Small club Kappa Chi wins big at Greek Life Appreciation Awards

Everyone loves a good underdog story, and Greek life members were lucky enough to witness one at the Greek Life Appreciation Ceremony. The ceremony for the 13 social clubs on campus was to honor the achievements of Greek life over the past school year and to crown this year’s boy and girl club of the year. “The event was to celebrate all the accomplishments in Greek life and all the work ICC and Sam Parnell have put into the Lipscomb Community,” Sam Smith, Dean of Student Life, said. “We wanted to celebrate the service, social events, relationships, and drug and alcohol awareness events social clubs have participated in this year.” The winner for the male social club of the year was Theta Psi, a fairly new club on campus, and the winner of the female club of the year was Kappa Chi. Kappa Chi seemed like the underdog of the competition, being one of the smallest clubs on campus, but the club insists this is the recognition they deserve. “The competition was stiff,” Melissa Pinhal, a Lipscomb senior and president of Kappa Chi, said. “”I feel for every girl in the club it’s a lot of validation. [As a smaller club], we don’t get recognized, so to get recognized is great and gives us a goal for next year.” Kappa Chi was the winner out of seven female social clubs, most of which are quadruple the size of it. “It’s unbelievable that our little club is doing such big things,” Kappa Chi senior Whitney North said. “It’s the highest honor us sisters could get, and it’s great that out of everyone...

Candidates speak out on ideas at SGA Presidential Debate

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...

Delta Tau Fight Night raises over $2K for Youth Encouragement Services

Punching and yelling are not common sights on Lipscomb’s campus, but on Thursday night they were part of Delta Tau Fight Night, which raised $2,500 for a local non-profit organization.  The men’s social club brought in a professional boxing ring and referees to host 11 fights between male Lipscomb students in the Student Activities Center. Over 400 students filled bleachers surrounding the ring that SGA helped fund. “It’s especially fun for Greek life because many boys’ clubs have fighters in the ring,” said Blake Mitchell, a senior in Delta Tau. “It’s a very loud and exciting atmosphere, and it’s great that it all has a purpose.” All proceeds from the event went to Youth Encouragement Services, a youth center that allows inner-city children to engage in social, education and cultural activities. Fighters were members of Greek life or non-affiliated individuals. The matches were set up by members of Delta Tau, who put boxers against each other based on height and weight. “I thought it’d be fun to train and get out in front of everyone,” said Tanner Simmons, a freshman in Sigma Iota Delta. “It’s definitely nerve-racking.” In and out of the ring, the nerves were building up. “It’s my first Fight Night, so it’s fun to watch, but it makes me really nervous, especially to see the people I know fight,” said Kylee Van Horne, a freshman in Delta...

Bid Night kicks off pledging for Greek life

Campus may have appeared eerily quiet on Wednesday night, but that’s because most the student body was inside Alumni Auditorium cheering on pledges at Bid Night. This semester’s Bid Night began differently than most — a Greek-wide devotional was held to kick off the evening. The devotional included a short prayer time before bids were given out to new members. “Pledge week is such a hard, stressful time,” said Lauren King, a member of Pi Delta. “I’m glad we could start it off thinking about what really matters at the end of the day.” The noise of pledges chanting and clubs cheering consumed the auditorium as new social club members were introduced. Every club had a different way of introducing itself and its new members to Greek life. Female clubs Delta Sigma and Pi Delta’s pledges sang songs, while Kappa Chi’s girls did their best strut. Male social club Delta Tau caused a ruckus with their insane skits, while Theta Psi awed with a miniature stomp routine. “Everyone always does the same boring things, so DT likes to add a little fun into the night with our skits,” said Tate Dalrymple, a member of Delta Tau. Now that the introduction is over, the eleven-day pledge week begins. “Pledging really is about growing close as a club,” said Carli Stump, president of Delta Sigma. “It all seems silly but all has a purpose in the end.” Greek life is expected to attend Lipscomb basketball games on Thursday and Saturday with their new pledges. The game on Saturday will feature a new event called Alumni Fair, where alumni will be invited back to check out their respective club’s table....