Lipscomb senior creates online grocery store that benefits charity

by | Feb 14, 2011 | News Slider

A Lipscomb senior and two students from Belmont started an online food store during winter break, making it possible for students to buy groceries without ever leaving their rooms. James Murrell, a senior marketing major from Manila, Philippines, began mydormfood.com with his brother Jonathan Murrell and his friend Bruno Silva. The business basically works like a grocery store that allows students to select the food they want and then have it shipped directly to their college residences, Murrell explained. “It sounded like a good idea,” Murrell said. “I wasn’t sure if I’d have the time because I’m doing 19 hours, and it’s senior year.” Murrell said that he and his brother had developed other entrepreneurial ideas before but never pursued them. He decided to give this one a try. “James is the type of student a business professor likes to have in class,” said Dr. Randy Steger, one of Murrell’s marketing instructors.  “He is more goal-oriented than most students, however, not just on getting a good grade. He is interested in learning how to do the right things, the right way to be successful in life.” During the fall semester, Murrell and his business partners finished developing the idea and then launched it during the first week of spring semester. Murrell said the website was the most difficult aspect of starting the business. “We needed quite a bit of capital, but besides that it wasn’t too bad,” Murrell said. “The biggest part was the website. The online store aspect of it—if that’s not good, it’s not going to work.” Murrell said he has received a good response from people but...
Lipscomb changes policy, allows weekly open dorm hours

Lipscomb changes policy, allows weekly open dorm hours

by | Feb 14, 2011 | News Slider

Did you see a boy walking around the halls of Elam last Friday night, without climbing out of a window for a quick escape when an RA came around the corner?Well, it’s because that is now perfectly legal in the dorms on Lipscomb’s campus. After listening to the desires of students to have somewhere to hang out with their friends on campus, SGA realized the need for a change in the dorm visitation policy. It conducted an 1,100-person poll among students, and made some suggestions for change based on the polling results to the office of Residence Life. Residence Life then organized student focus groups, which eventually led to the new policy. With this much research done on what students want and need, you’d think the policy would be welcomed by all students living on campus. But with any and all changes, some welcome the new and others reject it. Caitlin Selle, a freshman communication major from Tega Cay, S.C., said she likes that the policy change allows students more leniency, but parts of it frustrate her as well. “I don’t want to walk from my shower [to my room] in my towel and meet some guy walking in the hall,” Selle said. “So, it’s a nice thing to have, but it’s not like I’m crazy about it.” The new policy, implemented on Jan. 12, is focused on helping students find gathering spaces and to provide the “opportunity to share their ‘home away from home’ with their friends across campus,” said an email from Dr. Sam Smith, associate dean of Campus Life and director of Residence Life. The effectiveness...

[Update] Egypt’s Mubarak steps down

by | Feb 11, 2011 | News Slider

[Update] As of Friday, Feb. 11 at 10:40 a.m. CST, fomer president Hosni Mubarak, who had been Egypt’s president for more than 30 years, has resigned. Reports of the thousands of protesters shouting “Egypt is free!” are flooding news media and social networking sites. After 18 days of demonstrations and years of the Mubarak reign, protesters’ cries have been heard and answered. The White House has reported that President Obama will make a statement this afternoon. [Original story] With death tolls exceeding 300, conflict in Egypt continues and spreads beyond Cairo. For the past 18 days, revolt has shaken Egypt as demonstrators gather in Tahrir Square to protest the injustices they have endured throughout President Hosni Mubarak’s thirty year administration. In response to citizen’s hostility, the government has issued a curfew requiring everyone to be in their homes by 7:00 p.m. (recently changed to 8:00 p.m.) and to exit their homes no earlier than 6:00 a.m. The use of social networking to rally protestors also caused the government to disable internet access and text messaging services. Protests have also led to many injuries and the 10-day disappearance of Google executive, Wael Ghonim, who actively protested Egypt’s government via social networks such as Twitter. Egyptian vice president, Omar Suleiman, managed Ghonim’s release from their security services. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights estimates over 1,200 people have been detained since the beginning of the protests. For the past thirty years, Mubarak has subdued citizens of Egypt and imposed on their rights by instating a military emergency law after former president Anwar El Sadat’s...