Lumination Newscast, April 6, 2012

This week on Lumination News, Kelly Dean and Clay Smith are behind the desk and filling you in on the latest news from Pizza and Politics all the way to April Fools Day. Also in this week’s newscast, Jameson has your weather, Madeline has the latest entertainment gossip and Tyler Lallathin has the latest from the sports...

An Open Letter from SGA Presidential candidate Austin Bever

You only live once. This seems to be the common term used on campus these days. As cliché as it is, there is truth that comes from it. We only live once, and we are only in college once. Why not make it the best it could possibly be? That is simply the reason I am running for president. I’ve been a student here for three years. I have tried to experience just about everything that’s happened on campus. I’ve made so many meaningful relationships with students and faculty; I wouldn’t trade them for anything. I simply want every student to have the best year on campus they have ever experienced. A lot of you might ask how I am going to make that happen? Well, there is something wrong with that question. The question should be, how are WE going to make that happen? I think there is a slight misconception with role of the student government president. It is not a pedestal to sit on while just changing a few policies to make the students content. I believe that the president is a bridge that connects us to people and resources that can make our ideas a reality. I want to be that bridge so that every student can contribute to making next year an absolute blast. I’ve already heard some great suggestions from many of you, and I am eager to hear from any and every one of you that has an idea. Last question. How am I going to do all these things since I haven’t been a part of SGA before? No, I haven’t...

An Open Letter from SGA presidential candidate Patrick Grace

People ask me if I think I can really get off-campus meal plans and a three day easter weekend and some of the other things we talk about in our video and on our fliers. The fact is, I wouldn’t know how reasonable these things are if it weren’t for me getting to experience the process this year in SGA. This isn’t groundbreaking work; Daniel has been working all year to get us to the point where we can have a conversation about these things.As his presidency has come to a close, I’ve found myself working to keep his process moving forward, which means taking initiative for the past couple months on off-campus meal plans. I plan on living on campus this summer, and I expect to be busy working alongside Jeff Wilson to get a deal hashed out that will provide a debit account for restaurants off campus. I can’t sit here and promise you this is definitely going to happen, but I can promise you that I am not content with our meal plan system as it stands and that I will fight through the summer and into the next school year in order to get us a better service. I want to be transparent with the student body, and I want them to know where their money is going. But don’t just vote for a giant banner in the square or a clever video on Facebook – get a chance to know who I am and what I stand for by coming to Bison Square immediately following Chapel on April 10. Get a little popsicle, listen...

Fanning Hall evacuated after untimely fire alarm

Residents of Fanning Hall had a surprise Thursday evening when the fire alarm went off, leaving them to evacuate the dorm into the pouring rain. As of now no fire has been reported, and the cause seems to go back to the hot water heater. Students say that they knew it wasn’t a drill due to the rain, and that Head Resident Laurie Sain seemed a little confused as they evacuated. Because of the rain, students took cover in Burton or the student center before they were told they were allowed to return to the dorm. After about 20 minutes, they were told the dorm was clear and they could return, only to be turned away at the door because the fire alarms had gone off again. “I didn’t want to go sit in the basement of Burton,” said junior Amber Leach, “so instead I decided to go to Starbucks and wait it out in the student center.” At this point students were told that it would be a while until the problem was resolved and decided to wait in the student center or other areas of campus. Residents were allowed to return to the dorm after it was cleared just before 8 p.m....

[VIDEO] Lipscomb trio named one of best in country

As a musician, playing in New York is a mindboggling dream many strive for. However, three young Lipscomb students fulfilled this dream when the Avalon Trio was named third best in the nation as a chamber ensemble on Mar. 24 in New York City. After the Avalon Trio’s performance of Mendelssohn’s Trio No. 2 in C minor and Paul Schoenfield’s “Café Music”, the group placed third at the Music Teacher National Association’s chamber competition at the 2012 national conference in New York City. “What speaks more than our ability as musicians, I think, is the ability that us three have together to just play music,” said cellist Kenneth Coca. “I don’t think we could have done it with another group or with other musicians.” The three-year-old trio consists of Joel Campbell on violin, Coca on cello and Julian Calvin on piano. The group is coached by Jerome Reed, Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Piano at Lipscomb University. Not only did the group walk away with the accomplishment of becoming one of the top three ensembles in the nation, but the process of getting there for the Avalon Trio continues to leave the group astonished and grateful. And the term ‘getting there’ is meant in a literal sense. Rodes Hart, benefactor for the Patricia and Rodes Hart Endowed Chair for Piano, sponsored the group’s trip to New York. The Avalon Trio never expected to travel to the big and beautiful NYC in high style, but Dr. Hart made sure to do just that by providing a private jet just for the trio to fly to New York City in....