi Beta Sigma at Tennessee State University performed at the beginning of the first and second half of the show. Musician Mic-O also performed after intermission. Female social clubs Pi Delta and Delta Omega took home second and third place, respectively. A panel of judges chose the winner based on the step choreography and theme of each group. “Our guys put in a lot of hard work,” Countryman said. “We wanted to give...
by Charlie Bateman | Nov 18, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team defeated Oakland City with a 96-69 win Tuesday night during their home opener in Allen Arena. In the first half, the Bisons scored 51 points against Oakland City. The men shot 54.1 percent from the floor overall and 50 percent from beyond the arch. Junior J.C. Hampton led the Bisons for the second straight game with 21 points. “He is playing with a lot of confidence,” head basketball coach Casey Alexander said. “He had a great trip on the west coast and he just carried it out today and really led us as a team against Oakland City.” Freshman Eli Pepper, the reigning A-Sun Newcomer of the Week, scored 12 points and was the second leading scorer for the Bisons. “He has been a significant contributor in all four games we have played,” Alexander said. “It is great to see out of the freshman. Sometimes it does not come that easily, but he has been really solid for us so far.” Oakland City was led by Jonathan Sulak who had 27 points. “He was the best player on the floor,” Alexander said. “We had a hard time guarding him.” Lipscomb is in a stretch that includes seven games in 10 days. This weekend the Bisons will take on three teams in the Men against Breast Cancer Classic in Oxford, Ohio. The other teams playing in the Classic besides Lipscomb are Miami (Ohio), Florida Atlantic and Northeastern. “This tournament is going to be a tough challenge and is very similar to what we played at Santa Clara,” Alexander said. “Three mid-major teams that are going to show...
