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SUMMARY:5K good motivator for future fitness
DESCRIPTION:So you want to run a 5K?  A former Belmont cross country and track runner told Belmont students last Tuesday how even the least-motivated and busiest of students can train to run a 5K by “keeping themselves accountable” while enjoying the benefits of consistent running. \nRyan Snellen\, a Belmont grad as of last summer\, explained that students don’t have to be experienced runners to begin a healthy running regimen. \n“When I first started I didn’t think I could run a mile\,” Snellen said.  “This last week I ran 50. It’s all baby steps.”\nSnellen grew up on a dairy farm in Kentucky\, where he played soccer until his fifth grade soccer coach convinced him to run for the local high school track team.  By the sixth grade\, Snellen was a member of the team. \nHe told Belmont students that if they are interested in running a 5K\, they should submit their registration material early.\n“That way you’re holding yourself liable\,” he said.  “You’ve already invested something into it.”\nSnellen emphasized the importance of base training before jumping into competition.  He said a person of average fitness needs at least eight weeks of base training before the 3.1 mile race\, which is critical to “building endurance\, building the stamina you need for this.”\nHe assured students the first few days of training are the most difficult\, but this is normal and no reason to give up.\n“Go out and run a mile\,” said Snellen.  “See what you can do.”\nHe also encouraged students to run more than three miles per session and include one long run in their weekly regimen.  Each long run should constitute about 22% of total weekly mileage.  For example\, if a student runs 50 miles in a week\, his or her long run should be about 11 miles. \nSnellen usually runs about 80 miles a week in preparation for a 5K. \nSophomore Kelli Sandlin attended the event and had reservations about running so many miles every week.\n“I can’t believe anyone could run 80 miles a week\,” she said.  “I usually pass out after half a mile\, but I admire anybody that could do something like that.”\nSnellen told students they should ideally begin speed training three months before the 5K.  It “takes a while for your body to make those advancements\, to get the speed\,” he said. \nHe also told students to invest in quality running shoes to avoid injuries like stress fractures and tendonitis.\n“Have someone fit you with shoes that fit your foot\,” said Snellen\, a fan of Asics running shoes.\nSnellen had advice on eating\, as well.  While it may seem runners can eat whatever they want considering how many calories they burn\, certain foods may make runners feel weighed-down.\n“If you eat crap\, you’re going to feel like crap\,” he said. \nHe recommended eating a PowerBar before running and drinking a Slim-Fast shake afterwards\, while discouraging “Hollywood dieting fads.”\nTo avoid boredom on long runs\, Snellen suggested varying running routes\, running with a friend and trying interval workouts.  Some of his favorite running routes are Centennial and Percy Warner Park.\nOn the day of the 5K\, Snellen recommended “very\, very light” exercise several hours before the race\, adequate stretching\, and a glass or two of water with a light snack about an hour before the race.\nSnellen concluded his presentation with a discussion of making time for exercise\, even with a busy schedule.  He said despite consistently taking on a heavy course load in school\, he almost always made time for an hour-long run everyday because it actually made him feel more energetic and productive.\n“The more physically active I am\, my social life improves\, my grades improve\,” he said.  “Yes\, you’re tired\, but I get a lot of energy from being physically active.”\nIn addition to increasing energy\, Snellen said exercise can also reduce stress\, improve sleep and maintain a strong and healthy body.\nFreshman Jonathan Cullifer plans to apply what he learned from Snellen’s discussion to his own exercise routine.\n“There was a lot of good information for me\, especially being a recreational runner\,” he said.  “I had a couple of issues with running before this convo.  Maybe I can get those sorted out now.”\nIf you’re ready to put your training to work\, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is coming up Nov. 3.   Information\: http\://www.komen-nashville.org [http\://www.komen-nashville.org]. \nAnd even earlier\, there’s a 3-K to get you started\: Making Strides Against Cancer\, 8 a.m. Saturday\, Oct. 20\, 1 Titans Way. Info\: 327-0991.\nTeam Belmont\n Walk. Run. Swim. Bike. Climb.  Get Moving!  Team Belmont will be there to train\, teach and guide you.  Join for $5 and you get an all-access pass to training tips\, workout buddies\, and upcoming events.  Join the team at 10 a.m. Sept. 29 to “Do the Bruin Loop” to prepare the first Team Belmont event  Oct. 6.  Contact Group Fitness at groupfit@mail.belmont.edu for more details.
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CATEGORIES:fitness,health,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080404T131613
LAST-MODIFIED:20080820T081022
ORGANIZER;CN=Abby Selden\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:seldena@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20070927T141300
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SUMMARY:A fact of life
DESCRIPTION:A student who is concerned about a pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease can get tested at Belmont’s student health center\, but students hoping to get condoms\, oral contraceptives\, or other means of preventing those conditions have to go elsewhere to obtain these services.\n        That policy leaves some students offended\, others pleased\, and many simply confused.\n        Sophomore Michael Gaier fears the university’s refusal to provide means of preventing pregnancy and STDs may give students a negative impression of its own administration.\n        “I think it should be an option because everyone has a right to choose for themselves\,” he said. “Without providing that service\, Belmont sort of alienates itself from its own student body.”\n        Dean of Students Andrew Johnston explained that Belmont does not provide contraception at the health center because doing so would contradict the school’s Christian principles. STD and pregnancy testing are provided because they are diagnostic\, rather then preventative.\n        And Katy Wilson\, director of Belmont Student Health Services\, said\, “I don’t see the lack of these services as a big deficit\,” especially when there are places close by that specialize in them.\n        Her statement is true. Students can buy condoms at the Circle K across the street from the Curb Caf&eacute\;\, and every pharmacy and convenience store has a variety of over-the-counter contraceptive options.\n                              “We have plenty of clinics that distribute [contraceptives]. An institution of higher learning shouldn’t have to do that.”\n              Daniell Leipply\n               Belmont junior\n                          For prescription contraceptives\, however\, most locations are a bit farther away. The Vanderbilt Women’s Health Clinic and other area clinics and gynecologists’ offices\, many just two to three miles from campus\, provide appointments for pills\, patches and other prescription contraceptives\, in addition to condoms and spermicides.\n        Some Belmont students support the school’s stance on contraceptives\, considering its sexual conduct policy as a Christian university.\n        “Really it’s the school’s choice\,” junior Daniell Leipply said. “Isn’t this a sex-free campus? Plus it’s a school with Christian values. We have plenty of clinics that distribute [contraceptives]. A institution of higher learning shouldn’t have to do that.”\n        Many students\, however\, are opposed to the lack of birth control options offered by Belmont\, citing a university’s obligation to look out for the well-being of its students.\n        “I think it’s unethical\,” senior John Boan said. “I think the university has a responsibility to recognize the truth of the matter.”\n        Boan and others point out that many college students engage in sexual activity\, whether they’re on a small Christian campus or at a huge state school. Indeed\, Nearly 40 percent of undergraduate women use oral contraceptives\, according to the American College Health Association.\n        From a Christian perspective\, junior Kali Sorenson believes birth control should be available at Belmont.\n        “I’m on the pill\, and I’m a virgin\,” she said. “I’ve never had sex. I was prescribed it just because of another problem.\n        While Sorenson does not condone sex before marriage\, she acknowledges that it happens. “I’m definitely pro-life\, and it seems like you would lose more lives by making birth control unavailable\,” she said.\n        Junior Carlie Rhoads expressed a different concern.\n        “Since they don’t offer contraceptives it seems like they don’t look kindly upon people who are having sex\,” she said. “So I don’t think they’d be willing to help me if I had a problem.”\n        Johnston\, however\, said services are professional and the providers don’t pass judgment or betray student confidentiality.\n        “Our health services and our counseling services are decidedly separate from our student conduct processes\,” he said. Students “can feel comfortable that they can talk about these things.”\n        Some students are offended that birth control isn’t provided because of its use in treating ailments unrelated to preventing pregnancy.\n        Wilson confirmed that “a whole host of medical conditions affect the menstrual cycle\, many of which are unrelated to being sexually active.”\n        Oral contraceptives\, commonly called the birth control pill or simply “The Pill\,” contain hormones often used to regulate the menstrual cycle\, reduce cramps and heavy\, long or irregular menstrual cycles\, and can aid in treating polycystic ovary disease\, acne\, anemia and thyroid disease.\n        Sophomore Deonte Warren gained understanding of the other uses of the birth control pill when it was prescribed for a former girlfriend.\n        “My ex had anemia really bad\, and it really helped\,” he said.  “Birth control doesn’t always have to go with having sex.”\n        That’s a legitimate use\, but Johnston said the university does “not want to get in the business of policing that.”\n        Johnston also reminded students that the Belmont health center is not intended to be a student’s primary care provider.\n        “We see ourselves as fitting into a larger picture of health care\,” he said. “When you look at it from that standpoint we don’t provide every single service for students period.”\n        Other students understand why Belmont policies prohibit birth control\, but feel Belmont should change its stance on the issue.\n        “I can see why they’re against it\,” said junior Zach Moore. “But at the same time\, I still believe they should have it as an option.”\n
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CATEGORIES:health,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080404T000011
LAST-MODIFIED:20080820T081103
ORGANIZER;CN=Abby Selden\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:seldena@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20071108T125500
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SUMMARY:Christian morals shape sexual conduct policy
DESCRIPTION:The Bruin Guide\, Belmont’s student handbook\, promises to provide “information essential for making your way through the puzzles that college may present.”\nIn some cases\, however\, the information itself is puzzling to students.\nAccording to the guide\, specific acts of sexual misconduct forbidden at Belmont include “sexual relations outside of marriage\, homosexual behavior\, sexual harassment\, rape (date\, acquaintance and stranger rape)\, other non-consensual sex offenses and possession or distribution of pornographic materials.”\nSome students expressed concern over how the list of violations is phrased\, asserting that the statement may imply that criminal acts such as sexual harassment and rape and non-criminal acts such as homosexual relations and premarital sexual relations are viewed and punished equally.\nDean of Students Andrew Johnston assured that the list of offenses is not meant to imply equal severity among any of the violations.\n“The notion that those things are of equal magnitude wasn’t in the intent of that statement\,” Johnston said.  “It’s more or less mentioning things that might occur and what we might view as falling under sexual misconduct.”\nIt is perhaps that broad scope that leaves students\, when considering the rules on sexual conduct\, unable to determine campus myth from reality.\nHomosexuality\n“In Belmont’s ruling\, if they find out that you are a homosexual\, they can exercise the right to expel\,” sophomore John Roden said.\nNot so\, according to Dean of Students Andrew Johnston. “We have no policies about your sexuality\, we have a sexual conduct policy. If you asked\, ‘If I’m gay I’ll be kicked out?’ I would say\, ‘This policy relates to your conduct\, that’s why it’s a sexual conduct policy.’”\nIn other words\, a student can be punished for engaging in heterosexual or homosexual premarital relations\, either on campus or off-campus at university-sponsored events. A student cannot\, however\, be punished for homosexual orientation unless it is accompanied by sexual activity in violation of the guide.\nAndi Stepnick\, chair of the sociology department\, argued that some homosexual students still feel out of place at Belmont\, and the policy does little to encourage their acceptance.\n“When at the informal level it’s true that you can’t be kicked out for being gay\, my impression is that some students are gay and do not feel welcome here\,” she said.\nStepnick said she has witnessed first-hand the struggle homosexuals can face at a Christian university where the code of conduct discourages homosexual behavior.\n“Gay students have come to my office at least a dozen times in the last six years I’ve been here saying\, ‘I feel like I’m suffocating here\,’” she said.\nWhile the sexual code of conduct is helpful in many ways\, Stepnick said\, she still doesn’t “think that homosexuality needs to be a separate category from sexual relations outside of marriage\, because heterosexuality\, homosexuality\, and bisexuality are covered under sex before marriage.”\nPremarital sex\nIt’s true that Belmont considers sexual relations outside of marriage to be misconduct\, but some question how “sexual relations” is defined.\n    Sophomore Michael Gaier believes “sexual relations” is “an umbrella term that can be used to describe any sort of interaction between two people that could be considered stimulating.”\nBut classmate Terrell Crudup believes in a narrower definition. “Sexual relations\,” he said\, includes “penetration\, stuff like that.  It would not include hugging\, kissing\, holding hands.”\nJohnston said the university is committed to the idea that “sexual conduct belongs within the bounds of marriage.” \nPornography\nWhile the Bruin Guide doesn’t define “sexual relations\,” it does provide a definition for “obscene materials.” Those materials that would subject a student to discipline by the university must\, the guide states\, “be both (1) materials in which a reasonable person\, applying contemporary Belmont community standards\, when considering the contents as a whole\, would conclude that they appeal to prurient sexual/physical interests or violently subordinating behavior rather than an intellectual or communicative purpose\, and (2) materials that\, taken in to regarding their content and their particular usage or application\, lack any redeeming literary\, scientific\, political\, artistic or social value.”\nIn Gaier’s mind\, that definition is still lacking.\n“That is such a vague statement\,” he said.  “There are so many implications literature makes. And social values?  Whose values?”\nDespite some student and faculty objections to some of the content in the sexual conduct section of the Bruin Guide\, others agree that the section is appropriate considering the heritage of the school founded as a Baptist institution in 1951.\n“As a religious institution I would say those behaviors are very much in line with what Scripture teaches on the sacredness of sex\,” junior Jon Young said.  He explained that all Belmont students have the right to choose for themselves what morals to uphold sexually\, but “since they chose to come to this institution they have to abide by the rules of it.”\nSophomore Joy Kayser feels that if students have a major problem with the Bruin Guide\, they should have reviewed it before attending Belmont in the first place.\n“People who go to Belmont should have read this before they came here\,” she said. “Whether you agree with it or not\, you go to this school\, and you sign stuff that says you’ll agree to the Bruin values.”\nJohnston said that while Belmont is “not a narrow-minded\, arbitrary\, judgmental place\,” the institution still has a definite commitment to its moral standards\, which the university is “going to live out in every circumstance.”
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CATEGORIES:bruin-guide,health,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080404T125914
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191114
ORGANIZER;CN=Abby Selden\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:seldena@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20071108T135500
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SUMMARY:Sex before marriage\: right or wrong?
DESCRIPTION:Almost all Americans have sex before marriage\, and nearly half of 15- to 19-year-old Americans have had sex at least once.\nAs a largely Christian population facing these facts from numerous national studies\, what do Belmont students have to say about sex before marriage?\nMore than you might think.\n“Arbitrary sex before marriage I don’t too much care for\, but if you’re in a monogamous relationship with someone you care about\, then it’s all right\,” junior Daniell Leipply said.\nLeipply has been in a serious relationship for one year with a fellow Belmont student.\n“I used to think the other way\, but then I realized it’s a changing world\,” he said. “A lot of people today are having sex\, and as long as they’re monogamous and not orgy-addicted polygamists\, it’s fine.”\n Is Leipply’s approval of premarital sex in a monogamous relationship an unusual opinion at Belmont\, a vocally Christian university? Not at all\, even among students who personally plan to save sex for marriage.\n“It’s fine as long as you feel that sort of connection toward a person\,” agreed sophomore John Roden. “All a wedding is is saying that you love somebody in front of a bunch of people and whatever religious deity you believe in. You’ve decided a long time before then that you really love somebody.”\nAccording to Belmont’s mission and values statement\, “students encounter Christian values relevant to personal growth and spiritual maturity and are expected to commit themselves to high moral standards.” It’s no surprise\, then\, that many Belmont students say they are choosing to save sex for marriage.\n “It makes marriage more special if you save sex for it\,” sophomore Erin Ayers said.  “It just makes the marriage more sacred.”\nDr. Todd Lake\, vice president for spiritual development\, defends the Christian perspective on saving sex for marriage.\n “When [Christ] condemns sexual sin\, he says it’s because you’re looking at someone with the ultimate goal of getting them in bed\,” Lake said. “There is a world of difference between being in a dating relationship and making a lifelong commitment to your partner.”\nOther students fear the emotional issues and potential regret that may result from engaging in premarital sex.\n“Anything good you might think will come out of it in the short term is going to be complicated by longer term problems\,” freshman Jonathan Cullifer said. “There’s always the emotional issues that go with it.”\nAccording to a study featured in “Sexual Regret in College Students\,” a 2005 article from Archives of Sexual Behavior\, a sociology journal\, many college students experience regret following sexual activity\, with 38 percent of the sample saying their sexual decisions conflicted with their personal morals and values.\nThe same study showed 54 percent of women and 16 percent of men who had consensual sex said they should have waited longer\, whereas only 11 percent of men and 1 percent of women regretted waiting as long as they did.\nConversely\, some college students who resist an overwhelming urge to have sex within the context of a committed relationship may face equally serious issues of regret from choosing to abstain from sex.\nFreshman Allora McCullough planned to save sex for marriage\, until she became engaged and realized she might regret that decision. She said she’s aware the relationship could end\, but she has accepted her decision to engage in a monogamous\, sexual relationship.\n “I always wanted to save myself for marriage\,” she said.  “It didn’t end up that way [but] he’s the first and last person I’ll ever have that experience with in my life.”\nJunior Alaina Reagan warned of the problems that might result from refraining from sex until marriage.\n“If you haven’t had any experience before you get married\, and your experience is bad in the beginning\, you think it’s going to be a big problem for you\,” she said.\nDespite the argument that saving sex for marriage may cause problems in relationships\, couples who abstain until marriage have lower divorce rates.\n“It just happens not to be the case that it is helpful to have sex prior to marriage in order to establish a solid marriage\,” Lake said. “In fact\, statistics show absolutely conclusively that people who have sex with their future marriage partner before marriage are more likely to be divorced than those who don’t.”\nLake attributes this phenomenon to the idea that couples that have sex before marriage often have a difficult time adjusting to the idea of genuine commitment.\n“If you don’t view sex as a total lifelong commitment\, once you’re married\, it’s kind of hard to flip the switch\,” he said. “If you’ve established prior to marriage that sex is not so much tied to commitment as it is tied to passion\, what if you start feeling passionate toward someone who isn’t your spouse?”\nSome Belmont students\, however\, have achieved what they believe is a personal reconciliation between their sexual activity and their Christian beliefs.\nMcCullough is one of these students.\n“That’s a big thing\: the whole reconciliation with yourself and with God and rationalizing your decisions\,” she said.  “I think that today’s concept of marriage has changed from what God originally intended it to be.”\nThe only truly consistent opinion among Belmont students\, however\, is the commitment to remain non-judgmental of other students’ decisions\, no matter what their personal beliefs on sex.\nSophomore Kyle Paxton is opposed to premarital sex for religious reasons\, but refuses to judge others.\n“I guess I would say\, ‘Wait\,’ but at the same time I wouldn’t want to judge [those who have sex before marriage] or condemn them\,” he said.\nFrom a Christian perspective\, Lake supports this non-judgmental outlook as one of the most important traits a Christian can possess.\n“Jesus said ‘Judge not that you not be judged\,’” he said.  “Not being judgmental is profoundly Christian.”\nWhether a student is sexually active\, staunchly opposed to sex before marriage or somewhere in between\, dealing with sexual temptations is an issue students face no matter what their views are.\n“I think that when you’re away from home you’re away from your comfort zone\, and there are a lot of temptations you’re going to face\, especially without parents around\,” freshman Will Young said.\nMost Belmont students seem to agree that the best way to avoid unwanted sexual temptation and pressure is to surround themselves with people who will respect their views.\n“You just have to be able to stand up and say no\,” sophomore Mike Gaylord said.  “Real friends shouldn’t pressure you to do things like that.”
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CATEGORIES:health,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080404T130303
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191126
ORGANIZER;CN=Abby Selden\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:seldena@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20071108T140100
END:VEVENT
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UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/877
SUMMARY:Sex\: Students take it seriously
DESCRIPTION:An American college student walks into a class of 15 fellow students.  Chances are\, only four of those students have never had sex.\nAccording to national statistics\, approximately 70 percent of American college students are sexually active.   \n“I don’t think that Belmont is any different from any college campus anywhere\,” said Belmont Counseling Services director Peg Leonard-Martin.  “We’re not isolated from these issues.”\nMany students at Belmont seem to agree – and they agree in a manner that suggests they look at human sexuality with maturity and respect for others’ choices.\nSophomore John Roden sees sex as something Belmont “sweeps under the carpet and keeps hidden from everybody.”\nBut that’s not an easy task.\n“Look at the people who are going here.  We are teenagers and adults ranging from 18 to 24\,” he said.  “To believe that a guy or a girl isn’t going to be engaging in sexual activity in a place where they’re almost completely out of the eyes of their parents and authority figures\, that’s just gullibility.  I think Belmont should honestly be more open.”\nAccording to Belmont Health Services director Katy Wilson\, dialogue about sexual issues in a college atmosphere is important. “I think you can teach young people a lot about their bodies without encouraging them to be sexually active\,” she said.\nJunior Alaina Reagan agrees that dialogue is important\, but she doesn’t see it happening at Belmont\, where she knows many students are already sexually active.\n “I think more people are having sex than is believed\,” she said.  “I think people are hiding it because they think they’ll be judged.”\nLeonard-Martin wants to dispel that myth.  “Not one of the therapists here would ever presume to judge a student\, no matter what their gender\, sexual identity\, religious affiliation\, or race\,” she said. \nThat professional practice is also true of Belmont Health Services\, an enormously helpful resource for sexual health problems when students are aware of the services it offers. \n“We offer a lot of good services\,” Wilson said. “We can do STD testing\, we offer the Gardisil HPV vaccine\, as well as the Hepatitis B vaccine.  We’re big on prevention here.”\nAccording to a 2005 estimate by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\, of the 19 million people newly infected with an STD every year\, nearly half are 15-24.\nThe health center\, which saw 4\,800 students last year\, is equipped to test for HIV\, Hepatitis B\, Chlamydia and gonorrhea.\nA blood and lesion test for herpes and a test for syphilis are also available\, but Wilson said these tests are rarely done.  \n“We also do pregnancy tests\,” Wilson said.  “People who are pregnant and don’t mean to be – that’s an emotional issue – need a lot of support.”\nThe health center does not write prescriptions for birth control pills or provide any contraceptives\, but Wilson still stresses the importance of sexual education among college students.\n“I see lots of students who just need a consult visit\,” said Wilson\, explaining that it is not unusual for students to make appointments to ask about health issues they are confused about. \nWilson is in the process of designing an updated health center Web site\, which will include a page of links to informational articles on every aspect of health.  It will also include a section with printable information pamphlets.\n  Wilson suggests WebMD.com\, CDC.gov\, and the American College Health Association Web site for more accurate sexual health information.  \nThe health center is also able to make referrals for a number of issues\, including sexual problems. \n“We have come to know lots of people in the medical community\, so we compiled a list of people to refer to in all specialty areas\,” Wilson said.  “We will help you get through the red tape and facilitate those appointments the best we can.”\nWilson said she also refers students struggling with the emotional aspects of sexuality to counseling services. \n    Leonard-Martin is accustomed to providing advising to any Belmont student confronting sexual issues.\n    “We have a fair amount of students who really struggle with values in sexual experiences\,” she said.  “They leave home with a certain set of values\, come to college\, and sometimes it feels like everything’s turned upside down.”\nCounselors at Belmont are prepared to help students with issues including relationship violence\, confusion over sexual identity\, facing an STD diagnosis and coping with a first sexual experience.\n    “Individuals who’ve had their first sexual experience and end up with HPV or another STD\, they’re devastated\, they’re terrified\,” Leonard-Martin said.  “I really collaborate with the health center on these cases.”\n    Counseling services also regularly help students facing instances of date and acquaintance rape.\n    “We’ll support them through any stage of that\,” she said.  “We see a fair amount of students who struggle.”\n    Some Belmont students express concern\, however\, that their sexual issues with Belmont counselors may not remain confidential\, especially if they mention a policy on sexual conduct they have violated\, such as homosexual behavior or pre-marital sex on campus.\n     “Everything is absolutely confidential\,” countered Leonard-Martin.  “The only time confidentiality has to be broken is if a student is a danger to themselves and possibly to others.” All students are given a sheet explaining their rights before their first counseling services.\n    Johnston confirmed this confidentiality policy\, noting that health services and counseling services are entirely separate from student conduct processes.\n     The first responsibility of Belmont counselors is the well-being of Belmont students.\n    “Whatever they are struggling with\, we are going to help them\,” Leonard-Martin said. “I cannot imagine abandoning a student dealing with a possibly controversial issue.\n “Someone’s sexual history or sexual experience is protected right along with any other aspect of a human being’s life.”
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CATEGORIES:health,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080404T130500
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191139
ORGANIZER;CN=Abby Selden\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:seldena@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20071108T140300
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/878
SUMMARY:Faculty\, staff show off musical talents
DESCRIPTION:A large crowd gathered in the Curb Caf&eacute\; on Jan. 16 to watch Belmont faculty and staff showcase their musical abilities in the Faculty/Staff Talent Show.\nThe Student Leadership Council organized the event both to entertain and to “connect the music business students to the faculty\,“ said SLC sophomore representative Chase Misenheimer.\nAssistant professor of music business James Elliot kicked off the show with two acoustic songs\, the first a song of heartache and the second a tribute to his daughter\, Sophia.\nFollowing Elliot\, a band of six faculty members took the stage\, fronted by lead vocalist and Mike Curb College Advising Center Director Tina Dishman.    When Dishman joked that the band was taking tips\, an audience member retorted that the band should keep their day jobs.\n“I’ll remember that when I’m advising ya’ll\,” Dishman quipped.\nAnita O’Dell\, intern and career development coordinator for the Mike Curb College\, provided accompanying vocals on the band’s first song\, the Christian piece “Just a Closer Walk With Thee.”\nThe band closed their set with Tracy Chapman’s soulful “Give Me One Reason\,” which gave Dishman a chance to showcase her powerful vocals.\nFollowing the first faculty band was Sarah Cates\, strategic programs director for the Mike Curb College. Accompanied by her husband on guitar\, Cates sang a self-proclaimed “angry girl song” about getting together with girlfriends and forgetting about ex-boyfriends who did them wrong.\nAfter Cates\, a new faculty band took the stage.\n“Thanks for not throwing anything in advance\,” said Mark Volman\, coordinator of the entertainment industry studies program and lead singer of the band.\nWith three acoustic guitars and three-part harmony\, the band covered The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night\,” “With A Little Help From My Friends” and “Yellow Submarine\,” complete with Volman’s own submarine noises.\nThe band’s last Beatles cover was “Twist and Shout\,” which received the most enthusiastic audience reaction of the night\, with several audience members getting up to dance.\n“It was great seeing the kids in the Curb Caf&eacute\; dancing on the tables to songs made before they were born\,” said Volman.\nAt the insistence of the audience\, the band closed their set with “Happy Together\,” a song written by Volman while in his band\, The Turtles. The performance received a standing ovation.\nThe Student Leadership Council was pleased with the outcome of the show.\n“It went absolutely way beyond our expectations for tonight\,” said Misenheimer.  “Definitely a success.”\nAnd many audience members appreciated listening to the music of an older generation.\n“I thought it really brought back the vibe of the 1960s with the communal singing\,” said freshman Miles Lowenfield.\nThe Faculty/Staff Talent Show featured several other faculty musicians including Rush Hicks\, assistant professor in the Mike Curb College and Dr. Wesley Bulla\, dean of the Mike Curb College\, who played drums.\nMike Curb College Instructor Dan Wujcik played piano\, and Assistant Professor David Tough played bass.
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CATEGORIES:aande
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080404T131129
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191216
ORGANIZER;CN=Abby Selden\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:seldena@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080131T140600
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/741
SUMMARY:Fall break clears campus for debate
DESCRIPTION:Belmont’s representatives have returned from a meeting with the Commission on Presidential Debates in Washington\, but much remains uncertain\, and what the university actually learned remains uncertain as well.\n“It was more a matter of reinforcement\,” Dan McAlexander\, Belmont provost\, said.  “Remain flexible.”\nBelmont officials are expected to keep quiet about the details of the Oct. 7 Town Hall Presidential Debate until closer to the debate itself\, McAlexander said. But\, the university doesn’t actually have much to say at best.\n“I don’t have anything new to tell you\,” said Pamela Johnson\, the director of strategic marketing and special initiatives who led Belmont’s team at the meeting with the commission. Johnson said she was unable to grant an interview regarding the meeting.\nWith the campus accommodating an increased number of people\, including members of the press and the candidates’ entourages\, during the debate and the days leading up to it\, space will be tight.  The fall break originally scheduled for Thursday and Friday\, Oct. 16-17\, has been moved to Monday-Wednesday\, Oct. 6-8\, adding one day to the break and eliminating the campus presence of most students and faculty on those days.\nThe new fall break will “ensure the least amount of disruption to our class schedules and instruction time\,” McAlexander said in a published announcement of the change. The only classes that will be held during this time will be Wednesday evening classes.\nBelmont still doesn’t know the perimeter of the debate security\, how exactly residents of the neighborhood will be affected or to what extent students will be involved.\n“At this point\, it is our understanding that residents will be able to stay in residence\,” McAlexander said.\nIf residents fall within the final perimeter set by the commission\, they will most likely be subject to security checks\, he said. “It will be like coming to the airport each time they come into the perimeter.”\nAlthough the university still doesn’t know details on student involvement\, McAlexander expects there to be student volunteers\, he said\, referencing prior debates.\n“We’ve heard reports of a couple hundred individuals involved\,” he said. But he has yet to hear anything from the commission.\n“We would ask the entire Belmont community to exercise as much patience as possible as we await the arrival of what will surely be the Super Bowl of American politics\,” McAlexander wrote in his campus announcement.
