by Erin Turner | Apr 9, 2015 | News Slider
After several firsts, singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini visited the place where her country roots were nurtured. This former Lipscomb student headlined Student Government Association’s 2015 Spring Concert to a very familiar crowd Wednesday night in Shamblin Theater. “I always dreamed about being an artist and songwriter and doing it for a living, but did not know how to do it,” Ballerini said. But it didn’t take her long to figure out how, as she recently cracked the charts with her song “Love Me Like You Mean It” that debuted in November 2014. This Knoxville, Tennessee native moved to Music City to kick off her career when she was 15 years old, and she landed at Lipscomb several years later. “[Being at Lipscomb] was two of my favorite years of my entire life,” she said. “The whole time I would just go to school and then go to the writer’s round to co-write. I kept trying to do both at the same time until I found the right opportunity.” Just halfway through her sophomore year at Lipscomb, Ballerini signed a deal with Black River Publishing. Her career took off from there, as she debuted on one of country music’s most famous stages — the Grand Ole Opry. Ballerini said the last few months have been nothing but firsts. After hearing her own song on the radio, her music got in the hands of some of her biggest inspirations. “One of the craziest things that’s happening is people that I’m fans of are becoming friends and reaching out, and kind of speaking into my life and helping me,” she said. Most recently, this rising star...
by Erin Turner | Apr 6, 2015 | News Slider
From water bottle stations, to the cost of summer tuition at Lipscomb, the 2015-2016 Student Government Association candidates covered a variety of topics at the Presidential Debate Monday night in Shamblin Theater. Moderator Madeline Smith opened up the night by asking the senatorial candidates funny questions that were Tweeted out by audience members. Vice Presidential candidates Ezra Fritz, Lauren Gardiner, Hannah Passamonte, Jackson Smith and David Villacorta took the stage to share their ideas for the coming school year. The presidential portion of the debate began with a series of questions. Q: “If you could implement one major policy change at Lipscomb what would it be? A: Presidential candidate Julia Allen said she would change the way that tuition works. “I would like to see fixed tuition — for Lipscomb students to be able to stay for all four years,” Allen said. A: Presidential candidate Margaret Rox said she would also like to see a tuition lock for current students. “If we can’t have a tuition lock, I would at least like to see people’s scholarship increase with the tuition,” Rox said. While tuition increases each each, Rox said that scholarships don’t. She said that it would be more fair for scholarships to follow the same trend as rising tuition. A: Presidential candidate Jordan Beale said she is passionate about Lipscomb’s community, and she said she believes housing is a big part of the community. “I’d really like to see some greater opportunities for upperclassmen here on campus — maybe have more open dorm hours, a little bit more autonomy on those choices, a little bit more openness to moving off campus,” Beale said. Q: “What...
by Jamin Craig | Apr 3, 2015 | News Slider
Lipscomb’s cinematic arts program is ready to kick off its second annual 5 Minute Film Festival. The festival is open to all students on campus who want to unleash their inner filmmaker. Steve Taylor, the cinematic arts department’s artist in residence, said that now is the perfect time to get students involved in making films. “With interest in filmmaking at an all-time high and the cost of filmmaking equipment at an all-time low, we thought a film festival would be a good way to get the rest of the campus collaboration on making short films,” Taylor said. “They don’t even have to be made using professional equipment — some of last year’s winners were shot on iPhones.” Taylor said he is optimistic that the amount of films turned in this year will be at least twice that of last year. “We launched it last year and got 14 submissions from students all over campus,” Taylor said. Students can either make a narrative-fiction film, or a mini-documentary. Judges will select the top two films in each category and award a cash prize to the filmmakers. The grand prize winner will receive $500 for the best film. Josh Link, a graduate film student, won last year’s grand prize. He noted that anyone that is thinking about making a film needs to block out any doubts or excuses. “My number one suggestion is to forget about all of the reasons why you shouldn’t make a film and just make one anyway,” Link said. “Some of the highest regarded movies in the independent circuit look like garbage, but the content and the story...
by Erin Turner | Apr 2, 2015 | News Slider
The Student Government Association Presidential Debate is set for Monday, April 6 at 5 p.m. in Shamblin Theater. Elections will be held on Tuesday, April 7 in Bennett Campus Center. Students will be able to vote for executive positions and senators from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Runoffs will be held Thursday, April 9. Students will only be able to vote for the senators in their class. Five senators are chosen for each class. Elections for Senator-at-large will be held Tuesday, April 14. To ask the presidential candidates questions, students can Tweet using the hashtag “LUdebate.” The following students are candidates in the 2015-2016 SGA election: President: Julia Allen Jordan Beale Margaret Rox Vice President: Ezra Fritz Lauren Gardiner Hannah Passamonte Jackson Smith David Villacorta Secretary: Jamie Keiser Treasurer: Adrian Ricketts Senior Senator: Zach Clemens Stephen D. Grady Brennan Johnson Cole Meador Anne-Claire Smith Kendall Young Junior Senator: Anna Cannone Philip Grimsley Caroline Hensley Carter Hilliard Grant Mathis Megan Neuenschwander Katie Scholl Sophomore Senator: Sinney Chan Brandon Cunningham Matt Gibson Luis Hernandez Destiny S. Mhishi Megan Roberts Alleah Thompson Grayson Webber Senator-at-large: Rachael Langston Caleb...
by D'Nashia Jenkins | Mar 26, 2015 | News Slider
When she’s not in the classroom or studying for her next test, she’s laying down tracks in the recording studio or singing on stage. Freshman Abbi Scott’s love for music and school brought her to Music City to study public relations. She got her start in music at a very young age, though. Scott was influenced by the music her parents listened to — a mix of ’80s Southern rock. By the time she turned 14, she was singing professionally. Scott now performs on college campuses and venues in the area. Though Scott said a day in her life can be a challenge, juggling school and a music career, she manages to hold a 3.5 GPA. “When it comes to classes and music, I devote a lot of time to each,” Scott said. “I’m very driven, so I make sure my grades are up.” But when she’s not doing school work, she said she is writing a new song or doing sound checks for a concert. Recently, Scott made an appearance at Lipscomb’s Relay for Life event and the benefit concert for Libraries of Africa at Shamblin Theater. She said that during each performance she “feels invisible.” Scott said she hopes all her fans are impacted by her music. To have a close relationship with her fans, she interacts with them on social media. “I believe it’s extremely important to run my own social media strictly because it shows your fans that you are really engaged with them,” Scott said. Scott’s new single “Flying” will be released April 7, 2015. For more information on Scott and her music, her website can be found here. Photo courtesy...
