by Abigail Davis | Jan 22, 2021 | BREAKING NEWS, COVID-19, News, News Slider
The COVID death of a man of the cloth who also was a longtime security officer and helping hand to students hit the university, which already had suffered two losses to this plague, hard. “It is with great sadness that I share the news of another loss in the Lipscomb family,” read an email from President Randy Lowry sent out to the Lipscomb community on Thursday afternoon. Lowry went on to explain that the Lipscomb Security veteran and minister at the 19th Avenue Church of Christ in Springfield, Tennessee, Maurice J. Conner, had died of COVID-19, marking the third loss in the Lipscomb community in the past six weeks. Conner started at Lipscomb as a student and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1981. Shortly after graduating, he joined Lipscomb’s security team in 1983 and while serving the security team also earned his master of arts in Bible in 2000. Lowry shared how respected and loved Conner was among the Lipscomb community due to the “wisdom, compassion, and joyful nature,” that Conner brought to his job every day. “The deep and profound respect and love the security team has for Maurice was obvious as they relayed stories about shared work experiences, his humorous radio calls to dispatch to report on weather conditions during the third shift and their lively conversations about faith, theology and life,” said Lowry. “In addition to being a dedicated security officer, Maurice was also a minister and mentor to his colleagues through the years.” “He was definitely gentle, caring, and very devout,” said security colleague Alex Ryan. “He had clearly done a lot...
by Hannah Cron | Oct 22, 2020 | News, News Slider, Politics
Tonight, the final presidential debate between current President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will occur just down the road from Lipscomb at Belmont University. In light of this historic event, Lipscomb’s security team has spent weeks making plans to ensure that the campus remains as safe as possible. “For the last month, we’ve really been doing some deep preparation, just getting ready for this evening because we want the campus to remain safe and we want the experience for our students and the employees and any guests that are in the area to be as smooth as possible,” said Kyle Dickerson, Executive Director of Security & Safety. The security team has also been in contact with state and federal law enforcement in regard to making preparations for the night of the debate. “We’ve been talking with the law enforcement partners that are a part of the actual event itself, which includes TBI, FBI, the secret service, just a lot of the big federal entities that are a part of it but also some local entities as well. They’ve been giving us really good information that is helping us feel really good about the evening, which is nice. What they have said is that they are expecting typical things for a debate,” said Dickerson. One of the biggest concerns ahead of the debate is the traffic congestion due to the many road closures around Belmont. “What we think is going to be a really big deal is traffic congestion for the night,” said Dickerson. “Most people don’t go to traffic congestion as their first concern for something like this,...
by Tyler Harvey | Oct 20, 2019 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider
The annual crime report for the 2018 year was released this month by Lipscomb’s Office of Security and Safety. The report shows that there was one reported rape on campus last year and that the criminal activity of burglary in on-campus housing had increased from one report in 2017 to five reports in 2018. The one reported rape on campus is alleged to have occurred in September 2018. The accused is former Lipscomb sophomore, Sam Salib. Salib was indicted by a grand jury in August on three counts of rape. (https://www.scoopnashville.com/2019/08/grand-jury-indicts-lipscomb-student-sam-salib-in-2018-rape-case/?fbclid=IwAR2YkwWQ_6BqE8oY12FLtgdVn0bocJK4HgJoUA0wssciJh_-ev2UyKBe02I) The report reported that there were no rapes on campus for 2017 and two for 2016. “I feel safe on campus if security is there to protect me,” senior Bailie Fite said. “When I’m by myself, though, I feel like I’m on my own and if I report something, I feel like they’re (campus security) not going to do anything about it.” In response to students who feel unsafe, Assistant Vice President of Public Relations and Communications Kim Chaudoin said, “Lipscomb Security and Safety has personnel on campus 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. If any student feels alone or in need of assistance, they only need to call 615-966-7600 to access one of our officers to assist them any time of the day or night.” Fite also said that she feels unsafe at night in parking lots on campus because in her opinion they are poorly lit. Chaudoin responded: “Lipscomb Security and Safety offers a Bison Walk service for anyone who feels unsafe or would like to have someone accompany them to or from their car,...
by Mignonne Bryant | Mar 10, 2015 | News Slider
Lipscomb students expressed concern after one of the emergency call boxes on campus was found broken. Assistant Director of Campus Security Patrick Cameron said that campus security made the discovery during one of the monthly tests. The call box is located in Lipscomb’s West parking garage, on the second level by the elevator and during the time it was broken, campus security placed an ‘out-of-order’ sign on it. Nicole Becker, a junior living on campus, said she expects the call boxes to be in good condition at all times. “You expect something like that — if it says emergency or something like 911 — you expect them to work and to be there if you need them,” Becker said. Mariah Lester, a junior commuter student, shares a similar opinion. “I’d feel like pretty shortchanged,” Lester said. “These are supposed to be working.” Cameron said he believes Lipscomb would not be held responsible if something were to happen when a box was not working. “From a liability standpoint, as long as you’re testing them on a regular schedule, I think you’re covered,” Cameron said. Lester thinks that the call boxes should be tested more than once a month. “You can’t really protect robberies from being on campus, but you could protect yourself or get help when you need it,” Lester said. “If that help wasn’t available, I’d feel scared.” There are 22 campus emergency call boxes, mostly located in the parking garages. There is a direct call line to campus security on each box. Cameron said that the call boxes are used once every few weeks to report minor car accidents...
by Emily Snell | Sep 20, 2012 | News Slider
A former student, who was wanted for an on-campus burglary that took place in February, was arrested on campus Thursday morning. Around 10 a.m., Lipscomb Security recognized Shaun Immanuel Saunders, 27, thanks to a “be on the lookout” alert related to his previous offense. Hunter Patterson, a May graduate who happened to be on campus, witnessed the event. “I was in the amphitheater and saw two Lipscomb security guards escorting a restrained individual across campus,” he said. “They were about to go through the square, it looked like.” Saunders was turned over to Metro Police officers soon after. His bond was set at $25,000. According to an affidavit from Metro Police, Saunders had not attended Lipscomb for a year prior to the burglary. The report said surveillance video from Feb. 16 showed Saunders in the student center and then showed him in a classroom, stealing an iMac computer. He also appeared on surveillance video with the iMac and a flat screen TV near the loading dock, where he was putting the items in a silver vehicle. This is the second arrest that Metro Police, with help from campus security, has made on campus within the past seven days, including a man who was arrested on campus Saturday afternoon for public intoxication. Brad Wyatt, director of security, said in his five years at Lipscomb, campus security has never needed to call Metro onto campus for an arrest prior to this week. Continue to follow Lumination as this story develops. Sydney Poe, Nicolette Carney and Cory Woodroof contributed to this...