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CATEGORIES:fall-break,presidential-debate,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080303T145630
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191228
ORGANIZER;CN=By Liz Hunton\, Senior Writer:MAILTO:huntonl@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080303T145300
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/742
SUMMARY:Adjuncts increase faculty numbers
DESCRIPTION:Adjunct instructors\, professors that are not hired as full-time\, make up more than half of Belmont’s faculty. Out of the university’s 520 faculty members\, 268 are adjuncts and they are paid significantly less per course than  a full-time faculty member.\n“There are many reasons to hire adjunct professors\, including availability of expertise or professional experience\, areas of intense need where there is a shortage locally\, regionally and nationally of doctorally-qualified faculty and areas of fluctuating need\,” Dan McAlexander\, Belmont provost said.\nAlthough adjunct faculty members fulfill teaching needs within the university\, they are paid significantly less per course than full-time faculty. The average pay of a Belmont faculty member is $64\,300\, or an average of about $8\,000 for a three-credit course. Adjunct pay ranges from $1\,850 to $2\,300 per class\, said Jennifer Ervin\, systems coordinator.\nClassFinder on BIC shows the class Christianity and Entertainment\, which is taught by an adjunct professor\, has 29 students. With the cost for one tuition hour at $720\, the class makes Belmont around $62\,640. This means Belmont makes a gross of approximately $60\,340 after retracting the highest potential adjunct pay.\nWhen presented with these numbers\, McAlexander  said\, “I’ll leave you to your calculations\, but that kind of estimate is much more complex\, and I really don’t have it in that form.”\nWhile it is more complex\, the trend nationwide\, as colleges compete for tuition and donor dollars\, is a growing popularity of adjuncts as a money-saving practice. According to the National Center for Edication Statistics\, part-time faculty at U.S. colleges and universities has jumped from 22 to 43 percent in the last 30 years.\nAdjuncts also do not receive benefits\, such as health insurance and sick leave\, as full-time faculty members do. An adjunct faculty member has to teach at least nine hours and have a semester contract instead of a one-year contract to receive insurance coverage\, said Sally McKay\, director of human resources.\nBecause adjunct pay is comparatively low\, retention of adjuncts is difficult\, said Kevin Robinson\, associate professor of physical therapy and president of the faculty senate.\n “We’re always replacing an adjunct each year it seems\,” he said. “Many faculty across campus would like to see pay increased. Administration would say it’s not that simple.”\nAdjuncts are extremely important to the university. “If you look at the numbers of adjuncts\, you wouldn’t be able to have a lot of your classes without them\,” Robinson said.\nMark Volman\, coordinator of the Entertainment Industries Program and professor of music business\, became a full-time faculty member this past year after being an adjunct.\n“Adjuncts are a wonderful experience because you get to give something back as someone working in the society\,” Volman said. “It’s not a money-making situation.  It’s probably a little better than working at Bongo Java.”\nVolman applied for a posted full-time job while working as an adjunct at Belmont and was hired.\n “It certainly has been a different type of change\,” Volman said. “It has been a process that I’ve grown into in terms of the amount of work I’ve discovered.\n“It’s like taking a Volkswagen in and trading it for a Ferrari.”\nAdjunct professors work on a course-by-course basis\, semester by semester\, Ervin said.  The university anticipates the positions adjuncts fill to be special\, short-term needs or supporting to other positions.
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CATEGORIES:adjuncts,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080303T150144
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191239
ORGANIZER;CN=Liz Hunton\, Senior Writer:MAILTO:huntonl@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080303T145900
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/743
SUMMARY:Online contests draw BU talent
DESCRIPTION:Belmont is at no loss for students participating in online competitions\, and yet there is one more to watch.\nJunior entrepreneur major Andy Tabar is a finalist in a national entrepreneur competition by ideablob.com and is currently in the running for a grand prize of $10\,000. Ideablob.com is a website where entrepreneurs and small businesses can develop their ideas for businesses and win support - about $10\,000 worth of support. Once a month\, the ideablob.com community votes and selects a small business idea that they feel deserves the prize.\nAfter receiving an e-mail from entrepreneur professor Jeff Cornwall about the contest\, Tabar decided\, “I’m just going to give this a try.”\nSo Tabar submitted his business plan at the beginning of January and weathered the voting process\, which\, according to an ideablob.com press release\, resulted in the “top two winners from each of the first three weeks of January.”\nVoting for the January winner opened for ten days and closed Jan. 31. The winner has yet to be announced\, but with a track record like his\, Tabar is confident.\nAt eleven years old\, Tabar first got interested in building Web pages and within three years was generating revenue from a client base that grew to 30 by 2006.  Tabar sold off his initial venture and moved on to create Bizooki\, a “web-based platform that empowers social networking and collaboration\,” now competing on ideablob.com.\nThe site is like Facebook for the businessman\, providing a secure place to upload files to be shared with employees and to “connect with a customer base online\,” which is customizable to the specific company. According to the concise description on ideablob.com\, it’s “niche social networking” geared to larger businesses. “We focus on being widely applicable instead of simply trendy.”\nTabar said the idea for Bizooki evolved over time and came from “watching the market\,” as in matching up what he could do with what the market needed.\nIf he won the grand prize\, the money would go toward development costs and marketing. Tabar said that essentially it would help Bizooki grow faster. \nNo doubt running a business as a 21-year-old student makes Tabar a busy guy.\n“Let me put it this way\, when I’m not in class\, I’m doing this\,” he said\, discussing the time infringement\, but added that he just wants to be a normal college student.\n“This is what I do.” Tabar stressed his personal philosophy of staying in control of the business so it doesn’t control him. Time management plays a big role in life so he can afford to spend time with friends\, play guitar and juggle whatever else comes his way.\n“I enjoy it\, I see the benefits\,” Tabar said\, “I created a career for myself.”\nThe ideablob.com contest isn’t even the only competition Tabar is involved in at the moment. He was also named a semifinalist in the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Enterprise Development National Collegiate Venture Forum.  In short\, that means that Tabar will be flying out to Santa Barbara\, Calif. to “make a pitch and mingle with” 140 potential investors.\n“It’s a way to connect with the industry’s best and most experienced\,” Tabar explained.\nAll the while\, Tabar looks forward to graduation when he’ll have considerably more time to focus on his entrepreneurial pursuits.  For now he doesn’t know how far he’ll take Bizooki or if perhaps he will sell it off one day\, saying\, “it depends on where it leads me.”\nAs for why Tabar does all this\, he puts it simply\: “I like to persevere\, see an opportunity and take action. It’s a fire in the gut.”\n
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CATEGORIES:ideablob,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080303T150440
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191253
ORGANIZER;CN=By Erin Carson\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:carsone@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080303T150300
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/744
SUMMARY:Belmont displays flag\, but student says it could be more visible
DESCRIPTION:Display of the American flag has become synonymous with patriotism\, especially since the events of Sept. 11\, 2001. Belmont University\, however\, does not have any sort of exterior display of the flag\, leading to questions and criticisms from some students.\nCourtney Coyle\, a sophomore vocal performance major\, even wrote a letter to President Fisher about the lack of an American flag at an American university. “I have talked to some of my friends about this\, and I asked them if they knew where the one flag pole on campus is. Most of them responded by saying they didn’t know where it was…” he said.\n“Belmont does display the flag. There is one on permanent display at the Curb Event Center”\, said Jason Rogers\, vice president for Administration and University Counsel. Rogers went on to say that there is a smaller flag on display next to this one. “It was a gift from an alum named Kevin Ueno\, a lieutenant in the U.S. Army\, who recently returned from a tour in Iraq\,” Rogers continued.\nThis flag is being displayed to honor all of the service people in the military\, but most especially to honor graduates of Belmont who have served or are currently serving. In addition to these two displays\, there is a flag that is raised on the flag pole during soccer matches. It isn’t displayed permanently due to a lack of proper lighting\, Rogers said. There are also ceremonial flags that come out during graduations and other university events.\n“There has been no conscious decision not to display the flag. I think the decision was made to light it\, display it and to give it a place of maximum visibility and the Curb Event Center is the logical place for that\,” he said. He added that despite there being no flag on a flag pole\, Belmont has displayed both the flag and its patriotism in other ways.\nHe made mention of pride in the ways the flag is displayed on campus\, as well as the Fourth of July celebration that the university hosts. The presidential debates that are being hosted are also an excellent indicator of Belmont’s patriotism.\n“That reflects our pride and our democracy\, a desire to connect our community and our students and our employees with the presidential election. I think that in itself is a very important display of our patriotism.”
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CATEGORIES:news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080303T151022
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191326
ORGANIZER;CN=Joseph Shelby\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:shelbyj@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080303T150800
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/768
SUMMARY:School of Pharmacy expands health tracks
DESCRIPTION:Belmont University’s new School of Pharmacy has received the go-ahead to welcome its first class in August of this year. \nHowever\, accepting the first class does not mean the program has been accredited.  The accreditation process actually begins about a year before the first class arrives and consists of preparation and paper reports. At this point\, Belmont’s School of Pharmacy still has applicant status. \nThe next step of the accreditation process is the site visit\, scheduled for April. Moving from applicant status to pre-candidate status hinges on the program’s approval after the site visit\, which should be known by June. The actual accreditation occurs after the School of Pharmacy graduates its first class\, expected to happen in 2012.\nWith so much to happen between now and the welcoming of the first class in August\, prospective School of Pharmacy applicants could be skeptical. Philip E. Johnston\, dean of the School of Pharmacy\, is anything but doubtful. \n“I feel confident our first class will be in fall 2008. Everything is geared in that direction. We’ve hired the faculty for that\; we have space\, facilities and funding\,” Johnston said.\nJohnston\, a seasoned professional in the world of pharmacy\, has worked in the field for the majority of his life.  Prior to joining the Belmont community\, he served as assistant director of pharmacy services at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for 23 years. Johnson joined Belmont in June of 2007 to help initiate the School of Pharmacy.\nThe program’s faculty is now conducting interviews to select the 75 applicants that will make up Belmont’s first School of Pharmacy class.  For several years following\, the class size is expected to remain about the same. \n“We’re not in the growth mode\, we want to become stable and really build the quality before we think about growing\,” Johnston said.\nAt this point\, the 10 faculty members needed for the first year curriculum have been hired.  Eventually\, the faculty will consist of 30 people. Johnston said he is excited about the quality of his team. \n“These folks\, in almost every case\, are science trained to Pharm. D. or Ph.D. level.  Others have degrees in other areas related to science\,” Johnston said.\nThe program’s curriculum will be specialized as well.  Students will be able to choose one of four different tracks to focus on\:  Pharmacy Management\, Informatics\, Managed Care and Pharmacy Missions. \nThe Pharmacy Management track is designed to teach students not only the science of pharmacy\, but also how to supervise a pharmacy and a staff.  Joint courses will be offered with Belmont’s Massey School of Business.  Other courses will include conflict resolution\, human-organizational development\, supervisory skills and interpersonal relationships.\nThe Managed Care track will focus on training students how to work in managed care organizations and how to treat patients and maintain their health in the most effective way. \nMeanwhile\, the Informatics track will teach students how to work with software and various information systems frequently used by healthcare companies and hospitals. \nFinally\, the school’s  Pharmacy Mission track will study the broader social issues that are encountered when caring for underserved populations.  The Mission track will also focus on skills such as counseling.  Students will be prepared to work in city- or state-run clinics. Johnston described the track as “serving the underserved.”\n“We’ll be in the community.  We’ll be doing things\, giving back\,” Johnston said.\nAside from the program’s unique curriculum\, Johnston feels the venue and the culture of both Belmont University and Nashville will be positive factors in attracting students.\n“When people come here and look at our campus\, they really like the atmosphere.  I have found Belmont to be a great place to be.  The culture is very wholesome and positive\,” he said. \nJohnston also finds the program’s newness to be very exciting for prospective students\, as well as faculty. \n“The students coming are going to help us create what this can be\,” he said.  “I think it’s an older phrase used at Belmont\, but ‘from here to anywhere’...we’re living that right now.”
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CATEGORIES:news,pharmacy
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080310T161909
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191337
ORGANIZER;CN=Alana Kreegel\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:kreegela@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080310T171300
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/769
SUMMARY:'Think pink' brings awareness of breast cancer
DESCRIPTION:Girls and guys alike came out for a cause on Monday\, Feb. 11. Sporting pink attire\, the crowd at that night’s basketball game showed support for breast cancer awareness and our women’s basketball team for the THINK PINK game against Jacksonville.\nTHINK PINK was sponsored by the Women’s Basketball Association throughout the NCAA. Belmont chose to have the Susan G. Komen affiliate  to help raise awareness. To promote THINK PINK\, Cate Hamilton\, executive director of the Susan G. Komen Foundation in Nashville\, spoke at a convo to teach students about risks and warning signs of breast cancer and the importance of self-examination.  The department of Promotions and Special Events continued to raise awareness by providing informational brochures  at the game. \n“It’s important for students to get proactive about raising awareness and money\,” said Liz Kazeck\, graduate assistant for the department of Promotions and Special Events.\nAt half time\, breast cancer survivors were asked to stand and were honored with pink carnations.  Those with family or friends affected by breast cancer were also asked to stand in honor of their loved ones’ fight. \n“Lots of people and their families are affected by breast cancer\, and an event like this brings people together for this one cause to raise awareness\,” said Kelsey Alexander\, a junior marketing major.\nBelmont partnered THINK PINK with the ‘Pack the House’ incentive to raise attendance for women’s basketball games. To rally participation\, student organizations invited as many people as possible.  Out of 15 student organizations that participated\, the women’s soccer team won the challenge and took the prize of reserved seats at the Battle of the Boulevard game.  The ladies of Phi Mu sorority won the PINK Pride Award for sporting the most pink\, granting them first access into the Battle of the Boulevard.
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CATEGORIES:basketball,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080310T162352
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191350
ORGANIZER;CN=Meaghan Mitchell\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:mitchellm@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080310T172200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/770
SUMMARY:Rings show promise to remain Chaste
DESCRIPTION:Christian promise rings are traditionally worn by young women and men to represent a commitment of chastity until marriage\, and many Belmont students choose to wear them to demonstrate their own promises to remain pure.\nAlso known as chastity and purity rings\, Christian promise rings are usually seen as the physical representation of a Christian’s vow to remain pure in mind\, body and spirit until making a life-long commitment to his or her husband or wife.\nDr. Todd Lake\, vice president for spiritual development at Belmont\, explained that abstaining from sexual activity until marriage should be highly valued in the Christian faith.\n“God has created us to have the highest level of intimacy with the people with whom we’ll spend the rest of our lives\,” he explained. “We do a disservice to ourselves if we let our bodies get ahead of where our minds and our wills are\, where our spirit is.”\nRecipients of Christian promise rings often receive their rings from family members\, friends or church organizations\, with others choosing to buy rings for themselves.\nSophomore Joy Kayser received her Christian promise ring at age 13 as a gift from her father\, who established a family tradition of letting each of his three daughters choose their own ring.\n“It was kind of like a fun thing that we got to do with our dad\, to go shopping and pick out a piece of jewelry that we liked\,” she said. \nKayser explained that the tradition of buying the ring and making the commitment to save sex for marriage was never forced upon her or her sisters\, despite being encouraged by her father to do so.\n“It was something that we wanted to do\, and they gave it to us as a commitment to make to ourselves and to God and to our future husbands\,” she said.  Kayser insisted that if she had chosen not to make the commitment to chastity at that time\, her parents “probably would have asked some questions\, but they would have been completely okay with it.”\nDespite the perception that most wearers of Christian promise rings are females\, many males choose to wear the physical representations of their purity until marriage\, as well.\nJunior Jon Young is evidence of this. Young received his Christian promise ring from his parents at age 13\, but says he actually made the personal commitment to save sex for marriage at age 16.\nHe explained that he made this decision for himself when he “realized that part of this commitment was showing trust and a commitment to her\, whoever my wife will be\, even before we get married.”\nYoung said that saving sex for marriage and choosing to wear a physical symbol of that commitment will show his future wife that she can trust him\, as doing this demonstrates that he “loves her more than even [his] own desires.”\nWhile Young wears his ring every day\, he nevertheless acknowledges that being a male who wears a chastity ring may carry a social stigma.\n“Society says to do one thing and [wearing a Christian promise ring] directly contradicts what society says to do for [men]\,” he said. “But this ring is statement for my love for my wife\, and it also shows women that I have a greater respect for them.” \nBut debate is widespread among wearers of Christian promise rings over what physical behavior is permissible when one commits to remain “chaste” until marriage.\nYoung feels that while intercourse\, oral sex and other explicit and implicit sexual touching is inappropriate for someone who has made such a commitment\, making out and necking should be considered permissible.\nSophomore Melissa Robinson personally disagrees. Robinson\, who received her first Christian promise ring from her grandmother at age 14 and her second from her mother upon her grandmother’s death\, draws the line at kissing.\n“I’ll do a kiss\, but I’m not going to go any further than that\,” she said.  “My body is God’s temple\, and I’m not going to abuse it\, or let it be abused.”\nChristian promise rings are available in a number of styles and can be purchased everywhere from Christian bookstores to online suppliers.  Some students wear rings from a specific company or group\, such as True Love Waits\, a Christian organization sponsored specifically by Lifeway Christian Resources.\nOthers\, such as Kayser and Robinson\, chose more generic rings to which they attached their own personal meaning.\nRobinson wears a simple silver ring with a black stone\, which her mother brought back from a mission trip in Alaska.  The ring Joy chose when shopping with her father is a white gold band with her birthstone.\nWhile chastity rings are predominantly a Christian practice\, some choose to wear them for non-religious reasons.\nRobinson experienced this personally when a close friend was raped and consequentially decided to wear a chastity ring.  The sexually traumatizing experience made Robison’s friend\, who was also an Atheist\, conclude that sex was “precious enough to her that she wants to keep her first voluntary time for the one she marries.”\nSome Christians who have been through the experience of wearing a Christian promise ring argue that it is difficult to make a truly educated decision on whether to save sex for marriage until one has faced real sexual temptation.\n“It was easier to say I was saving it back before I was having sexual encounters\,” said sophomore Harold Simmons.\nWhen Simmons was 13\, he took a two-month sex education course on the importance of abstinence and how it relates to Christian principals.  While he took an oath of purity and received a purity ring at the time\, he now feels that understanding the reality of such a commitment is impossible without first facing temptation.\n“I think the only way you can tell if [making the commitment] is effective is if you can tell through sexual encounters\, but it depends on the person really\,” he said.\nSimmons acknowledged\, though\, that some Christians are ready to make the commitment to save sex for marriage at a young age and encouraged those who are ready to do so.\nThe idea of Christian promise rings is not without opposition\, however\, even at a Christian university like Belmont.\nSophomore Justin Wilson doubts that all young people who wear promise rings do so for pure reasons.\n“I’ve known several girls who wear them to make themselves look good\,” he said.  According to Wilson\, some young Christians wear chastity rings to “make themselves look like they haven’t had sex and to make their parents happy.”\nSophomore Jeff Jenkins feels that if people need a constant\, physical reminder of their promise to remain pure\, they probably aren’t truly committed in the first place.\n“Why do you need the physical reminder of a promise that you made to yourself?” he questioned.  “That just means that you’re almost planning on failing.  It’s like if the ring weren’t there to remind you\, you would slip.  You’re planning on slipping\, and if it weren’t for that promise ring you would slip.”\nDespite the doubt surrounding Christian promise rings\, even Simmons\, who has struggled with the effectiveness of his own purity ring and no longer wears one\, believes that Christian promise rings can have positive effects on young Christians.\n“I think the ring itself was a good constant reminder\,” he said. “Even though at that point in time I wasn’t necessarily sexually active\, anytime I would face a sexual encounter the ring would be a reminder of what I had learned.”
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CATEGORIES:news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080310T162748
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191404
ORGANIZER;CN=Abby Selden\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:seldena@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080310T172500
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/771
SUMMARY:Time to text\,  time to call\, and time to shut up
DESCRIPTION:No matter where I go\, I always see people listening to iPods\, talking and texting on their cell phones\, entranced by their laptops or wired in some other way to the latest technology. At the mall\, on the way to and from class\, in their cars\, even when taking walks in nature\, it seems people have an addiction to today’s innovations.\nIn check out lines\, people remain involved in conversation\, not even breaking away long enough to say “thank you” to the cashier. And you can pretty much forget about interrupting that person with their ear buds in. Unless that person is actively engaged in the scene around him\, a conversation is highly unlikely. \nIt seems like the more technology advances\, the worse people’s manners are. Just the other day\, I saw someone I knew from a class in the elevator. I said hello\, but the person never replied\, barely looking at me because she was so consumed by the music being delivered. Even at the library\, no one pays attention to the signs that prohibit cell phone usage. I’ve also had several close encounters with people who were texting and didn’t bother to look up to see where they were going.\nI’m not saying that these surges of technology are all wrong. I think it’s amazing that science has found a way for us all to be connected when we’re thousands of miles apart\, or five minutes in some cases. But\, then again\, I feel like we’re losing that personal connection with people. We may be talking and communicating more often than ever before\, but it’s through mediums that are not based on face-to-face conversation. Even in the office\, people rely on e-mail and phone conferencing when their offices are only down the hall. From my experience\, it is only when confidential information must be discussed when workers actually meet. \nI can’t help but ask myself what happened to the time when people would look forward to meeting face-to-face or when they left their rooms and actively listened to what was going on around them? There’s so much to take in\, and I feel like most of us miss out on that experience with technology attached at the hip.\nThere are people to make relationships with – relationships that go well beyond texting and phone conversations. Just standing outside and hearing nature can be refreshing when you’re stressed about that pile of work sitting on your desk. I’m not saying cut technology completely out of your life\, but just realize there’s a life beyond cell phones and iPods. You might even be able to hear yourself think.
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080310T163203
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191432
ORGANIZER;CN=By Courtney Drake\, Editor:MAILTO:drakec@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080310T172900
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/772
SUMMARY:Gen Y\, it's time to step up
DESCRIPTION:Congratulations\, my generation! You continually perplex the world as to exactly who you are. People have tried to label us time and again\: GenY\, Gen Creative\, Echo Boomers. Giant corporations keep trying to get in our heads to know how to sell their products to us\: how many dashes of self-consumption\, how many pints of “you’re not good enough” and how many gallons of sex appeal does it take to get one 16-25-year-old to buy this pair of jeans? They call us depressed\, overmedicated\, self-gratifying and uncaring. And somehow\, according to my dad\, “the next big things in arts\, science\, government and medicine have to come from these young people to move the world forward.” No pressure. Thanks\, Papa.\nFor my third-year-writing class\, we spent some time researching and discussing our generation\: who we are\, how we can be so connected to the world through technology and yet be so consumed by ourselves\, how the number of Myspace friends we may or may not have has come to define us as individuals.\nPeople (especially older generations) expect a great deal from us. They seem to conclude that because we have these incredible tools\: the Internet and technology\, not only can we know what’s happening in all the corners of the Earth\, we should also fix all the Earth’s problems.\nWhile this makes me want to find those people\, shake them and scream\, “You ask far too much of me and my generation\,” the truth is that what they are asking us to consider now\, the world will demand and force out of us in a little while.\nIt’s true what my father says\: the great and good things of the future have to come from us because in a minute (at least it’ll feel like a minute) this country\, this hemisphere\, this world will gradually be put in our hands and we will be responsible for the wellbeing of ourselves and generations before and after us. No pressure.\nBut it’s not like we don’t care.\n Sure\, I probably spend more time on Facebook than I do reading about the situations in the Congo\, in Kenya\, in the Middle East\, in New Orleans\, but really\, how am I supposed to end a war? Or house all homeless people in the world or feed all the starving people in Africa?\nHere’s something else my dad says about us\: “This age group is quite idealistic and becomes frustrated with the realities of the world (as seen in Darfur)\, and they think they cannot do anything to influence any meaningful change to the mess caused by people of my generation.”\nThe amount of information we’re exposed to through technology is great\, but it is also paralyzing. We understand the scope of the war in Iraq much more than our parents did of the Vietnam War\, and what we see\, hear and read about it is frightening. I think that a lot of us in this generation know what’s right and what’s wrong. Many of us know what we want the world to be. I don’t think we hole ourselves up in ourselves because we don’t care. I believe even those who say they don’t care didn’t start out that way. I think it’s because we just don’t know how to fix such colossal world issues.\n But I won’t lie to myself or to anyone\: we have become a numb\, calloused and self-involved generation. We may have access to every nation on the planet through technology\, yet we choose to cocoon ourselves in only what we want to know and love. (Here at Belmont\, it takes the form of drowning ourselves in the chase for fame and career success).         We choose not to think about the dying soldiers and civilians in the Middle East\, not to look in the eyes of the raped mothers and daughters in East-African conflicts\, not to remember the displaced and homeless in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina or in Java\, Indonesia from that giant tsunami in 2006.\nWe can blame technology\, the Internet and the pressure to be amazing all we want\, but the fact is that this is who we have become. But it’s not who we have to be.\n I will be the first to admit that it is hard to do\, but it is time to peel off the calluses on our hearts and start really feeling other people’s pain. It is time to swim to the surface and breathe in reality because in a minute\, strangers’ problems will be placed in our hands and we will have to face them. We will have to begin moving and fixing the world. No pressure.
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CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080310T163421
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191443
ORGANIZER;CN=Adaeze Elechi\, Managing Editor:MAILTO:daezeelechi@yahoo.com
DTSTART:20080310T173200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/773
SUMMARY:Can't hear the teacher with beans in your ears
DESCRIPTION:Every time I get out of the shower\, I have a sudden urge to clean my ears. If you think about it\, they are probably never cleaner than at that moment\, still holding on to the precious few shampoo suds I just couldn’t shake. Even as they crackle in my ear\, my cleansing process feels incomplete and tainted by some particle of dirt that might remain lodged in the bubbles. I feel unbalanced and a bit water-logged until I find a Q-tip and flagrantly disobey the box’s instructions “not to insert into a body cavity.”\nSwab of the right ear. Check.\nSwab of the left ear. Check.\nNow\, I feel clean.\nI’ve recently recognized this as just one example of my need to have the final swab of control in the most intricate areas of my life. Rather literally\, I feel the need to shove a bean-sized piece of cotton on a stick into the delicate regions of my inner ear. In a broader (less graphic and sometimes painful) sense\, this need to squeegee is a direct parallel to my itch to have the final meddle in other arenas of control.\nControl has always been presented to me as a good thing. Coaches preached that you have to keep control of the ball if you want to dribble past that defender. I’ve constantly been warned that it is necessary to maintain some semblance of control over your finances\, your weight\, and your temper. Control is essential to living a balanced\, healthy life. Right? Certainly. But I’m beginning to realize that control should not be sought after universally\, that there are areas of life better left in more capable hands.\nThis week\, for example\, I attempted to shove the Q-tip of control into several relationships\, my plans for the future\, and my academic success. I never knew I had so many ears to swab. In each of these and a host of other delicate situations\, I’ve been challenged to recognize that the Q-tip it would take to keep these areas effectively clean would be far too large for me to hold. I’m picturing the giant stick with punching bags on either end that they joust with on American Gladiator (Yes\, I just admitted to watching that!). My futile attempts to shove such a giant weapon into my ears would be both physically dangerous and certainly humorous to watch. Yet\, I do it every day.\nHave the last word in that decision. Check.\nBe better than the competition. Check.\nKnow what is coming in the future. Check.\nNow\, I’m in control.\nThe thing about swabbing is that I never really get clean. I can still feel a little water in my ear an hour after my shower. And swabbing harder only endangers my hearing. A trip to the ear doctor would probably show that my ears are just fine with a little water in them\, and that the Q-tip box is right about not shoving small things into them. I’d be reminded that my body is quite capable of handling a little dirt and that a doctor should be the one to remove anything serious.\nIt is healthy to have good ear hygiene. This should be kept in mind. My attempt at an extended metaphor is not a cry for dirty ear cavities. I’m simply realizing that I cannot and should not maintain control over every area of my life at all times... I can’t keep them all squeaky clean. There is an element of trust that is crucial to faith\, trust that my life is quite capable of handling a little uncertainty and that I’m not ultimately the one who is in control of removing it. I’m still quite fond of the clean feeling I get after my post-shower swab. I’m certain that God smiles when we are able to rejoice in the certainties he’s promised us. Yet\, I’m becoming more comfortable with the idea of a little water in my ears and a bit of uncertainty that comes when I give up that final swab of control.
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CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080310T173830
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191455
ORGANIZER;CN=Abby Hollingsworth:MAILTO:abby.hollingsworth@gmail.com
DTSTART:20080310T183500
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/774
SUMMARY:The view from here\: Iraq 2003-2008
DESCRIPTION:Perhaps it is too clich&eacute\; to talk about Iraq.  After all\, we’ve been talking about it for five years.  I’ve started to believe\, however\, that there may be a problem in how we are talking about it.\nI have my own political issues with the war in Iraq.  I was a strong supporter of it when it started in March 2003 and held to those feelings for several years.  But as the years have dragged by and every day it seems that the whole mess gets more and more muddled\, I have begun to see the problems with the whole situation. \nImperialism is generally a bad idea.  The American way of doing things is not always the right way – and it certainly isn’t the only way.  The US spent $604 billion so far in the war on terror.  The United States had more political capital than it has since WWII right after Sept. 11 – all of which has been squandered by its little adventure in Iraq. \nThese are the problems.  I know them\, accept them\, and would dare say that they are almost universally acknowledged.  However\, this is not the dialogue we need to have. \nWe need to have a dialogue about Iraq that isn’t about the budget deficit\, that isn’t about George W. Bush’s approval ratings\, that isn’t about whose plan to get troops out the fastest will get he or she presidency in 2008.\nI am so sick of the politics of war and the disconnect between Washington\, D.C. and Baghdad.  If one more congressman\, one more senator\, one more person tries to exploit this war for their political gain\, I may expatriate.  If one more incompetent Congressman tries to legislate what is happening on the ground in Anbar and in Basra\, pretending that they know anything about military strategy\, then we need to not reelect them. \nMaybe Bush did make a mistake.  Maybe he didn’t. You have your opinion and I have mine.  But the one thing that I hope we can all agree on is that we are sick of the politics of it all. There are people in Iraq suffering.  Shouldn’t that be the bottom line?  That the United States government has done almost nothing to mitigate the massive refugee crisis facing Iraq’s neighbors today. \nI remain an unbridled idealist.  There is some obscure part of me that cannot help but still be proud of my country for going into a place that was fraught with oppression\, torture\, and poverty and tried to make it better. You can argue me up and down on this issue – heck\, I can make a pretty compelling argument against myself.  I know that the US did not invade Iraq to make the lives of Iraqis better. I know that. But a dictator was deposed.  Freedom became a goal\, not just a dream. \nThere are more than 400 American diplomats working in Baghdad today. There are roughly 130\,000 American soldiers.  If we are to sustain their spirits\, if we are to expect them to make a difference and to change the lives of Iraqis for the better\, then how can we demean the work they are doing by talking constantly about how terrible it is?  I know that most people against the war are not against the soldiers\, but truly – how many times a day can we say that “this war sucks” before they start to get discouraged? \nMaybe the US went in for the wrong reasons. Maybe the US really screwed it up once its troops were there. But maybe – just maybe – some good can eventually come out of it? \nSo complain about our president.  I don’t care if you do.  At least you have the right to – Iraqis didn’t have that option before 2003.  Complain about the war.  You can. I just think that it is time for the dialogue to change.  For us to remember that Iraq is a place and a people\, not just a policy. 
