by Quinn Gorte | Jan 29, 2019 | News Slider
The Tennessean’s Vanderbilt beat reporter Adam Sparks came to campus to speak to Lipscomb students about the importance of being flexible and honest in their careers. Lipscomb hosted its first Media Masters of the semester on Tuesday evening, with sophomore journalism major Spencer Boehme interviewing Sparks during the evening. Sparks, a graduate of MTSU, has been a sports writer for 19 years. He has won numerous journalism awards, including National Beat Writer of the Year. Throughout his writing career, he has covered a variety of stories, from reporting on the Titans and the Nashville Sounds to flag football and elementary basketball. Sparks encouraged Lipscomb students to be open to a variety of job opportunities, paid or unpaid. “If you are given an opportunity to work, you say ‘Yes,’” said Sparks, noting that unpaid or low-pay opportunities should not necessarily be looked down upon. “You have to get your foot in the door, [in] some way or some fashion,” Sparks said. Sparks gave an example from his own life, explaining that he often accepted reporting opportunities that were generally looked down upon, an attitude and choice which Sparks said he believes gains reporters respect. He also discussed the importance of work flexibility to non-journalism careers, sharing a story of his friend who wanted to be a loan officer but finally accepted a job as a bank teller, due to his lack of experience, and was later promoted to vice president. “The reason he got there is he finally said, ‘I’ll take whatever bottom position you’re offering me,’” Sparks said. In addition to his career as a professional reporter, Sparks is also...
by Rachel Pavelich | Jan 29, 2019 | Fashion, News Slider, Opinion
Featured image by Anna Rogers I know I’ve already done a column about winter in the South, but since there is a possibility for some snow this week, I thought it might be good to circle back to this topic. While my fellow Clevelanders and Midwesterners are preparing for negative double digit temperatures this week (shoutout to you winter warriors, and prayers that you stay safe and warm!), Nashville’s supposed to experience some snow and cooler-than-normal temperatures that might be causing some wardrobe worry. Therefore, I figured I would give some advice from a lifelong-Northern girl on how to conquer the snow and cold in style. Long sleeves are probably the best idea for when the temps plummet and the snow starts to fall. Even with my heavy red peacoat that I love, I still get cold outside. Wearing a long sleeved top or a sweater helps with that, allowing me to stay warmer as I walk to class or spend time outside. If you do not like long sleeves or are worried you might get too hot, try some layers. I love cardigans and kimonos to wear over short sleeved tops, and they’re great for if you get hot because you have the ability to take the long sleeves off. Not only do layers keep you warm and give versatility to an outfit, but they also allow a few pieces to create multiple looks! I got a new floral cardigan over break that I just absolutely love. It has quickly become a staple in my wardrobe because I can wear so much with it. It’s floral, so it...
by Ashley Bingham | Jan 28, 2019 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Netflix decided to remove the blindfold on its viewers by revealing statistics on its well-known Bird Box film. In December 2018, the company announced that Bird Box garnered over 45 million account views within the first seven days of its release, setting a new company record. This was a strange sight from Netflix, as the company normally keeps its viewership statistics private. Many have questioned why the company decided to reveal the number, and if it may have been skewed in some way. According to Netflix, an account has to watch at least 70 percent of the running time before it counts as a view. This means that 45 million accounts have watched most of Bird Box. This revelation might not be as troubling if Netflix hadn’t had issues with statistics in the past. In 2017, the company was accused of falsifying some of its ratings. The ratings seen by each viewer varies based on individual viewing habits, and Netflix only allowed people to see the ratings from other viewers with similar habits instead of seeing ratings from everyone who had reviewed the film. Netflix is not required to reveal their data to the public. In some cases, doing so could damage the company and restrict its negotiation power with other media companies when acquiring licensing rights. However, some Lipscomb students are buying that the numbers are accurate, despite the company’s lack of transparency. “It makes sense that movies on Netflix would do better than movies in a theater,” junior Brianna Burch said. “As a college student, I can’t always afford to go to theaters to watch a movie. But I have...
by Adrienne Luu | Jan 27, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb men’s tennis hosted its first home match of the season at Richland Country Club against the University of Alabama at Birmingham and ended Saturday night with a 4-3 loss. Unlike the previous matches, the Bisons (1-2) lost the doubles point and started off the night behind, 1-0. Lipscomb’s Francesco Tacconi and David Skrabut, playing in line three, finished first and lost 6-0 against UAB’s Jasper Van Kleef and Giovani Pasini. In line one, Victor Chaw and Pablo Caffarena lost their set 6-2, which secured the doubles point for the Blazers. The Bisons’ duo of Jorge Ortegon and Pedro Uribe were left with an unfinished match in line two. “Honestly, our doubles performance was probably one of the worst ones we’ve had in the last two years,” Bisons head coach Geoff Hernandez said. “We’ve really made [doubles] a strength. “I know that the guys will really put the effort to bounce back and take ownership over their strengths. We made a slip-up there, and it might’ve cost us the match. We can’t accept that, but we can make it better.” Despite losing the doubles point, the Bisons were still found a way to defeat the Blazers in singles play. In the No. 2 spot, Pablo Caffarena won both of his sets of 6-3 and 6-2 against Daniel Janko. With the win, Caffarena gave the Bisons their first point and knotted the score at one. Shortly after, Jorge Ortegon won his sets 6-2 and 6-4 against Nikolai Manchev, giving Lipscomb a 2-1 lead. However, Pedro Uribe lost both of his sets to Michal Lusovsky, which brought the Blazers up one point...
by Adrienne Luu | Jan 26, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
After losing its opener last week, the Lipscomb men’s tennis team practiced hard in preparation for the second match of the season. The Bisons’ efforts pulled through today and gave them a 7-0 win over Austin Peay University. The Bisons (1-1) took charge of the doubles play and won the doubles point, which started Lipscomb off with a lead against Austin Peay. Playing on the first line, Victor Chaw and Pablo Caffarena began their match with a lead against Austin Peay’s Almantas Ozelis and Anton Damberg. They refused to let the Governors duo catch up to them and kept scoring point after point until they pulled out the Bisons’ first win of 6-2 in doubles. “Me and Pablo are playing fantastic doubles,” Chaw said. “We have an amazing energy every point. I don’t think there’s any pair in the nation that plays with more intensity than us, and that’s why we dominate so much in doubles.” Francesco Tacconi and David Skrabut, playing on third, were leading but were unable to finish their match when Jorge Ortegon and Pedro Uribe, on second, won their 6-2 set against Timo Kiesslich and Jacob Lorino, clinching the doubles point for Lipscomb. Chaw also said that he thinks the Bisons have to improve matches week-by-week. “[The Bisons] aren’t really where [we] want to be…yet,” Chaw said. “If [we] keep improving the little stuff, by conference time [we] will be a very solid team but have to put in the work week-by-week.” With the aggressiveness and competitiveness that played out in doubles, the Lipscomb Bisons carried those emotions over to singles play. On the fourth...
