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 Jael Teme | Mar 15, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
Freshman Miguel Hof started playing as the goalkeeper for Lipscomb’s soccer team in the fall of 2012 largely because a video caught the attention of coach Charles Morrow. The video, revealing Hof’s soccer skills, traveled from Cape Town, South Africa, to the United States. “What we saw in the video: number one, he controlled his box really well,” said Morrow, speaking of the area around the goal. Hof soon followed after a phone call from Morrow. “[Morrow] gave me a call and he asked me if I wanted to come play for Lipscomb in the States,” said Hof. That call would change the soccer player’s future. Hof was 5 when he started playing soccer. In Cape Town, kids usually spend their free time outdoors playing sports, with soccer being among the most popular choices. Hof began his soccer career as left wing, but it didn’t take long for serendipity and his coach’s intervention to change his position. He soon discovered his great passion was to defend the goal. “They needed a keeper, so the coach decided to put me in the goal, and that worked out pretty good,” Hof said. Since that moment, Hof took ownership of the goal. After being selected to be part of the team at Lipscomb, the goalkeeper moved from his hometown in South Africa to pursue a degree in business while refining his game. Being away from home might not be easy for Hof and his family, but he keeps focused on the positive side. He said it is not only good for him to be here because of the soccer experience, but also for the life experience. “I don’t think...