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CATEGORIES:iraq,opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080310T174203
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191513
DTSTART:20080310T184100
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/775
SUMMARY:SEJC competitors win big
DESCRIPTION:Belmont journalism and public reltaions students and the Speech and Debate team have carried their weight in terms of awards. At the 2008 Southeast Journalism Conference in Oxford\, Miss.\, on Feb. 22-23\, Belmont ranked No. 2 overall in on-site compeition and the Speech and Debate team won the Tennessee State Debate Tournament with nearly double the amount of points of the second-place team.\nFour journalism student ranked first in their on-site competions.  Vision Managing Editor/News and junior Melanie Bengtson won for First Amendment writing\, Managing Editor/Features and junior Adaeze Elechi for feature writing\, Graphics Editor Sarah Mitchell\, junior\, for page design (magazine) layout and Abby Selden\, sophomore\, for news writing. \nPublic relations majors Cheryl Bak and Ann Roberts ranked third in the public relations compeition\, Vision Online Editor Lance Conzett won second for entertainment writing\, and Chris Speed took home the third place certificate for photography.\nDebate students Sarah Friederich and Price Rainder won first place in the open division at the Tennessee State Debate Tournament. Also placing in the varsity debate were Meghan Gwaltney and Melanie Bengtson\, semifinalists\, Renee Reyle and George Shifflett\, quarterfinalists\, Sarah Friederich\, sixth place individual speaker\, George Shifflett\, third place individual speaker and Meghan Gwaltney\, second place individual speaker. \nWesley Rainer and Caroline Tenenbaum won first in the novice division. Also placing was David Grizzell\, fourth place individual speaker\,\n
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CATEGORIES:news,sejc
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080310T174600
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191524
DTSTART:20080310T184300
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/776
SUMMARY:Conference preps music industry hopefuls
DESCRIPTION:The Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business has done it again\, and this year they are doing it bigger. Best Job Ever\, an entertainment and music business conference and brainchild of former members of the Student Leadership Council\, was revamped and restructured in order to encompass the true aspects of the ever-changing world of the entertainment and music business industries.\n“In 2005\, SLC had a similar idea but it never came to fruition\, so I started it over.  I wanted to give students a different view of the entertainment industry\,” said Chris Donnell\, vice president of SLC and Best Job Ever co-chair.\nThe dynamics surrounding Best Job Ever help to make it a truly unique experience for not only music business and entertainment industry studies students\, but the Belmont community as a whole.\nThe conference is opened by a keynote speaker followed by panel discussions\, seminars and workshops. “We have six panels which all dissect the entertainment and music business industries with a focus on the future of each\,” Donnell said. Each panel has something different. For example\, That’s My Song\, one of the workshops\, has a publisher\, public rights organization and a songwriter. They all work with songs and will discuss the relationship they have with each other in regard to particular songs.\nBest Job Ever features two seminars\: networking and negotiation. “The seminars encompass television\, film\, music\, and\, for both music and non-music majors\, the emphasis on communication and interview skills are key\,” said Amy Kadish\, junior music business major and registration coordinator.\nThe workshop is called\, Mix it Up and Pepper Denny from Vintage King Audio will be on hand to discuss what he sees as the industry’s future in audio as well as giving tips on how to build a home recording studio. Ralph Murphy from the American Society of Composers\, Authors and Publishers will discuss songwriting techniques and industry how-tos that every aspiring songwriter needs to know. The interactive workshop\, Critique My Song\, allows students to submit songs for critiques and feedback from industry professionals.\nWhat will students take away from Best Job Ever? “Encouragement and inspiration because they are the future of the industry\, it is really good to be exposed to industry professionals\,” Donnell said.\nSLC will host Best Job Ever on March 1 and are expecting more than 300 students as well as faculty and industry professionals from across the nation. Registration for the conference is $25 per person online at bestjobever.net [http\://www.bestjobever.net] or $30 at the door. \nStudent moderators are still needed for the event\; if interested contact bestjobever2008@gmail.com [mailto\:bestjobever2008@gmail.com].\n
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CATEGORIES:news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080310T174739
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191548
ORGANIZER;CN=Ameshia Cross\, Senior Writer:MAILTO:crossa@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080310T184600
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/777
SUMMARY:Family comes in many ways
DESCRIPTION:At 21\, Amber Rockwell is poised to find her family.\nThe Bruins guard was 3 months old when Larry and Diara Rockwel adopted her and then raised her in Tuscaloosa\, Ala. She is now old enough by Georgia adoption laws – she was born Sept. 3\, 1986\, in Marietta\, Ga. – to view whatever information her birth parents have made available to her on the adoption Web site.\nRockwell has not delved anymore into the history of her birth parents yet\, but intends. “Medical records are probably the most important thing I would want to know\,” she said\, noting that that information could be useful as it relates to her health as an adult. However\, that is not the only reason she will search them out\; curiosity and unanswered questions play a part as well.\n“Yeah\, I would want to know what they looked like to see which one I favored...”she said about her birth parents. “I would want to know if I had any siblings or a twin\; that would be cool. I would also want to know why they put me up for adoption.”\nWhile Rockwell is still in the dark about exactly who her birth mother is and why she gave her up for adoption\, she is grateful that she did.\n“She could have easily aborted me and there would be no me.”\nAs a high school freshman\, Rockwell Googled her name.\n “I was just bored and wondered what would happen when I Googled my name to see how many other Amber Rockwell’s there are in the world.” Rockwell’s adopted mother put her information on an adoption Web site\, and they discovered some information about her birth mother – she was a basketball player.\n“When I found out she played ball\, I kind of got a chill because when I was little\, I wanted to be a professional soccer player but the first time I played [basketball] in middle school\, I fell in love with it.” Rockwell\, who is at Belmont on a full basketball scholarship\, wondered\, “Who knows? Maybe it was something God wanted to pass down to me from her.”\nApart from the curiosity surrounding her birth\, her heart is completely with her adopted family. She expressed that she felt a deep gratefulness that she had a family. Her face took on a glowing\, loving expression when she described how they attended most of her home games and how they talked by phone every day\, both her parents and siblings. She has two sisters and a brother.\nThe adoption has had a very lasting\, positive impact on her life. The continuous love and support she received from them didn’t just guide her successes\; the bond she had with her family also gave her the tools to build her extended family away from college.\nRockwell is as a member of the Tau Nu Chapter of the sorority Delta Sigma Theta. She has formed lasting bonds.\n“We are taught that being a Delta is a sisterhood. All of the girls in the sorority are literally your sister until the day you die. I can talk to them about anything and be honest with them whether it’s about a positive or negative issue.”\nThe Bruins also led her to meet some of her very best friends\, whom she considers sisters as well. She met four basketball players when she joined what she understood to be the first all African-American recruiting class. While one transferred out last year\, the remaining three\, Jessica Bobbitt\, Kristin Bunch and LaWanna Holiday\, remain at Belmont. Bobbitt is Rockwell’s roommate\, and Bunch and Holiday are right next door. Bobbitt and Bunch are also fellow members of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.\n“Each one of us is different\, but the same\,” Rockwell said. “Our personalities mesh\, I can’t remember a time where we have been mad with each other. We know that we are all sisters and that we can talk things out.”\nRockwell’s adoption brought positive opportunities into her life. Her major is exercise science\, and she wants to play women’s professional basketball overseas. When she exhausts her professional athletic career\, she wants to pursue either athletic training or physical therapy. While she is interested in learning about the history behind her adoption\, she considers Larry and Diara Rockwell her parents.\n “I live a good life now\,” she said. “I appreciate what my birth parents did\, but as far as me calling them mom and dad\, that would never happen because my mom and dad have been the perfect parents and brought me up well.\n“Nobody could compare to them or what they have done for me.”
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CATEGORIES:sports
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080310T175059
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191559
ORGANIZER;CN=Jennifer Bauder\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:bauderj@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080310T184800
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/778
SUMMARY:'Mean Bruiser' one big\, bad\, blue bear
DESCRIPTION:There is a new bear face on campus and it’s ready for revenge. According to his Facebook profile\, his name is Ned\, and he has it in for Bruiser. Commonly known as Mean Bruiser\, his story goes back 12 years when Belmont University changed mascots.  Bruiser and Ned made it to the final round where Bruiser won out and Mean Bruiser said he was “cast aside like fat from a steak.”\nHe then proceeded to wander the wilderness for 10 years while he fed his grudge against Bruiser.  Now he’s back asking for Bruiser to surrender or face the wrath of Ned the Mean Bruiser.\nRecently\, Mean Bruiser has been making appearances all over campus\, mostly during Belmont home basketball games. His attempts to sabotage Bruiser’s awesome crowd motivational skills are relentless. Not only does he steal miscellaneous items from Bruiser\, but he has also confronted Bruiser face to face on the court during a time out. \nBut beware Bruiser fans. It seems that association with the cuddly mascot could get you into trouble. The rejected blue bear has attacked cheerleaders as well\: in January\, he picked one up and carried her off the court. Nobody knows when or where he’ll strike next\, but be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the blue fuzzball at the next home basketball game.\n– Adapted from Facebook
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CATEGORIES:bruiser,sports
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080310T175523
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191614
DTSTART:20080310T185300
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/797
SUMMARY:Dance show explores body\, soul
DESCRIPTION:Fierce musical theater tap dancing\, African movements to Middle Eastern music and professional ballet steps will all be gliding across the same floor on the same night.\nIn a few weeks\, the department of theatre and dance will present its fourth annual spring concert entitled “Mixed Bill 3\: Sole to Soul.”\n“We try to have something for everyone\,” head dance instructor Debbie Belue said.\nStudents can get free tickets to attend the performance at 7\:30 p.m. on March 14 and 15 or at 2\:30 p.m. on March 16. Thirty-four Belmont students will be performing the 12 pieces\, with the majority of them being dance minors or musical theater majors.\nThe theme of this year’s concert\, “Sole to Soul\,” is a play on words referencing the sole of a dancer’s foot and the spiritual soul.\n“From some deeper place comes the dancing\, and that comes out of your body and hopefully touches [the audience] in a meaningful way\,” said Carrie Gerow\, an adjunct dance instructor who choreographed two dances for the concert.\nTap\, modern\, jazz and ballet dance styles will all be represented.\n“There are a lot of variations in what you’re going to see so that you will hopefully see something that appeals to you\,” Belue said.\nEight guest professionals from the Nashville Ballet will perform a piece on the first two nights. Epiphany Dance Company will also be sharing the dance that was filmed as a part of Christmas at Belmont.\n“It’s interesting to see those conversations happen on stage\,” Gerow said. “It’s almost like different languages. How does modern and ballet style compare to tap\, compare to African dance? It’s fun to see them next to each other in one night.”\nIn past years\, the concert has taken place in Massey Performing Arts Center. This will be the dance department’s first performance in Troutt Theater.\n“Troutt is narrower and deeper\,” Gerow said. “I think it draws the audience in a little more.”\nChoreographing for the different space has been an adjustment\, but there are advantages to having the new theater.\n“Scheduling is so difficult in Massey\,” Belue said. “It’s a nice situation now because we have time to rehearse in the theater. The dancers can be comfortable in there. They have a sense that it’s their space.”\nThe audience can expect a more advanced level of dancing and a broader range of styles.\n“Every year the dancers become stronger so we’re able to push them to a new level\,” Belue said. “I think it is something people who have been coming for the past four years have seen and look forward to.”\nThe dance program is in its fourth year as a minor\, and the directors are making progress so that it may eventually grow into a major.\n“We have more dance minors than ever before and more dancers participating in the concert than ever before\,” Gerow said. “The rising juniors and seniors are stronger\, and we are drawing stronger incoming freshmen dancers.”\nSophomore religion and the arts major Claire Warner will dance in three pieces for the concert. She hopes Belmont students who are typically more interested in music will come support the budding dance program.\n“Some people might have no clue about dancing\, but even if you’re a soccer player or math major you can somehow be connected to this art form or at least receive something from it\,” Warner said.\nThe dancers\, who auditioned last April to be a part of this concert\, have been practicing since September. Gerow expects the concert-watchers to be just as touched as the performers.\n“I think discovering dance as a powerful communicative art form is exciting\,” Gerow said. “Many people who don’t expect themselves to be affected by dance come away surprised. It is such a visceral\, physical art form.”\nGETTING THERE\nThe Department of Theatre and Dance will present ‘Mixed Bill 3\: Sole to Soul’ March 14 and 15 at 7\:30 pm and March 16 at 2\:30 pm in the Troutt Theatre. The recital is free to the public and Culture & Arts convo will be available.\n
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CATEGORIES:aande,dance
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080316T091903
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191628
ORGANIZER;CN=Chansin Bird\, Senior Writer:MAILTO:birdc@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080316T101300
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/798
SUMMARY:Pearl Jam\, Metallica on tap for Bonnaroo
DESCRIPTION:Since its inauguration in 2002\, the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has slowly evolved from its jam band roots into a diverse monster of a music festival. Now\, in 2008\, the festival is at its most eclectic with artists ranging from gypsy punks Gogol Bordello to rappers Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco.\nThe initial line-up for the 2008 festival was announced on Feb. 5 by the festival organizers. Most prominently on the bill are headliners Pearl Jam and Metallica\, who had both long been rumored as performers for the festival. Metallica in particular was tied to an insider tip that surfaced in December which also named Led Zeppelin as a confirmed act on the bill.\nZeppelin\, who recently reunited in a one-off gig in London\, was suspiciously absent from the line-up\, although Led Zep singer Robert Plant is performing with Alison Krauss in support of their collaboration record\, “Raising Sand.” But the festival isn’t without a Led Zeppelin presence\: all-girl tribute band Lez Zeppelin is scheduled to play.\n“There will be Zeppelin at Bonnaroo and I think it will surprise people\,” said Lez Zeppelin guitar player Steph Paynes. “And there’s a twist. It’s all girls. It’s a female singer. We’re disciples in a way\, of the band\; I think we understand the certain elements that are important.”\nThe band\, which author Chuck Klosterman said could be “the most powerful all-female band in rock history\,” was booked some time after the Zeppelin rumors fired up\, but Paynes is not confident that the real deal will perform at the festival.\n“It’s not going to happen\,” said Paynes about the rumors. “Everyone concocts the impossible scenario\, it doesn’t matter what facts you feed somebody. It doesn’t matter what truth you print\, they still want to believe what they want to believe.”\nAs far as rumors go\, however\, the Led Zeppelin one still has legs. Only 80 artists were announced\, compared to 117 in 2007. Among all of the Bonnaroo stages in 2007\, a total of 137 artists\, bands and comedians performed\, leaving more than 50 artists to be announced. Little over a week after the initial announcement\, comedian Chris Rock was added to the main stage and more is expected to come in the future.\nThough they aren’t legendary British rock bands\, artists also performing include Jack Johnson\, My Morning Jacket\, Death Cab for Cutie\, Ben Folds\, Sigur R&oacute\;s\, Talib Kweli\, Rilo Kiley\, Aimee Mann\, The Avett Brothers\, Jos&eacute\; Gonz&aacute\;lez\, Battles\, !!! and Vampire Weekend. Willie Nelson has also been confirmed after being forced to cancel his 2004 Bonnaroo appearance due to carpal tunnel syndrome.\nTickets for the festival are only available through www.bonnaroo.com [http\://www.bonnaroo.com]. The first set of tickets went on sale Feb. 16 at the starting price of $209.50 each plus service and shipping charges. As each pricing tier runs out\, prices will increase “without notice” to $229.50\, then to $244.50. An optional DVD containing highlights of the 2008 festival is also available for a limited time at $9.95.\n
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CATEGORIES:aande,bonnaroo,music
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080316T093418
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191728
ORGANIZER;CN=Lance Conzett\, Online Editor:MAILTO:conzettl@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080316T103200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/815
SUMMARY:Religion\: What would Jesus do?
DESCRIPTION:In our generation\, we like to think we’re rebellious\, so we’ve thrown norms and things we’ve been told are proper out the window. We want to turn the world on its head. We’ve got tattoos and piercings\; we wear mohawks\; we dye our hair in all the colors of the rainbow\; we cuss\, we chew\, we date people who do. But we’ve gone and thrown away so much and in such large quantities that what was once edgy and rebellious has become trite and a little too easy to get\, and those who hold onto the discarded goods have become the rebels. They’re the ones swimming against the tide. In my opinion\, one of the largest items in our generation’s junkyard is God.\nI met a guy not too long ago who I became friendly with very quickly. He had a quick wit and a sharp sense of humor. Like me\, he was into quality techno and foreign films. Over the course of a few days we talked about music\, art\, Europe and ambition. We talked and talked like we had known each other forever.\nAnd then I made a mistake. One day he told me an amazing story and I said\, &igrave\;Oh\, man\, Jesus is amazing.&icirc\; Then there was a silence I could have sliced with a knife. He shuffled in his seat\, his eyes dodged my face and darted around like he couldn’t look at me anymore. Then he asked as though he were inquiring about a flesh-eating disease I had contracted\, &igrave\;Are you religious?&icirc\; From the look on his face\, I wanted so desperately to say\, &igrave\;No.&icirc\; I wanted him to think I was cool\, to think I was worthy of being his friend.\n“No\,” I said. “I’m not religious. I’m a Christian. I believe in Jesus. Is that what you mean?”\nThat was what he meant. A canyon grew between us\, and he hasn’t spoken to me in weeks. This is everything that I fear as a Christian\: rejection because I believe in Jesus. Rejection because I believe there is a heaven\, a hell\; that there is a Satan\, but there is also one Savior.\nBut I totally understand where he was\: I was there for 18 years. I\, too\, am just as afraid of and repulsed by religion as he was and I believe our generation is sick of it. We’re tired of the childish bickering over the petty differences between the denominations of churches. We’re sick of church-goers being more concerned that the guy over there has a blue mohawk and is covered in tattoos than the fact that his soul is in anguish. We’re tired of condescending tolerance in church\; we want real-life love that would even show compassion for the person who just hurt them. In general\, I’m sick of church. I WANT RELATIONSHIP. I want a relationship with Jesus and I want a relationship with people.\nThe church is its own worst enemy. I understand why people would want to have nothing to do with it or with the God that’s associated with it. I’ve gone to church since I was a child and one of the most genuine prayers that came out of my heart every Sunday was for the service to end. Quickly. It was tedious\; the pastor preached at me and looked right through me and after letting the congregation believe he was superhuman and they were less than human\, we found out that he was flesh and blood after all when his “perfect” marriage dissolved.\n I only decided to do this Christianity thing when I was 18\, on the condition that I would not become religious\, that I would not become one of those people who sat on their high horses judging others and shoving the Bible down people’s throats. All I wanted to do was love people\, so I chose to follow a God who is love and who sacrificed himself because of his love of people. That’s the kind of love I want to learn.\nSince then\, I’ve struggled with the world\, trying to hide my identity and trying to resist the voice that tells me to quit every day. I’ve struggled with myself (who is more of the world than of God). I’ve strained my ears in search of the still small voice of guidance\, comfort. It’s difficult living in a world with a generation that has been scarred by religion\, that is in search of relationships. I sound like a deranged liar when I tell them what they’re looking for is back in the place they ran from. No\, not in the church that men have built\, but in the one that is Jesus.\nBeing a rebel is not supposed to be easy. I knew that claiming Jesus would give the world cause to make me a laughingstock and label me a lunatic. Being a rebel is not as simple as donning a tattoo when everyone is doing it\; it’s a constant battle with authorities. But rebels keep at it even when it feels like they can’t do it anymore because they know that the cause is greater than the workers.\n    Adaeze Elechi is a junior journalism major.
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CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080330T124426
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191651
ORGANIZER;CN=Adaeze Elechi\, Managing Editor:MAILTO:adaezeelechi@yahoo.com
DTSTART:20080330T133600
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/816
SUMMARY:Foundation for journalism must be ethics
DESCRIPTION:When Eric Volz walked into the media ethics classroom\, he seemed like any other guy. Jeans\, a long-sleeved sage shirt and gold chain around his neck. Okay\, maybe there were more people fussing over him than your average person\, but on the outside he looked like your regular Joe.\nBut Volz has had more than his fair share of media coverage in the past year and a half\, especially that of one-sided\, biased reporting. He was arrested in Nicaragua for the murder of ex-girlfriend Doris Jimenez and sentenced to 30 years in jail in 2007\, despite 10 witnesses that placed him more than two hours from the crime. \nSince then\, a Nicaraguan appeals court overturned the decision and he was free to leave the prison where he’d spent more than a year\, but not before most of the Nicaraguan media labeled him as the gringo murderer\, refusing to show the possibility he could be innocent.\nIn an interview with Vision staffers\, Volz said\, “I had no idea how far they’d be willing to go\,&icirc\; responding to what he believed to be unfair media coverage of his trial. Sounds like he’s talking about tabloids and paparazzi\, not professional media that’s supposed to be fair and unbiased\, reporting only the facts and not the writers’ opinions.\nDuring the interview\, I couldn’t stop thinking about how horrible it was that media would disregard ethics so they could make a story sound the way they wanted it to. And few media outlets\, Nicaraguan or American\, even interviewed his family to get the other side of the story. \nI’m not writing this to argue why Volz is or is not innocent\; rather\, I’m responding to the lack of media ethics that surrounded the case. There is no contract to sign when you become a journalist stating you agree to abide by the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics\, which state a journalist should seek the truth and report it\, minimize harm (treat people with respect\, in other words)\, act independently and be accountable. It’s on an individual basis to uphold those values\, and for the most part\, there are no consequences if you screw up (although the editor of Vanderbilt’s student newspaper\, The Hustler\, was recently fired for fabricating poll results).\nFor the most part\, the media that covered Volz’s case did not maintain these ideals.  According to them\, the truth was that Volz was the murderer\; there were no ifs\, ands or buts. But what about the other side of the story?  Volz’s family\, friends and coworkers who may have been able to shed light on Volz’s real personality?  I guess reporters just didn’t feel like doing any more work.\nWhen media no longer care to tell a balanced story\, when they’re too lazy to talk to people who have a different way of seeing a story\, there’s something very wrong. Journalism is about presenting facts and letting people make up their own minds\, not declaring which set of facts will present the truth.\nI’m worried about where the media is headed when it comes to ethics.  It’s no wonder the majority of people don’t trust the media based on their recent actions in letting the standards of journalism slip. Overall\, I think the values listed in the Code of Ethics are being put on hold while other principles\, like profit\, take the front seat\, which is very disappointing to me.\nAs Volz said\, “It’s a matter of the heart” when it comes to being ethical in today’s society. I just hope there are more people out there who have the heart to make the right decisions and start getting journalism back on the right track.\nCourtney Drake is a junior journalism major.
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CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080330T144528
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191704
ORGANIZER;CN=Courtney Drake\, Editor:MAILTO:drakec@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080330T154200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/833
SUMMARY:Eric Volz challenges news media to be fair\, ethical
DESCRIPTION:Nashvillian Eric Volz\, freed by a Nicaraguan appellate court a year after he was convicted for the murder of his former girlfriend\, now reflects on the media coverage of his case.\n “I had no idea how far they would be willing to go\,” Volz said in an interview with Vision staffers after he spoke to a Belmont media ethics class. The Nicaraguan media\, he said\, launched a campaign against him\, calling him a “gringo murderer” even after the court overturned his 30-year sentence.\n According to a video on his MySpace page\, www.myspace.com/freeericvolz [http\://www.myspace.com/freeericvolz]\, Nicaraguan media reported with a “fierce anti-American sentiment\,” using headlines such as “North American detained for horrendous murder” and “What crown does Volz have?” to rally support against him. \n He even noticed a problem with the American media\, saying they wanted to get the story quickly and easily\, which ended in a “shallow” report. “We don’t get objective and fair information as a result\,” he said.\n Volz went on to explain how his experience with media has made him wary of what he sees now.\n “When I see stories\, it’s a lot harder for me to trust what I see\,” he said\, coomenting that he couldn’t believe the recent story regarding New York’s former governor\, Eliot Spitzer and the prostitution scandal that forced him to resign. \n “I think that media is run by corporate interest\,” Volz said\, which makes coverage too controlled and even biased. And\, he believes\, it’s up to the individual journalist to stop it.\n “Media leaders need to be ethically motivated … it’s a matter of the heart\,” he concluded.\n But media consumers can help combat this corruption of media\, too. Volz advised the audience to establish a trusted news source\, check facts\, cross-reference and write letters to editors.\n “People listen to that\, editors listen to that\, because you’re their public\,” he said.
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CATEGORIES:eric-volz,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T103857
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191716
ORGANIZER;CN=Courtney Drake\, Editor:MAILTO:drakec@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080401T113100
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/834
SUMMARY:Klay Kelley next SGA president
DESCRIPTION:After days of campaigning\, junior Klay Kelley emerged as Belmont University’s 2008-2009 student body president.\n"I appreciate the support of the student body during this year's election\,” Kelley said. “I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead\, and I am committed to bettering this community to the best of my abilities.”\nKelley\, who has been in the Student Government Association since his freshman year\, has already laid out plans for the coming academic year\, intending to keep the students’ best interest in the forefront.  \n“As president\, I intend to increase communication between university leadership and the student body. It is my goal to make sure that the students' voices are heard and their concerns are addressed.”\nRising junior Wesley Rainer will be SGA’s vice-president. This year’s election was the first in which presidential and vice-presidential candidates ran together on one ticket.\nSGA Congress elections also took place. The following students were elected to serve next year\: Megan Adams\, Brittany Bartley\, Kara Bellenfant\, Catherine Canlas\, Spencer Carter\, John-Michael Criswell\, Eric S. Deems\, Tracy Goldenberg\, David Grizzell\, Ameshia Cross\, Travis Harvey\, Christina Inman\, Amy Kadish\, Daniel R. King Jr.\, Sarah Mitchell\, Zachary Moore\, Annie Musacchio\, Allison Pellicciotti\, James Ridley\, Katherine Rote\, Hayley Rose\, Tyler Schlandt\, George Scoville\, Margaret Shehan\, George Shifflett\, Spence Tomlinson\, January Utermahlen\, Melissa Wheatley\, Allie White\, Robert Woolsey and Adam Zinke.
