by Kathryn Farris | Jan 17, 2019 | News Slider
Governor Bill Haslam announced last week that he would be granting clemency to Lipscomb graduate Cyntoia Brown. Since then, mixed reactions to Haslam’s decision have been broadcasted across the country. Wednesday night, Brown’s story was featured on ABC’s “Nightline”, a late-night news program. The story examined everything from the factors that led to her sentence to the next steps to come after her release in August 2019. The broadcast highlighted moments from the documentary Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s story. The story was brought to Lipscomb’s campus in 2010, while Brown was working towards her associate’s degree from the University. The film was shown to Lipscomb students free of charge for the HumanDocs series that aimed to “encourage dialogue among students, faculty, and community members about pressing issues of social and economic justice and the environment.” The HumanDocs film series included a panel discussion with several notable figures in Brown’s case, including Lipscomb professor Preston Shipp, a former appellate prosecutor for Brown’s case who ended up becoming her teacher through the LIFE Program. Shipp’s coincidental presence in Brown’s life was highlighted in Nightline’s story. He once argued in favor of a life sentence for Brown. However, during Cyntoia’s July hearing, Shipp argued for her release. “If you grant her early release, she is going to invest herself [in people] who might otherwise come to [the Tennessee Woman’s Prison],” Shipp said. “She will seek them out. She will find them. She will mentor and minister to them, and she will keep other people from coming here.” Nightline reports that a sequel to the documentary, Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s story, will be released later this year, focusing on Brown’s journey to...
by Erin Franklin | Jan 13, 2019 | News Slider
On Friday at midnight, the government shutdown beat the record for the longest government shutdown in history with an unprecedented 22 days. The shutdown has now been 23 days in total, beginning on Dec. 22 and in response to President Donald Trump’s demand that Congress include $5.7 billion for “the wall” along the southern border. Trump is adamant the wall is needed to keep undocumented immigrants from entering the U.S. illegally. Democrats now have control of the U.S. House and do not agree with Trump and Republicans that a wall is necessary, rather citing it as being unessential and too expensive. The shutdown is affecting many federal agencies, among those the FDA, which has postponed and halted some inspections. Vandalism has overtaken national parks, and scientific research has been stalled to an extent. Due to the shutdown, many federal workers are not getting paid. But how does the shutdown affect universities, and private universities — like Lipscomb — in particular? Lipscomb receives $750,000 or more in Federal grant money in a fiscal year, so being a private university doesn’t make Lipscomb exempt from the effects of the shutdown. This sum largely comes from students’ financial aid, grants used for scientific research, stipends for undergraduate and graduate students and community outreach, such as the suicide prevention grant Lipscomb had for the counseling center and the federal grant that helps support the IDEAL program. But Tiffany Summers, Lipscomb’s director of student aid, said there really isn’t any reason for Lipscomb students to worry about the status of their financial aid due to the shutdown, at least right now. “There’s not any issues with...
by Kathryn Farris | Jan 7, 2019 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced Monday morning that clemency will be granted to Cyntoia Brown. Brown is a Nashville woman who has spent 15 years behind bars for a murder she committed at age 16. She is expected to be released on parole on Aug. 7, 2019. The conditions of her parole say that she will have to attend regular counseling sessions, work with at-risk youth and maintain a job. Haslam’s decision to grant Brown clemency comes after a year of mounting pressure from activists, celebrities and Tennessee legislators. “This decision comes after careful consideration of what is a tragic and complex case,” Haslam said in a statement. “Cyntoia Brown committed, by her own admission, a horrific crime at the age of 16. Yet, imposing a life sentence on a juvenile that would require her to serve at least 51 years before even being eligible for parole consideration is too harsh, especially in light of the extraordinary steps Ms. Brown has taken to rebuild her life. “Transformation should be accompanied by hope. So, I am commuting Ms. Brown’s sentence, subject to certain conditions.” In 2015, Brown earned an associate’s degree through Lipscomb University’s LIFE program, which brings traditional and non-traditional students together for classes at the Tennessee Prison for Women. She issued a statement thanking both the Tennessee Department of Corrections and Lipscomb for the opportunity. “I want to thank those at the Tennessee Department of Corrections who saw something in me worth salvaging, especially Ms. Connie Seabrooks for allowing me to participate in the Lipscomb LIFE Program,” Brown said. “It changed my life. I am also grateful to those at the Tennessee Department...
by Lumination Staff | Dec 28, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, Fashion, News Slider, Opinion, Sports
Editor’s Note: Click title to view each story 2018 was an exciting time to be a Lipscomb student. The year came with both celebratory and controversial moments. Lipscomb’s athletic teams reached new heights, the administration made steps toward connecting with LGBT students, Allen Arena hosted the GMA’s Dove Awards for the sixth year in a row and a recent alum joined Kelly Clarkson’s touring band. But amid the positive news, there were also times of controversy and frustration. A Trump cabinet member spoke at a private healthcare event in Shamblin in September, firing up students on both sides of the aisle. 21 Fast-Track MBA students were found cheating on a final exam. Hurricane Florence ravaged the homes of several students. Lumination journalists were there to cover all of this — plus more. By combing through Google Analytics and our social media platforms, we determined our top 10 stories of 2018: No. 1: Lipscomb basketball NCAA tournament coverage, by Erin Franklin, Cole Gray & Russell Vannozzi Lipscomb men’s basketball made school history by winning its first-ever ASUN tournament title and advancing to the NCAA tournament thanks to a 108-96 victory at FGCU on March 4. There were several top stories that emerged from the Bisons’ tournament run, including: – In their own words: Lipscomb students react to historic win, by Cole Gray – Column: Lipscomb finally breaks into NCAA tourney after long, disappointing road, by Russell Vannozzi – A look back: the rich history of Bisons basketball, by Erin Franklin – Lipscomb falls to UNC in first round of NCAA Tournament after historic run, by Cole Gray No. 2: Students cheat...
by Erin Franklin | Dec 16, 2018 | News Slider
Lipscomb awarded over 400 diplomas at its 2018 December commencement in Allen Arena on Saturday afternoon. Three of these degrees awarded were to students completing the online degree program for the first time in university history. President Randy Lowry gave the charge to the students, offering his perspective on how the graduates are leaving armed with new knowledge and experience, as “products” of the university. “You came four or five or six years ago as a consumer, having looked, perhaps all over Nashville…maybe all over the country, for the college that you would call home,” Lowry said. “…The reality is you had many choices as a consumer, but something caught your attention about this community. One of the amazing things that has happened, perhaps not as profound as you will someday appreciate it, is that you came as a consumer, but you leave as our product.” Lipscomb now offers online degree programs in business leadership, psychology, RN-to-BSN and integrated studies, performance coaching and more. 171 students received bachelor’s degrees and 274 received graduate and doctoral degrees, with both August and December graduates. This includes 44 doctorates and 21 education specialist degrees, which is the most the university has ever awarded. Lowry added that his goal is to continually seek to increase the value of the students’ degrees. “Our job is very, very simple,” Lowry said. “Our job is to stay here and do this generation after generation and to increase the value of your degree…so that as you go forth, people know Lipscomb. They know what Lipscomb is all about, and they see you as its product.” Family and...
