The Biggest Stories from 2011

by | Dec 20, 2011 | News Slider, Opinion, Sports

It’s that time of the year again. You know, the end of it. And with the end of the year comes lists! On the front pages of CNN, ABC News, Yahoo! and other news sites there will soon be “The Best of 2011” or “The Biggest from 2011.” At Lumination Network, we opted for the latter. 2011 was a year of surprises. When the year began, we were all shocked by what happened to Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona. In March, Charlie Sheen ranted about “winning” and “Tiger Blood,” capturing the attention of the world…and ending his sitcom career prematurely. But 2011 was also a year of tragedy. On top of Senator Giffords being shot in her home state, one of the largest tsunamis in history hit Japan, which sent three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into meltdown, the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl. In April, tornadoes ripped through the states just south of us.There were more than 170 twisters on one day, leading to a death toll of nearly 300. And 2011 was a year of love. In the biggest wedding of our lifetimes, William and Kate got hitched. Prince William, of course, tied the knot with his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, got married outside Westminster Abbey in London on April 29. Over 23 million Americans watched the wedding from their couches. Undoubtedly, though, the biggest story of the year was the death of Osama bin Laden. As most of you remember, bin Laden was killed during a firefight in Pakistan nearly a decade after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and set off patriotic celebrations...

Singarama experiences first “sweep” in 10 years

by | Apr 3, 2011 | News Slider

[Update] Singarama 2011: For Good Measure made history. “Better Late Than Never,” directed by Morgan Philley, was the first show in 10 years to win every category (theme, music and staging) and the overall sweepstakes.  Supposedly, the last show to accomplish this feat was “Hip to be Square” in 2001, directed by Emily Thompson. The time-themed show performed by Gamma Xi, Sigma Iota Delta, Phi Sigma and friends followed Doug, an obsessed-with-time delivery man on his daily route. Through meeting outlandish characters along the way, Doug finally realized that his wife was more important than his job, and he needed to make time for her. Student Coordinator Kaitlynn Passon announced the staging winner on Saturday afternoon, noting that it was a very close race. While Philley’s show had placed first in each category, it was still possible for them not to win the sweepstakes, because of points deducted for the show going longer than the allotted time. Nerves were high going into Saturday night’s performance as each show had one of their best performances every. Randy Lowry announced the winner, and the group on stage went crazy. [Original story] Morgan Philley, director of “Better Late Than Never,” led her group in celebration cheers last night after her show was awarded first place for theme. “Winning theme was a huge honor for me, because I felt like our script, writers, cast, set designers and even choreographers put so much effort into making each aspect of our show incorporate “time” in such a creative way,” Philley said. “It was so rewarding for me as a director to see the group’s hard...