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CATEGORIES:news,sga
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T145235
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191739
ORGANIZER;CN=Adaeze Elechi\, Managing Editor/Features:MAILTO:adaezeelechi@yahoo.com
DTSTART:20080401T154700
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/836
SUMMARY:Neighbors still oppose Rose Park complex
DESCRIPTION:The Organized Neighbors of Edgehill are challenging the Nashville Metro Council’s decision to allow Belmont to renovate Rose Park.\nA hearing on March 28 aimed to dismiss ONE’s attempt to appeal the Metro Council’s decision to approve the lease between Belmont and the Metro Board of Parks and Recreation before it goes to trial\, said Jason Rogers\, vice president for administration and university counsel.\nAlthough Rogers doesn’t know when he will know the results of the hearing\, he thinks it went well. “We are expecting a favorable ruling.”\n“We have joined in supporting Metro\,” Rogers said. Belmont was present at the hearing to support Metro’s decision.\nEdgehill\, a neighborhood that has faced all sorts of outside development\, has been fighting against expansion of areas like Music Row and the Gulch and institutions including Vanderbilt University and now Belmont since the 1960s.\nThe problems with ONE began when Belmont proposed to renovate Rose Park\, which is wedged between Carter Lawrence Elementary School and Rose Park Middle School\, in January of 2006.  Many residents feared that Belmont would take over the park. \nMembers of ONE voiced concerns throughout the following year concerning student safety and neighborhood use of the park\, but the Metro Board of Parks approved Belmont’s plan to upgrade the park and use it jointly with the neighborhood.\nBelmont’s proposed renovations include baseball\, softball\, soccer and track fields (which meet NCAA Division I standards)\, additional parking\, locker rooms\, rest rooms and concessions\, all of which will cost about $7 million.\nMetro approved Belmont’s plans in August of 2007.\nWhile Belmont’s proposed development is said to be just as much for the neighborhood as it is the university\, many neighbors are doubtful and are trying to overturn Metro Council’s decision to approve Belmont’s lease.\nConstruction is set to begin this summer. “The timing of the ruling and whether there is an appeal will affect the decision about when construction starts\,” Rogers said.\nBut Rogers is confident the case will be dismissed.  “The legal standard for overturning a decision is very difficult\,” he said\, “For that reason we are very confident that the decision will be upheld by the court.”   \n
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CATEGORIES:rose-park,edgehill,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T151655
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191756
ORGANIZER;CN=Liz Hunton\, Senior Writer:MAILTO:lizhunton@gmail.com
DTSTART:20080401T161100
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/837
SUMMARY:A life-changing experience Eric Volz embraces freedom after harrowing imprisonment
DESCRIPTION:The relationship between the United States and Nicaragua has been tumultuous\, often more strained than strong. Anti-American sentiment is prominent on the streets of Nicaragua\, a country in\nLatin America with a landmass slightly smaller than New York state. \nWhen Eric Volz found himself locked in a Nicaraguan prison and accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend\, being an American added challenges to his trial. The Nicaraguan press played upon the anti-American feelings of the public\, and they responded with riots and death threats\, among other things.  \nVolz doubts that his initial conviction was based on his nationality.\n“I was set up\,” he said. “It didn’t have anything to do with the fact that I was an American citizen as much as it was an effort to protect the identity of the main perpetrator of Doris’ murder.”\nStill\, American officials in Nicaragua had to balance helping Volz with the difficult relationship the U.S. already has with the country. Officials at the embassy “had to be very careful\,” Volz said. \nThe United States has a long history of intervention in Nicaragua. In 1856 an American named William Walker took over Nicaragua. Though his presidency did not last long\, American forces returned to Nicaragua in 1909 to support a resistance movement against the current president. American troops stayed in Nicaragua until 1933 (with a brief exodus for a few months in 1925). The Sandinista National Liberation Front took control of the country at that point\, causing a break in all relations with the US. \nRelations remained mildly strained until the Reagan administration\, when Reagan cut off aid to Nicaragua and imposed a trade embargo. In 1990\, Nicaraguans elected a non-Sandinista president. The U.S. and Nicaragua began a new era of stronger cooperation\, until 2006\, when a Sandinista candidate\, Daniel Ortega\, was elected as president. Ortega has pursued an anti-U.S. agenda and has allied himself with Chavez of Venezuela\, creating tension with the United States.\n“I was set up...it was an effort to protect the identity of the main perpetrator of Doris’ murder.”\nEric Volz
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CATEGORIES:eric-volz,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T153019
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T192059
ORGANIZER;CN=Melanie Bengtson\, Managing Editor/News:MAILTO:mkbengston@gmail.com
DTSTART:20080401T162300
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/838
SUMMARY:Volz says he holds no resentment toward Nicaragua
DESCRIPTION:Some may expect a year in Tipitapa\, the maximum security prison just outside Managua\, Nicaragua\, would turn a person sour. But for Eric Volz\, the reverse is the case.\n“I don’t have any anger or resentment\,” said Volz in an interview with the Belmont Vision.\nEven before the Nashville-native was convicted of a murder that evidence and alibis say he did not commit\, the Nicaraguan media began labeling him a murderer. The country’s sensational media painted him as someone who was in Nicaragua\, not to help make the country a better place\, but to steal and strip their culture as they stereotyped “gringos” as doing.\nBut the American media\, which began reporting the story after he was convicted\, didn’t do much better in the way of giving an honest portrayal of him and his situation.\nVolz said the American media painted him as the adventurous surfer kid caught up in a romantic tragedy\, which\, according to him\, was not accurate.\nVolz’s friends and family formed a support team that raised awareness about his situation\, which\, in turn got people taking action to raise money and even more awareness. People who normally wouldn’t be connected worked together for the success of his case.\nAfter more than a year’s worth of tangoing between Volz’s support team\, the American media and the Nicaraguan Appellate Court\, Volz was released from prison Dec. 21\, 2007. He was then deported to the United States by the executive arm of the Nicaraguan government.\nVolz has been affected by his severance from the country in which he invested his passion and years of his life\, both as an American adventurer who enjoyed the surf and scenery\, as a successful real estate agent and as founder and publisher of a magazine that focused on the beauty of Nicaragua’s natural environment.\n“[Not currently being able to go back to Nicaragua] is strange\,” said Volz. “I miss my friends.”\nWhile Volz is in the United States\, his case is still being processed in Nicaragua. But he’s not just sitting around\, waiting for the verdict. Volz is reworking the Web site that was originally created by his support team to inform people about his situation. The site\, www.friendsofericvolz.com [http\://www.friendsofericvolz.com]\, now has a full and detailed description of his case\, the procedures\, the injustices\, pictures and a blog where he will be able to share his perspectives and create a dialogue with the interested public about similar injustices around the world.\nHe is also still pushing for justice for his murdered ex-girlfriend\, Doris Ivania Jim&eacute\;nez\, who seems to have been forgotten in all the din.\nAnd after everything he has been through\, Volz takes resilience into his life as a free man.\n“I don’t feel like [what happened] is unfair\,” said Volz. “There is a lot of beauty that has come from it.”\n
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CATEGORIES:eric-volz,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T153754
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T192111
ORGANIZER;CN=Adaeze Elechi\, Managing Editor/Features:MAILTO:adaezeelechi@yahoo.com
DTSTART:20080401T163400
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/839
SUMMARY:'Belmont is opening to change' University chooses first black Homecoming queen in '08
DESCRIPTION:Brittney Mitchell’s hair is short and natural with tight\, unrelenting curls. But just a year ago\, this is not what one would have found when he saw her. The senior from Memphis\, Tenn.\, had chemically straightened (or relaxed) shoulder-length\, silky smooth hair before she decided to cut it all off and start afresh. It was after this image-altering decision that she made history at Belmont University as its first black Homecoming Queen in all its 57 years.\n“I felt honored\, happy to represent and a little undeserving\,” Mitchell said of her Homecoming Queen nomination from the Black Student Association.\nAfter the nomination\, she was among the Student Government Association’s selected nominees to appear on the Homecoming court during a basketball game on Feb. 9. But even then\, it wasn’t until people started coming up to her\, excited about her nomination that she began to “think that this might actually happen.” And when it did\, it got her thinking about what this might mean on a grander scale.\n“It opened my eyes to see how much Belmont has grown and the way we think about society\,” Mitchell said. “When there is a prominent race\, they tend to draw to their own race\, but the majority chose a black queen.”\nAccording to CollegeforTN.org [http\://www.collegeforTN.org]\, a college-search engine\, Belmont is about 90 percent white\, with approximately 7.5 percent shared by blacks\, Asians (or Pacific Islander)\, Hispanics\, Native Americans and Alaska Natives. The other 2.5 percent represents unreported races.\nThis racial imbalance has come to Belmont’s attention. The school’s students and administration have been making some effort to remedy the situation. Over the past year\, Phi Beta Sigma (a black fraternity) and Delta Theta Sigma Sorority\, Inc. (a black sorority) have come onto campus and have recruited black as well as white members into their brother and sisterhoods. And other students are noticing.\n“I think Belmont is opening [itself] to change\,” said senior Jocelyn Werst. “Belmont is trying to become a more diverse campus. I’ve enjoyed seeing the changes that have taken place\, and I think\, in the future\, Belmont will continue to embrace more diversity. I look forward to seeing this take place.”\nMitchell has noticed the growth in the black community as well and is grateful for it\, but there are things attached to her race and her identity that she has to work out.\n“I went through this phase where I tried to find out who I am as a black person on a predominantly white campus\,” Mitchell said. “So I made some changes\: changes with my hair\, changes with speaking openly. My parents made me feel appreciated and comfortable in my black skin… [but] there are complexes and so much stuff fed to you through the media.”\nWerst also sees that while some individuals and institutions may be making an effort to embrace diversity\, society as a whole needs to catch up.\n“Our society is not as far as it should be. Unfortunately\, we are not comfortable with race in our country\,” said Werst. “We like to pretend that we are secure in the different races\, but when we’re challenged\, society proves that we’re not comfortable.”\nMitchell wrestled with stereotypes surrounding black people and education. She has struggled to be the “perfect student\,” overcompensating for the stereotyped below-standard students\, wanting to be able to think critically and “challenged like my white peers were being challenged.” But that’s not all\: she wanted to really see herself. In her quest for self-discovery\, she hacked off her relaxed hair.\n“It was an unveiling of my natural self\, seeing what was beneath my permed hair\,” Mitchell said. “I had never seen it\, never seen my true self.”\nMitchell says that Belmont has given her the space to express herself freely.\n“I’m not the Homecoming queen type at all\,” Mitchell said. “That’s what I love about Belmont\: they look at the person. They still chose me\, flaws and all. It’s refreshing.”\nMitchell sids her journey to understand who she is beneath the layers is far from over and is glad to help who she can on her way.\n“I’m not Miss America\, but\, in some way\, I’m changing Belmont. I hope being in this position helps open the eyes of other minorities who didn’t think they had a chance\,” Mitchell said. “I’m trying to pave my own path regardless of history and structures.”
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CATEGORIES:homecoming,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T154433
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T192138
ORGANIZER;CN=Adaeze Elechi\, Managing Editor/Features:MAILTO:adaezeelechi@yahoo.com
DTSTART:20080401T163800
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/840
SUMMARY:Letters to the Editor
DESCRIPTION:A note from an adjunct professor\nTo the editor\:\nAs an adjunct faculty member who dearly loves teaching at Belmont\, I am once again proud of our students. Bravo to the the Vision and to writer Liz Hunton for your article on the university’s use of adjunct faculty members. The mathematic calculation of the budgetary advantage we provide was a bold move.\nThe dependence of American universities on hosts of part-time professors at a time of rising enrollment is a complex issue affected by various factors. Those factors include a fluctuating student demographic and the high cost of the excellent benefits already extended to full-time faculty and administration (medical\, dental\, retirement\, college tuition credits for children). That said\, I must add that the exploitation of teachers by a school has no good excuse.\nAt least as qualified and experienced as their colleagues in the nearby halls\, the adjunct faculty who teach many of the required BELL Core courses carry the business of the university on their backs. With no certainty of employment semester to semester\, paltry pay and no benefits in sight\, we are a quiet labor force of teachers who can be easily\, quickly and cheaply replaced by other teachers needing work. As much as I would enjoy it\, an uprising would do us little good.\nLet us consider academic dissent for a moment. In the sixteen years that I taught in Georgia\, I saw from afar two professors take stands against injustices they saw at their universities. One is now running a pizza joint in South Carolina and the other is teaching at a secretarial school — hardly the dreams that got them through graduate school. I observed in these examples that while academics praise acts of civil disobedience\, they often squash those who expose an ugly underside of the school biz. (Barista work at the coffee counter may be in my future.)\nPlugging inexpensive adjunct professors into multiple sections of required courses has become a national bad habit. Belmont is far from the worst offender. Occasionally\, Belmont extends a full-time semester offer to members of the adjunct ranks\, this member included. For these opportunities and for my colleagues who advocate for them\, I am appreciative. May my words here not ring with ingratitude.\nUnfortunately\, universities have no incentive to break the adjunct habit. Many capable\, well-educated career teachers do not land in the few open tenured positions — and for myriad reasons. The teachers at the bottom of this caste system are swept into the bargain buy that is the adjunct pool\; they are not lawyers\, music producers or financiers in their “other lives.” Teachers are the ultimate “for the love of the game” players. That a university with its own lofty goals\, values statement\, a mission\, even\, cannot take steps toward equity in the teaching arena — the heart and soul of a school — stuns me. \nGhandi once said that no great cause could survive without a journal\, a paper\; I know you all join him and me in our fervent belief in the power of the pen. Thank you again\, Belmont Vision\, for the public forum in which you raised an issue no one wants to own.\nKeep brandishing those pens.\nWyeth O. Burgess\nadjunct faculty\,  department of English\nProofreading questioned\nTo the editor\:\n For quite some time I have been disappointed in the lack of attention the Vision writers and editors have given to proofreading the paper. I am speaking specifically of the February 28\, 2008 issue\, sporting the conspicuous page 6 headline\:  “Ring show promise to remain chaste.” I do understand that a newspaper staff sometimes must be creative in choosing words to fit a particular space\, but elementary subject-verb agreement should apply despite space constraints.\nIn the same article\, following a highlighted quote\, Todd Lake’s title is missing not only its capitalization\, but also the “d” in “development.” This lack of attention is lazy at best and demonstrates a fundamental disregard for both the conventions of the English language and the small details that really are important. In a publication produced by an educational institution\, this is inexcusable\, especially with all the spelling and grammar checks available in the 21st century. \nPamela Howell\ncall center director\, Admissions\nEditor’s note\: This is not to minimize the other errors that you called to our attention. Regarding the capitalization issue\, however\, our newspaper follows the Associated Press Stylebook\, the standard for newspapers. For academic titles\, the rule is to “capitalize formal titles such as chancellor\, chairman\, etc.\, when they precede a name. Lowercase elsewhere.” \n
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CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T155350
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T192127
DTSTART:20080401T165000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/841
SUMMARY:'Going green' part of new dorm plan
DESCRIPTION:When Belmont made the decision to build a new residence hall behind Hail Hall\, the new era called for an updated element of construction to take under consideration\: going green.\nThe dorm\, set to open in the fall of 2008\, will house freshmen. According to the university Provost Dan McAlexander\, it will cost approximately $12.5 million.\nPart of this cost comes from more environmentally sustainable choices\, such as the heating and cooling system of water source heat pumps. According to McAlexander\, that reduces energy consumption and is the most significant feature in making the dorms green. When it was settled upon\, the expected cost of the system was a half million dollars.\nThough the decision has not been made yet\, the new system does provide the opportunity to switch over to thermal heating and cooling down the road\, making the air easier to heat or cool given a more “normal” temperature around 55 degrees.\nMcAlexander also discussed the “significant attention paid to storm water runoff\,” explaining how the water will be routed to pre-existing pools instead of washing whatever is on the asphalt into the sewer.\n“We will look at green for everything we do and try to do the responsible thing in each one\,” McAlexander said.\nAs far as building materials themselves\, McAlexander said they tried to use “materials from recyclables or less polluting materials.”\nThe insides of the dorms will be painted with low emission paints and green materials will be used for the flooring and carpeting.\n“The university recognizes the appeal of environmental issues as a criteria for students to come here\,” said residence life director Anthony Donovan. A green university will “become more of an expectation” and as that happens\, it will be “easier to justify the cost.” \nDonovan also went on to explain the idea of “saving on the backend” with regards to paying more now in favor of long term savings. \nJudy Skeen\, a professor in the School of Religion\, has been active in the push to get Belmont to go green after reaching ‘enlightenment’ while on sabbatical. She came back and taught a class on environmental justice and formulated a five-year plan with the class to present to senior leadership.\nAccording to Skeen\, the question was whether “Belmont [was] willing as an institution to take a stand and change [its] behavior.”\nSkeen referenced discussions about possibly trying to retrofit the dorms already built with electronic thermostats and light switches with motion detectors that would turn off the lights if there was no movement for a while.\nAs for the new dorms\, Skeen talked about “start[ing] them off more green” and anticipating that the next dorms to be built “will be even more green.”\nWhile constructing an environmentally sustainable building remains in the hands of administration\, students on campus have taken it upon themselves to bring a little green to the housing that already exists.\nDrew Belk\, residence director for the Belmont Commons\, said environmentally friendly practices have been in place for the past year and a half.\n“The fall 2006 RA staff\, namely Sarah Willadsen\, had a recycling dumpster brought onto campus. This was the second recycling dumpster brought on after the Beaman dumpsters\,” Belk said. The same year\, “Nicole Loveless worked with Lowe’s to arrange a discount to have recycling bins placed in every apartment in the Commons and Compton Avenue houses.”\nThe most recent addition has been that of a clothesline outside of the Commons clubhouse to “offer an alternative to using dryers to dry clothes\,” Belk said. Even their bulletin boards “have almost exclusively dealt with issues surrounding recycling\, energy use and new sources of energy.”\nSkeen has also been active in the effort to get a campus-wide recycling program established\, hoping that by the fall “it will just be a part of life at Belmont.”\nWith reference to the dorms as well as the effort to engage students in green practices like recycling\, Skeen said\, “We realize that it’s not just what we build with and how we build it\, it’s the people who live in it.”\n
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CATEGORIES:going-green,environment,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T160119
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T192154
ORGANIZER;CN=Erin Carson\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:ecarson01@gmail.com
DTSTART:20080401T165400
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/842
SUMMARY:Celebrate Earth Day with festival\, tour
DESCRIPTION:Earth Week 2008 is April 21- 25 and there are many ways you can get involved both here at Belmont and in the Nashville community as the global effort begun with the first Earth Day in 1970 continues.\nOn April 19\, Nashville Public Works will host the annual Nashville Earth Day celebration at Centennial Park – the actual worldwide Earth Day is April 22\, although the biggest celebrations in the United States are on Sunday\, April 20.\n“This Earth Day\, it’s time to change the forecast for global warming\,” Kathleen Rogers\, president of the international Earth Day Network\, said in a press release. “Climate change must rise to the top of the national agenda this election year. On April 20th\, Americans will be hearing our global warming message and we will be mobilizing support for solutions.”\nThe theme for this year’s celebration is "Local Living for Global Change – It all starts with me!" As part of the celebration in Nashville\, there will be informational booths\, children's events\, entertainment and food. \nVisit www.nashville.gov/earthday [http\://www.nashville.gov/earthday] for more information about the festival and to learn how to volunteer.  Volunteers are needed for event set-up\, T-shirt sales\, recycling and clean-up.  Volunteers will receive a free T-shirt. \nIf you’re looking for a Belmont event\, a group of students will be traveling to Summertown\, Tenn. for a tour of an eco-village on April 26. Part of the “Hillside Goes Green” initiative\, the tour will be led by Albert Bates\, director of the Ecovillage Training Center. \nSo whether you want to rock out with fellow Nashvillians in Centennial Park while celebrating Mother Nature or pull some exotic plants\, make sure you get involved.  
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CATEGORIES:earth-day,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T160657
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T192205
DTSTART:20080401T170200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/843
SUMMARY:Environmental issues O.N.E. club's focus
DESCRIPTION:Before Belmont even went “green” last year\, there was a group of environmentally concerned students who met regularly to discuss current environmental issues and how to become involved in solutions to environmental problems. They’re called O.N.E.\, Our Natural Environment\, and they still meet each month.\n“We’re looking to help make Belmont a more environmentally friendly campus and also to provide the students a place to learn about environmental issues\,” said senior biology major Jill Neblett\, the president of the club.\nThe group formed in the fall of 2004\, and their biggest accomplishment is the progress they’ve helped make with recycling on campus. Each week O.N.E. club students empty the recycling bins from Hitch and Wheeler into the recycling dumpster. A fraternity takes care of the recycling in Thrailkill and some in the library and Massey\, while other dorms and apartments are independent.\nBefore the O.N.E. club\, C. Steven Murphree\, a professor in the biology department\, had been doing recycling of aluminum cans on campus for years. He had students from the Tri Beta club\, a biology honors society\, help him. \n“Then the O.N.E. club put the rest of the bins in Hitch and Wheeler\,” Neblett said. “We’re the ones who got the dumpster out here and the ones who have been able to recycle cardboard and plastic and cans and paper.\nRecycling takes a lot of the focus of the club because it is time consuming. The eight bins have to be taken out at least once a week.\n“It takes a couple hours a week which may not sound like a lot\, but it is when you’re busy and you don’t have a lot of workers\,” Neblett said.\nThere are about 10 active members in O.N.E. The club and other professors are working on getting recycling institutionalized so that the university and not the students carry it out. It has been a slow process.\n“We don’t have dates when that is actually going to happen\, but it is something the university is working on\,” Neblett said.\nShe hopes this can happen so that O.N.E. will be able to concentrate on other issues.\n“I think it would be good if we could focus more on events that more students could be involved with– like having more speakers come and more educational events on campus\,” Neblett said.\nHer favorite event with O.N.E. has been volunteering at the Nashville Zoo with Ghouls at Grassmere. The members passed out candy\, helped with the hayride and did face painting.\nThey also host several convos throughout the year. One recent convo was about environmental issues in voting and in government policy.\n“We also had a speaker come talk about being an environmental Christian and someone come talk about global climate change\,” Neblett said.\nWhether taking out the recycling bins or having discussions about fossil fuel consumption\, the O.N.E. club would love to have more members.\n“We could always use more help\,” Neblett said. “Right now help with recycling is a big deal. But in general\, it’s good to have more people involved.”\nTo get involved with O.N.E.\, attend their meeting on April 7 at 10 a.m. in HSB 409 or talk with a member at any of their convocation events. 
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CATEGORIES:environment,news,o.n.e
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T161423
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T192220
ORGANIZER;CN=Chansin Bird\, Senior Writer:MAILTO:chansinbird@msn.com
DTSTART:20080401T170700
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/844
SUMMARY:Running\: a beginner's thoughts
DESCRIPTION:Ten months\, three days and four hours* ago\, at the completion of a dear friend’s first marathon experience (and I quote)\: “I will never have it in me to run like that.”\nFour weeks\, one day\, and 13 hours* ago\, far earlier than I should have been awake (to myself)\:\n“Today you begin training for (dun dun dun) the half-marathon.”\nWhat\, you may ask\, inspired such a drastic change in my mindset on the subject? How\, I ask myself often\, did I manage to trade in a cavalier “marathons-are-for-maniacs” attitude for an optimistic “I think I can\; I think I can” outlook?\nThe answer is three-fold\: I found out the company I intern with “strongly encourages” its employees to participate in the Country Music Half Marathon. Translation\: they would like me more if I did it.\nOn top of liking me more\, they said they would pay my entry fee and there would be “additional incentives.” Translation\: this would be the only time in my life that anyone will pay me to run.\nI suddenly found myself in dire need of a catalyst for exercise. Translation\: I want to be in the best shape possible for a certain wedding in August.\nSo\, I did it. I signed up for the race. I even weaseled two roommates into joining me in my quest to the finish line. We taped a “training schedule” to the wall by the door\, to simultaneously encourage us with how far we’ve come and make us feel terribly guilty if we skipped out on a scheduled run. Since our inaugural scoot down Belmont Boulevard\, I must say we’ve come a long way. We can run longer and harder with fewer breaks and far less cursing under what little breath we have. I’ve gone from an ex-high school athlete who vaguely remembers running after a soccer ball for fun to one of those maniacs who runs\, well\, just for the heck of it. Along the way\, my running amigas and I have picked up a few handy lessons off the well-pounded pavement of Nashville. Share them? Well\, okay. If you insist.\nAnyone can run. Really it’s true. I didn’t believe it either until I witnessed it firsthand. It’s not only the super fit\, iron-abs out there that take to the streets. One older man on West End does a very entertaining combination run/dance. Moms run\, dragging babies along in super aerodynamic strollers. Mullets run or rather bounce as the body they are unfortunately attached to runs beneath them. Instead of having to fight our way into an exclusive running club\, my roomies and I discovered that the running community welcomes any and all types. Bienvenidos!\nWardrobe choices are endless and inspiring. At first I was a bit intimidated by the amount of super expensive\, high-end running gear I saw on the streets. It’s true\, there are runners out there in full body spandex suits and belts with endless running supplies\, but I quickly became more interested in alternative wardrobe choices. Sweatbands\, it seems\, can be used for actual sweat and not just as an Indie accessory. Middle-aged men wear tights\, and that’s okay. Although jean shorts don’t strike my fancy as the most comfortable choice\, they apparently are a favorite of one avid runner. Cold mornings inspire a personal preference for layers that unfortunately must end up tied around my waist in true 90s middle-school fashion. All in all\, the message here is the same. Wear what you want. Be who you want. When you run\, you earn the respect to be yourself wardrobe-wise\; maybe that camo tank top is what gets you over the 5-mile bump.\nBig hills\, big aches\, big smiles\, big muscles. As painful as it is to remember\, we’ve tackled a few monstrous hills. I wish there were words to adequately describe the feeling in my calves half way up the biggest hill I’ve ever seen. The only words I can think of are either too vivid or too graphic to share here\, so let’s just say it burns! Interestingly enough\, the few big hill runs have been my favorite looking back. Accomplishment seeps from every pore as you realize- “I really did that.” Maybe we can stretch this metaphor to apply to other times equally strenuous physically\, emotionally\, mentally or spiritually. Building muscles in all these areas is hard work\, but big hills make for biggie-sized feelings of accomplishment in the end that are – dare I say – worth it.\nThree really is company. There is something to this\, something bigger than Suzanne Somers and John Ritter could have imagined. While running solo has its advantages – peace and quiet\, time alone\, etc – it also carries with it the intense temptation to stop whenever you feel like it\, often far short of your decided goal. Running in pairs is nice\, I’m sure. But I can’t help but feel forced into coupledom by the side-by-side situation. There is also an awkward bumping routine that happens a lot with two people as they squeeze on a sidewalk\, as if two bodies cannot propel themselves forward without also being drawn magnetically to each other in an attempt to throw off any rhythm each body has managed to get into. No\, two won’t do. Three\, it seems\, is the perfect number of running buddies. A trio can take turns leading\, make cool shapes like triangles and other three-sided shapes\, and chances are someone always has enough energy to huff out a word of encouragement. A group of three runners also makes you look more official. Like you are the beginnings of a team – people know not to mess with a trio.\nYou don’t have to jog in place at stoplights unless you enjoy looking silly. This one is simple. It’s not required. You may even dance at stoplights instead. I recommend it. Drivers need entertainment in traffic.\nNeedless to say\, I’m learning a lot. About running\, about dedication\, about my roommates\, about Nashville. I only hope I can keep up the momentum as we sprint towards race day\:\nFive weeks\, two days\, and six hours from now*\, with muscles aching I am not now aware exist\, perhaps in words unintelligible to those around me\: “I did it! Never again!”\n*all times estimates\, based in a round-about way on the time you may be reading this\, approximately.\nAbby Hollingsworth is a junior English writing major. E-mail\: abby.hollingsworth@gmail.com [mailto\:abby.hollingsworth@gmail.com].
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CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T162602
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T192234
ORGANIZER;CN=Abby Hollingsworth:MAILTO:abby.hollingsworth@gmail.com
DTSTART:20080401T172000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/845
SUMMARY:Foundation for journalism must be ethics
DESCRIPTION:When Eric Volz walked into the media ethics classroom\, he seemed like any other guy. Jeans\, a long-sleeved sage shirt and gold chain around his neck. Okay\, maybe there were more people fussing over him than your average person\, but on the outside he looked like your regular Joe.\nBut Volz has had more than his fair share of media coverage in the past year and a half\, especially that of one-sided\, biased reporting. He was arrested in Nicaragua for the murder of ex-girlfriend Doris Jimenez and sentenced to 30 years in jail in 2007\, despite 10 witnesses that placed him more than two hours from the crime. \nSince then\, a Nicaraguan appeals court overturned the decision and he was free to leave the prison where he’d spent more than a year\, but not before most of the Nicaraguan media labeled him as the gringo murderer\, refusing to show the possibility he could be innocent.\nIn an interview with Vision staffers\, Volz said\, “I had no idea how far they’d be willing to go\,” responding to what he believed to be unfair media coverage of his trial. Sounds like he’s talking about tabloids and paparazzi\, not professional media that’s supposed to be fair and unbiased\, reporting only the facts and not the writers’ opinions.\nDuring the interview\, I couldn’t stop thinking about how horrible it was that media would disregard ethics so they could make a story sound the way they wanted it to. And few media outlets\, Nicaraguan or American\, even interviewed his family to get the other side of the story. \nI’m not writing this to argue why Volz is or is not innocent\; rather\, I’m responding to the lack of media ethics that surrounded the case. There is no contract to sign when you become a journalist stating you agree to abide by the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics\, which state a journalist should seek the truth and report it\, minimize harm (treat people with respect\, in other words)\, act independently and be accountable. It’s on an individual basis to uphold those values\, and for the most part\, there are no consequences if you screw up (although the editor of Vanderbilt’s student newspaper\, The Hustler\, was recently fired for fabricating poll results).\nFor the most part\, the media that covered Volz’s case did not maintain these ideals.  According to them\, the truth was that Volz was the murderer\; there were no ifs\, ands or buts. But what about the other side of the story?  Volz’s family\, friends and coworkers who may have been able to shed light on Volz’s real personality?  I guess reporters just didn’t feel like doing any more work.\nWhen media no longer care to tell a balanced story\, when they’re too lazy to talk to people who have a different way of seeing a story\, there’s something very wrong. Journalism is about presenting facts and letting people make up their own minds\, not declaring which set of facts will present the truth.\nI’m worried about where the media is headed when it comes to ethics.  It’s no wonder the majority of people don’t trust the media based on their recent actions in letting the standards of journalism slip. Overall\, I think the values listed in the Code of Ethics are being put on hold while other principles\, like profit\, take the front seat\, which is very disappointing to me.\nAs Volz said\, “It’s a matter of the heart” when it comes to being ethical in today’s society. I just hope there are more people out there who have the heart to make the right decisions and start getting journalism back on the right track.\nCourtney Drake is a junior journalism major. E-mail\: drakec@pop.belmont.edu [mailto\:drakec@pop.belmont.edu].
