Nashville mayor candidates share ideas with Lipscomb community

Lipscomb’s small piece of Nashville was put in sharp focus for the community during the 2015 Mayoral Candidates Forum Tuesday evening in the Ezell Center. The event allowed the seven mayor candidates to answer questions concerning quality of life issues. The event was presented by the Nashville Civic Design Center, a nonprofit organization that focuses on making Nashville a beautiful and functional city for everyone. Lipscomb’s Nelson & Sue Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership hosted the event. The institute — which was built on the legacy of great Nashville leaders — engages leaders in academic and community programs to create broader communities. The institute did just that during this event — with over 200 filled seats with community members and faculty, and two separate rooms for overflow attendees and students. The candidates were asked questions concerning neighborhood design, transportation, pedestrian safety, housing and parks. They also discussed some of what Mayor Karl Dean has done in Nashville already. The candidates who have officially declared their intent to run for mayor are Megan Barry, Charles Robert Bone, David Fox, Bill Freeman, Howard Gentry, Jeremy Kane and Linda Eskind Rebrovick. Sophomore Jay Klein said that allowing the candidates to speak on Lipscomb’s campus was a good way for students to become aware of the city’s issues. “It was a great way to get our students involved in the election process, whether they are able to vote for mayor this upcoming August or if they’re just trying to get involved in politics in general,” Klein said. Political science professor Marc Schwerdt said that students were mostly interested in issues relating to transportation and walkability. “Walkability...

Google’s 15th birthday celebrated on campus

For 15 years now, the words “Google it!”  have been on the mouths of people searching for a quick answer. Google has been playing a huge role on the Internet and in the lives of people who use it. In honor of Google’s 15th birthday, Google Student Ambassador Karla Chavez will be throwing a party on Friday, Sept. 27. Chavez is a Public Relations major and the first and only Google Student Ambassador on Lipscomb’s campus. She became involved with the Google Student Ambassador program through a mentor. “I applied for their program and was accepted in July,” Chavez said. During the Google birthday celebration, Chavez will have a few Google products for students to test out, including the Nexus 7 and the Chromebook. “This will be the first event I’ve done on campus. I really want to build a Google culture on campus,” Chavez said. “I want to make sure that students are aware of the Apps that we have through Google for Lipscomb. “I want them to learn how to use the products and also show them the right tools on how they could apply for the Ambassador program one day, too. I want students to be able to have the same opportunities as I have had. “Ultimately, the goal of the event is for students to meet their Google Student Ambassador,” Chavez said. “And for students and their clubs to learn how they can benefit from using Google products.” Chavez said that the Nexus 7 is her favorite Google product. “I can get books through Google Play and they are less expensive than going to the...

HumanDocs hosts Tennessee premiere of ‘I Learn America’

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...