by Kahwit Tela | Sep 8, 2021 | News, News Slider
On her first day as Lipscomb University’s 18th president, Dr. Candice McQueen made several announcements during Tuesday’s Gathering. After introductions from SGA President Grant Hitchcock and her daughter, freshman Abigail McQueen, Dr. McQueen made her entrance on the podium. McQueen, greeted by a warm round of applause from the audience, cited the students as the primary reason for accepting this leadership position. “Lipscomb University exists for students,” said McQueen. “And we will empower our community, our administrators to make sure students are job one, and we will live out the visions of our founders to help you, our students, to be equipped to fully integrate with your academic passions and careers. McQueen made a few special announcements, such as the start of the President’s Student Advisory Council, otherwise known as PSAC. PSAC will allow McQueen to directly hear feedback from students through a collaborative effort with the SGA. Nominations for council members are ongoing, with the council set to be announced toward the end of September. To make up for the sophomore class’ lost opportunities, McQueen revealed that next week will be sophomore week. At the start of the week, sophomores will receive a gift package filled with an assortment of treats as well as tickets to events that lead up to an exclusive silent disco party. McQueen addressed and confirmed that the recent dining staff shortages and restaurant closures were due to a COVID outbreak. To make up for the inconvenience, students were treated to a cookout of hamburgers and hot dogs as an appreciation for their patience and willingness to cooperate with the staff shortages. Finally, McQueen recognized...
by Mckenzi Harris | Jan 19, 2021 | News, News Slider
Today at the Lipscomb University virtual gathering Dr. Orpheus Heyward spoke. The university used the chapel to honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King and the importance of his work. This year, 3 students offered up three of Dr. Martin Luther King’s prayers. Amara Ukazim read ”Help us rise up out of our egotism.” Dorie Harrison read a prayer for uncertain times, “Love even our enemy neighbors.” Donovan Ross read, “We are made for the high places.” “In a climate like today, we need a balanced voice like Martin Luther King Jr,” said Dr. Orpheus Heyward. Dr. Heyward discussed how the world is facing much social injustice today and how the “heart of a racist can only be addressed for the perspective of God.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did a sermon out of luke chapter 10, verse 25, and following on the good samaritan. This was the parable that Dr. Heyward taught out of the chapel. “Jesus moved the conversation from who is my neighbor to what is a neighbor in the bible.” In the parable, God used a Samaritan as the hero of the story. Dr. Heyward related the samaritan to how we should act as well. Dr. Heyward answers the question of who should be treated as a neighbor by stating,“Anyone who’s in crisis” is who needs help from a neighbor. “We need people to behave as neighbors,” said Dr. Heyward,” Love as God loves.” Colleges such as Belmont, Fisk, Lipscomb, Meharry, Nashville State, Tennessee State University, Trevecca and Vanderbilt, as well as other area colleges and universities are honoring the life and legacy of...
by Taylor McKnight | Aug 26, 2020 | News, News Slider
Students have the chance to choose between virtual and in-person learning this semester, but because of COVID concerns, chapel will be online only. On the pre-COVID years, students typically would be preparing on Tuesday mornings to attend chapel with their friends. Now, students need to check their computers instead. The Gathering, the large chapel that takes place at 10:55 every Tuesday morning in Allen Arena, is virtual for the fall semester out of health and safety concerns. Beginning this week, students have the opportunity to watch chapel from their laptops or phones on Tuesday mornings. Lipscomb will track chapel attendance by iAttended, which is an app every student will check into before watching a chapel service. Senior education major Jill Sanders says she understands, but that she will still miss the in-person environment. “It will be interesting,” Sanders said. “I really wish I could just go into the stadium (Allen Arena), but I get it.” Every student is required to attend at least 80 percent of chapels for the semester. The Gathering will be pre-recorded videos. Students will need to watch these videos within one week of the chapel itself. The app also tracks when a person watches a video and how long they have watched the video. Josiah Jordan, a senior, said he also misses the old environment. “Although I miss seeing everyone in person at the gathering, I thoroughly enjoyed being able to hear from several people within the Lipscomb community.” The first virtual chapel was Tuesday morning via iAttended, where students were greeted by Al Sturgeon, who discussed how The Gathering will look this semester. “Every...
by Mckenzi Harris | Sep 10, 2019 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider
Yesterday at the gathering, 4 students from the Bahamas spoke about how Hurricane Dorian damaged their country and then gave ways for other students to be of help to the Bahamas. The Bahamas are off the coast of Florida and the capital, Nassau island is where these 4 students are from. This all started when The National Hurricane Center issued a state of a tropical depression on August 24th, but 6 days later the storm intensified and developed into a category 5 hurricane. The hurricane hit both the Abaco and Grand Bahama islands. The record-breaking hurricane passed Nassau but has left many of the Bahamian people who evacuated homeless and displaced on the island. The death count from the hurricane has unofficially continued to rise past the 100 marks and will only continue to rise as there are still many people missing and unidentified. The estimated damage to the Bahamas is in the billions. Lipscomb is offering opportunities to donate to the Bahamas through its website as well as through phone calls. Celea Brown prayed for the Bahamas and over the Bahamian people saying, “Dear God, We know that the Bahamas are a place where you live, we know that your people worship you and you are the center of our entire life. God, I pray for the spirit of restoration, the spirit of peace, the spirit of miracles on my Bahama land and my people. God, I just thank you for this entire student body. I pray Father God that as you listen to our story, that you become a way that they can give to us. And we pray father...
by Erin Franklin | Oct 19, 2018 | News Slider
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam is known to frequent Lipscomb’s workout room, but he made an appearance at chapel Tuesday to speak to students and lead the closing prayer. Lipscomb president Randy Lowry introduced Haslam by noting how many Lipscomb students would not be where they are today had Haslam not served as governor. “If you have a HOPE scholarship, you owe that opportunity to…Governor Haslam in his support of that program,” Lowry said. “If you enjoyed free community college, it was because this governor wanted to provide access to higher education. To those of you who did, you then had an opportunity to transfer to a four-year school, which you might not ever otherwise been able to attend.” During The Gathering, Haslam spoke to students about God, relationships and politics. Haslam cited two main things he wanted to tell students to take away from his talk. “No matter what you do, make certain that you’re in a situation where you have people that give you honest feedback…That’s really what helps us,” he said. “Number two is remember those people you’re interacting with…that they’re created in the image of God.” After The Gathering, Lumination spoke to Haslam individually about his thoughts on the upcoming governor’s election and the importance of students going out and voting. “The first thing to do is obviously to go vote,” Haslam said. “It’s incredibly simple and easy, and it matters. Every study shows that young people don’t, which is crazy that people typically don’t start voting until they’re in their 40s. “People tend to get really excited about the national elections, but your state and local elections...