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CATEGORIES:eric-volz,opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T163102
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T192247
ORGANIZER;CN=Courtney Drake\, Editor:MAILTO:drakec@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080401T172700
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/846
SUMMARY:Latest homecoming queen inspires racial healing
DESCRIPTION:I have a sickness that has festered and metastasized inside me since childhood. I picked it up from living in society and no matter how much I try\, I can’t seem to cure myself of it. I like to call it the “Black Woman Complex” (or BWC for short). It is the societal cancer that makes me self-conscious when I walk into a room full of white people (which is every day\, several times a day). It is the disease that makes me first question race in everything. It is the monster that has made me believe that mine is a cursed race as far back as I can remember.\nIt began when I was a child growing up in Holland\, when I realized that the blond-haired and blue-eyed girls were generally considered prettier than me no matter how straight Mama’s hot-comb made my hair. It began when I realized that I had the hardest time making friends on the playground\, not necessarily because of anything I did\, but because of something I had no control over.\nThen I began noticing it in the media. I saw it in movies\, on TV\, in magazines\: the thin white woman with long flowing hair and azure eyes who was the epitome of everything beautiful. And those women who were not quite as white as they could be were airbrushed and done up so they would fit the mold. From then on I would look at myself in the mirror and it would hit me time and again that I would never be beautiful to the world. And so the epic battle with my image began and to this day\, has not ended.\nI have fought with my hair\: I have tried to love it in all its nappy glory\, but even I have noticed that I get more compliments when it is straight and looks more Caucasian. I have struggled with my frame\: I know in my heart of hearts that I will never be toothpick-thin\: I will always have noticeable curves\, but it doesn’t stop me from fantasizing about it\, hoping that maybe one day\, I could be thin enough to be magazine-beautiful. I have struggled with everything on my body\, but the greatest struggle of all is with my skin.\nBut I know I’m not the only one. In Nigeria many women are so deep in battle that they have taken to a strange habit\: bleaching. It is the process of making oneself lighter in complexion by applying bleaching cream to the skin regularly. Bleaching creams contain acids that gradually burn off the dark upper layer of the skin\, exposing a lighter layer underneath. While they know that this makes them prone to skin cancer\, orange-looking skin after some time\, and flesh so weak it will not hold stitches after surgery\, the sacrifice to them is worth it.\nAs bizarre as this sounds\, I understand where they’re coming from. I would be a liar if I said I haven’t wanted at some point in my life to be white\, or at least want to know what it felt like\, just for a minute – the strange inherent power that comes with it\, the security\, the feeling of being part of the majority and not having to hide or tone down your race or ethnicity. I would have the absolute freedom to flaunt my identity without fear of being ostracized.\nThen along came Brittney Mitchell. Brittney is Belmont University’s first black homecoming queen. While this is an amazing fact in itself (she’s made history)\, this is not what struck me about her. It was the fact that Brittney stood in the Curb Event Center in front of a crowd of Belmont students (whose black population you could maybe count on two hands)\, baring her race on her sleeve\, and people not only rooting for her\, but loving her. When she won\, it got me thinking\: perhaps the age of white-equals-good\, black-equals-bad is ending. If Brittney Mitchell\, with her hair rich\, black and natural and her skin dark and glowing\, could stand proud and secure in front of Belmont with all her guards down\, perhaps there is hope yet for women like me.\nBrittney does not hide that she has struggled with her image as a black woman (perhaps not exactly as I have struggled\; every woman’s fight in life is different) and has had to make peace with herself. I know that because in today’s world\, with the media constantly hammering concepts into our minds\, this is easier said than done\, but now\, I am able to tell myself\, “If Brittney Mitchell could do it\, why should I continue to fight and damn myself for the way I was created?” Now is the time to make peace with our bodies\, with our skin and with our self image. Now is the time to end the war.\nAdaeze Elechi is a junior journalism major. E-mail\: adaezeelechi@yahoo.com [mailto\:adaezeelechi@yahoo.com].\n
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CATEGORIES:homecoming,opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T171102
LAST-MODIFIED:20080820T211247
ORGANIZER;CN=Adaeze Elechi\, Managing Editor/Features:MAILTO:adaezeelechi@yahoo.com
DTSTART:20080401T180700
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/847
SUMMARY:What others are saying
DESCRIPTION:Here are topics other college newspaper columnists are dealing with\, from political power to romantic films.\n“Political power is an aphrodisiac. It’s probably always been this way\, from Cleopatra to Clinton. There’s a dev-astating problem that lies beneath the surface of promiscuous politicians\, and it’s one we haven’t solved yet.”\n     – The Tiger\, Clemson University\n“In the rush to stamp out illegal immigration\, we cannot lose sight of the common sense ideas and freedoms that make living in America so wonderful. Illegal immigration is a problem that must be dealt with\, but it must be combated with a rational and reasoned response.”\n– The Crimson White\, University of Alabama\n“Romantic films\, one of the most durable of film genres\, has evolved from its beginnings in the battle of the sexes to a noticeable penchant for sexual conquest. Apparently\, as women’s liberation declares victory\, films progress in the opposite direction.”\n– The Daily Reveille\, Louisiana State University
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T171221
LAST-MODIFIED:20080820T211311
DTSTART:20080401T181100
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/848
SUMMARY:Athletes successful in classroom
DESCRIPTION:This year Belmont student athletes have made history with one of their most successful semesters in the classroom. The department of athletics registered Belmont athletes as having a GPA of 3.254 last semester\, the highest GPA in the department since Belmont moved to NCAA Division I in 1997.\nNot only is it the highest GPA in the department\, but it is also one of the three highest GPAs since spring 2002. At the top of the list with GPA averages were women’s cross country with 3.619\, women’s golf with 3.538 and men’s golf with 3.503.\n“It’s all about time management and staying focused in what you’re doing\,” said Mollie Schlarman a junior member of the women’s cross country team. “I have to remember it’s not athlete-student\, it’s student-athlete\, so doing well in class is always my first priority.”\nStudent athletes at times find it hard balancing sports and academics with games and being on the road. Athletes are forced to miss classes due to traveling.\n“Being an athlete you have to stay ahead in your classes because once you get far behind its too hard to catch up\,” said Brooke Sunday\, a senior on the women’s basketball team\, whose GPA this semester was a 4.0. “Now that I am a senior\, the advice I would give to other student-athletes is making sure to bring homework on all your road trips and always ask your teachers for the work you might miss.”\nAs Belmont students continue their journey of success\, the athletic department is in hopes of continuing what is now a new beginning of a higher standard for Belmont students and student athletes to follow.\n “To help keep our GPA high\, requiring our athletes to attend study hall is very important\,” said women’s cross country coach Seth Sheridan. “Keeping our athletes eligible is a must.”\n    
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CATEGORIES:sports
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T171451
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T192301
ORGANIZER;CN=Shardé Burkhead\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:burkheads@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080401T181200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/849
SUMMARY:Brett Favre a hero on the field and off
DESCRIPTION:March 6\, 2008 will live on in the memory of NFL fans everywhere as the day the league lost one of its most beloved players to retirement. Everyone had an inkling that Favre would retire at some point\; we were all just hoping that that day would never arrive. As a Mississippian raised on country food\, country music and football\, I felt an innate heartache when Mississippi’s own Brett Favre called it quits. But instead of dwelling on that seemingly disastrous moment\, I would like to remember the former Green Bay Packers quarterback for not only his football glory\, but his humanitarian efforts as well.\nLooking at me\, most people don’t see an avid NFL fan\; but those who know me know that I live for the game. One of the main reasons I became attracted to the sport was my love for Brett Favre\, who became a hero to me early on. Growing up in small-town Mississippi\, kids seek heroes\, and Favre was mine. He established the Brett Favre Forward Foundation in 1995. The foundation works to provide aid to disadvantaged and disabled children in Mississippi and Wisconsin. Growing up in a house with a disabled older brother\, I felt a special connection with an organization that provided help for children like my brother.\nBrett Favre was the epitome of strength not only as an athlete\, but as a man\, a father and a husband. He became a dad while attending the University of Southern Mississippi and playing football for the Golden Eagles. It had to be difficult managing family life\, school and playing hard as hell in order to make it to the NFL. But through hard work and perseverance\, he did it all. Brett married his high school sweetheart\, Deanna. But good times were often sporadic in Brett’s life.\nOn July 14\, 1990 he nearly died from a car accident. After the accident\, many doctors told him he’d never play again\, Favre refused to accept that prognosis. He became heavily dependent on pain killers and his addiction nearly cost him his life and his marriage\, but Favre pulled himself together.\nHaving lost a parent\, I can understand the heartache Favre felt when his dad died. Irven Favre died December 21\, 2003 in a car accident near the same place Brett had crashed years earlier. The event became one of Favre’s most defining moments. The very next day he played in a finals game against the Oakland Raiders. He was recorded as saying\, “I knew that my dad would have wanted me to play. I love him so much\, and I love this game. It’s meant a great deal to me\, to my dad\, to my family\, and I didn’t expect this kind of performance. But I know he was watching tonight.” If that isn’t the mark of true character\, I don’t know what is.\nJust ten months after the death of his father\, Favre’s brother-in-law was killed in an ATV accident. Appearing battered and broken emotionally\, Favre somehow mustered the strength to carry on. Just when it seemed he’d gotten through the worst\, in mid-2004 his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. Favre handled the situation with the uttmost care and respect\, even helping Deanna create the Deanna Favre Hope Foundation supporting breast cancer education and early detection.\nI had the joy of traveling to Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina\, and the first place I stopped was the home of my favorite football player in Kiln. The city had been ravaged\, and the only thing really left standing was a statue of Brett in the courtyard. His family’s home was now a distant memory amassed in debris. Favre worked alongside Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour to rebuild the place that reared him.\nPeople can talk for days about the awards\, accolades\, touchdown passes and quotes made by Brett Favre\; even though all those things are worth noting\, I believe that it is more important to look at the man for more than his football record. Favre’s life is a true testament of faith and courage in the face of adversity\, and even though I won’t see his bright smile and enthusiasm on Monday Night Football next season\, I am still satisfied in calling him my hero. 
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CATEGORIES:commentary,football,opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T172211
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T185915
ORGANIZER;CN=Ameisha Cross\, Senior Writer:MAILTO:crossa@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080401T181800
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/850
SUMMARY:Way to go bruins!
DESCRIPTION:With all due respect\, Blue Devils and legendary Coach K\, Belmont and its unheralded crop of blue-collar players led by humble coach Rick Byrd\, on the 20th night of March 2008\, belonged to a Bruin nation. Belmont suddenly became everybody’s favorite team for at least 40 minutes. Make no mistake\; Belmont didn’t get lucky draining treys and catching Duke on a bad day. The Bruins stood toe to toe with a cast of All-Americans\, and by the end of the game\, Duke was the lucky team.\nBelmont certainly had a believer in the all-time winningest coach in the NCAA Tournament\, Coach K. “I’ve coached in 89 of these games now\,” he said. “I told the guys as far as game pressure goes\, this had to rank in the top three or four\, and hopefully\, the people at Belmont take that as a real compliment because they should be complimented.” This statement came from a man whose team is a staple in the deep rounds of the tournament.\n  The atmosphere was nothing short of surreal at the game. The Vision’s sports videographer\, Rudy Lindsey\, and I were sandwiched between Duke Basketball–behind Coach K and his posse of cookie-cutter coaches in training and in front of the entire Krzyzewski family. Rudy and I tried our best to contain our emotions for fear of a late night knock on our apartment doors and our friends and family seeing only a red rose left behind– courtesy of a mob that would put fear in our hearts. Needless to say\, however\, it quickly became apparent that we were Bruins. It also became apparent that the entire arena – minus the Dookies – were Bruins. When Andy Wicke drained a three from the baseline to pull the Bruins within one with two and a half minutes remaining\, every single sports fan in the world suddenly had a second favorite team. From every little sports bar in the Caribbean to YMCAs to maybe even the Southern Baptist Convention’s lobby\, people crowded around the television to witness a little piece of magic. It only got better when Belmont took the lead on free throws by Justin Hare– in what turned out to be his last college game before he heads to med school– and peaked when Henry Harris grabbed a Duke miss with less than a minute left.\nOf course\, the balance of power shifted to the team everybody loves to hate\, Duke\, at the bitter end. Crushing disappointment showed in every Belmont player and coach. I hate to play the “what-might-have-been” card\, but a Bruin jersey would have graced every major newspaper and Web site’s front page– if only Hare’s mid-court prayer had been answered as time ticked away.\nBut this game and this Belmont team will be remembered forever as the catalysts for something special brewing. It is no stretch of the imagination to look up when the brackets are revealed to see the Bruins as a No. 11 or 10 seed. It just so happened that the No. 10 seed Davidson was one shot from going to the Final Four this year.\nAnd next year\, Belmont will gush with experienced talent. From electrifying guard Alex Renfroe to A-Sun Tournament MVP Shane Dansby\, the Bruins will be the clear-cut choice to make four straight NCAA Tournaments and perhaps pull the upset. Throw in seniors Andy Wicke\, Matthew Dotson and Henry Harris\, and you’ll have a senior section that could start for most mid-major teams– maybe even major teams. The younger Bruins will have another year under their belt as well. Yet\, maybe the best news for next year’s team is the addition of 6-foot-9\, 225-pound Mick Hedgepeth. Word is that the power forward is an absolute beast. If he can be a force down low\, the puzzle is complete for the Bruins.\nI am not only excited for next year but for the next five\, 10\, 20 years or so of Belmont Bruin basketball. When the seniors graduate\, the Bruins will probably re-load with even better talent. Think about it. If you are a high school player who is a half-inch or five pounds from playing for Vanderbilt\, Memphis or UT\, wouldn’t you want to come to a school that’s making the NCAA Tournament on a yearly basis to show that you really do belong? The only thing that could hold Belmont back is losing their hunger and getting cocky. But\, under the guidance of Coach Byrd and the near taste of world-fame turned sour from the last trip\, there is zero chance of that happening. The sports world has only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg.\nJordan Drake is a junior entrepreneurship major. Email\: drake.jordan@gmail.com [mailto\:drake.jordan@gmail.com].\n“I told the guys as far as game pressure goes\, this had to rank in the top three or four\, and hopefully\, the people at Belmont take that as a real compliment because they should be complimented.”\n—Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski
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CATEGORIES:basketball,ncaa,sports
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T172643
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T185930
ORGANIZER;CN=Jordan Drake:MAILTO:drake.jordan@gmail.com
DTSTART:20080401T182200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/851
SUMMARY:One man hopes to bring healing to small West African village
DESCRIPTION:Samuel Kabia drags a buggy behind him full of soil\, plants and trash bags. Smiling\, he goes on his way to tend to Belmont’s landscape. He is slow and gentle as he passes the Pembroke boys throwing a Frisbee in the quad and the girls lying on blankets in the early spring warmth. Kabia passes these students unnoticed\, but on another side of the world\, in another country\, in the village of Rufoindu\, Sierra Leone\, Samuel Kabia is more than noticed\: he brings hope\; he brings change. But be sure to note that he didn’t achieve this status on an easy road.\nSierra Leone\, 1991\nThe diamond-rich nation had imploded into a civil war between the Revolutionary United Front rebels and the military government over control of the diamond mines (which meant control of the country’s economy and eventually\, the nation as a whole). The RUF went on a murdering\, mutilating rampage\, leaving their signature mark on the villages and communities they attacked\: severed limbs\, lips\, ears and the recruitment of child soldiers. The war would last until Jan. 18\, 2002.\nIn the meantime\, tens of thousands of people would be slaughtered and approximately two million people (more than a third of the nation’s population) would flee their homes and become refugees in neighboring countries.\nKabia\, a high school economics and geography teacher at the time\, and his wife and child were among the two million.\n“In a war situation\, everyone moves for their lives\,” Kabia said.\nThe young family took what they could and fled by foot. They walked through the day and through the night in the bush for months until they reached the small peaceful nation of The Gambia. Here\, because the Gambians couldn’t tell who was a rebel and who wasn’t\, Kabia’s family was scrutinized and questioned before being put in a refugee camp with about 300 others like them. Even here\, things would not be easy.\n“In the camp\, you had to fight for your food. You had to go into to the bush and hunt to feed your family\,” Kabia said.\nA while later\, the United Nations recognized and registered the camp and began sending food\, but 50 bags of rice for 300 people was still not enough.\nKabia continued to teach\, this time in The Gambia at Hermitage High School\, the only government-funded high school in the country.\nIn 1995\, Kabia applied to Catholic Charities of Tennessee\, Inc.\, a humanitarian organization that had been helping refugees in The Gambia\, for relocation to the United States. It took six years\, five interviews and a barrage of health screenings before they approved the Kabias\, who had added one more child to the family.\nAmerica\, 2001\nAnd on Sept. 11\, 2001\, the Kabias waited in the Gambian airport to catch a flight to the United States. Of course\, the series of terrorist attacks in America that day would not allow them to travel. \n“It was the worst time I had experienced in my life\,” Kabia said. “I have no words to describe it.” Before they left the camp\, certain they would not be returning\, they had sold all their food\, their mattresses\, their home\, everything\, and now they had nothing and didn’t know when they would be traveling. So they borrowed and asked friends for help until Sept. 26 when word came that it was time for them to go to America.\n“I didn’t know we were coming to Nashville until we got to immigrations\,” Kabia said. At the Nashville airport\, Catholic Charities of Tennessee\, Inc. received them.\n“Catholic Charities helped us find a place to stay and a job for three months\,” Kabia said. After that they were on their own.\nThey helped Kabia find a job at Belmont University working in landscaping. He met Belmont’s director of international education\, Kathy Skinner\, who was able to have his college credits transferred from Sierra Leone to Belmont for him to do his undergraduate studies in business administration. Beginning in 2002 when he began his classes\, he has helped tend Belmont’s gardens. Belmont paid for his undergrad studies\, a benefit to university employees.\n“[The job] serves a dual purpose for me\,” Kabia said. “It is a job I get paid for\, and it allows me to go to school here\: I wouldn’t be able to pay [the fees] otherwise.”\nKabia says his boss is also very flexible with his hours\, which helps him juggle school life as well as home life. Kabia is also grateful to be working outdoors because he always worked indoors as a teacher back home and he appreciates the different environment.\nSierra Leone\, 2005\nIn 2005\, he graduated and decided to go back “to visit my people.” What he found in Rufoindu in Sierra Leone was not the village he remembered.\n“[The rebels] had burned the whole village… [and] many children had become orphans\,” Kabia said. The war had left the people with nothing but “extreme poverty\, diseases” and little or no educational resources. The Catholic Charities had built some houses for some families\, but one fact was clear\:\nThe village would never be as it once was.\nKabia decided to do whatever he could to help the orphans who had survived the war. So he returned to America\, began graduate school at Belmont\, and founded the non-profit organization\,\n“Rufoindu Education Project for Orphan Children.” Its mission is to “provide functional literacy for orphans and vulnerable children and educational resources to communities in Africa.” Essentially\, Kabia would start a school in Rufoindu from American soil with the help of the American people. The first group of people Kabia turned to for assistance was the Belmont community.\nBelmont gave him chairs\, tables and school supplies to fill 10 suitcases. But the problem came when he didn’t have enough money for shipping. Kabia went into overdrive\, working in landscaping from 7 a.m.- 3 p.m.\, then from 4\:30 p.m. to midnight\, he would work at Burger King and then deal with homework and class projects through the wee hours. “I would sleep between one and three hours a day\, sometimes I didn’t sleep at all\,” Kabia said. “All I could think of was getting the money to pay for the shipping.” In 2006\, he shipped the supplies.\nHe wrote letters to people and organizations that he thought could help\, trying to get them to understand the situation in Rufoindu and the importance of education for the orphans in a few paragraphs. He worked hard to get the organization approved as a non-profit with 501(c)(3) status so any funds donated to its cause are tax-deductible. In the letters\, he coaxed people with this fact\; he let them know exactly where their money was going and what it was being spent on. Any extra money he made\, he sent to the development of the school. Rufoindu provided labor to build what is now a five-classroom school\, and he provided the money for the material that would be used\, food\, and other needs. The current project on the site is a library.\nKabia acknowledges that it is a challenge to keep this up and running\, but he is willing to make the sacrifices because he realizes the importance of education.\n“I want to make [the orphans] self-sufficient\,” Kabia said. “If somebody is hungry you do not just send food to them all the time\, you teach them how to make food.”\nA family’s future\, 2008\nKabia also uses this project to remind his three children – the last was born in America – of where they come from.\n“I don’t want them to forget about Africa. I always want them to remember that we came from a poor family. I want to give them culture and responsibility and let them know that America is not everything\: there are people suffering in the world.”\nKabia hopes that one day he will be able to take his children to Rufoindu to see their home for themselves. But these are not the only people he hopes to take to the once-crippled village. He is trying to organize an exchange program where people interested in teaching as well as people who have contributed to the school in some way will be able to visit the school.\n“It is important for them to see where their money is going\,” he said. This is still in the works.\nNow he is trying to raise money to ship the 20 computers Belmont donated to his school. Then a Belmont student from Kenya\, Kipkosgei Magut\, got involved.\n“I helped Samuel with coming up with ideas for the fundraising event\, we had many meetings on deciding what was a good event for [the] Belmont community\,” said Magut. “At first we thought of having a running competition\, but that didn’t sail through. We wanted something that would capture the talent in Belmont and would also enhance its learning.”\nThey settled on a rock show scheduled for April 10 where Belmont students will be able to sing\, play music and raise money for the orphans in Rufoindu. Magut and Kabia are trying to make it so that students can get convo credit. For Magut\, this project is more than a pastime.\n“I got involved with this program because I was so touched by what Samuel Kabia is doing\,” said Magut. “I felt that the orphan children of Sierra Leone need someone to stand for them. They need me… and they need us\: they need [all] of Belmont to help them attain their goals in life.”\nAs for Kabia\, as he still tries to scrub images of the war from his memory\, he does what he can to make the memory of the war fade for the orphans as well.\n“I am alive and that is all. There is no point in carrying the sorrow of it on my head\,” he said. “Many people are dead now and those people who have been killed suffer more than I do because they cannot help make the world better. Now is the time to move ahead. All I can do now is help those who are alive.”   \n
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CATEGORIES:news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T173455
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T185949
ORGANIZER;CN=Adaeze Elechi\, Managing Editor/Features:MAILTO:adaezeelechi@yahoo.com
DTSTART:20080401T182800
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/852
SUMMARY:Dual 'Millies' shine with style
DESCRIPTION:For Millie Dillmount\, arriving as a fresh-faced young woman on the streets of 1922 New York is a thrilling\, if daunting\, first lesson in the art of making it big. The experience is very much the same for Paige Salter and Mallory Gleason\, who share the title role in “Thoroughly Modern Millie\,” the latest offering from the Belmont musical theatre program opening this weekend.\n“I can relate [to Millie’s journey] because I am from Chattanooga which is a fairly small town\,” said Salter\, who plans on pursuing musical theatre professionally after graduation. She looks forward to the day she can make her own mark on the Big Apple\, very similar to the first scene of the show in which Millie arrives in Gotham.\nGleason\, who fills Millie’s tap shoes on alternating nights\, can also see herself in the musical’s familiar storyline.\n“I strive for what is above and beyond what is normally expected of people that come from where I am from\,” said Gleason of Millie’s journey. “I know that feeling of having a lot of strength and then having a reality check when it really doesn’t pan out.”\nMillie is a girl of modern sensibilities – as modern as her 1922 setting will allow. She decides to marry for money instead of love and finds herself in the employment of the wealthy Trevor Graydon\, who puts her on a tongue-twisting stenography speed test before even hiring her. The addition of another suitor\, Jimmy Smith\, provides for a juicy love triangle. By the time Mrs. Meers\, a hotel owner running an underground white slavery ring\, is thrown into the mix\, the plot is thick with great comedic potential set to a backdrop of prohibition-era flappers and speakeasies.\nPart of relating such a big story to the audience is having a cast that can tell it with energy to spare. For that\, director Marjorie Halbert double cast many of the principal roles. Those performers have learned at least two completely different tracks since the production started rehearsals in January. This means that in addition to learning the songs\, lines and choreography of one major role in the full-scale musical\, all of these students have also learned an entirely different role they will perform the next evening.\n“We get half the rehearsal time we normally should\,” said Gleason. “Having to develop four minor characters and a major character [is] definitely a challenge.”\n“It’s been pretty crazy at times\,” said Salter. “Sometimes I’ve felt kind of lost on stage.”\nHowever\, all of the actors involved are grateful for the process in the long run as it allows more people to have key roles on their resumes before entering the professional world.\n“I think we’ve got some really talented singers and the choreography that Anne [McAlexander] has done is incredible\,” said Salter. “It has been really challenging but I think that it will make the stage explode with movement and energy. It’s going to look great.”\n“Millie is the hardest role I’ve ever played in that she’s an ing&eacute\;nue but not your typical ing&eacute\;nue because she has a lot of spunk\,” said Gleason. The show\, which took home six Tony Awards in 2002\, has a handful of complex songs\, difficult both for the musicians who play them and the performers who sing them.\n“My favorite is the song ‘Gimme\, Gimme\,’” said Salter\, “which is really the climax for Millie’s character. It’s the point in her journey when she makes a definite decision and she finally knows what she wants.”\n“Gimme\, Gimme” also inspired the nicknames (“Fly Dove” and “Sing Sparrow”) the two casts have dubbed themselves in order to keep straight which roles they are responsible for at each performance. It’s an intricate system that ought to provide an increased layer of enjoyment for audience members who decide to see both casts interpret the show.\nThe entire experience has been a rewarding process for the actors.\n“It was really wonderful working with Paige\,” said Gleason\, who counts collaborating with her talented peers as the most satisfying part of the production. “I share the part with her [. . .] and we can both relate to the experience. We are both there and we are both doing it.”
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CATEGORIES:thoroughly-modern-millie,aande,theater
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T174044
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190017
ORGANIZER;CN=Andrew Cole\, A&E Editor:MAILTO:atc287@comcast.net
DTSTART:20080401T183600
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/853
SUMMARY:L&#243\;rien plots next career move
DESCRIPTION:L&oacute\;rien and Belmont University have always seemed to have a symbiotic relationship. All five band members (Kaleb Jones\, Thomas Doeve\, David Deaton\, Chase Gregory and Cara Pollock) attend Belmont and began playing together two and a half years ago. Their first show was the 2005 Pop/Rock Showcase.\n“It was kind of a disaster\, but no worries\, it got better as time went on\,” said singer Kaleb Jones.\nAnd it appears things have become better for them. Since their formation\, they have had many accomplishments\, including the recording and self-release of a six-song EP entitled “The Ghost in the Parlor.” Most recently\, they were named the winner of the 2008 Rock Showcase.\nOf course\, the fact that they are all full-time college students doesn’t make things any easier\, especially when trying to plan tours.\n“For any kind of extensive out-of-town [touring]\, we just wait until we have a good block of time off from school and then we cram as much into that as possible\,” said Jones.\nThe time they do spend in class is still mostly devoted to music. Jones\, Gregory and Deaton are all majoring in music business. Pollock is a commercial music major and Doeve an audio engineering technology major.\nWhile Jones did admit that his education has taught him quite a bit about what not to do in the music industry\, he also said\, “I’ve learned more about the music industry being in a band and taking it seriously and being professional about it than I have sitting in class. [. . .] I think the best experience is just doing it and going out and making it happen yourself.”\nUsing a combination of the knowledge they have gained from experience and from the classroom\, L&oacute\;rien have started recording a new\, full-length album entitled “Esque.”\n“It’s based on the whole idea that all of our music is this amalgamation of experiences and reactions and interactions and we can’t really be without being a product of everything around us—our experiences and our friends and our loves and hates. Our music is basically just a reflection of everything we see and react to\,” said Jones.\nWith “Esque\,” L&oacute\;rien plan to join the ever-growing population of independent artists exercising complete control over their music. They are no longer working with Andy Hunt\, who produced their “The Ghost in the Parlor” EP and who has also worked with well-known artists such as Jars of Clay\, Buddy Guy and Smash Mouth. Instead\, they are self-producing the album with Doeve engineering the recording sessions at Paper Swan\, the band’s home studio\, and Starstruck Studios on Music Row.\nAlthough the band has traded e-mails with different labels and participated in various showcases\, they are not making a record contract their top priority at this time.\n“Right now\, labels can only do so much that we can’t do for ourselves\, so we’re going to build our equity for as long as possible until people are lining up for us\,” said Jones.\nIt’s not unusual for a college band to break off from one another and go their own separate ways after graduation. This\, however\, is not the case with L&oacute\;rien\; they plan on focusing all of their effort on the band.\n“After we graduate\, our two main goals are to finish the record\, make it as perfect as we possibly can\,” said Jones. The band also plans on devoting several weeks to developing their live show and turning it into a true production\, citing bands such as Mute Math and Muse as examples.\nWhatever the future holds\, L&oacute\;rien seem determined to continue and better what they are doing.\n“After [the album’s completion]\, we’re going to jump into touring and get part-time jobs and be poor [. . .] and then go on the road.”
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CATEGORIES:aande,lorien,music
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T174900
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190033
ORGANIZER;CN=Will Hoekenga\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:hoekengaw@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080401T184500
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/854
SUMMARY:Bradshaw relies on talent\, not  name
DESCRIPTION:She’s a 20-year-old blue-eyed blonde who drives a Mercedes CLK350\; she’s an aspiring country music singer and cast member in the reality show “Nashville”\; her dad\, Terry Bradshaw\, is a former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and “FOX NFL Sunday” co-host\; the Google search engine generates over 24 pages of press releases\, photo galleries and stories about her life. But beneath all the glitter and glam\, Rachel Terry Bradshaw is a small-town girl with a heart for adventure.  \n“I moved to Nashville from my hometown of Westlake\, Texas\, right out of high school\, and when I got here I didn’t know anyone. I was overwhelmed thinking\, ‘Where do I begin?’” Bradshaw said. Currently a junior at Belmont University\, she’s pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business while working at RCA Records under A&R representative Jim Catino. “I spend most of my time playing guitar\, taking voice lessons and writing songs\,” she said. “It’s been my dream since I was 10 years old to be a performer.”\nBradshaw took lessons from her first vocal coach\, Pat Borden\, until she passed away in 1999. “I’ve wanted to keep singing for her\,” Bradshaw said.\nHer father also had an aspiration to sing. The two have done some duets in the past including\n“Crazy” by Patsy Cline. Bradshaw said her favorite artists are George Strait\, Brad Paisley and Miranda Lambert. “They’re in the business for all the right reasons\,” she said. “It’s about authentic music.”\nErin Bradshaw\, 18\, remembers when her older sister learned how to yodel to LeAnn Rimes. “Rachel blew us all away with it\,” she said. “I have no doubt in my mind that in 10 years she will be singing in big stadiums and taking home CMA awards.”\nAside from working hard to achieve her dreams\, Erin says Rachel enjoys spending time with friends and family. “She’s a social butterfly\, I guess you could say\,” Erin said. “But when she comes home to visit\, she wants to spend all her time with our family.” The Bradshaw sisters have a tradition of watching Rachel’s favorite TV show\, “Friends\,” and talking about their lives. “She’s my best friend\,” the two said of one another.\nGrowing up in a family that was always in the eye of the media\, Rachel and Erin Bradshaw remember times being difficult. “Just because of our last name\, people would say we were ‘snobs’ in middle and high school\,” said Erin. “We never really understood the impact our dad’s fame had on our lives until we started getting judged like that.”\nRachel said\, “It’s still hard a lot of times because many people are fake\, and I can’t tell if they want to be friends with me for the right reasons.”\nBradshaw says her dad is supportive of her dream to succeed in the entertainment industry. “He gives great advice because he knows so much\,” she said. “I’m so proud of him\; he’s worked so hard to get to where he is today.”\nIt is a common presumption that it is Rachel’s last name that has influenced her success thus far. In response\, Rachel said\, “When people hear the name ‘Bradshaw\,’ they definitely turn their heads. But it just means that I have to impress them twice as much because they already have high expectations\,” she said.\nAs a child\, Bradshaw grew very close to her mother in the time her dad was working and traveling.\n“My mom and I have a great relationship\,” she said. “I can talk to her about anything.”\nYoung Bradshaw sang at Texas fairs and weddings\, rode horses\, participated in several sports including basketball\, volleyball\, cheerleading and track. But\, according to her sister\, Erin\, their favorite memories were made going on family vacations.\n“I’ve learned so much from my sister\,” Erin said. “She’s taught me how to stand up for myself and my family\, and how to work hard to achieve my dreams.” Erin described Rachel as independent\, fearless and strong. “She’s a lot like our dad\,” she said. “In watching her over the years she’s taught me not to be afraid to venture out and achieve my dreams. She’s always had a ‘get out there and accomplish it’ attitude.”\nBradshaw recently got a lot of publicity starring in the reality show “Nashville\,” which aired last September.\n“It was kind of unexpected that I was chosen\,” Bradshaw said. “I auditioned for the part after I heard about it from my agency and surprisingly they called me back.” Bradshaw enjoyed being on the show\, but said she does not feel it portrayed her as the person she really is. “I was shown as the mean girl\,” she said.\nShe has also done guest appearances with her father at the premiere of “Failure to Launch\,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “The Best Damn Sports Show Period.”\nAs her career continues to escalate\, Bradshaw is holding on to her dreams of singing to sold-out arenas in luminous spotlights. “I want to use fame to raise money for people in need\,” she said. “My grandpa has cancer\, and it is my hope that I can honor him and other patients by contributing to cancer charities.”\nWith a passionate love of music\, a strong work ethic and a heart for helping others\, Bradshaw has hopes for the future. She carries her father’s name with pride and is determined to let it shine.
