by Cory Woodroof | Apr 28, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
The largest crowd in the history of Lipscomb University gathered over two days in Allen Arena at three separate shows to see Miss Kay, Phil and Si Robertson from A&E’s Duck Dynasty for the 2013 Don Meyer Evening of Excellence. Over 14,000 people attended the Friday night, Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening shows. The trio from the hit reality series came as this year’s headliners for the fifth annual Don Meyer Evening of Excellence. Past headliners include NFL star Tim Tebow, Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and Butler basketball coach Brad Stevens. During the Saturday night show, the masses packed into Allen Arena to be greeted by Lipscomb trivia scrolling on the gigantic screens above the Duck Dynasty-themed stage, which had four large recliners at the center. After a welcome from university President Randy Lowery and Athletic Director Philip Hutcheson, a brief video about Coach Don Meyer was shown. Coach Meyer came to the stage shortly after to introduce the group from Duck Dynasty, whom Meyer called ‘friends’ to everyone in the audience. Following another short video that introduced the evening’s guests, Miss Kay, Phil and Si came out to a chorus of applause and duck calls from the audience. Hutcheson joined the three on stage for a Q-&-A, where topics ranged from why people watch the show (which Phil attributes to people getting enjoyment out of watching a ‘functional family’ for a change) to Phil and Si’s infamous beards. Hutcheson also discussed the story behind Phil and Miss Kay’s marriage, Si’s days in the army and Miss Kay’s noted cooking skills. Since it was Si’s birthday, the crowd...
by Cory Woodroof | Apr 28, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
Lumination Network and the Department of Communication and Journalism recently held the first ever Lumi Awards, an event that honored some of Lumination’s finest contributors. The ceremony was held at the Ezell Center on Thursday evening and was hosted by Anne Paquin, the news director for Lumination News. The awards were both voted on by Lumination’s readers, as well as student leaders and faculty members. For Lumination’s newly launched radio station LU Radio, Ariel Jones won the award for Best Music Show, Emily Poe won the award for Best Talk Show and Jeremy Keck won Best On-Air Personality. Thomas Jones of Sports 60 with Tom & Aaron accepted the Best Sports Show Award and Brianne Welch won the award for Best Overall Show. Nicci Carney, the station’s program director, awarded Thomas Jones with the student award for his work on the station, and Aerial Ellis, the station’s faculty sponsor, awarded Carney with the faculty’s choice award. For the Lumination Newscast, Caitlin Selle won Best Female Anchor and Jeremy Keck won Best Male Anchor. Brynn Watkins won Best Feature Reporter, Jessica Burke won Best Show Segment, Nicci Carney won Best Weather Anchor and Ariel Jones won both Best Sports Anchor and Best Entertainment Anchor. Kage Sanderson and Joe Sanderson were awarded the newscast’s MVP awards, and Brianna Langley and Janice Ng were awarded the Rookie of the Year honors. Savanna Schubert won Best All-Around Anchor. Anne Paquin awarded Sydney Poe, the station’s assistant news director, with the student award, while Alan Griggs, the newscast’s faculty supervisor, awarded Jael Teme with the faculty’s choice award. Whitney Jarreld was awarded the Best Photographer...
by Kyrsten Turner | Apr 19, 2013 | News Slider
The Lipscomb community gathered Thursday in Beaman Library to honor local author George Spain with a book signing. A Lipscomb alumnus and retired health professional, Spain is a well-known author in the Nashville area. The writer has been published in the Williamson County Historical Review and in an anthology for the Written Word entitled Gathering: Writers of Williamson County. He spent the afternoon shaking hands and introducing his newly published book, Our People: Stories of the South. Spain also read several excerpts from the book. A historical fiction writer, most of Spain’s stories are set in middle-Tennessee and range from the 1700s down through slavery and the Civil War Era. Our People is a culmination of 16 short stories. The characters themselves are fictitious, but Spain said his inspiration comes from real individuals. “The inspiration I guess is just things out of my past, my wife’s past, which are interesting enough to tell people about,” Spain said. “I take those little bits of truths and create something that’s not-truth.” Spain attributes his career to Lipscomb professors and close friends who encouraged his writing talents. “I probably would have given up if it hadn’t been for people listening to my writing,” Spain said. “Very early on I started out writing poetry,” Spain said. “I wrote poetry for years and years, and a few short stories. When I started to retire, a few people said, ‘You ought to write.’” Spain credits his talent to his love of literature and encourages young authors to read constantly. “As Dr. Landiss said to me: read a lot of poets,” Spain said. “If you’re interested in...
by Cory Woodroof | Apr 17, 2013 | News Slider
SGA announced on Wednesday that Andrew Hunt had been elected as the new President of Lipscomb’s Student Government Association. Hunt will take over the position previously held by Patrick Grace. Drew Watson was announced as the new Vice President, the SGA title Hunt held this past school year. Julia Rox will once again hold the title of Secretary, while Melissa Parrish won the title of Treasurer. Hunt expressed his excitement in the victory. “I was really, really nervous going into it, and I really had no idea what to expect,” Hunt said. “But I’m really, really excited.” Hunt shared a couple of the tasks he hopes to accomplish in his first days as the new SGA President, among those being the need to finalize the new addition of off-campus meal plans. “We’ve still got some stuff to nail down about off-campus meal plans, so I’m really going to try and finish that up,” Hunt said. Hunt also said that he hopes to establish an SGA presence on the university’s Board of Trustees. Saying he was both surprised and excited about his win, Watson also shared his hopes for next semester, underlining his desire for improved communication between SGA and the student body. “I really want to work on communication,” Watson said. “We’re going to start by getting the word out and accepting ideas from the student body.” Kaley Greene was named Miss Lipscomb, while Tyler Osborne was named the Bachelor of Ugliness. Here is the full list of election winners, courtesy of SGA. President Andrew Hunt VP Drew Watson Secretary Julia Rox Treasurer Melissa Parrish Senior Senators Kelli Blackshear Rachel Bush...
by Madeline Smith | Apr 15, 2013 | Sports
Since Lipscomb University has been established for so many years, there are bound to have been a few changes here and there. But with such a rich history and great legacy, much has stayed the same. Mary Anne Thomas Smith attended Lipscomb in the early 1950s. She chose to go to the school to find a Christian husband – an ambition at which she succeeded. Mary Anne Thomas Smith was a Lipscomb cheerleader and also worked in the McQuiddy gym. She describes student activities as being very similar to those of students today. “Mostly, we stayed on campus and went to whatever event was going on. On weekends, we went to movies and church-hopped. We were just entertained by spending time together,” Mary Anne Thomas Smith said. Jan Craig, a classmate of Smith’s who also “loved, loved, loved “ Lipscomb, noted many changes that have occurred at the university, both good and bad. “The faculty is great. There are many wonderful Bible teachers. There are so many more programs, so many things to do, so many improved facilities and the campus is a lot prettier,” Craig said. But, she doesn’t approve of the changed dress code, the cutting down of trees and the overuse of cell phones. Of course, there’s always been romance at college. “We all snuck in kisses when we could, but they were very brief,” Craig said. A big change came to Lipscomb’s campus in the 1960s when Social Clubs were introduced. Cherie Bandy Smith, a student in the 1980s, said Social Clubs (she was a member of Delta Sigma) were the best part of campus life. “The...
