by Mckenzi Harris and Kathryn Farris | Oct 23, 2020 | Galleries, News, News Slider, Politics
Tonight, Belmont University will host the second and final presidential debate. As part of the increased security surrounding the debate, freshman students from several campus dorms were forced to leave and stay elsewhere. Affected freshmen were sent to Gaylord Opryland to make way for secret service. “A week after we moved into campus things started transforming completely…and about three weeks ago, my residence hall found out that we would have to be moved off campus to Opryland hotel,” Says Becca Pavelich, a freshman at Belmont University. “I wasn’t complaining, Opryland is a beautiful place to go. It was just definitely a shock that we found out so close to the debate that we’d be having to leave.” According to the Belmont Vision, The university provides students with transportation, meals and internet access during their predicted 30-hour stint at Opryland. Pavelich says “we’re honestly not sure what time we get to come back to campus, but we were happy to be able to go somewhere as nice as Opryland.” For Pavelich, the experience of a debate on campus has been a positive one, she says “It is just so surreal. I’ve been watching the other debates and paying attention and to the news but it’s just so cool to think that all of that has been happening on our campus,” “It’s happening tonight on our campus and at our event center that we walk by every day. I know it’s just a great opportunity for our school to be exposed and it’s just an honor to have the president and former vice president here on campus.” Lipscomb University campus security is...
by Hannah Cron | Oct 22, 2020 | News, News Slider, Politics
Tonight, the final presidential debate between current President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will occur just down the road from Lipscomb at Belmont University. In light of this historic event, Lipscomb’s security team has spent weeks making plans to ensure that the campus remains as safe as possible. “For the last month, we’ve really been doing some deep preparation, just getting ready for this evening because we want the campus to remain safe and we want the experience for our students and the employees and any guests that are in the area to be as smooth as possible,” said Kyle Dickerson, Executive Director of Security & Safety. The security team has also been in contact with state and federal law enforcement in regard to making preparations for the night of the debate. “We’ve been talking with the law enforcement partners that are a part of the actual event itself, which includes TBI, FBI, the secret service, just a lot of the big federal entities that are a part of it but also some local entities as well. They’ve been giving us really good information that is helping us feel really good about the evening, which is nice. What they have said is that they are expecting typical things for a debate,” said Dickerson. One of the biggest concerns ahead of the debate is the traffic congestion due to the many road closures around Belmont. “What we think is going to be a really big deal is traffic congestion for the night,” said Dickerson. “Most people don’t go to traffic congestion as their first concern for something like this,...
by Kathryn Farris | Oct 22, 2020 | News, News Slider, Uncategorized
Wednesday afternoon, campus security released plans to help with traffic flow ahead of Thursday’s presidential debate at Belmont University. Beginning at 2 p.m. the campus will begin the transition into a three-way entry/exit. The three access and exit points for the campus will be University Park Drive off of Belmont Boulevard, the Steam plant entrance off of Granny White Pike and Ferndale Drive by Lipscomb University Health Services. Starting at 5 p.m., students will need their ID to get into these entrances. Lipscomb security also advised students to remain aware of certain points of portions of I-65, I-40, and I-440 becoming closed ahead of the debate, saying “We encourage you to plan ahead and seek alternative routes home to prevent being stuck in a difficult traffic situation during the afternoon.” These changes are being made in preparation for security concerns, while such a high-profile event takes place so close to campus. Demonstrations are scheduled to take place in front of Belmont by “Be Better Belmont”, a group aiming to call out the university for ignoring black and brown communities by holding a debate with president trump, whom they say refused to condemn white supremacist at the first presidential debate. On security concerns, Lipscomb security said in their email to students “while we don’t anticipate any issues, we always want to be prepared because the safety and security of the Lipscomb community is our top priority.” Photo Courtesy of Lipscomb...