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CATEGORIES:aande
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T175742
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190050
ORGANIZER;CN=Amanda French\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:frencha@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080401T185200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/855
SUMMARY:Lil Jon\, Spoon headline Vandy's Rites of Spring
DESCRIPTION:Vanderbilt’s Rites of Spring will bring everything from crunk to folk to Nashville\, as the annual event brings another eclectic line-up to its stage.\nThis year’s festival\, scheduled April 18-19 on the university’s Alumni Lawn has indie rockers Spoon at the top of its line-up for Friday’s show and rapper Lil John on Saturday.\nOther acts include Colbie Caillat\, Old Crow Medicine Show\, Feist\, Hill Country Revue\, the Avett Brothers\, DJ Kool\, Jeremy Lister\, Randy Rogers Band\, H-Beam and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.\nRites of Spring\, an effort of the Vanderbilt Programming Board’s Music Group\, told insidevandy.com [http\://www.insidevandy.com]\, “I think Lil John will bring a fantastic level of energy for the Vanderbilt student community as well as the greater Nashville area that hasn’t been seen on Alumni Lawn. And Spoon will bring a twist to the rock ’n’ roll sound I think everyone will enjoy.”\nTickets are available at all Ticketmaster locations at ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster outlets throughout Nashville. Tickets may also be purchased by cash or check\, with no service fees\, at Vanderbilt’s Sarratt box office. Admission on a one-day pass is $35\; a weekend pass purchased in advance is $45\; and a weekend pass purchased April 18 is $55.
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CATEGORIES:rites-of-spring,aande,vanderbilt
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T180124
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190101
DTSTART:20080401T185800
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/861
SUMMARY:De Novo Dahl has major label CD
DESCRIPTION:When the band was founded in 2001\, it is highly unlikely that anyone in De Novo Dahl expected that seven years later they would be signed to one of the most prolific metal labels in the business. Considering that Roadrunner Records is filled with bands named things like “DevilDriver” and “Cradle of Filth\,” it would surprise anyone that a quirky pop quintet from Nashville would be anywhere near their radar.\nNevertheless\, De Novo Dahl was signed to the label in 2007 in an attempt to diversify the label’s output in a bout of signings that included non-metal acts like Airborne\, Dresden Dolls and New York Dolls. They have since gone on tour supporting Hot Hot Heat\, played at Next Big Nashville\, made two music videos\, released an EP entitled “Shout\,” and performed at an official Roadrunner showcase at the annual South by Southwest Festival in Austin\, Texas\, all hot on the heals of their major label debut.\nBassist Keith Lowen\, a former Belmont student\, spoke with The Vision about their first fully produced music video and the explosively hateful reaction to it from metal fans.\nVision\: Since you’ve been on this big tour\, how is the world outside of Nashville treating the band?\nKeith Lowen\: The world outside of Nashville has been treating the band very well. Every show we play\, I think\, goes over really well. We haven’t been selling our new album yet\, obviously\, but all the stuff we’ve had to sell has been selling well. We’ve been getting a good reaction\; people are always surprised that we’re from Nashville because we’ve got that country stigma to it. But\, yeah\, its been going over really well.\nVision\: The metalheads online are really not happy about De Novo Dahl or the “Shout” video. Did you expect that kind of reaction?\nLowen\: I don’t know. We’re on a metal label\, it’s been a very traditional metal label with very hardcore metal fans—of the label itself—that have been trained that anything that comes out of Roadrunner is going to be metal and it’s going to be hardcore and its going to be good—good metal. And we’re kind of the opposite of that\, so it’s not surprising at all that there’s a reaction. We’ve been kinda going around as a joke saying\, “March 25 is the day that metal is going to die.” When we’ve got all these metalheads around we talk to them about the album and it’s that old saying that “no publicity is bad publicity.” We’ve definitely used their hate to our advantage.\nVision\: There’s some other bands on Roadrunner that aren’t metal bands like Dresden Dolls. Do you know if they’ve faced the same kind of anger.\nLowen\: Not Dresden Dolls\, really. They’re scary enough that they get respect\, I think. But I  think that since we’re clearly the most different\, we get more heat than anybody else. But I think a lot of those real hardcore Roadrunner fans are just mad in general about the change in direction of the label and it’s just that De Novo Dahl is the most clear example of it.\nVision\: There were also a lot of nice things said by supporters\, so there is a balance.\nLowen\: When you get anybody passionate about anything\, that’s a good thing. If you can make someone hate something enough\, there are probably going to be people out there that are going to love it.\nDe Novo Dahl’s major label debut\, “Move Every Muscle Make Every Sound” released on March 25 at most major record stores including Grimey’s. The band also plans on performing live throughout the summer\, including festival appearances at Lollapalooza\, Bonnaroo and All Points West.
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CATEGORIES:aande,music
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080402T150043
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190124
ORGANIZER;CN=Lance Conzett\, Online Editor:MAILTO:conzettl@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080402T155600
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/862
SUMMARY:Dear rock 'n' roll fans
DESCRIPTION:    We need to talk. I’ll be honest with you--recent experiences have left me ashamed to number myself among your ranks. The behavior I have seen is appalling. I feel like we’ve lost touch with what rock ‘n’ roll is and what our role as an audience should be at a concert. And that makes me sad.\n    Here’s the deal\:  rock ‘n’ roll is an inherently physical means of artistic expression. You know this. One of the major differences between listening to a Mozart violin concerto and listening to “Kashmir” is that the former inspires a static\, esoteric listening experience while the latter makes you want to get up and bang your head to the beat. And that\, my friends\, is exactly what you should do--especially at a rock concert.\n    You see\, rock concerts are social events\, meaning that the audience participation is essential for them to work properly. Maybe we have a hard time understanding this because we’re always listening to music in the isolated world of our earbuds and have thus divorced the concept of social interaction from our experience of music. But rock concerts are categorically different experiences from listening to an iPod—experiences that require standing up\, dancing\, singing along\, and interacting with fellow audience members. Unfortunately\, I have noticed a lack of such behavior and even hostility toward it.\nTwo years ago at a U2 concert\, several aged audience members petitioned me to sit my buttocks (I think they used a different word) back down in my seat after I had stood up to welcome the band’s arrival onstage. Since then\, I have encountered similar requests from audience members over 40 at other concerts I have attended. Now\, hear me out\, I am not picking on old people. Seriously\, I welcome your presence at any concert I attend. Since rock concerts are social events\, they function to bring people from different backgrounds together. Having someone from a different generation beside me reinforces my connection with the culture at large and thus combats iPod isolationism. And I understand that standing up for the whole concert might not be possible for your less-than-youthful body. I don’t look down on you for sitting down to rest.\nBut please\, understand when you purchase your ticket that\, as I have said\, rock concerts involve physical participation\, and the people in front of you WILL stand up once the show starts. And also know that the very nature of rock music will automatically cancel out any angry-father/mother requests you may make of those around you. When those unkind fans tried to stifle my fun at the U2 concert\, the message of righteous rebellion coming from Edge’s guitar and Larry’s drums were much more convincing\, not to mention louder\, than the grumpy groanings coming from behind me. Rock music is rebellious. So if you act like The Man\, expect to be rebelled against.\nThe angry over-the-hill concertgoer\, however\, is not the chief of sinners. He/she has perhaps forgotten the youthful euphoria that is rock ‘n’ roll’s aim\, so his/her behavior is almost excusable. What I find absolutely inexcusable is the refusal to participate exhibited by hip-looking late teens and twenty-somethings who insist on looking “cool” instead of participating with the rest of us.\nWhen I saw Wilco play at the Ryman on March 2\, I was shocked to see so many people my age stoically sitting in their seats in the balcony throughout the entire show. Seated behind me\, for example\, was the perfect hipster gentleman wearing the requisite pearl-snap shirt and sporting glasses that would make Rivers Cuomo jealous. He sat in his seats with his arms crossed throughout the entire concert. Not even the infectious “Pot Kettle Black” could stir this music expert from his self-imposed stasis.\nPeople\, this is not acceptable. Unless you have a physical disability\, you should be on your feet pumping your fist to the beat. I know you like what you’re hearing because you wouldn’t have paid $40 to see it if you didn’t. I guess no one has ever told you this\, so let me\:  it is OK for you to act like you are having a good time and physically express the joy the music makes you feel. You can’t be happy sitting there on your hands trying to look sophisticated. God knows I look like an idiot when I flail my scrawny arms and sing at the top of my lungs\, but I can guarantee that I’m having a better time than you are.\nWith all of that said\, dear audience\, I hope you don’t think that my words have been too harsh. I do not aim to insult\, but rather to speak the truth in love. I am deeply committed to the power of rock music as a means of artistic expression\, and I know that you are too. So please\, let’s remember the reason we liked this stuff in the first place. Let’s get out of our seats and show the world that rock is not dead. It’s up to us.\n                    Sincerely\,\n                    Jason Hardy
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CATEGORIES:music,opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:4
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080402T151540
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190152
ORGANIZER;CN=Jason Hardy:MAILTO:hardyj@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080402T161300
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/863
SUMMARY:Regina Spektor finally arrives at Ryman
DESCRIPTION:On November 14\, 2007\, Regina Spektor collapsed on stage at the Ryman Auditorium during her sound check. The Russian-born anti-folk pianist was rushed to Vanderbilt where she was treated for an ear-infection that caused vertigo\, but wasn’t able to perform that night—much to the chagrin of the hundreds who turned out to see her.\nIt took four months for Spektor to reschedule her Nashville date\, including one false start in December\, but on February 27\, 2008\, ticket holders migrated back to the Ryman for some intense d&eacute\;j&agrave\; vu. Even after opening act Only Son finished his set\, some people in the crowd remained skeptical.\n “This is just like last time\,” lamented a girl in the row behind me\, “somebody’s gonna come out and say ‘Sorry guys\, she fainted again.’” They began to formulate a plan B\, in case the show gets cancelled a third time\, but I remained optimistic. “She wouldn’t abandon us again\,” I thought. That kind of cruelty would never be perpetuated by the piecework image of Regina Spektor I’ve constructed out of her songs\, clips off YouTube and an interview in The Onion.\nOur patience finally paid off because\, soon enough\, the lights dimmed and Spektor strolled out on stage wearing a dress that looked like it was made out of a disco ball. By the end of “Ain’t No Cover\,” an obscure a capella song off a live EP\, Spektor made it very clear how aware she was of the unusual circumstances of her appearance.\n“Nice to be here finally\,” she said after settling behind her piano\, “And it’s nice to be conscious on this stage.”\nWhat is interesting about Regina Spektor’s set is that she seems completely uninterested in keeping a nostalgic eye on her old records\, instead opting to perform new and\, often\, unrecorded tunes that inhabit the same spirit as previous efforts. “Baby Jesus” is a quirky and rapidly sung song about an outsider looking in on religious fanaticism reminiscent of similarly unconventional songs like “Consequence of Sounds” off “Songs\,” her second independently released album.\nWith the exception of one technicality\, the entire set was derived from Spektor’s major label releases “Soviet Kitsch” and “Begin to Hope\,” as well as the obscure and unreleased peppered in between familiar singles like “Better” and “Poor Little Rich Boy.” And while many would have liked to have heard songs like “Ne Me Quitte Pas” or anything else from “11\:11” or “Songs\,” there is no denying the quality of the newer songs. Or\, at least\, there’s no denying the quality of the piano songs. The guitar is an entirely different story.\nIn the middle of her set\, Spektor left the safety of her piano to pick up a bright cyan guitar nearby to play a grand total of two songs. The first\, “Bobbing for Apples\,” utilized two strings while the grand guitar finale\, “That Time\,” dropped down to one lone string. Spektor poked fun at her own admission about not really knowing how to play guitar joking\, “My next guitar song is just going to be a surreal implication of the idea of a guitar.”\nEven when performing an instrument that she hasn’t entirely mastered\, Spektor’s strongest suit of her skills as a songwriter and a singer shine through. Spektor is the best reason why we shouldn’t let American Idol dictate what makes a singer great. Spektor’s music bridges classical training with an unconventional style. She isn’t afraid to swallow words or drag out syllables or make unusual sounds\, often all three at once\, to punch holes in her songs and give the audience something unusual without it sounding phony.\nThrough out the night\, Spektor was extremely gracious and seemed to be in a state of amazement that so many people who had tickets to her cancelled concert four months ago would actually show up for the real deal. She told the audience\, flat out\, “It’s so cool that you all came back\, I can’t believe it.”\nSpektor shouldn’t be surprised. There is something magnetic about her music that draws people to it. When Spektor came back on stage to start her encore with “Us\,” people began to trickle forward towards the stage. It was as if her fans felt the need to make a pilgrimage to the stage to experience the last handful of songs (several of which performed with Only Son).\nThe entire night was born out of the kind of excitement that can only be created through four months of anxious waiting and the patient were rewarded with an incredible performance in the end.
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CATEGORIES:aande,music
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080402T151849
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190203
ORGANIZER;CN=Lance Conzett\, Online Editor:MAILTO:conzettl@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080402T161600
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/835
SUMMARY:Feelings mixed on CMT awards
DESCRIPTION:Once again\, the CMT Awards are being held at Belmont University’s Curb Event Center. While the event brings yearly concerns about parking and building access for students\, it also brings opportunities for student participation.\nStudents who experienced the changes on campus during the awards in previous years felt the impact of areas restricted for event use\; Grace Wilson\, a 20-year-old junior\, recalled that the “parking is insane\,” and Ashley Weyhmeyer\, a 22-year-old senior\, remembered that “for those students not involved\, it was a little intrusive\, and I kind of felt like I was being a nuisance in my own territory.” Weyhmeyer also added that “it was a little annoying that throughout the day students were not allowed in certain areas of our own campus (which we kind of pay a lot for).”\nHowever\, despite the inconvenience that the awards show inevitably seems to bring\, both students were quick to point out that they realized the show brought opportunities to Belmont students. Wilson took advantage of the free wristband passes to attend the show in 2006 and enjoys Belmont hosting the awards. Her experience was a good one.\n“Being in that environment is exciting. There is so much effort that goes into a four-hour show\; it amazes me\, the technology. I would do it all again\,” Wilson said.\nEven Weyhmeyer saw pluses in hosting the awards. “It probably looks good for connections in the music industry if we hold big events. It also gives us opportunities to be involved in the entertainment industry\,” she said.\nRon Jackson\, general manager of the Curb Event Center\, is aware of the concerns about parking and building restrictions.\n“We are accommodating as much as we can be. There is really only one day students are affected. Unfortunately\, it’s the cost of doing business\,“ Jackson said.\nHe pointed out what he considers to be “intangible” benefits of having events like this and others that draw national attention\:\n-Students work on the show.\n-Rental revenue from CMT that goes back to the general fund of the college.\n-National exposure creates relationships in the city and the United States as the NCAA Tournament has and the 2008 presidential debate will.\nFinally\, Jackson had this say\: “We don’t exist in a vacuum. It’s important for us in the city to have relationships in the city with corporations like CMT or Healthways.”\nCheck BIC [http\://www.bic.belmont.edu] for updates on building and road closures.
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CATEGORIES:cmt-awards,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080401T151046
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190216
ORGANIZER;CN=Jennifer Bauder\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:betterlife4jj@yahoo.com
DTSTART:20080405T155500
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/902
SUMMARY:2008 Bruin Den Day
DESCRIPTION:Belmont’s Student Government Association\, in partnership with Hands on Nashville\, brought together more than 150 students for the annual Bruin Den Day.\nThe students spent five hours on Saturday\, April 12\, doing service projects in the Belmont neighborhood at sites including Carter Lawrence Elementary Magnet School\, Wedgewood Community Center and Dismas House.\n“We wanted to create a meaningful service experience for students\,” said Price Rainer\, SGA president\, “yet maintain the focus on our local community. Partnering with Hands on Nashville to plug in Belmont students with local organizations was a perfect fit.”\nThis year’s Bruin Den Day marked a new focus for the annual Belmont event. The idea was to extend input into more of the neighborhood by partnering with Hands on Nashville\, which specializes in connecting groups of volunteers with organizations in need of help. \nIn years past\, students have taken requests from homeowners around Belmont’s campus and have served by mowing lawns\, washing windows\, etc.\, but this year’s broader focus served a larger community.\n “Hands On Nashville is pleased to work with Belmont’s student leaders to reach deeper into the Nashville community through volunteerism\,” said Brian Williams\, Hands On Nashville’s executive director. “Assisting Belmont students in hands-on service to eight different entities betters the community\, while actualizing our agency’s mission.”\nThe complete list of sites included Carter Lawrence Elementary Magnet School\, Dismas House\, Edgehill Center\, Hospital Hospitality House\, Lakeshore Wedgewood\, Wedgewood Community Garden\, Fall-Hamilton Enhanced Option School and The Habitat HomeStore. 
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CATEGORIES:denday,news,sga
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080415T094756
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190227
DTSTART:20080415T103900
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/909
SUMMARY:Tuition goes up
DESCRIPTION:Belmont undergraduate tuition is on the rise and will increase by 6.85 percent\, which is 2.87 percent more than the national inflation rate.\nUndergraduate tuition per hour will increase by $50. Along with the increased tuition comes a higher undergraduate fee as well as housing increases.\n“Like public and private higher education institutions everywhere\, we are facing the reality of rising costs\,” President Bob Fisher said in a letter to undergraduate students. “We continue to work hard to keep Belmont’s cost increases at a minimum while providing a superior educational experience.”\nAnd it’s not just Belmont.\nIn the past 30 years – since the parents of today’s college generation were in college – private college tuition has increased 248 percent to an average of $22\,218 annually in 2006-07\, according to the U.S. Education Department and the National Center for Education Statistics. At public four-year schools\, tuition is much lower\, but the increase is even steeper –$5\,836 in 2006-07\, up 268 percent from 1976-77.\nAccording to a Marketplace story on public radio\, college education costs are increasing while at the same time studies show college graduates are getting paid less.\n“Colleges and universities are charging more and more for a product that seems worth less and less\,” David Frum said on Marketplace. “You don’t need a college degree to figure out that cannot continue.” \nThe average increase for all graduate programs is 5.5 percent\, still more than the national inflation rate of 3.98 percent.   
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CATEGORIES:news,tuition
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T142738
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190238
ORGANIZER;CN=Liz Hunton\, Senior Writer:MAILTO:lizhunton@gmail.com
DTSTART:20080421T152300
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/910
SUMMARY:Belmont urged to fight hunger\, poverty
DESCRIPTION:As the 2008 presidential elections draw closer\, David Beckmann and Bread for the World hope that the U.S. government provides more leadership in the fight against hunger.\nBeckmann\, founder of Bread for the World and a former World Bank economist\, explained that today\, hunger and poverty are much more important issues to American voters and he attributes part of that awareness to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11\, 2001. \n“Most voters have a sense that it is not smart to neglect misery\,” he said at a lecture at Belmont about the intersection between faith\, economics and solving world hunger.\n“Most people do not think through the implications of their faith for politics or their profession\,” Beckmann told the audience of more than 100 students\, faculty and business professionals from the Nashville community.\nWhile he believes it’s critical for the fight against hunger to continue in the next administration\, he also believes that the Bush administration has been a strong force for change.\n“George W. Bush has been a really good president for Africa\,” Beckmann said\, mentioning that the United States now provides twice as much for poverty reduction than it did in 2000.\nBeckmann said in the last two decades\, the number of people in the world living on less than one dollar per day has decreased from 1.5 billion to 1 billion. \n“I think its important for people to know the world is making progress against poverty\, hunger and disease\,” he said.  “The situation still is–but especially was–very grim.”\nBeckmann serves as president of Bread for World\, an organization dedicated to advocating solutions to world hunger.  Founded in 1972\, Bread for the World is described on its Web site as “a collective Christian voice urging our nation’s decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad.”\nFor Beckmann\, substantial gains in the fight against hunger and poverty around the world can be attributed to God. “I think this is God. This is God moving in our history… on a scale that makes what happened at the Red Sea look like small potatoes\,” he said. “This is something holy… this kind of liberation from desperation is really holy.”\nBread for the World will continue to focus on federal programs as an answer for hunger in the U.S. It advocates for food stamp programs and other similar initiatives. \n
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CATEGORIES:news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T143041
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190250
ORGANIZER;CN=Melanie Bengtson\, Managing Editor/News:MAILTO:bengtsonm@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080421T152800
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/911
SUMMARY:Few details about debate made public
DESCRIPTION:With fall and the Oct. 7 Town Hall Debate getting closer\, Belmont still has few firm details.\nAlthough the university will be hosting the debate—presidential candidates\, thousands of national media representatives and much more—that’s really all it’s doing.\n“It’s their show\,” Pamela Johnson\, director of strategic marketing and special initiatives\, said about the Commission on Presidential Debates.\nThe Secret Service is working to determine the security perimeter and other issues related to the site where the presidential nominees will debate\, but there is no available information at this time.\nJohnson said she does not expect the university to know anything definitive for some months. She is confident\, however\, that “they will work to make it as little of an inconvenience as possible.”\nJohnson said the debate will bring many volunteer opportunities for students\, but she doesn’t know exactly what those will be. The university plans to get students involved through those opportunities as well as through guest speakers and convocations.  But\, again\, nothing is set for sure.\nThe debate at Belmont will be the second of three presidential debates before the election.\nThe debate on campus will have a big impact on the university\, Johnson said. “We will be put on the national map\,” she said.  “Wherever you go\, people will know where your degree came from more than they did two years ago.”
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CATEGORIES:presidential-debate,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T143550
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190305
ORGANIZER;CN=Liz Hunton\, Senior Writer:MAILTO:lizhunton@gmail.com
DTSTART:20080421T153000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/912
SUMMARY:Rumba Roast 'outgrows' SIFE
DESCRIPTION:Corner Court bustles with activity on a Monday morning. Bleary-eyed students try to jolt themselves awake with a cup o’ joe\, but it’s not Starbucks coffee these students are in line for\; it’s Rumba Roast\, a fair trade organic coffee sold – for now – by Belmont University’s SIFE team and Conexion Americas.\nSince February 2007\, SIFE – Students in Free Enterprise – has worked hand in hand with Conexion Americas\, an organization that benefits Nashville’s Hispanic population\, to create and sell the coffee\, and this month the Belmont group will hand the business over completely to Conexion Americas\, which has been the goal since the beginning.\nThe business became a revenue source for Conexion. The organization\, according to Jose Gonzalez\, adviser and co-founder\, “helps Latino families realize aspirations for economic and social opportunities.”\nBecause it’s a fair trade coffee\, it also aids coffee bean farmers in Latin America. According to the Web site\, www.RumbaRoast.com [http\://www.RumbaRoast.com]\, farmers “are paid a sustainable price for their product that allows them to better support their businesses and families. Fair Trade also means farmers work under fair labor and environmentally sound conditions.”\nFrom the outset\, Belmont’s participation in the venture was temporary.\n“We wanted to build the business and give it away\,” said John Gonas\, assistant professor of finance at Belmont and a leader of SIFE. Gonas said they have used the project to teach local Hispanics how to run a business. Now\, he believes it’s time to “get their hands out of it” and let Conexion take over completely.\n“We’ve had successes and failures [with Rumba Roast]\,” Gonzalez said. “I hope Conexion can take it and leverage it and continue to grow it…It will be a challenge to find the human capacity to continue to push the product in a way that doesn’t interfere with ongoing projects.”\nBut Daisy Johnson\, the SIFE member who is project leader of Rumba Roast\, is optimistic that Conexion Americas will be able to handle the transition with ease. According to her\, members of Conexion are doing a good job learning to manage the business and the coffee blend has even been outselling Starbucks at Corner Court.\nIf nothing else\, Gonzalez thinks the project has been a wonderful learning experience.“I hope students experienced real life challenges and opportunities\,” he said. “It’s great how an experience like this teaches them about business and themselves.”\n
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CATEGORIES:rumba-roast,news,sife
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T144002
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190317
ORGANIZER;CN=Courtney Drake\, Editor:MAILTO:courtneydrake@hotmail.com
DTSTART:20080421T153600
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/913
SUMMARY:Entrepreneurs active\, accomplished
DESCRIPTION:Giving the Rumba Roast project over to Conexion Americas isn’t SIFE’s only recent activity. In March\, at the SIFE competition in Atlanta\, they added a third regional championship to their awards\, marking the third consecutive year they will attend the national competition since the Belmont SIFE chapter began in 2005. \nSIFE is judged based on their work in six categories\: business ethics\, entrepreneurship\, financial literacy\, market economics\, success skills and sustainability. Besides Rumba Roast\, the service projects they are involved with include 100 Kings\, a college preparatory organization for black high school students\; Thistle Farms\, a group that focuses on the rehabilitation of women with a history of  addiction or prostitution\; and the Refugee Resettlement Guide\, which helps new refugees entering Nashville transition to the new environment.\nThe SIFE team was also awarded a $1\,500 prize at the regional competition for winning their league. Additionally\, they were the only school in the Top 20 project competition to win for three projects\, including their work with Burundi refugees\, Thistle Farms and the Nashville School for the Blind. They received $1\,000 per project win.\n“I’m overwhelmed it’s come so quickly to this place\,” John Gonas said of SIFE’s growth. The group\, which provides service opportunities to students interested in business\, began “as a hobby” with 12 members and five service projects and now includes more than 30 members from various majors and 16 service projects. \n“We think service-learning should be an important part of the college experience\,” said Gonas. “It’s part of your personal outreach\, and it’s not only serving\, it’s teaching.“My goal is for [service-learning] to be a culture on campus.”\nAccording to Gonas\, SIFE follows the idea of “teaching a man to fish\, not just giving him a fish.” The group teaches others with the ultimate goal of the students understanding the material so well that they can teach it to others. \nJohnson\, a junior accounting major\, has been in SIFE since her sophomore year. “SIFE is an amazing organization\,” she said.  “Everybody’s so excited about the people they serve that it makes me excited.  I didn’t know such amazing people existed.”\nGonas\, who said he is honored to be involved\, echoed the sentiment. “I enjoy seeing the transformation [service learning] does in students\,” he said.\nBelmont’s SIFE team will attend the national SIFE competition in Chicago in May. In the 2007 national competition\, Belmont SIFE was ranked No. 8 and received the grand prize for an anti-piracy public service announcement they made to discourage illegal music downloads among college students.\n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:rumba-roast,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T144212
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190345
ORGANIZER;CN=Courtney Drake\, Editor:MAILTO:courtneydrake@hotmail.com
DTSTART:20080421T154000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/914
SUMMARY:Shame of rape prevents reports
DESCRIPTION:While the campus crime reports do not reflect rape on Belmont’s campus\, this act of violence often goes unreported because of the stigma it carries.\nThis hasn’t changed over the decades\, said Peg Leonard-Martin\, director of counseling at Belmont. “It makes me sad that it has remained the same since I was college-aged.”\nThe media has only helped to perpetuate it\, she said. “I think the society continues to objectify women as sexual objects.”\nMany victims fear reporting the violence\, she said. “Usually the event is so traumatic\, a person is violated in so many ways\, that all of her senses are overwhelmed\,” Martin said. \n“The trauma is just on so many levels from the act of violence all the way through the recovery process. When you’re a victim of an act of violence you lose complete control of yourself and your life\,” she said.\nSometimes the stigma can be even more prominent on a religious campus\, but it seems to stretch across all communities\, Leonard-Martin said.\n“Some students I have worked with have expressed how deeply ashamed they feel because of their religious beliefs. The self-blame victims experience can be exacerbated by not wanting anyone to know in a Christian community\,” she said.\nCounseling services is well equipped to help a rape victim\, and they don’t have to report the rape if the victim doesn’t want to. “The bedrock\, the foundation is confidentiality. We know a victim is terrified about people finding out\,” she said.\n“We also get a fair amount of anonymous calls from students who don’t want to report it but want help\,” Martin said. She gives these students resources outside of the Belmont community. \nThis means the students who decide not to report aren’t added to the crime report. The counseling center does not have the number of rape victims it helps available because it doesn’t separate the different students who come in.\n“No matter what the numbers at the counseling center are\, they would be underreported\,” Martin said. “I just can’t imagine that Belmont can be immune to something that is happening in every community across the country.”\nThe counselors\, including Martin\, work with the victims to bring them through the recovery process including addressing the pros and cons of reporting the rape. “It’s whatever the person can tolerate\,” Martin said.\n“Our initial response is to comfort and attend to all the trauma that has occurred and to repeat over and over that it is not the victim’s fault\,” she said. \n
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CATEGORIES:news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T144537
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190357
ORGANIZER;CN=Liz Hunton:MAILTO:lizhunton@gmail.com
DTSTART:20080421T154200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/915
SUMMARY:Sex offenses detailed in Tennessee state law
DESCRIPTION:The Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System defines four forcible sex offenses and two non- forcible sex offenses.\nThe forcible sex offenses include forcible rape\, forcible sodomy\, sexual assault with an object and forcible fondling. Forcible sex offenses are defined as\: “Any sexual act directed against another person\, forcibly and/or against that person’s will\; or not forcibly or against the person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent.” The non-forcible offenses include incest and statutory rape. Non- forcible sex offenses are defined as\, “Unlawful\, non-forcible sexual intercourse.” The following are the definitions of the offenses as found in the TIBRS Data Collection Manual (pages 81-83)\:   \nForcible rape\n The carnal knowledge of a person\, forcibly and/or against that person’s will\; or not forcibly or against that person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity (or because of his/her youth).\nForcible sodomy\n Oral or anal sexual intercourse with another person\, forcibly and/or against that person’s will\; or not forcibly or against the person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her youth or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.\nSexual assault with an object\n To use an object or instrument to unlawfully penetrate\, however slightly\, the genital or anal opening of the body of another person\, forcibly and/or against that person’s will\; or not forcibly or against the person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her youth or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.\nForcible fondling\n The touching of the private body parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification\, forcibly and/or against the person’s will\; or not forcibly or against the person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her youth or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental incapacity.\n
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CATEGORIES:news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T145002
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190408
ORGANIZER;CN=Liz Hunton\, Senior Writer:MAILTO:lizhunton@gmail.com
DTSTART:20080421T154700
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/916
SUMMARY:It's time to talk
DESCRIPTION:Sexual assault is obviously an unconventional topic for both the Vision and the Belmont community. I have been a student here for three years and I don’t recall there ever being a dialogue about this subject. Until this story idea came up\, I had no idea what resources were available on campus in case it ever happened to me or one of my friends. \nThankfully\, research has shown that Belmont offers a wealth of resources to victims of sexual assault. According to Terry White\, director of Campus Security\, there hasn’t been a reported sexual assault on campus in five years. The key word in that sentence\, however\, is “reported.”\nThe idea of a series of stories on sexual assault came from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s 2007 Campus Crime report\, which showed that the number of reported rapes on Vanderbilt University’s campus quadrupled in 2007 to 13 up from three in 2006.  While 13 may not seem like very many\, the real number is likely much higher. \nRape remains the most underreported crime in the United States because of the shame associated with the violation of such a personal and sacred area of a woman’s life.  We at the Vision feel it is a subject that deserves to be brought to light and discussed with no preconceived notions of awkwardness\, sensitivity or shame. The very reasons we might hesitate to write about it are the very reasons that victims of sexual assault do not report the crime. And it is time for that to change.\n
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CATEGORIES:commentary
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T145921
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190423
ORGANIZER;CN=Melanie Bengtson\, Managing Editor/News:MAILTO:bengtsonm@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080421T155700
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/917
SUMMARY:Who are victims of sexual assault?
