by Nick Glende | Mar 28, 2012 | Opinion
What is your biggest fear? Personally, mine is spiders and bees. They scare the crap out of me. I would fight a bear in a fist fight in a closed off area before I willingly set foot in the same state as a beehive. Some people have more more rational fears, such as heights or death. Others may have strange fears like clowns or ghosts. Along with our personalities, our fears are unique and can shape how we live our lives. But I bet you that 99 percent of us all share the same fear: Nonconformity. Nonco-what? It means lack of, failure or refusal to conform (agree) as with established customs, attitudes or ideas. Being the odd man out. As a kid, we’re all taught to be a proud individual and to be ourselves, to avoid peer pressure and whatnot. What I realize is that, as adults, those same people who tell us to stand up for ourselves also pressure us to conform to what they or their group believe. If you grew up with a specific religious background, why do you get such hateful messages if you start thinking outside of that religion? You’re taught all through school and by your parents to think for yourself, but when you finally do, you feel the disappointment of others. That’s probably what we fear the most and why peer pressure is dangerously real. People are pressured into doing something stupid like drugs or stunts all the time but not because of their personal interest in the subject. They do it because they don’t want to disappoint their friends. I feel we may...
by Hunter Patterson | Mar 10, 2012 | Opinion
Rumor has it, before High Rise’s water problem on Thursday that classes have not been cancelled for a non-weather related event in over 30 years! During the news meeting on Friday, Lumination Network staff compiled a Top 10 list a la David Letterman. Staff members Emily Snell, Hunter Patterson, Whitney Jarreld, Nicci Carney and Cory Woodroof all contributed to the list below. 10. The bison statue’s head is cut off, prompting a student-led search party headed up by Garner Goode dressed as the LU Bison 9. Belmont students litter campus with cups from Bongo Java 8. A group of High Rise freshmen organize a campus-wide simultaneous toilet flushing, causing the campus to overflow 7. Student leads a revolt after being turned away from singing praise chapel in Shamblin for third time in three weeks 6. Fire Marshal shuts down campus after trying to attend singing chapel in Shamblin with his daughter, a prospective student 5. Nicolas Cage discovers the Ark of the Covenant in the LU cave system 4. All students get chapel credit on time, prompting the university to give the students a day off 3. Network frame crashes after absurd amount of Blackboard and Academic Workshop emails 2. Squirrels invade student center before storming the Campus Life office, holding Dean McDowell for ransom 1. Professors run out of paper to use in classes after security fills year-long parking ticket quota in a single day Have one better than ours? We think you can probably do better. Comment below or tweet at us at @LuminationNet with your suggestion. We’ll publish the...
by Caitlin Selle | Feb 29, 2012 | News Slider, Opinion
With unseasonably warm weather outside and the continued blast from the heating system indoors, students in Old Johnson not only can’t cool off, many of them say they can’t sleep. And not much can be done. Students will have to wait until mid-March, when the heating system is turned off and cooling switched on. Head Resident Caroline Gallagher said the heating system in Old Johnson is old-fashioned compared to other recently renovated dorms. It is a steam-based system, and that allows warm air to flow even though the units are off, leaving rooms stuffy and uncomfortably hot even as the weather outside is mostly warm this winter. Since the system is a bit antiquated, it cannot be easily turned off and on to account for the outside temperatures, and even when the process occurs, it takes several days, according to Gallagher. Gallagher said the university generally makes the switch from hot to cold air only once a semester, and this semester’s switch is expected to take place in March. All students asked said they were uncomfortable with the hot temperatures currently in Johnson. More than half of them said the heat interferes with a good night’s sleep. It has become more of a problem this year because outdoor temperatures have risen and remained among the 60s the last couple of weeks, so students come in from the warm to cool and then get…hot. In the past, a quick fix was to open the window and generate a nice breeze to cool things down, but now, opening the window offers little relief. Plans call for Johnson’s heating and cooling system to be updated...
by Nick Glende | Feb 20, 2012 | News Slider, Opinion
All of us have a particular group of friends we hang out with. And in every group there is generally the same makeup of the types of people. However, it seems there is always a pessimist. If you know that person, or it is you, please do me a favor. Take the nearest solid object or surface, and bang his/her/your head into it thoroughly. Have a concussion yet? No, then keep going until you forget whatever it was you were complaining about. Trust me, it’s probably pointless. It is very apparent to me that we all have something to gripe and moan about. Let me tell you something – if you are reading this you’re already way more than privileged. You have access to a computer with internet, able to access this site – Lumination. Chances are you’re a student, maybe even a professor. That means you can afford tuition, get an education, shelter and a meal plan. You don’t have anything to complain about. Three billion people in the world don’t even know how to read. Here are some of the common “first world problems” I hear about day to day: “My phone isn’t working,” boy/girlfriend problems, “I can’t stand the parking here,” “This food sucks,” “I’m so poor,” “I need a new [insert luxury object here], my other one is too slow”… the list goes on. Here are my well-thought-out words to those people: Do you even know what type of insane technology goes into making a phone? Give it a second; it’s going to space! If you’re having troubles with your significant other once again, wait a minute. They won’t be...
by Cory Woodroof | Feb 20, 2012 | News Slider, Opinion
I, assistant managing/entertainment editor Cory Woodroof, welcome you to the “Top the Critic” challenge! The Academy Awards will hold their ceremony Sunday evening, and in honor of the season, I have offered my “professional” opinion on who will win in the major categories. You will have a chance to offer your own picks in the comments section below this article. If you can manage to prove me wrong and top my predictions, you will have a chance to win two free movie tickets to the Regal Theater! Please remember to include your name and email in your predictions post. See below for contest rules. BEST PICTURE The Artist Moneyball War Horse The Help Midnight in Paris Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close The Descendants The Tree of Life Hugo The Lumination Critic picks The Artist. BEST ACTOR George Clooney–The Descendants Brad Pitt– Moneyball Jean Dujardin– The Artist Demián Bichir– A Better Life Gary Oldman– Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy The Lumination Critic picks Jean Dujardin. BEST ACTRESS Meryl Streep– The Iron Lady Viola Davis– The Help Michelle Williams– My Week with Marilyn Rooney Mara– The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Glenn Close– Albert Nobbs The Lumination Critic picks Viola Davis. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Christopher Plummer– Beginners Jonah Hill– Moneyball Nick Nolte– Warrior Max von Sydow– Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Kenneth Branagh- My Week with Marilyn The Lumination Critic picks Max von Sydow. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Octavia Spencer– The Help Bérénice Bejo– The Artist Melissa McCarthy– Bridesmaids Janet McTeer– Albert Nobbs Jessica Chastain– The Help The Lumination Critic picks Octavia Spencer. BEST DIRECTOR Martin Scorsese– Hugo Michel Hazanavicius– The Artist Alexander...