by Kathryn Farris | Oct 19, 2020 | News, News Slider, Uncategorized
The final meetup of 2020 presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden is scheduled to take place Thursday, Oct. 22 up the boulevard at Belmont University. After an uncertain few weeks since President Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis and the cancellation of the second debate, Belmont is moving full speed ahead with debate plans. But those plans have sparked another controversy after officials announced microphones will be muted during portions so that candidates are able to make their points. President Trump has said he is displeased with this new rule sprung by his behavior at the first debate. Meanwhile, Belmont University has called for numerous area road and business closures, the majority of which will go into effect Wednesday. Belmont Boulevard from Portland Avenue to Bernard Avenue, is currently closed till Friday. Belmont Boulevard from 18th Avenue South to Delmar Avenue will close Wednesday at noon. Acklen Avenue from 17th Avenue South to 18th Avenue South closes at noon Wednesday. Acklen Avenue from 14th Avenue South to 15th Avenue South, closes 6 p.m. Wednesday. Delmar Avenue from 15th Avenue South to Belmont Boulevard, closes 6 p.m. Wednesday. Compton Avenue from 15th Avenue South to Belmont Boulevard, closes noon Wednesday. Caldwell Avenue from 15th Avenue South to 12th Avenue South closes 6 p.m. Wednesday. The excitement of a presidential debate is not felt by at least one Belmont-area business that already has been hit by COVID-19-forced closures during the pandemic shutdown. In an Instagram post to their more than 16,000 followers, local business Proper Bagel expressed frustration toward the road closures. View this post on Instagram ? please read ? thanks to the presidential debate taking place directly across...
by Camryn Given | Oct 13, 2020 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Have you been missing the movies lately? Well good news, there’s going to be a drive-in this Friday (October 16th) at Woodmont Hills Church. With Regal just announcing the closing of all their in-person theatres until further notice, this event couldn’t come at a better time. There are five different options for what movie will show on Friday. The choices are “Knives Out”, “Little Women”, “Zootopia”, “Jumanji: The Next Level”, and “Ratatouille”. Students can find the Google Form to vote for their favorite on the weekly email from the Office of Student Life. The chosen movie will be announced either this Wednesday or Thursday. There’s only room for the first 100 cars, so be sure to get there early. The lot opens at 7:30 pm and the movie begins at 8 pm. Bring your student ID with you in order to get a spot. To get to Woodmont Hills Church just turn right onto Woodmont Blvd, drive a little over a mile, and then turn right onto US-31. You’ll see the church on the left after you turn. Thanks to OID, SAB and SGA, you and your friends can spend your Friday night under the stars with a great movie and no cost. It will be a great event so make sure you check it out. If you have any more questions you can send an email to studentlife@lipscomb.edu or swing by their office on the first floor of...
by Mckenzi Harris | Oct 13, 2020 | COVID-19, News Slider
This week Lipscomb University saw an increase in positive COVID-19 cases. The school reported 85 tests were administered by the Lipscomb Health Center, and there were 13 positive tests with zero hospitalizations. Of the tests administered, 29 were employees, 57 were university students and 41 were academy students. The University website states that “the increase in the number of COVID tests this week is due to testing over 40 student-athletes in accordance with an NCAA COVID testing requirement.” “Last week we shared with you that while our fall semester started strong, we have been carefully watching our trends increase in the wrong direction in the last few weeks,” stated President Lowry in an email to the Lipscomb community this morning. “And, over the weekend and even into Monday’s daily reports, we have seen a continued and marked increase in the COVID-19 statistics among our community. As a matter of fact, we have seen a doubling of our total number in isolation and quarantine in the last three weeks.” As the weeks continue, the Lipscomb staff hopes for the number of COVID-19 cases to go down and continue efforts to manage the illness on campus. “While the Lipscomb community numbers are not a large percentage of our community, they are a concerning trend that if left unaddressed can very quickly result in the need for larger community-wide actions,” said Assistant Vice President of Public Relations and Communications, Kim Chaudoin. “Our goal is to take serious note of the increases on our campus and address them now while they are still manageable and generally a situation that we all can help...
