by Anna McClure | Jun 5, 2015 | News Slider
High Rise renovations that are aimed to provide the “wow” factor to residental living on campus include new flooring, paint, furniture and more room for socializing. “We’ve done this because the students need it,” Dean of Student Life Sam Smith said. “The university needs it for when we’re recruiting and students come to our campus and then they go to Belmont and they go to Vanderbilt. “We needed a facility that would make a ‘wow statement’ for them, and High Rise will be that building,” Smith said. 10 rooms have been eliminated to add to the main level lobby and expand common area on some of the floors. The common area expansions on the third, seventh and eighth floors will include sitting areas, conference rooms and study rooms. “We’ve taken a big shot at increasing the community space in High Rise,” Smith said. “We don’t want students to just live there, we want them to enjoy being there and have time to be around people they want to be around, people that they want to be with, for it to feel like home while they’re here.” In addition to expanding lobbies, the closets of each room have been removed and will be replaced with wardrobes. This will increase room space and allow residents more freedom to arrange their rooms in a way that suits them. The bathrooms will be redone with changing stalls attached to the showers to make the spaces more private despite being community restrooms. “I am very excited about the renovation,” High Rise Resident Hall Director Mike Smith said. “The extra community space will give residents more space to...
by Madeline Smith | Apr 22, 2015 | News Slider
Everyone loves a good underdog story, and Greek life members were lucky enough to witness one at the Greek Life Appreciation Ceremony. The ceremony for the 13 social clubs on campus was to honor the achievements of Greek life over the past school year and to crown this year’s boy and girl club of the year. “The event was to celebrate all the accomplishments in Greek life and all the work ICC and Sam Parnell have put into the Lipscomb Community,” Sam Smith, Dean of Student Life, said. “We wanted to celebrate the service, social events, relationships, and drug and alcohol awareness events social clubs have participated in this year.” The winner for the male social club of the year was Theta Psi, a fairly new club on campus, and the winner of the female club of the year was Kappa Chi. Kappa Chi seemed like the underdog of the competition, being one of the smallest clubs on campus, but the club insists this is the recognition they deserve. “The competition was stiff,” Melissa Pinhal, a Lipscomb senior and president of Kappa Chi, said. “”I feel for every girl in the club it’s a lot of validation. [As a smaller club], we don’t get recognized, so to get recognized is great and gives us a goal for next year.” Kappa Chi was the winner out of seven female social clubs, most of which are quadruple the size of it. “It’s unbelievable that our little club is doing such big things,” Kappa Chi senior Whitney North said. “It’s the highest honor us sisters could get, and it’s great that out of everyone...
by Jamin Craig | Mar 5, 2015 | News Slider
Student Life dove into sexual purity from a Biblical viewpoint at Wednesday night’s “Unfiltered” series – a study that allows students to discuss difficult topics. Sam Smith, Dean of Student Life, came up with this series from a conversation he had with Josh Roberts, Dean of Student Development. “Josh Roberts and I went to a conference with some of our sister-school deans, and we were talking about what our campuses should look like, what our students are struggling with and how we can address those issues,” Smith said. “We realized there was this void on our campus when it came to these types of discussions, and instead of trying to avoid it, we’re going to do our best to address it.” “Unfiltered” is a four-part series, and each meeting covers a different topic. The topics include: online identity in social media, pornography and faith, sexual purity and substance abuse. Smith and Roberts decided to purposely not make the series available for chapel credit or a requirement for any Bible classes. They didn’t want students to feel forced in any way to attend the meetings because they knew they were difficult topics to confront. This week, the topic was sexual purity. Dr. Earl Lavender, a bible professor, led the discussion for the evening. He focused on maintaining a Christ-centered identity in a world focused on self-interest and sexual pleasure. “[Students need to] believe that God wills for you to flourish,” Lavender said. “He’s not giving you laws to frustrate you and tell you what you can’t do. He’s created you for His glory, and His teachings on appropriate sexual behavior are...
by Stephanie Schiraldi | Jan 19, 2015 | News Slider
The Department of Music has added a new performance ensemble to the mix, providing students with a unique opportunity to sing some of their favorite songs. Visible Voices is an all-girls group that specializes in acappella arrangements of contemporary pop hits, jazz standards and Broadway show tunes. Jordan Smith, a senior music education major from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, formed the group in fall 2014. Smith leads the group as a student teacher with the help of Dr. Juliette Singler. “I wanted to provide an outlet for people who aren’t in the music department to just sing and also an outlet for people who are in the music department to sing something that’s not classical,” Smith said. Visible Voices covered a variety of pop music during their first semester, ranging from “Roar” by Katy Perry to “Respect” by Aretha Franklin. This semester, Smith said she will try to tap into the group and focus on their voices, and she plans on trying out some softer tunes, such as Regina Spektor’s “Fidelity.” “I think that this group has the potential to really just be a place where people can come and sing and be creative,” Smith said. Donnely Lewis, a freshman music education major from Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, joined the ensemble because she participated in show choir during high school. “I thought it would be super cool, because it’s pop music and that’s what I like to sing on my own time,” Lewis said. “Show choir was crazy and I loved it, and I feel like this is as close as I’m going to get to it.” Lewis said she...
by Erin Turner | Jan 5, 2015 | News Slider
For junior Ashley Arledge, Alpha Zeta is more than just a social club. Arledge, the club’s president, hopes the club will be something different for girls on campus. “We want to be a different club,” said Arledge. “We’ve decided to call our Pledge Week ‘Declaration Week.’ We want our girls to feel empowered by saying they are declaring to the campus that they are a part of Alpha Zeta.” The new social club was founded just today, and the idea stemmed from Arledge’s first experience with Greek Life at Lipscomb. She knew she wanted to be a part of a social club when she began college, but finding a place that she fit in was harder than expected. “I was looking for more out of college than an education, but to be able to experience that collegiate experience with wonderful Christian people.” After going to the rush fair, open rushes and a few closed rushes, Arledge didn’t feel a connection to any of the social clubs. “I knew I wanted to integrate myself into Lipscomb Campus Life, but I didn’t feel there was a place that I fit. And I think there are other girls on campus that feel the same way.” Since that very moment, Alpha Zeta has been in the works. Arledge first brought up the idea to Laurie Sain, Fanning’s head resident, then began working with Dean of Student Life Sam Smith and Sewell head resident Sam Parnell during the drafting of the constitution. The founding members presented the club’s overview to the head of Greek Life and it was approved for charter. Although forming the...