DESCRIPTION:According to the Rape Abuse and Incest Network\:\n• One out of every six American women have been the victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime (14.8 percent completed rape\; 2.8 percent attempted rape).\n• 17.7 million American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape.\n•  Nine  of every 10 rape victims in 2003 were female.\n• About 3 percent of American men — or 1 in 33 — have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.\n• Ages12-34 are the highest risk years.\n• Girls ages 16-19 are four times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape\, attempted rape or sexual assault.\n• College-aged women are four times more likely to be sexually assaulted\n• In 2006\, there were 272\,350 victims of rape\, attempted rape or sexual assault. (These figures do not include victims 12-years-old or younger.)\n• Sixty percent of rapes/sexual assaults are not reported to the police. Those rapists\, of course\, never spend a day in prison according to a statistical average of the past five years. Factoring in unreported rapes\, only about 6 percent of rapists ever serve a day in jail.\n• Almost two-thirds of rapes were committed by someone known to the victim.\n    • Seventy-three percent of sexual assaults were perpetrated by a non-stranger.\n    • Thirty-eight percent of rapists are a friend or acquaintance.\n    • Twenty-eight percent are an intimate.\n    • Seven percent are a relative.\n• Victims of sexual assault are\: three times more likely to suffer from depression\; six times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder\; 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol\; 26 times more likely to abuse drugs\; four times more likely to contemplate suicide.\nhttp\://www.rainn.org/statistics [http\://www.rainn.org/statistics]\n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T150203
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190433
ORGANIZER;CN=Liz Hunton\, Senior Writer:MAILTO:lizhunton@gmail.com
DTSTART:20080421T155900
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/918
SUMMARY:BU Security focuses on assault prevention
DESCRIPTION:Terry White\, director of Belmont’s Office of Campus Security\, addressed the issue of sexual assault.\nIs sexual assault a problem on Belmont’s campus?\nBelmont has a low number of problems with sexual assault\, Terry White\, director of the Office of Campus Security\, said. “I’m very proud of our low crime rate... all the way around\, especially where crimes against persons are concerned\,” he said.\nDo you think this is because sexual assault isn’t a problem or because it goes underreported?\n“Rape is historically the most underreported crime because of the nature of it\,” White said. But White doesn’t think this is the only reason Belmont’s sexual assault numbers are so low.\nThe Tennessee Bureau of Investigation recently released its 2007 campus crime report. One set of numbers showed no sexual assaults on Belmont’s campus\, another set within the report showed two forcible rapes and one forcible fondling. Can you explain this discrepancy?\nNo on-campus sexual assaults have been reported in the last four or five years\, White said.  The Nashville Metro Police Department reported the set of numbers indicating sexual assaults. What this means is that Belmont students reported that they were assaulted\, but not on campus\, White said.\nHow are Belmont’s sexual assault numbers tabulated?\nThe numbers are based on students reporting\, White said. “That’s the only true indicator we have to go on.”\nHow does Belmont define the varying degrees of sexual assault?\nBelmont uses the same definitions as the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation including forcible rape\, forcible sodomy\, sexual assault with an object and forcible fondling.\nThe bureau defines rape as the forcible carnal knowledge of a person. What does this mean?\nGenerally\, the definition of rape is limited to sexual intercourse\, White said. Other forms of penetration\, such as digital penetration\, are included in other violations like assault\, forced fondling or sodomy.  But\, these definitions and how they are applied by law may vary by state.\nDoes Belmont deal with sexual assault directly\, or does the university forward the report to Metro?\nIt depends on what’s reported\, White said. If a crime is reported\, Metro gets involved.  Student affairs and counseling services usually become involved as well for the protection of the student. The victim decides if he or she wants to get Metro involved.  Any victim can use counseling services and other resources without reporting the rape as a crime.\nDo you think students know how to report a sexual assault? And is this information readily available?\n“It’s readily available as far as being online and in the handbook\,” White said.  In the past\, a student who had been sexually assaulted usually would confide in a friend who would then research who to call.\nAre students ever told how to do this?\nWhite is under the impression that the Office of Student Affairs takes care of this\, he said. The Office of Campus Security is trying to create a full time position for a crime prevention officer.\nDoes campus security educate students on sexual assault?\n“We’ve been pretty heavily involved in the orientation process\,” White said.\nHe spends a lot of time talking to parents about security during the first part of the summer. \nIn the past\, campus security gave out pamphlets at orientation.  “We have not had as good an effort along those lines as I’d like to see.  We need more manpower.”\nDoes campus security offer any education centered specifically on rape?\nRenee Ruthven\, an officer with campus security\, teaches one Rape Aggression Defense System class a month\, White said.  According to the campus security Web site\, class size is limited to approximately 10 students\, and participants must pay a fee to cover the cost of manuals\, supplies and refreshments.\n“The best way to deal with any crime is to prevent it\,” White said\, “prevent it from happening in the first place.”\n
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CATEGORIES:news,security
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T150658
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190443
ORGANIZER;CN=Liz Hunton\, Senior Writer:MAILTO:lizhunton@gmail.com
DTSTART:20080421T160200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/919
SUMMARY:Keep pace with times of change
DESCRIPTION:Since I attended the Southeast Journalism Conference a few weeks ago\, one idea has stuck with me. Yes\, it has to do with journalism\, but just bear with me.\nPaul Conley\, reporter\, editor\, bureau chief\, producer and executive\, was a keynote speaker. While he may have been a little too self-assured\, he knew what he was talking about. The main idea of his speech was how reporters have to adapt to the changing face of journalism. In other words\, he encouraged everyone to get involved in the Internet\, which tends to scare some of the more traditional media outlets. They’re used to putting out a print/video product and then being done until the next issue comes out\, which may be the next day or the next month. But the Internet changed all that\, change being the key word.\nPeople today don’t want to wait until later to get news\; they want it ASAP\, and the Internet provides that service. But someone has to put it up there\, which means making drastic changes in the newsroom\, frightening when business has been the same for so many years.\nBut the idea that Conley brought up that’s stuck with me was the fact that 500 years ago\, when Gutenberg invented the printing press\, people were just as fearful of the drastic changes that would occur. Back then\, the only way people could get copies of books\, handbills\, etc.\, was to have them hand-copied\, obviously a very tedious task. But with the printing press\, copies could be made in a fraction of the time\, which led to a much wider availability of books and even an increase in literacy. It changed the world\, but at the beginning\, people were afraid of the change\, similar to today’s situation with the Internet.\nI’ll be the first one to say change is hard. With change comes the unknown\, which is often even more frightening than change itself. Going to college was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done\, not so much because it was a change\, but because I didn’t know what college was going to be like\, if I’d be able to fit in or if I would make it through demanding classes. But it’s been one of the best decisions of my life\, and that’s the beauty of change\; it brings life’s greatest opportunities.\nChange is a chance to better yourself  and try new things.  If the world didn’t experience alterations\, think about where we’d be\: back in the medieval days with the black plague destroying families or in a time when it was acceptable to own other human beings or even in a world without cell phones and laptops (scary\, huh?). While it’s not easy\, change allows society to renew itself for the better.\nIt may be one of the hardest things to endure in life\, but ultimately\, change is for everyone’s benefit. For news organizations\, the Internet is a daunting concept because it means making changes and taking a plunge into the deep waters of the unknown. But look at how it turned out for Gutenberg. He’s one of the most celebrated men on the planet because he rode the tide instead of being sucked into fear of the mysterious\, which is what’s happening to some conventional media because they dread change. And to pay for it\, they’re losing much needed money.\nThe lesson here is not to fear change. Instead\, embrace it and the opportunities that accompany it. If you don’t\, you’re going to be left behind.\nCourtney Drake is a junior journalism major. E-mail\: drakec@pop.belmont.edu [mailto\:drakec@pop.belmont.edu].\n    
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T151128
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190454
ORGANIZER;CN=Courtney Drake\, Editor:MAILTO:courtneydrake@hotmail.com
DTSTART:20080421T160700
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/920
SUMMARY:Thoughts on the end of the year ...
DESCRIPTION:So it is. The end of another semester\, another year. It is hard to believe we’re here again\, and that I’m here\, writing a final column. This has been a good gig for me- a job I chose in an effort to make myself write more often\, outside of papers and Blackboard discussions of course. I wanted to get in the habit of putting down what was going on around me. I think it’s been a good habit- a kind of semi-therapy. Here at the end\, though\, there are a few questions I still have- about the past year\, about Belmont\, about life in general. Feel free to mull over these this summer when you think of dear Belmont.\nWhat if the Beaman felt like Borders? I’ve often found myself with an hour or so to kill on campus\, and instead of spending money at Bongo Java\, I’ve decided to stick close and head to the Beaman. I never make it more than a few minutes before I start to get the itchy feeling I’ve crossed into an inhospitable environment\, like a cold hospital or the waiting room of a doctor’s office the day before 7th grade when you have to get 12 shots at once. Not friendly\, and not really all that fun. It seems to me that a student center should embody more of\, well\, the students. I picture myself buried between stacks of books at Borders\, comfortable lighting illuminating my small table and cozy chair\, the temperature close to perfect\, just enough background music to keep me focused\, and ample opportunities to visit with other students as they too are enjoying increased productivity in our student-centered center. Dream big\, Juno said. Dreams can take you from here to…\nWhat will we be when we grow up? Personally\, this may not be a hard question for you. You know you’re going to be a rock star. Or maybe you don’t know. Maybe\, like a classic “MTV Diary” episode\, you thought you knew but you had no idea. The individual aspect of this question I think we should still be asking. The minute it ever seems decided for certain is the very minute the answer eludes me once again. Keep asking is all I can advise. I think we should all continue to be inquisitive seekers of knowledge and purpose now and when we grow up. The bigger question here\, though\, is if Belmont herself will ever finish growing up\, and what she will be when that day comes. Growth is good\, that’s why moms advise eating vegetables. But there are only so many green beans one can eat\, and at a certain point even too many vegetables can lead to obesity (this may not actually be scientifically true\, but I’m trying to make a point). I continue to encourage students\, faculty\, and administration to keep on the forefront of their minds what is not just good but best for Belmont and those who love her. If it isn’t good for you and doesn’t help you grow in a healthy way\, most moms would say\, “Don’t eat it.”\nHow many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? Of all my questions\, this one seems most troublesome. Every time this experiment has been attempted in my presence it has either ended in an impatient crunch or gone on longer than I cared to endure. Maybe this summer will be relaxed enough that I can investigate this further. If so\, I’ll be sure to set up a convo on my findings in the Fall. Personal Growth. Definitely.\nLet me know if you come up with any answers\, and I promise to return with plenty of equally if not more pressing matters to discuss. Happy finals\, happy book-buy-back days\, and happy summer.\nAbby Hollingsworth is a junior English writing major. E-mail\: abby.hollingsworth@gmail.com [mailto\:abby.hollingsworth@gmail.com]\n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T151625
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190517
ORGANIZER;CN=Abby Hollingsworth:MAILTO:abby.hollingsworth@gmail.com
DTSTART:20080421T161100
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/921
SUMMARY:What others are saying
DESCRIPTION:If the university intends to arbitrarily deny students the right to assemble\, they should make sure to inform officers of which policy is allegedly violated. It is a student's First Amendment right to protest\, even if it's something the university doesn't want to hear.\nDaily Collegian\, Penn State University\nWhen I graduate I'll be thrown into the "real world" … What does this mean for us as students? It means we are going to have an unprecedented amount of student loans to pay off\, we might not able to afford health care for ourselves\, and we're going to feel the burden of the largest national debt in our history. It means we're going to feel the ostracizing effects of our foreign policy in Iraq as we travel abroad\, and we're eventually going to be faced with an environmental and energy crisis that currently has no solution in sight.\nDaily Tar Heel\, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill\nUnless policymakers focus on relieving hunger and poverty first\, rather than meddling with ancillary ideas like population control\, climate change and the environment\, they have the potential to make things even worse.\nThe Wildcat Online\, Arizona State University\nI’m sure everyone remembers the ridiculous storm of last Friday morning (April 11) that left the animators of the Doppler radar very satisfied with their work. People were herded into tunnels and urged to go inside by police driving around. Sirens were going off and (gasp) some professors even cancelled class. One thing left unaffected? The line at Pancake Pantry. Eyewitnesses tell me the Nashville landmark still required a wait in the elements before you could enjoy some Swiss chocolate chips pancakes and grits. If this doesn’t speak to the heart and soul of our city\, I don’t know what does.\nThe Hustler\, Vanderbilt University
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CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T152011
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190533
DTSTART:20080421T161800
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/922
SUMMARY:Religion\: What would Jesus do?
DESCRIPTION:In our generation\, we like to think we’re rebellious\, so we’ve thrown norms and things we’ve been told are proper out the window. We want to turn the world on its head. We’ve got tattoos and piercings\; we wear mohawks\; we dye our hair in all the colors of the rainbow\; we cuss\, we chew\, we date people who do.\nBut we’ve gone and thrown away so much and in such large quantities that what was once edgy and rebellious has become trite and a little too easy to get\, and those who hold onto the discarded goods have become the rebels. They’re the ones swimming against the tide. In my opinion\, one of the largest items in our generation’s junkyard is God.\nI met a guy not too long ago who I became friendly with very quickly. He had a quick wit and a sharp sense of humor. Like me\, he was into quality techno and foreign films. Over the course of a few days we talked about music\, art\, Europe and ambition. We talked and talked like we had known each other forever.\nAnd then I made a mistake. One day he told me an amazing story and I said\, “Oh\, man\, Jesus is amazing.” Then there was a silence I could have sliced with a knife. He shuffled in his seat\, his eyes dodged my face and darted around like he couldn’t look at me anymore. Then he asked as though he were inquiring about a flesh-eating disease I had contracted\, “Are you religious?” From the look on his face\, I wanted so desperately to say\, “No.” I wanted him to think I was cool\, to think I was worthy of being his friend.\n“No\,” I said. “I’m not religious. I’m a Christian. I believe in Jesus. Is that what you mean?”\nThat was what he meant. A canyon grew between us\, and he hasn’t spoken to me in weeks. This is everything that I fear as a Christian\: rejection because I believe in Jesus. Rejection because I believe there is a heaven\, a hell\; that there is a Satan\, but there is also one Savior.\nBut I totally understand where he was\: I was there for 18 years. I\, too\, am just as afraid of and repulsed by religion as he was and I believe our generation is sick of it. We’re tired of the childish bickering over the petty differences between the denominations of churches. We’re sick of churchgoers being more concerned that the guy over there has a blue mohawk\, is covered in tattoos and looks dangerous than the fact that his soul is in anguish. We’re tired of condescending tolerance in church\; we want real-life love that would even show compassion for the person who just hurt them. In general\, I’m sick of the church built by human hands. I WANT RELATIONSHIP. I want relationship with Jesus and I want relationships with people.\nThe church is its own worst enemy. I understand why people would want to have nothing to do with it or with the God that’s associated with it.\n I’ve gone to church since I was a child and one of the most genuine prayers that came out of my heart every Sunday was for the service to end. Quickly. It was tedious\; the pastor preached at me and looked right through me and after letting the congregation believe he was superhuman and they were less than human\, we found out that he was flesh and blood after all when his “perfect” marriage dissolved.\nI only decided to do this Christianity thing when I was 18\, on the condition that I would not become religious\, that I would not become one of those people who sat on their high horses judging others and shoving the Bible down people’s throats. All I wanted to do was love people\, so I chose to follow a God who is love and who sacrificed himself because of his love of people. That’s the kind of love I want to learn.\nSince then\, I’ve struggled with the world\, trying to hide my identity just so I can fit in and trying to resist the voice that tells me to quit every day. I’ve struggled with myself (who is more of the world than of God). I’ve strained my ears in search of the still small voice of guidance\, comfort. It’s difficult living in a world with a generation that has been scarred by religion\, that is in search of relationships. I sound like a deranged liar when I tell them what they’re looking for is back in the place they ran from. No\, not in the church that men have built\, but in the one that is Jesus.\nBut being a rebel is not supposed to be easy. I knew that claiming Jesus would give the world cause to make me a laughingstock and label me a lunatic. Being a rebel is not as simple as donning a tattoo when everyone is doing it\; it’s a constant battle with authorities.\nBut rebels keep at it even when it feels like they can’t do it anymore because they know that the cause is greater than the workers. Perhaps this is a mindset that helped Jesus go through with the plan on the cross.\nAdaeze Elechi is a junior journalism major. Email\: adaezeelechi@yahoo.com [mailto\:adaezeelechi@yahoo.com].
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T152623
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190546
ORGANIZER;CN=Adaeze Elechi\, Managing Editor:MAILTO:adaezeelechi@yahoo.com
DTSTART:20080421T162000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/923
SUMMARY:Feedback Clothing shows trends at fashion funhouse
DESCRIPTION:The smell of fresh popcorn transcends throughout a crisp evening\, while vibrating techno music and flashing blue lights threaten the typically calm aura of an esteemed academic environment. Young men and women scatter around a closed off room complimenting one another on their tight clothing and elaborate make-up. In two hours\, these people will transform into products to be gawked at and judged.\nTenisha Northington approaches the runway wearing a bold graphic T-shirt by Glamour Kills\, skinny jeans\, stilettos\, a face covered in gold paint and a hairdo teased 3 inches high. On any other day\, the senior sociology major might be wearing a plain white T-shirt\, comfortable jeans and pulled back hair.\nNo\, this isn’t backstage at New York Fashion Week\, nor is this an exhibition of merchandise from an upscale clothing store\, like Posh or Flavour. This is strictly a fashion show for college students and their friends\, created by Belmont students on March 14\, with fashionable clothes that are within their price range.\n“Our funhouse themed show is a way for Belmont and the Nashville community to see our merchandise and give students a chance to be industry professionals for a night\,” said Emily Swinson\, student designer and co-manager of Feedback Clothing Company on Belmont’s campus.\n“Keeping up with college fashion trends is very important\, and what we do here at Feedback is try to take it to the next level. We see what’s popular and make it our own.”\nFeedback started as a consignment shop in 2005 and a year later\, under new management\, became a trendy boutique with innovative merchandise from designers nationwide. The store is a student-run organization established through the award-winning entrepreneurship program.\n“It’s tough because we are trying to make Feedback more than just an on-campus boutique\,” Swinson said. “I want the Nashville community to take it as seriously as we do.”\nThe 22-year-old black- and blue- haired senior entrepreneurship major definitely takes her work seriously. She and former co-manager Michelle Wilkerson devised their first fashion show last spring. They were so pleased with the turnout that they didn’t mind struggling to find sponsors for this year’s event.\nThe second annual Live Out Loud fashion show filled and changed Neely Dining Hall into a black and white\, retro circus. Popcorn machines\, a VIP room\, merchandise\, a disc jockey and more were part of the event. The Feedback staff worked hard to accommodate the expected 100 attendees\, while making sure the presentation was appealing to the eye.\nA main aspect of the fashion show and the store itself related to recent trends. Many current fall and spring styles were apparent\, like bright colors\, graphic T-shirts and skinny jeans\, but the clothes definitely possessed a unique flair.\nAccording to an online college fashion periodical\, spring essentials for 2008 include pink shoes\, tight fitting jeans\, a classic dress\, long tank tops\, cardigans\, casual flats\, a white button down shirt and a few other basics.  Not all of these items were displayed during the show\, but creative vision and the search for inventive designs can outweigh what’s already popular.\n“We are trying to base trends off of what we see on campus and what we think people may like\,” Swinson said. “If we get stuff in we don’t see\, then we try and start a trend.”\nSwinson is certain that all college students look for the same things in a campus boutique.\n“Style\, price and service are key\,” she said and Northington feels the store is doing a good job incorporating it all.\n“This is a chance for me to feel like a celebrity\, and I’m lucky that the managers included me in the show again\,” Northington said as she tapped the pouf on the top of her head. “I like the way I look. Feedback does a great job in making the clothes affordable\, while reflecting what’s in style.”\nThe modeled clothes are exaggerated versions of those sold at the store. Rodney Mitchell Salon volunteered to create funky hairstyles while student Katie Walker provided makeup.\n“The runway clothes\, makeup and hair are exciting … a little out of my box\, but I like it\,” said Megan Andrelski\, junior marketing major. “I never wore skinny jeans before\, but now I’m gonna go to Feedback and buy some.”\nBut even though Feedback’s edgy merchandise may attract many Belmont students\, the store cannot appeal to everyone.\n“It’s more rock ’n’ roll than what I would wear\,” said Liz Elg\, freshman art major and fashion show model. “The shirts aren’t in my price range\, but are definitely less expensive than most.”\nElg wore skinny jeans\, Toms Shoes\, a graphic white T-shirt by Jedidiah\, and a Mohawk to compliment her black face paint.\nA sophomore commercial voice major and Feedback model\, Joshua Eric Wright\, holds similar feelings as Elg and would probably not shop at Feedback.\n“The clothes are a little too loud for me\, but cool to put on for the event\,” Wright said. “I do feel that there is a market for them at Belmont\, but I think more in northern cities.”\nSwinson finds it impossible to pinpoint every trend in every genre of fashion. There are numerous demographics evident on campus and it seems that anything goes at Belmont.\n“There are some who want the indie rocker skinny jeans or graphic T-shirts\,” Swinson said\, “and others who go for plain T’s and Toms Shoes. I wouldn’t be caught dead selling navy blue blazers\, khaki pants and loafers in my store. You can’t please everyone.”\nDespite the various opinions on what’s in style or those who couldn’t see themselves wearing studded jeans\, Feedback still hopes to open some opposing eyes to the store.\nAndrew Kessler\, freshman music business major and Feedback model said\, “It’s not too different from what I’d wear on an every day basis. The shirts are a little too expensive\, but they gave us coupons so I might shake it up a bit.”\nIt seems college fashion is ever-changing and cannot be defined or represented in a two hour exhibition.  Individuality is important to Belmont students and the designers at Feedback are aware of this notion.\nThe store is doing its best to keep up with the latest fashions\, but also encourage reinvention.\nMegan Andrelski takes the stage wearing a gray graphic T-shirt by Madness Is.\, black and white striped skirt\, lime-green fishnets and teased hair with a bright pink star on her cheek.\n“Not only does Feedback keep up with college trends\,” she said\, “but I think it will set trends for the future.”
