by Cory Woodroof | Dec 6, 2013 | News Slider
A man who changed the world over his 95 years — a man President Bill Clinton said, in an interview on NBC, was in a class shared only by Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. – Nelson Mandela has died. To many, he’s known as a ground-breaking politician and social reformer who helped heal South Africa from the wounds of apartheid, a system of racial prejudice and social injustice literally meaning “the state of being apart” that sometimes violently discriminated against black residents and kept the minority white Afrikaners in power from 1948-1994. Tributes and memories have been pouring in from all over the world on television, on the internet and in newspapers. The importance of this man and significance of his loss reaches all the way to Lipscomb University, not only because the changes he led affected the entire world, but because there are students from South Africa who today are themselves remembering and asking what’s next? South African Miguel Hof, a sophomore and Bisons soccer player, says Mandela’s passing signifies the end of an era. “Obviously, it’s a tremendous blow for our country,” Hof said. “Because, if it wasn’t for Mandela, we would’ve most probably had a civil war in 1994 after the apartheid.” When Mandela – who served 27 years in prison for his youthful battles against apartheid – was released in 1990, he worked for peaceful resolution of the institution and worked with the white government to end apartheid and establish democratic elections in 1994, when he was elected president of his homeland. Instead of coming out of prison embittered and preaching revolution, Mandela focused...
by Brianna Langley | Nov 13, 2013 | News Slider
LIS is officially known as “Lambda Iota Sigma,” but group president Shilpa Naruka tells us that the organization prefers to be called by LIS’ more descriptive and fitting name, “Lipscomb International Students.” “Anyone can be a member,” Naruka said. “Basically, it’s a cultural awareness group and more of an open group. I would not say it’s just a social group.” People of all backgrounds, ethnicity, gender and religions can become a part of LIS without having to go through the pledging process that most service and social clubs require. “We do have some rules,” Naruka said. “But, we do not have any pledging, and we do not have any restrictions on who can enter the group.” When a few of the international students on campus came up with the idea of doing an international fashion show last year, they also decided to create a more solid, organized culturally-aware group within Lipscomb before attempting such a large undertaking of a show. “The fashion show was the first big event we really thought of,” Naruka recalled. “But, before doing that event, we wanted to start the group, so we did quite a few little events like movie nights.” And so, LIS began. As a Lipscomb University club, the numbers reveal it’s not-so-humble beginnings. Over 25 members joined LIS during its first year, which is more than most social clubs achieve after their first several years. LIS has adopted the week of the upcoming and much-anticipated Stomp Fest as International Education Week. This means that, aside from the club being showcased as a part of Tuesday’s Stomp Fest, they will be hosting...
by Monaih Sam | Oct 15, 2013 | Uncategorized
If you spend time in the Lipscomb administration office, studied abroad recently or have a passion for fashion, you know Alisha Robinson. Robinson is a Lipscomb Senior from Sudbury, Ontario, Canada who is double-majoring in Textiles and Apparel and Fashion Merchandising. It may be a long title, but clothing and textiles studies involve more than just designing clothing. Students also learn how to create a product that consumers will want to purchase. Plus they learn how clothing is designed, created, advertised and sold. “I spend a lot of my time sewing and doing crafty things,” Robinson said. She is focused on costume design and has dreams of winning an Oscar one day for costume design in a movie. “I enjoy the creativity and I enjoy people being able to reflect their personalities through clothing,” Robinson said. “I buy the majority of my clothes from the thrift store and I sew them or change them to fit me or to be something different.” Robinson says Canadians are a bit different than the United States when it comes to fashion sense. And though she doesn’t consider herself a fashionable person, she does have some fashion advice for Lipscomb students. “The guys who wear the sunglasses with the elastic strap on the back drive me crazy,” Robinson said. “Camo is never a good fashion pattern. If you’re out hunting, that makes sense. If you’re walking on campus, that doesn’t make sense. There’s nothing to hunt.” Guys who wear short pastel shorts and girls who wear heels to class are also a fashion “no-no” for Robinson. The future fashion merchandiser urges students to...
by Cory Woodroof | Sep 27, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
In the sixth week of the 2013-2014 school year, Madeline Smith and Joe Sanderson are behind the news desk to update you about what is happening on campus and around the Nashville community. Brianna Langley fills you in on the week’s top world news headlines, Janice Ng give the scoop on all things with Nashville entertainment, Kelly Dean gives you the weather forecast and Carter Sanderson brings you up to speed with sports. This week’s newscast sheds light on the merging of the English and Foreign Language Departments, offers a look into what the Lipscomb community thinks of Obamacare, takes a look at the new change of optional minors on graduation plans, shows highlights of the Lady Bisons’ volleyball match against Kentucky, gives an update on the shuttle service and features a recap of the 31st annual African Street Festival. Also featured this week are a look at Almost Golf, some insight into the upcoming Nashville Choreographer’s Canvas and an array of student opinions of the new Apple software update. Be sure to stay tuned for future newscasts published every Friday here on...
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...
