by Hunter Patterson | Nov 4, 2010 | News Slider
Students at Lipscomb are recognized for the numerous hours of service they complete each year. But it’s pretty astonishing what some students completed in just an few hours. Freshmen Nathan Owens and Zac Riedford, along with the help of countless friends, surprised a fellow student with something that not only brought tears to his eyes, but to almost every eye at last night’s Wednesday Night We Eat. Take a minute to think about living and going to school more than 7,000 miles away from home. That is what freshman history major Caesar Tang has to deal with everyday. He’s from Hong Kong, and he moved here his sophomore year of high school. Tang has only been home to China a few times since moving to Texas three years ago. With that in mind, Owens and Riedford began to wonder if it would be possible to send Caesar home for Christmas. “It started with about five of us sitting in a room,” said Owens, a biology major. “And we just started thinking it would be really cool to send Caesar home.” During a Tuesday night devotional, started by a group of freshman in 2008, the idea was born. “After devo one night we voiced the idea aloud once Caesar had left,” Owens said. “Our RA, Mark Wilkins, told us that it was a good idea and that we should run with it.” After thinking about it for a few days, Owens, Riedford and few others got together and talked about the options that they had. “Finally about a week later I decided that we needed to do something right then,”...
by Kathryn Claire Watts | Nov 3, 2010 | News Slider
Eleven Lipscomb students spent Tuesday evening at the WSMV studios, where they collected poll results from Tennessee counties to help in the televised news coverage of the heated elections. They were asked by WSMV’s Belinda Coffee to assist the regular news team by making phone calls to election results from each county. The students began the evening by getting a quick tour of the studio and then they received instructions on how to make the calls. While the task was simple, the students learned important details on the relationship between politics and communications. Click here for more information on election night. Leah Raich, a junior public relations major from Memphis, said she enjoyed the lessons learned. “This experience has really exposed me to technicalities that come with not only reporting but with preparing information for the air,” Raich said. Kathryn McKinley, a sophomore public leadership major from McMinnville, Tenn., said the experience exposed her to some of the ins and outs of the broadcast news industry. “You always hear people say a lot goes on behind the scenes, and I didn’t realize how true that was until this experience,” McKinley said. Dasha Tammark, a junior mass communication major from Okinawa, Japan, said the exercise — which was sort of a “field trip” by members of COMMA (Communication Majors and Minors Association) — offered up a lesson in American politics. “Being from Japan I know very little about politics,” Tammark said. “This experience has made me want to be more involved with politics and just generally more aware of what’s going on.” Please upgrade your...
by Hunter Patterson | Nov 2, 2010 | News Slider, Opinion
On a night during which many voters expressed disapproval for the Obama administration and the Democrats, Tennessee became one of many states from around the country to elect a Republican governor. And voters in the Volunteer State didn’t have to wait long to find out all the pre-election prognostications were correct: By 7:28 p.m. the Associated Press declared Bill Haslam the winner. Republican Haslam, mayor of Knoxville, and Democrat Mike McWherter, a Jackson businessman and the son of former Gov. Ned McWherter, sought to succeed outgoing Gov. Phil Bredesen. With nearly half of the precincts having reported, Haslam controlled about 70 percent of the vote. During his victory speech Haslam — who had spent a part of the evening chairing the Knoxville City Council, one of his mayoral duties — expressed excitement about the tasks at hand. “I am looking forward to working with Gov. Bredesen–we are starting as early as (Wednesday),” Haslam said. “It is my duty to make certain that Tennessee continues to move forward. While it’s time to celebrate the victory, we must not forget that we face some major social issues.” It also appears that Tennessee has approved a constitutional guarantee to hunt and fish. Much like what other Southern states have done — South Carolina, Alabama and Arkansas — Tennessee will now have the right to hunt and fish implanted into the state’s constitution. While it does not change the law, it prevents from hunting and fishing from being outlawed without changing the constitution. Several participants from COMMA volunteered at the News Channel 4 studios Tuesday night. The COMMA students (members of the Communication Majors and Minors Association) answered phone calls from all around the state to...
by Hunter Moss | Nov 2, 2010 | News Slider
On Monday night, COMMA (Communication Majors and Minors Association) students had their November meeting featuring Gregg Morton, President of AT&T in Tennessee. He spoke on the future of telecommunications locally in the state and nationwide. Morton agreed with common thinking, stating that personal landline telephones are diminishing in American households. “About 30 percent of Americans have cut the cord completely with traditional land-line telephones and have wireless only in their home,” Morton said. Please upgrade your browser Students raised interesting questions about how technology is converging on a various platforms. “The convergence of the three screens (computer, smart phone and television) will continue to be technologically evident,” says Morton. “Consumers will still hold preference for mobility.” The executive reiterated that AT&T provides a strong wireless and broadband service to consumers. Morton emphasized that Tennessee receives the most capital investment from AT&T than any other state in the United States. AT&T is committed to provide network availability for the entire state. He concluded his remarks, saying the future will offer emerging devices with technological advances. For example, pill bottles could notify individuals to take their medications and a dog collar might soon contain a tracking chip, making owners aware of their pet’s location. Being a South Carolina native, Morton graduated from Clemson University’s College of Business and Behavioral Science. The 31-year AT&T veteran is highly involved in the Nashville community, as he is a board member of the Nashville Symphony and chairman of Tennessee Chamber of Commerce. In his role at AT&T, Morton works closely with community leaders and state policymakers to bring the best new technology to consumers. He...
by Rachel Carden | Nov 1, 2010 | News Slider
Lipscomb student Thomas Rhett Akins, a junior communications major from Valdosta, Ga., will soon see his name printed on Jason Aldean’s new CD, “My Kind of Party.” Akins’ song, “I Ain’t Ready to Quit,” was cut for the cd and is listed as number seven right after the title song. Akins collaborated with two other writers on this song, and this is his first cut since signing with EMI Publishing in Nashville. Akins is the son of legendary country music singer Rhett Akins who continues to write music today. Check out “I Ain’t Ready to Quit” in stores and on iTunes tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 2. Please upgrade your...
