by Ashley Bingham | Feb 20, 2019 | News Slider
The Honors College has officially moved on from the basement of Elam and into a new home. A house on campus that was once used as a place for storage has been redone as a relaxing study environment for Lipscomb’s honor students. Director Paul Prill said the Honors program has been in need of more space as more students joined, as it currently has 600 students enrolled. “We finally got a space where we can do things, so now we’re going to try and actually do some of those things,” Prill said. Prill added that he wanted this to be a space for honors students to come and study or hang out. There are plenty of rooms, both upstairs and downstairs, where students can relax or study for their upcoming exam. Prill also said he hopes to hold get-togethers for honors students and possibly sponsor certain events, giving students within the department an opportunity to get to know each other better. “I’m hoping that if we can have some activities here, then people will start to meet other people in different classes,” Prill said. He also noted that the freshman Lipscomb Experience classes will be meeting in the new building, so that freshman will know that the house is available to them. Prill said he hopes this will encourage them to come back throughout their time at Lipscomb. “Students will see this as their space from day one,” Prill said. To help the space feel more like their own, Prill said the Honors College has tried to be intentional about bringing in student-made art — and not just from...
by Maria Morales | Feb 18, 2019 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Lipscomb Theatre is hosting several showings of “Silent Sky,” which depicts a woman’s struggle with balancing her faith and with her love for science. Published in 2015, the play is based on the story of astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt. The story takes place in the early 1900s, when Leavitt started working as a volunteer assistant at the Harvard Observatory. Gunderson tells the story of Leavitt and other women who were treated as human “computers” and how they were not allowed to do the same things as men. They were given limited responsibilities and were not allowed to help in “men’s work,” like using telescopes. In the play, Leavitt is struggling to get recognition as a serious astronomer in her field. For a long time, Leavitt worked on her own to make discoveries. Gunderson shows that despite the obstacles Leavitt and her peers faced within society, with hard work and dedication, they managed to succeed. Lipscomb Theatre Department Chair and Director of “Silent Sky” Beki Baker shared that the reason she chose this play is that she wanted to honor women who never had their moment in the limelight. “It’s about cherishing women in our history who have maybe been lost because we just [didn’t] know their names and their stories very well,” she said. Baker said that even though it is a story based on a historical person, it is still relevant today because this play is about equality and about women’s rights. Baker also mentioned that they had not worked with female playwrights often, so she and the Theatre department wanted to make sure they gave different voices...
by Charissa Ricker | Feb 14, 2019 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
In a ‘ring by spring’ world, how are all the single students supposed to find love on campus? The Lipscomb College of Computing and Technology designed a matching service that helps students find a date just in time for Valentine’s Day. Lipscomb’s chapter of the Association of Computer Machinery (ACM) hosts Bison Match every year to raise money for their events and to help students work on creating algorithms. The quiz starts with basic information and lets students upload a picture and a short bio. It then moves into more creative questions, such as an ideal date and how students would describe themselves using social media apps. ACM President and senior computer science major Andie Goode shared how the matching system works. “It’s really simple, we are not psychologists,” Goode said. “It’s ten questions and the matching is based on if you have the same answer for a question, then that’s your percentage. It’s kind of made to be a fun, goofy Valentine’s thing.” Despite having a matching percentage, it’s not guaranteed that students’ matches will see them. A student could be matched with someone who has a larger number of matches with a higher percentage, and the results only show the top five. “It’s kind of nice, because if you take the quiz and you don’t see anything that looks good, somebody else could still approach you that you didn’t get matched with,” Goode said. “It’s nice to have that extra [boost to] get your name out there.” Due to the fact that Lipscomb has more female students Goode said the number of students that participated were one-third...
by Charissa Ricker and Carly Reams | Feb 13, 2019 | News Slider
Lipscomb University held three sessions on sexual health and spirituality during the first few weeks of the 2019 spring semester. This two-part article recaps the last two sessions. Charissa Ricker covered the second session, and Carly Reams covered the third. Second session Lipscomb held a panel discussion on Jan. 24 during a breakout chapel to address students’ questions about sexual health and spirituality. After a campus-wide survey about sexual health was sent out last semester, the Student Health Advisory Committee introduced a series on sexual health. Director of Health Services Erin Keckley spent the first session discussing the results of the survey. The second session panel consisted of Keckley, Kathy Hargis (director of Risk Management and Title IX), Pieter Valk (counselor), Josh Roberts (dean of Student Development) and Prentice Ashford (dean of Office of Intercultural Development). Students were able to submit questions anonymously for the panel to answer ranging from the different health services on campus to Lipscomb’s policies on sexual health. “We believe that if you read the Bible, and you read Christ’s teachings, that sexuality is designed for the context of marriage,” Roberts said. “And so for that reason our policies expect that students who are not married refrain from sexual activity.” The Health Center, the Counseling Center and the Title IX office are three places students can get help on-campus without having to worry about the consequences of Lipscomb’s policies. Roberts stressed the complete confidentiality between those offices and the code of conduct and the disciplinary office. Title IX and the amnesty clause were explained deeper by Hargis, who shared how students who have broken Lipscomb’s...
by Russell Vannozzi | Feb 8, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Lipscomb men’s basketball team has always been known for its offense, dating back to the Don Meyer NAIA days in the 1980s and 90s. But this season, it’s been the team’s defense that has turned close games into blowouts. Lipscomb’s 92-55 victory over North Florida Wednesday night was the team’s largest margin of victory in its ASUN history. “That’s the most underrated part of our team,” Lipscomb junior Michael Buckland said. “Our experience helps. We know the tendencies of our conference opponents. It’s just executing scouting reports and going out there and playing.” KenPom.com ranks Lipscomb as the nation’s 14th-best in adjusted defensive efficiency, or points allowed per 100 possessions. The Bisons have allowed just 66 points per game in ASUN play, and they’ve held four conference opponents to less than 60 points. The adjusted defensive efficiency statistic is helpful for gauging the strength of the Lipscomb defense because its high-tempo offense affords opponents more possessions and opportunities to score. The Bisons ranked 316th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency in 2014-15, but they have steadily climbed the rankings since. “We’re known for our offense, but people need to realize that we practice defense a ton,” senior Garrison Mathews said. “If you look at the KenPom rankings and stuff, we’ve improved each year. It’s been great.” The Bisons, who have a +2.8 turnover margin, play with intensity on defense and often force opponents out of their rhythm. North Florida committed 15 turnovers to Lipscomb’s 10, and the Ospreys shot just 34 percent from the floor. “Defense is so much effort and a willingness to do...
