by Janice Ng | Sep 17, 2013 | Uncategorized
Lipscomb University’s HumanDocs film series, hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences, will be presenting a free public screening of I Learn America, a documentary about five teenage students adapting to life in America, on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. in Shamblin Theatre. The screening is part of the Tennessee Rights Coalition’s Welcoming Week, an event that highlights the contributions of immigrants to American Communities. The coalition’s Welcoming Tennessee Initiative served as an inspiration to Welcoming America, a nationwide effort to make America a friendlier place. Lipscomb’s HumanDocs is a social-justice series that aims to create a more just, peaceful and inclusive university and city. “[This film] reflects the series’ goal of looking at important issues of social justice – in this case, immigration and welcoming others, even when their language, culture, or beliefs differ from ours,” series coordinator and Lipscomb Associate Professor of Spanish Ted Parks said. The documentary from Jean-Michel Dissard and Gitte Peng looks at the lives of five teenage immigrants – Brandon Garcia, a 15-year-old Guatemalan who crossed the border to reunite with his mother after 10 years, Itrat Shah, a 17-year-old devout Muslim from Pakistan who came to America to join her father after the passing of her mother, Sandra Staniszewska, a 17-year-old tomboy from Poland, Jenniffer Vasquez, a inseparable best friend of Sandra and from the Dominican Republic and Sing Pi, a shy 18-year-old from Myanmar with limited English comprehension. I Learn America follows the five students closely for a year at the International High School at Lafayette, a Brooklyn public high school dedicated to newly arrived immigrants from all over the world. The students learn how to...
by Nicci Carney | Mar 9, 2013 | News Slider
Friday, March 8, Shamblin Theater hosted the opening night for Blackbird Theater’s production of Amadeus. The Peter Shaffer play, later adapted into the Academy Award-winning film, tells the story of the tumultuous life and death of Mozart from the perspective of his long time rival Salieri. Feeling he was cheated by God because he was not blessed with the gift Mozart had, the play shows the mental and spiritual battle Salieri fought. The Amadeus production at Lipscomb gives Blackbird Theater founders Wes Driver and Greg Greene an opportunity to work at their Alma Mater, as well as work with current Lipscomb students. The idea began with Lipscomb Theater department chair Mike Fernandez and his encouragement for the duo to create the theater production company and be artist-in-residence. Driver is the artistic director, and Greene serves as the managing director. The hope of Driver and Green is to inspire, yet challenge, the minds of the audience. “The type of theater we hope to produce is transformative. We want to produce productions that will initially challenge people but ultimately inspires them,” Driver said. For Greene, the expectation for the show is, “to transform the people’s thinking and give them an opportunity to reflect on the big issues in life. Having conversations after the show and the responses from social media is what makes a show successful.” The production is one of the many performances from the Nashville Symphony and Orchestra throughout the months of March and April. Mozart in the Music City will be a period of all things Mozart. This includes the production of Amadeus, the Orchestra performing The Magic Flute and the Symphony holding a piano concerto. Student tickets are...
by Ariel Jones | Oct 23, 2012 | News Slider
Students, faculty and guests alike gathered in Shamblin Theater on Oct. 22 for the final Presidential debate watch party where President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney gave their final thoughts and opinions on the topic of foreign policy. Per tradition, those in attendance were offered pizza and drinks on arrival. Following the pizza, those who had “clickers” answered poll questions about the debate and who they would vote for. Four panelists shared their thoughts after the poll with series moderator Professor Alan Griggs. Attorney Gregory Ramos of North, Pursell & Ramos, junior political science major Scott Bledsoe, Toby Compton of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, and Katie Culp, a master’s student in Civic Leadership here on campus were members of the panel. Each gave their opinions on what to look for in each candidate. They also discussed what issues may be addressed, namely the main topic of the night: foreign policy. The final debate took place at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., moderated by Bob Schieffer, host of CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” The military, economy, education and foreign issues were all topics the candidates discussed during their allotted 90 minutes of debating. At the end, both candidates gave their final closing remarks, asking their supporters to vote for them on Nov. 6. Bob Schieffer closed the debate by quoting his mother, “Go vote. It makes you feel big and strong.” Closing this Pizza and Politics series, Dr. Jimmy McCollum asked a few final polling questions, and Griggs asked the panelists their last thoughts on the debate. The floor was opened for questions or statements from the...
