by Erika Thornsberry | Oct 22, 2014 | News Slider
A new student-led group has made its way into the Lipscomb community, and it got the public’s attention with the painting of the rainbow bison. Painting the Bison is something all students are welcomed to take part in. It’s close to the middle of campus and something that draws people’s attention. The Bison turned many heads when it was painted in all rainbow and read “October 11th, 7p.m. @ Bell Tower.” The reason behind painting the bison rainbow, the students said, was to make a statement on campus and get other students’ attention. “We decided to paint the bison because it has been always a huge symbol of student expression,” sophomore Kat DeVore said. “We thought this was a way to get the word out and get people’s attention because this is something that needs to be talked about.” The students who painted the bison formed a group called “Represent the Rainbow”. The group was formed as a way to discuss gay rights and how to accept and love everyone. Sophomore Josh Yarbrough is the one leading this group. Yarbrough says this group is going to provide a safe place for people to come and discuss these issues. His plans for the group are to meet at “The Well” every Saturday night. “This is a place for people to come and share testimonies, questions and doubts. There are a lot of opinions out there,” Yarbrough said. “I believe until we hear those things and test them against one another’s lives, we will never be able to figure out the best way to love one another.” Yarbrough tried to put...
by Madeline Smith | Sep 15, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
Details of underage drinking, fighting, racism and sex at a party on the Lipscomb campus in a former Vanderbilt basketball player’s upcoming “tell-all” book are not being overlooked by Lipscomb officials. “I don’t believe that this party happened, but I want to be real as a university,” said Sam Smith, associate dean of Campus Life. The claims are in former Vanderbilt University point guard Kyle Fuller’s book “Below the Rim.” An excerpt of the book was released recently in the Vanderbilt Hustler. The Tennessean has reported that the book, scheduled to be released next summer, is 40 percent completed. In the book’s first chapter, called “Dixieland,” the basketball player writes about this alleged party, and his account includes claims that the apartment hosting the party had alcohol, racist posters and “down” girls. Smith said he doesn’t believe the tale. Still, he said, “If this happened we need to take serious looks of what is going on. So we’re asking questions, but it’s still a very, very tough pill to swallow that this is really a possibility of something that happened on our campus.” The details in Fuller’s account are what makes the story unbelivable, according to members of the Lipscomb community. When it first was released, the chapter “Dixieland” claimed the party took place in Fanning Hall, despite Fanning being an all-girls dorm with very strict rules about visitors of the opposite sex. The story was later changed to say that the party took place in apartment-style housing, which was inferred to be The Village. “The problem with The Village is that there’s only one dorm a fight could...
by Logan Butts | Feb 11, 2014 | News Slider
For the 2014 spring semester, Greek life on Lipscomb’s campus will be in the midst of a redefining stage. In the continuation of a process that started during the 2013 fall semester, both the campus life and Greek life teams are coming together to make Lipscomb a better place. The campaign to redefine Lipscomb’s social clubs has been spearheaded by Sam Smith, the associate dean of campus life, and Sam Parnell, the head of Greek life. Together, along with the International Code Council, they spent all of last semester fine-tuning the new club definition into the version seen today. “We’ve gone through a redefining stage of what Greek life is and what it means to be a part of Greek life,” Smith said. “What we’ve tried to do is we’ve tried to stage the setting for Greek life to be viewed in a positive light. This is the most powerful organization on campus. We want students to see it for how powerful and how good it is and really impact the reputation that it had by redefining what it will mean to be a part of Greek life.” One of the main goals of the redefinition process is to erase any lingering effects of what Smith called “a nationwide bad stigma” when people think of Greek life for any college, including Lipscomb. The plan is to highlight all of the positive aspects of Greek life, as well as to show what it can bring to the Lipscomb community, including non-Greek students. “I think nationwide there’s a bad stigma with Greek life,” Smith said. “They’re the frats – the sororities...
by Brianne Welch | Sep 12, 2013 | News Slider
On Thursday morning, students on their morning walk to class may have noticed a plethora of suds forming a white mountain in the center of Bison Square. Under the mound of bubbles sits the Osman Fountain, one of campus’ newest additions. The new fountain became the target of its first prank. Currently, there are no written rules regarding students’ behavior around or in the new Osman Fountain. But that is not an invitation to vandalism. In fact, the university is relying on students’ personal sense of ethics to prevent any pranks or disrespect aimed at the new campus centerpiece. Before the incident on Thursday took place, Senior Vice President for Student Development Scott McDowell referred to the book of Matthew when talking about the administration’s expectations for student behavior around the fountain. “I would say the only rule is the Golden Rule: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do to you,’” McDowell said. McDowell recognized that students could potentially vandalize the fountain, but to McDowell, that would be against that Golden Rule. Over the summer, construction began and concluded on the new addition to campus in the middle of Bison Square. The fountain was built in memory of Ty Osman, II, a Harding University student who died in March 2012 at the age of 18. His parents Ty Sr. and Nancy Osman, Lipscomb alums, gave a gift to begin construction of the fountain to be raised in their son’s memory. The fountain is used as a centerpiece to campus as well as baptistery. Baptisms have been taking place since IMPACT 2013 was held at Lipscomb in June. “The...
by Katrina Dougherty | Nov 19, 2012 | News Slider
Kegs filled with root beer? Medicine bottles filled with candy? These are just two of the tools a new group is using to help educate Lipscomb students about avoiding and overcoming risky behaviors. Awareness at Lipscomb University is an organization run out of the Campus Life office. Faculty member Sam Smith started ALU last spring, with fellow staff member Kristin Blankenship helping to facilitate its growth. This semester, Ryan Bowen, president of the organization, says ALU is “moving more towards completely student led.” “Basically, Sam has said ‘here’s the topics I want to hit,’” Bowen said. The topics were ones Smith had seen many students struggling with when they came to Campus Life: alcohol abuse, drug use, sexual activity and unhealthy living. When it began last year, Bowen said there were 11 in the group, but that number quickly fell off by about half. Bowen said they held a couple of events but were still feeling out how to implement the club’s mission statement of “ALU will increase awareness at Lipscomb University of behaviors that negatively impact students’ academic performance, healthy living and community expectations.” Today, Bowen cites growth from the 5 or 6 members that remained at the end of last semester up to 10 this year. The group meets weekly, often calling in training from leadership workshops to learn to better approach the student body. Bowen said the training helps to facilitate creativity and ideas for events. Previously this semester, ALU sought to educate Lipscomb students on alcohol by distributing root beer floats from a root beer keg in the Student Center. Bowen says ALU will host an...
