by Clay Smith | Apr 18, 2012 | News Slider
Lipscomb’s “now that you ask…” series ended with dialogue from a member of the same family that the series started with earlier this semester – the Haslam family. Gov. Bill Haslam opened up the series, and on Tuesday, April 17, the series ended for the semester with his wife and Tennessee’s First Lady, Crissy Haslam. The dialogue was moderated by Tom Ingram, leader-in-residence for the Andrews Institue for Civic Leadership at Lipcomb. First Lady Haslam recounted her experiences growing up in Tennessee, being the wife of a mayor and then governor and working to affect change in the communities that she has been a part of. Mrs.Haslam, who is one of the state’s leading advocates for better education, attended an all girls school growing up. She said benefitted from the school’s format. “Yes, I enjoyed my time there because you had the opportunity to pursue whatever offices you wanted,” Haslam said. “You didn’t have that distraction of having guys there.” After high school, Haslam attended Emory University where she majored in finance and marketing. Ingram asked Haslam how her ambitions in college shifted to bring her to her current position as First Lady of Tennessee. “I had hoped to get a job in busines,s and I pictured myself working my way up in the corporate ladder,” she said. “But none of that really happened; I married Bill at 22 and couldn’t find the job I wanted after college.” After graduating from Emory and marrying Bill Haslam, the couple moved to Knoxville in 1981. The state’s First Lady says life with a politician caused her to change her ambitions. “At...
by Clay Smith | Apr 16, 2012 | News Slider
The Lipscomb Guitar Ensemble put on its spring concert April 10. About 50 students and faculty members attended the concert. This semester, the ensemble was made up of sophomore Mack Hoskins, senior Marco Perez and their professor Mark Godwin. They performed pieces ranging from traditional folk songs to compositions by Mozart and Bach. Check out this video to hear “Barquero” by Felix DeSilva, one of the songs featured in the concert. ...
by Clay Smith | Apr 6, 2012 | News Slider
Lipscomb’s Department of Business presented its Entrepreneurial Pitch contest this week for students to present their business ideas to local entrepreneurs. Dr. Joe Ivey reported a great turnout at the preliminary Monday night competition, as well as a good showing at the Wednesday night finals. “The students have some extremely good ideas this year,” said Ivey. “We’re going to give these students some opportunities to win prizes, and we hope they’ll use these prizes to fund their ideas.” Students presented ideas ranging from a housing development powered by alternative energy to a website called dormads.com, which functions like an on-campus Craigslist. Bethany Hertrick won the non-profit category with her “international doll” idea, and Nate Underwood won the for-profit category with his food truck park. Each finalist received a cash prize, with both of the first place winners receiving $1,000 to put toward their business endeavors. “Basically, a food truck park will help solve the problem of connecting the customer to the truck,” Underwood said. “I want to do that through an actual location that food trucks can buy into with a membership fee.” Underwood said he also wants to have a web service that will allow the customer to preorder food and walk past the line to the front of the truck to pick up their order. Eight different entrepreneurs and businessmen from around Nashville judged the contests. Jerry Cover, a Lipscomb alumnus and dot com entrepreneur, spoke highly of the participants. “I was really impressed with not only the quality of the products that were presented, but also the quality of the presentations,” Cover said. “I think there’s a...
by Clay Smith | Apr 4, 2012 | News Slider
Should it be a crime to be homeless? Many Lipscomb students think not, but a new state law makes it illegal to “sleep, cook or camp on state property.” More than a hundred Nashvillians attended the Rally for the Right to Exist in the Legislative Plaza on Sunday, arguing that the new law criminalizes both the homeless and Occupy Nashville protestors. At least 15 Lipscomb students camped out in the plaza overnight to protest the law. Gov. Bill Haslam signed House Bill 2638/ Senate Bill 2508 into law in March. Violators can face up to a year in jail or a fine of up to $2,500 or both. Proponents of the law say that camping in public places is damaging to public property and that the public’s camping increases health and sanitation problems. The Rally for the Right to Exist was created to address the repercussions the new law has for the homeless community. The Rally featured a potluck dinner, “teach-ins,” a documentary screening and culminated with an overnight “sleep-in” on the Legislative Plaza. Some policy makers in Nashville have said that the law was only intended to target Occupy Nashville Protestors, not the homeless. However, many Lipscomb students feel that the new law is detrimental because it “socially profiles” the homeless. “Certain things that are just a part of daily living can be criminalized for the homeless,” said Grant Winter, a senior American Studies major. “Sitting down on a sidewalk can be considered ‘obstructing a passageway.’ A homeless person who cuts through a private driveway might be charged with trespassing where someone who doesn’t ‘look homeless’ would never be...
by Clay Smith | Feb 20, 2012 | News Slider, Opinion
Daniel Johnston – you may not recognize his name, but you’ve probably heard his music. You may have even seen his “Hi How are you” frog, an iconic image of Austin, Texas. Please upgrade your browser Daniel Johnston started his artistic and musical career in his basement, but he’s influenced and been covered by acts such as Beck, Death Cab for Cutie, and Pearl Jam. So what brought this world-renowned songwriter to play a free concert in Alumni on Feb. 10? As it so happens, one of our own musical faculty, Dr. Sally Reed, is the sister of Daniel Johnston. Thanks to this connection, Lipscomb’s music department was able to put on one of its most unique and highly attended performances of the year, with a crowd of over 700. Johnston was glad to be able to perform in a venue where people of all ages were able to attend. In addition to his free concert, Johnston’s art will be featured in an exhibit in the Hughes Center through March 15. Johnston has suffered from schizophrenia and manic depression since his 20s, which has had a large effect on his music and art. His art is full of the angst that goes hand in hand with his ongoing mental battle. From vibrant cartoon images to the struggle between good and evil, it leaves the viewer yearning to learn more of the mystery. Some would call his pieces a trendy interpretation; others say it is a trip through his thought process, or a man searching for sanity. Even after a lifetime of albums and artwork, Johnston says he is...