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CATEGORIES:feedback,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
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CREATED:20080421T153542
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190558
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UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/924
SUMMARY:Wardrobe essentials
DESCRIPTION:A fabulous look on the fashion runway is great – and there are great times during college to opt for the trendy\, attention-grabbing look. But then there’s every day\, day after day\, week after week\, of convos\, classes\, meetings and the occasional movie night or casual date night.\nWhat to wear is always the question\, and here are some tips for essentials from collegefashion.net\:\n• Four or five pairs of jeans that fit well – and don’t get all skinny ones or flared ones or you’ll look out of date next semester.\n• A classic dress – and not necessarily the “little black dress.” Collegefashion.net says\, “if a dress fits you well and isn’t trashy looking\, it doesn’t need to be black.”\n• Four or five long tank tops to wear alone when it’s warm and to layer when it’s cooler.\n• A good bag that holds everything. Canvas\, leather and good fake leather are good bets.\n• One or two dressy tops. But remember\, “wear a dressy top under a fall/spring jacket or by itself with jeans and heels to a party. Don’t go see-through\, uber low-cut or too-tight.”\n• One pair well-fitting dress pants in black or dark grey with a wide leg to wear on job interviews and recruiting sessions.\n• One white button-down shirt. Again\, this is most likely going to be used for job interviews and/or internships. Look for a little stretch and a cut that’s flattering to your body shape.\n• One well-cut spring/fall jacket that will mix with most of your clothes and fits well.\n• And college staples – just remember that they’re not suitable for every occasion – include sweatpants\, a cozy hoodie\, flannel pajama pants and bright rain boots.\ncollegefashion.net [http\://collegefashion.net]
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CATEGORIES:feedback
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T153842
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190612
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UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/925
SUMMARY:M.O.B. boosts spirit
DESCRIPTION:“Go Belmont\, B-E-L-M-O-N-T\, Grrrr\,” is the cheer normally chanted by members of the Motivational Organization of Belmont (“The M.O.B.” for short).\n“The M.O.B.” was created to encourage intimidation of all opponents at every Belmont Bruins athletic event. The M.O.B. provides the opportunity for social interaction as well as electronic networking through news\, e-mails and correspondence. The M.O.B. also values the understanding of good sportsmanship\, game rules\, regulations and\, most importantly\, tradition.\nThe M.O.B. is open to all students who are interested in supporting participants in sports at Belmont. As a member of the M.O.B. you are required to attend a certain number of games and for some members doing just that is no problem.\n“Attending every game was never a problem\,” said first-year member Sahara Brown\, a freshman. “Going to sports events was the highlight of my day.”\nUnlike the past few years at Belmont the M.O.B. decided to make students pay to become a member of the organization of the 2007-08 M.O.B.\nStudents were asked to pay a fee of five dollars\, which gave them front row seating at all sports events and M.O.B. t-shirts.\n “I have been a member of M.O.B. for two years now and I think it’s great\,” said senior Charlsey Gibson. “Being a member was some of my best times.”\nThis year there are currently 21 students who are active members of the M.O.B.\, not including the several students who aren’t official members but are through their support and Bruin team spirit.\n“I loved being a member of the M.O.B. because I love to cheer\, but when I had to pay five dollars to become a member I wasn’t willing to pay it\,” Brown said.\nSince the beginning of the year the new fee has had its different effects on students\, but most importantly the M.O.B. continues to keep sports events competitive and enjoyable and remains an exciting organization.\n
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CATEGORIES:m.o.b.,sports
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T154639
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190629
ORGANIZER;CN=Shardé Burkhead\, Staff writer:MAILTO:burkheads@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080421T164300
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UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/926
SUMMARY:'Woman' expands Davis' horizons
DESCRIPTION:Blending in with the crowd was never one of Andy Davis’ strongest suits. \nThe 2003 Belmont alum is making an impression on the American independent music scene. Since the nationwide release of “Let the Woman” in November\, Davis has played in cities across the country as well as The Rock Boat\, a Carnival cruise featuring over 20 celebrated musical acts including Sister Hazel\, Marc Broussard\, David Ryan Harris\, Josh Kelley\, Matt Nathanson and Jon McLaughlin.\nCurrently\, Davis is on tour with Dave Barnes\, playing about 30 shows in less than 40 days. While playing so many shows in such a short period of time\, Davis likes to challenge himself to keep things fresh.\n“This time around I’m trying a few new things\,” Davis said. “I’m running my keyboards through some guitar pedals and loop stuff\, and I’ve also programmed my iPhone to do some drum parts I’m playing along with.”\nMaintaining a sense of creativity and originality\, Davis’ career as a singer/songwriter has clearly picked up momentum over the past year. He caught the attention of renowned producer Mitchell Froom and had the opportunity to record his latest album last summer in Los Angeles.\n“Since I’ve listened to so many records that he produced\, it was kind of surreal at times\,” Davis said. “His approach to making records is very old school\, which I loved. We kind of flew through the process with a motto of ‘if it sounds right and it feels right\, then it is right.’\n“He’s an amazing musician in his own right\,” Davis said. “But he pushed me to play as many instruments on the album as I could to ensure a true representation of my music\, as well as make the sound even more unique.”\nFroom\, who has produced albums for Phantom Planet\, Sheryl Crow\, Paul McCartney and Crowded House\, is one of Davis’ heroes\, so the chance for Davis to work with him sans label was the manifestation of a dream.\n“Mitchell and I would drink wine on the back porch and I’d ask him every question I could think of about music and records\,” Davis said.\n“Actually I’d listen casually as he’d tell all these stories of McCartney and the Stones or talk about how records should be made. Then I’d excuse myself to the bathroom and write down everything he said on a little moleskin notepad. Nerd.”\nNot only did Davis have the opportunity to make “Let the Woman” with music industry masterminds\, the album was also picked up exclusively by Barnes & Noble.\n“Barnes & Noble wanted to do a music distribution similar to Starbucks\,” Davis said. “I had started recording my album with Mitchell Froom without a label or anything\, and they were excited about helping launch it—to cut out the middle man and put the music directly on shelves.”\nBarnes & Noble promoted “Let the Woman” in their stores by placing the album on end caps and playing it in stores.\n“My album got as much promotion as the major label records that were out at the time\, sometimes even more\,” Davis said. “It was a huge honor that they believed in my music enough to saturate their stores with it for this long.”\nThe chain had good reason to believe in Davis’ music. In January\, “Let the Woman” hit No. 4 on the Barnes & Noble Music Bestsellers List.  Davis’ album was also released on iTunes in early February.\nAnyone who crosses Davis’ path seems to believe in him and his music\, and drawing the attention of prominent music industry professionals\, he is no doubt standing out among the throng of up-and-coming artists. \nDavis has a firm grasp on what it takes to be a successful songwriter and recording artist\, and by looking to numerous classic musical geniuses—Billy Joel\, Stevie Wonder\, Paul Simon\, early Radiohead\, Prince and Led Zeppelin to name a few—Davis meshes insight from the past with his own ideas of great music. \n“I’m really most inspired by the challenge of doing music well\,” Davis said. “I kind of wonder to myself\, ‘If Paul McCartney heard this\, what would he think?’ Songs that have lasted for decades fascinate me. Those are the kind I want to write.”\nThough it may sound simplistic\, Davis’ No. 1 goal is to have good\, solid songs people (other than your mom and girlfriend) are begging you to sell.\n“I think that is the step that a lot of people skip\, and it’s the most important\,” Davis said. “Sometimes people are too excited about living the musician lifestyle\, and aren’t that concerned with really doing music well.\n“Regardless of the kind of music you make\, you’re not going to make a living at it until you have songs that people remember and want to hear over and over again.”\nAnd when it comes to living the rock star life\, Davis’ version is slightly different than most.\n“To start a career as a musician\, spend as little money as possible\,” Davis said. “And when you do have money\, pretend you don’t. It makes you think a lot more creatively about how to get your music out there.”\nNo matter what opportunities arise for Davis in the future\, he will forever consider himself an independent artist.\n“There might be a period of your career that you team up with a large marketing or distribution company\, such as a major label\,” Davis said. “But you have to keep in the back of your head that eventually you’ll go back to being fully independent and should plan accordingly.\n“I think acts that put all their hopes in a big company ‘making’ them into something are doomed to being lost in the slow-moving\, murky bureaucracy of that world. Plus you get to have a lot more of a say as to what your music sounds like if you’re an indie artist.”\nDavis’ career may have taken a promising turn in the last year\, but this ambitious artist is continuing his quest to make even greater music to share with all new crowds. This fall\, Davis will be introduced to music fans in the United Kingdom.\n“Let the Woman” is kind of the end of chapter one for me\,” Davis said. “It’s my first nationally-pushed album. I’m proud of it\, but I’m really ready to move into chapter two. I think I’ve grown and gotten a lot better since all these songs were written\, and I want to get back into making new music. That’s what really excites me most right now.”\n
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CATEGORIES:andy-davis,aande
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SEQUENCE:2
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SUMMARY:Dodson returns to Nashville with 'Superstar'
DESCRIPTION:Belmont graduate Tiffini Dodson\, who has family ties in both Nashville and Smyrna\, plays Mary Magdalene in the national touring production of “Jesus Christ Superstar\,” making a stop at TPAC’s Jackson Hall for three performances May 30-31.\nDodson was raised in Smyrna\, attending First Baptist Church and Smyrna High School. She first came to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center as a student to see performances presented for school groups by TPAC Education and later enjoyed Broadway tours.\nWhile attending Belmont\, where she appeared in numerous productions\, Dodson also worked summer stock across the country from Wyoming to North Carolina. After graduating in 2004 with a degree in musical theatre\, she performed at the Gibson Showcase\, moved to New York City and landed the role in “Jesus Christ Superstar” within seven months.\nDodson is getting the same great reviews as the production’s headliners\, with notices like “magnificent\, show-stealing\, and lush” coming in nationwide. She has praise for the ensemble cast\, Ted Neely from the motion picture version as Jesus and Corey Glover from the band Living Colour as Judas.\n“Ted and Corey are both extremely talented. I’ve learned so much from them. What an opportunity to see these music greats on stage every day\,” she said.\nfrom Center Stage Magazine\n
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CATEGORIES:aande
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T155902
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190655
DTSTART:20080421T165700
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UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/928
SUMMARY:William H. Macy's 'Deal' opens 2008 Nashville Film Festival
DESCRIPTION:The 39th Nashville Film Festival opened on a joke that we’ve all heard in some permutation. “Did you hear the one about the rabbi\, the movie producer and the studio executive who walk into a bar?”\n“The Deal\,” starring Meg Ryan and William H. Macy (who also co-wrote and produced the film)\, extends this joke to a very funny\, but ultimately somewhat lacking\, 98 minutes.\n“The Deal” opens with a depressed\, pathetic-looking Charlie Berns (Macy) attempting to commit suicide by way of carbon monoxide poisoning. The poor schlub is a washed-up one-hit wonder movie producer who can’t seem to get anything right—even his own suicide is botched when his nephew Lionel\, an idealistic young screenwriter played by Jason Ritter\, interrupts him in the act. Then his car dies. And the CD player playing his dramatic “fade to credits” music malfunctions. This is the kind of humor that follows the characters around like a cartoon rain cloud throughout the film.\nInstead of buckling under the pressure of Hollywood’s culture of failure and rejection\, Burns decides to take one outrageous last shot at stardom\; he decides to produce his nephew’s script about Benjamin Disraeli and place an action star who recently converted to Judaism named Bobby Mason (L.L. Cool J) in the lead role. What was once an art house film about the Suez Canal becomes a bizarre action film\, now titled “Ben Disraeli – Freedom Fighter\,” with gratuitous semi-nudity and explosions aplenty. In the meantime\, Burns tries to seduce the studio executive assigned to the production\, played by Meg Ryan\, and deal with a credit-hungry rabbi who has become Mason’s de facto spiritual advisor (Elliott Gould).\nOn the surface\, “The Deal” presents a brilliantly absurd idea and executes it well. William H. Macy is the kind of actor who is physically unable to put in a poor or even mediocre performance. Though Charlie Berns is a condescending\, manipulative misogynist who begs to be hated\, Macy’s performance and comedic timing on some hysterically funny lines makes him likeable as the sardonic protagonist. Had anyone else played this role\, any kind of chemistry between Berns and any other character\, especially with studio executive Diedre Hearn\, would have felt phony and inexplicable. Berns is the kind of producer that doesn't do or say anything pleasant until he's in such trouble that his only recourse is to be a good guy. He's David O. Russell kicked into overdrive with a dash of Robert Evans tossed in for good measure.\nMeanwhile\, the young or otherwise unknown stars of the film escaped from Macy’s shadow and admirably rose to the occasion. In particular\, Jason Ritter is a rising star who will soon rise out of the dregs of low-rated sitcoms and bad horror sequels and Fiona Glascott\, a little known Irish actress\, was downright charming in her role as the occasionally scantly clad co-star of “Ben Dis.” Even Meg Ryan put in an entertaining performance\, although she was largely just being Meg Ryan.\nUnfortunately\, the film suffers from uneven pacing and a complete and total change in tone midway into the film when Macy’s character realizes that the “joke isn’t funny anymore.” By the end of the film\, it drifted far into the territory of “Hollywood love letter” and never quite made it back to the satirical\, absurd world that the first half revolved around. The plot\, at times\, also seemed like it was stitched together in post-production so that it would make sense. Occasionally crucial points are introduced in dialogue as if they were minor details\, like the fact that the studio is being bought by some dastardly Canadians\, which proves to play a pivotal role in the second half of the film\, and the fate of Bobby Mason after an incident in South Africa forces the filmmakers to shut down production.\nThe film is less like Robert Altman’s classic cynical take on Hollywood producers\, “The Player\,” and more like that episode of “The Simpsons” where Mel Gibson asked Homer to help him reshoot a modern adaption of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington\,” in which Mr. Smith impales the speaker of the House on an American flag and everything is blamed on a “dog with shifty eyes.”  At its best\, “The Deal” is reminiscent of “The Producers\,” but at its worst it just feels predictable with an ending that seems tacked on.\n“The Deal” was a great way to break the ice of the Nashville Film Festival and is certainly worth seeing if it ever gets wider distribution\, but there isn’t much to it beyond some clever dialogue and one of the most absurd films-within-a-film committed to the big screen.\n
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CATEGORIES:2008-nashville-film-festival,film-festival,aande
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T160819
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190709
ORGANIZER;CN=Lance Conzett\, Online Editor:MAILTO:conzettl@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080421T170300
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UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/929
SUMMARY:One love song that deserves a second look
DESCRIPTION:In 1993\, Whitney Houston’s rendition of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” became the best-selling single in the history of popular music and earned the number-one spot on Billboard’s “Hot 100” chart for that year. And of course\, Houston’s performance of this song is certainly an indelible part of the canon of great woeful love songs. I mean\, who doesn’t love a good modulation? \nBut a little bit lower on that same Billboard chart at number 27 lies an entirely different kind of love song—one that is neither eloquent nor pretty. In fact\, this song is actually quite jarring\, gruff\, and simplistic. But it also effortlessly claims the elusive holy grail of contemporary songwriting\: authenticity. And that is why “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” is one of the most underrated love songs of all time.\n “I’m Gonna Be” originally appeared in 1988 on “Sunshine on Leith\,” the second album by the Proclaimers\, a Scottish duo of identical twins Craig and Charlie Reid. While the song found marginal success upon its original release\, it reached a new height of popularity in 1993 as a result of appearing on the soundtrack of “Benny & Joon\,” a movie starring a young and surprisingly uncreepy Johnny Depp. \nNow\, chances are you’ve heard this song and perhaps by now have sung the chorus to yourself\, masterfully executing the harsh emphasis on each individual syllable. And sure\, it’s fun to enjoy this song as a cute little pop ditty like Peter Griffin does when cartoon versions of the Proclaimers make a cameo appearance in an episode of “Family Guy.” But it’s also more than just a catchy tune. It’s one of the better songs I know of that deals with subjects of romantic love and commitment—especially for someone who has grown up in an era overrun by Seinfeldian cynicism.\nWe\, who belong to the generation born in the 80s\, are naturally skeptical of the messages we receive from our environment—and for good reason\, given that we are constantly bombarded by advertisements that encourage us to find our identity in things like cell phones and cans of Sprite. For me\, this disillusioned worldview means that love songs have to break through an all-but-impenetrable barrier of cynicism before they can resonate with me. This is why traditional love songs like “I Will Always Love You” come across as mawkish to me. I simply can’t trust statements like the song’s title at face value just because the singer gives a moving performance of them. Even up-to-date\, hipster-friendly love songs like Ben Gibbard’s “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” fall short of excellence for me. Don’t get me wrong\, I like a good Deathcab song as much as the next Belmont student. I love those lines about neon signs outside of heaven and hell and I’ll openly admit that the melody is beautiful. But I just don’t know if I can trust a songsmith just because he has written a great song. \n“I’m Gonna Be\,” on the other hand\, while much less poetic than Gibbard’s handiwork\, somehow cuts through my cynicism and gives me a picture of the authenticity that I long for when I think about love.\nIt’s hard to put my finger on exactly why “I’m Gonna Be” strikes me as especially authentic. Maybe it’s the overall feel of the music - the constant\, staccato pulsing in the guitar and the simple melody - that make the song sound like something between a military march and a post-punk bar song. Maybe it’s the way the brothers Reid wear their Scottish identity on their sleeves\, letting their accents ring out triumphantly. And maybe it’s the way they break out into brilliantly nonsensical “dadala da da’s” when words fail to adequately express their emotions. \nBut mostly\, I think it’s the unabashedly forward approach singer Craig Reid takes to communicate his commitment to his beloved. While he acknowledges that he may “get drunk\,” “haver” (Scottish for ‘to talk out of one’s hindquarters’)\, and “grow old\,” he assures his beloved that he intends to enjoy and/or tolerate all of these stations of life by her side. Reid’s promise in the chorus to walk 1\,000 miles to fall down at his beloved’s door thus becomes trustworthy because it is grounded in a sober mindset that acknowledges that their relationship will not always look like a romantic comedy.\nThe Proclaimers may lack Whitney Houston’s vocal chops and Ben Gibbard’s songwriting mastery—but maybe that’s the point. “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” is an excellent love song precisely because it isn’t a masterful song. We know from experience that good performances and clever wording can deceive us\, so a song that smacks us in the face with good\, old-fashioned\, sloppy honesty may be just what the doctor ordered to show cynical people that it is indeed possible to fall in and stay in love. \nThat is why I want “I’m Gonna Be” played at my wedding. My bride-to-be (a position for which I’m still accepting applications\, by the way) may protest at first.  But after I shout “dadala da da!” at the top of my lungs a few times\, I’m sure she’ll come around.\nJason is a junior English writing major with a music minor. E-mail\: hardyj@pop.belmont.edu [mailto\:hardyj@pop.belmont.edu]
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CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T161557
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190726
ORGANIZER;CN=Jason Hardy:MAILTO:hardyj@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080421T171000
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UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/930
SUMMARY:Rites pleases with stellar performances
DESCRIPTION:It isn’t strange to hear loud music bouncing off buildings when one is walking around on the streets of Nashville. I know I wouldn’t have paid any attention to the sound coming from a large P.A. as I strolled down West End on Friday\, April 18 had I not been searching for Vanderbilt’s Alumni Lawn where the University’s annual Rites of Spring music festival was being held. As it turns out\, my smug Nashvillian nonchalance would have caused me to miss a great show.\nOn the festival’s first of two nights\, the crowd braved relentless rain to see their favorite acts\, determined not to let the weather ruin their good time. Up-and-coming country rockers Lady Antebellum were willing to do their part to reward the audience’s perseverance. They gave us an offering of polished songs and a tight performance that one would expect from a Nashville-based act\, and the crowd’s enthusiastic response to the band’s single “Love Don’t Live Here” was perhaps an indicator of the band’s likely rise to country stardom.\nLater that evening\, Colbie Caillat took the stage to enthusiastic applause. While the Myspace queen certainly sang beautifully\, she seemed a bit insecure when talking to the audience\, and her discomfort became apparent when she made the embarrassing statement that she was “freaking out” about getting to play her brand-new guitar for the first time that night. Overall\, her performance was a bit long winded\, as her band frequently took unnecessarily long instrumental breaks to enthusiastically strum bar chords and play uninteresting guitar solos. Still\, the couple standing in front of me seemed to be enjoying themselves\, as they used the lightweight jam sessions as an opportunity to embark on a journey to find each other’s tonsils.\nThe energy one hopes for at a music festival returned in force\, however\, as indie-rock all stars Spoon took the stage as the evening’s headlining act. Blending 60’s-esque pop and rock with tasteful helpings of punk-inflected noise\, the band gave the audience a set of danceable\, yet dignified songs\, most of which coming from 2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. The band’s excellent musicianship shone especially with numbers like the Motown-inflected “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” and the brilliantly minimalist “The Ghost of You Lingers.” Everyone left satisfied at the end of the headliner’s set\, undoubtedly still humming “The Underdog” as they made their way to their cars and/or dorm rooms.\nBetter weather on Saturday night brought out a much larger crowd to the Alumni Lawn. After a set of bluesy rock from Grace Potter and the Nocturnals\, neo-bluegrass group Old Crow Medicine Show took the stage and quickly became one of the festival’s biggest crowd-pleasers. The group’s comfortable stage banter immediately endeared them to the audience\, and energetic performances of songs like “Wagon Wheel” brought everyone together in a down-home sing-along.\nNext up was everybody’s favorite indie crooner—the lovely Miss Leslie Feist. Unlike Colbie Caillat\, Feist decisively took control of the stage and left the “freaking out” to the audience as she wielded her hollowbody guitar with authority. Glockenspiels were a-tinkling and Stratocasters were a-jangling as the singer performed songs like “Mushaboom” and “I Feel it All” in her heart-melting idiom. The hipster queen put on an excellent show\, and everyone enthusiastically sang along to “1 2 3 4” with visions of iPod Nanos dancing in their heads.\nSaturday’s headliner\, introduced by the announcer as “the pioneer of Crunk\,” strutted onto the stage triumphantly the sound of thumping bass. Yes\, Lil Jon and his crew took the stage with the genre-defining “Get Crunk\,” a command which at this point was all but useless\, as the majority of the crowd already had. Based on Lil Jon’s performance\, I gathered that Crunk-style hip-hop mainly involves incessantly repeating simple lines over an infectious club beat. While there is little room for profundity in a subgenre defined by such constraints\, the music served its purpose\, I guess\, as it gave the less-than-lucid audience a beat to dance to. Still\, I\, as one of the audience’s few “un-crunk” members\, was not left out entirely\, as Lil Jon provided me with an opportunity for nostalgia when he led the audience in a rousing chorus of “Knuck if you Buck.”\nOverall\, I found the Rites of Spring to be an enjoyable celebration of such a glorious season. With such a solid lineup\, it would have been hard for the event to be anything less than awesome. While I recognize the (unnecessary) tension between Vanderbilt and Belmont students\, I have to say that our friends across town put on a great show. \n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:rites-of-spring,aande
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T162113
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T215650
ORGANIZER;CN=Jason Hardy\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:hardyj@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080421T171700
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/931
SUMMARY:CMT awards show\: love it or hate it
DESCRIPTION:A conflicting air of excitement and resentment floated around Belmont’s campus as CMT–Country Music Television–made its annual trek to campus\, bringing with it barricades\, closed streets\, re-routed traffic\, buses bigger than some houses and lines of fans hoping to get a glimpse of a star. Or two.\nThe April 14 awards show\, televised nationally from the Curb Event Center\, has used the facility for several years\, and it continues to be a bit controversial among students\, faculty and staff. A quick survey of those who were affected by it on a chilly spring afternoon\, however\, showed strong feelings both pro and con.\n“I’m sure it’s good recognition [for the school]\,” said Aaron Phipps\, a Belmont music business major. But does it offer benefits to students? “None. And the gym is closed and I was really upset about that.”\nFreshman music major Ryan Aucoin noted Belmont “ gets a good amount of money\, I would assume\, but besides that it promotes the school’s name as a music school.”\nThose long-range benefits\, however\, have more immediate consequences for some.\n“I think the event itself is a good thing for the campus\,” freshman Charla Smith said. “But overall\, from the viewpoint of the student\, a simple thing like parking and getting to class on time can become a large issue.”\nRyan Sherman\, music business\, related a story about a friend that tried to get to her car to leave campus to go to work. Sherman said she was stopped by a security officer and angrily cursed and yelled at the officer about how much she paid in tuition and fees and how outrageous it was that she could not get to her car when she had to go to work.\n“The security officer finally let her pass\,” Sherman said.\n“They should refund us … or give us class off and maybe a T-shirt or a keychain\,” he added wryly.\nMusic business major Chris Dempski\, though\, saw one significant benefit\: “Kids getting involved and getting experience.”\nWorking as a talent escort for Kenny Chesney’s band was exciting for Marcy Johnson\, a sophomore music business major. “I love it because it’s an opportunity to work and be around the atmosphere since this is what I want to do\,” she said. “There are really no benefits other than music business students get to work it. There’s really no reward for others\, but it’s cool that it’s at our school.”\nIt also brings many out-of-towners to Belmont\, including two middle-aged women who had driven from Maryland and were waiting patiently Monday afternoon for a glimpse of their favorite country artist on the red carpet (which\, this year\, was a startling magenta).\n“I just can’t wait to see Gretchen Wilson\,” one of the women said. “I can’t believe she’ll be standing here in a couple of hours.”\nBut the other\, poking fun at the young demographic of Miley Cyrus fans\, said\, “Oh\, I can’t wait to see Hannah Montana.”\nTina Kadow\, who drove from Chicago\, said\, “We’ve been outside since 8 a.m.\, but it was worth it because we just saw Keith Urban.”\nMarie Hitchcock and Donna Sholl hadn’t spotted a star\, but said\, “We are so excited. We love country music and we drove all the way from Iowa. That’s nine hours\, but it’s totally worth it.”\nNearby\, a little girl in a pink mesh cowgirl hat tugged at her father’s coat\, giddy with excitement.\n“We were just looking for something to do with the kids over their spring break that didn’t involve going to Orlando\,” said the man\, who had brought his family from Massachusetts. “The lines are a little bit longer at Disney.”\nSavannah Packard\, Ashley Buckberg\, Nick Popham\, Lauren Sharpe\, Jennifer Bauder\, Erin Carson\, Corey Long\, Hadley Long\, Pierce Greenberg\, Dena Adams\, Ryan Kraemer and Joseph Shelby contributed to the CMT reporting.\n
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CATEGORIES:cmt-awards
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T162711
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T185837
DTSTART:20080421T172400
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/932
SUMMARY:Who let the Dogg out? For star-watchers\, it's worth the wait
DESCRIPTION:Hours before the 2008 CMT Awards show was scheduled to start\, fans had staked out barricades surrounding the tour buses outside of Maddox\, hoping to see stars and get autographs.\nMost of the flock was not made up of students\, but instead\, adults and children with cameras strung around their necks. They were gathered sparsely around different areas of the barricade until a group yelped\, “Miley!”\nA green SUV had pulled up beside a tour bus and a little person who is maybe (but maybe not) Miley Cyrus flashes out of one door and into the other. Everyone fumbles for the camera around their neck as the group migrates toward one bus. The little person\, however\, never reappears.\nStudents leaning out of their Maddox windows started mocking the crowd\, shouting at non-existent celebrities.\n“Robert Plant. Here comes Robert Plant\,” says a voice emitting from a megaphone. Anything said through a megaphone sounds official and the crowd became giddy. They quickly realized\, however\, this too was just mocking from the dorm guys.\nThings settled then and the crowd became bored for a few minutes until a student from a third-story window starts shouting\, “I see Snoop Dogg.”\nThe crowd had learned the kid’s tricks and was hardly aroused. Until they saw Snoop Dogg appear from behind two buses.\nSnoop Dogg approached the crowd\, autographed a paper\, posed for a photograph and then began to trot down the barricade\, looking somewhat lost and confused. His two large bodyguards pointed to nothing in particular and confused the onlookers even more.\n“He’s stoned\,” one onlooker said\, speaking with no authority whatsoever.\n“Yeah\, right\, not on Belmont’s campus\,” another refuted.\nSnoop Dogg then spotted a single young girl hanging over a barricade and trotted to her to sign an autograph. By the time he is finished\, people have their cell phones out in his face trying to capture a picture. Snoop Dogg walked backward away from the barricade\, again looking confused. A woman\, holding out pen and paper\, pleads\, “Please\, Snoop Dogg\, it’s for my daughter.”\nHe paused in the street for a moment until it seemed he has an epiphany. He jumped onto a nearby cream-colored Escalade. His bodyguards were then behind this vehicle and guided it\, although there was no other traffic in the sectioned off area.\nThe crowd stayed giddy for a bit while people reviewed their Snoop-seeing experiences.\nMinutes later Dan Akroyd appeared\, arms raised\, trying to engage the crowd. They seemed unimpressed with most cameras still just dangling around their necks. Snoop Dogg is a hard act to follow.\n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:cmt-awards
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T163046
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190758
ORGANIZER;CN=Ryan Kraemer\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:kraemerr@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080421T172700
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/933
SUMMARY:The word on the street
DESCRIPTION:“I think it’s freaking stupid that the caf is closed. Now I have to spend money on food or walk a longer distance to get something on campus.”     – TJ Elias\, freshman\, music\n“It makes it awkward to walk to ordinary places\, but it’s humbling.”    – Michael McGehee\, artist/audience escort\n“It’s been a series of inconveniences\, but the construction makes more noise [than the CMT presence].”\n        – Alex Avedissian\, freshman \n“Some people don’t want to go to class off campus because they can’t get back in.”     – Allison Hurst\, freshman       \n“Students are being handled horribly. You’d think students would have some sort of compensation for being held up in everything they do.”  – Noel Kiswiney\, junior\n“It makes it awkward to walk to ordinary places\, but it’s humbling.”    – Michael McGehee\, artist/audience escort\n“It’s been a series of inconveniences\, but the construction makes more noise [than the CMT presence].”\n        – Alex Avedissian\, freshman \n“Some people don’t want to go to class off campus because they can’t get back in.”     – Allison Hurst\, freshman       \n“Students are being handled horribly. You’d think students would have some sort of compensation for being held up in everything they do.”  – Noel Kiswiney\, junior\n
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CATEGORIES:cmt-awards
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080421T163334
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190809
DTSTART:20080421T173200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/934
SUMMARY:It's time again for a Fiesta at Belmont
DESCRIPTION:Four years ago\, David Herrera\, a music business professor at Belmont\, recognized the need for a street fair in Nashville.\n    Today\, that need has been fulfilled with a street fair on Belmont’s campus known as Fiesta Belmont\, an event that celebrates Hispanic culture with musicians\, dances\, food and festivities. Fiesta Belmont has been previously recognized as “Nashville’s largest Latin Street Fair\,” and Herrera said it is the longest one running\, with this year’s festival marking the fourth year.\n    “It has been really good throughout the years\,” Herrera said. The net profits made go to social programs for scholarships\, like the YMCA Hispanic Achievers Program.\n    Herrera mentioned his gratitude of support for Belmont University\, The Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business\, and sponsors who include Sam’s Club and the Tennessee Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. \n    “As it is now\, Belmont helps me tremendously with marketing.” Herrera said. “I couldn’t do it without them.”\n    Fiesta Belmont will take place on Saturday\, May 3\, just two days before Cinco de Mayo. The music at the event will range with latin bands playing different styles\, from pop to salsa.\n    Herrera described the food from vendors as very authentic\, as it’s mostly made by families. In addition to music and food\, you can expect to see pi&ntilde\;atas every hour\, dance performances by children dancers and face painting for children to enjoy. “My daughter is eight years old\; she loved it\,” Herrera said.\n    More is in store this year as there will also be awards given out through out the day by The Tennessee Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. \n    Herrera mentioned that success for the event is measured through how many people in the community\, including students\, attend.\n    “I would encourage students to come out and bring friends and family\,” Herrera said. “I would like to see more Belmont students come.”\n    Students who have gone in the past years had good memories of Fiesta Belmont. Senior music business major Valerie Loera attended last year and recalled what she liked most about it. “It was so much fun\, and it was good to see the Latin culture celebrated and embraced.”\n    She also said she was excited to see what Fiesta Belmont was going to be like this year and to “hear new Latin bands from the area\, and\, of course\, eat some great food.”\n    Isabel Perez\, a sophomore music business major also went last year and is looking forward to attending again this year. “They had great food. I saw a lot of people that I knew and met others as well\,” she said. “I had fun watching people dance and listening to music.”\nGetting There\nFiesta Belmont will be on Saturday\, May 3\, from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. on the Quad in Belmont’s central campus. For more information\, visit Fiesta Belmont’s Web site at\: www.latinstreetfair.com [http\://www.latinstreetfair.com]
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CATEGORIES:fiesta-belmont,aande
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080422T142533
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190823
ORGANIZER;CN=Jeannette Ceja\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:Prisi791@hotmail.com
DTSTART:20080422T152200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/935
SUMMARY:Weekly letters bring Belmont face to face with human rights issues
DESCRIPTION:Patrick Okoroafor was just 14 years old when he was arrested in May 1995 in Nigeria\, Amnesty International’s Web site reports. “Two years later\, he was sentenced to death for robbery\, along with six others. He did not have the right to appeal and was reported to have been tortured while in police detention.”\n    As a 27-year-old man now\, he has spent almost half of his life in prison\, despite the fact that his death sentence was pronounced illegal\, null and void in 2001. His brother said that Patrick was sent to the police station because the police wanted to inspect a car their mother had bought from one of the other suspects. He never got to return home. It is suspected that the Nigerian police have beaten him and pulled out his teeth with pliers.\nAmnesty International\, a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights for all\, has called for his release.\nThis is one example of the many possible issues Belmont’s chapter of Amnesty International writes letters about each week. Since the fall semester of 2003\, Belmont students have sent over 2\,600 letters campaigning for human rights and against genocide in Darfur.\n    Alternating each week\, Amnesty International of Belmont and Belmont Coalition Against Genocide are able to offer letter writing every Friday at 10 a.m.\n“It’s a simple process\, and it makes such a big impact\,” said Marti Johnson\, a junior sociology student and president of Belmont’s Amnesty International chapter. “I know students have a hard time conceptualizing that their one letter is going to make a difference\, but Amnesty is such a large organization that their one letter is joined with thousands. I believe it really does make a difference.”\nMeeting in room 140 of Inman Health Science Building\, students can earn one hour of community service convo credit by writing at least one letter. All materials and information are provided\, and students are asked to donate $1 for postage costs.\n“There are relatively few opportunities to do community service on campus that you can fit an hour here and an hour there the way you can with other convo categories\,” faculty advisor Daniel Schafer said. “I think it fills a need from the convo perspective.”\nOn the Fridays that BCAG hosts it\, the issues are about the conflict in Darfur\, and students write letters to put pressure on the government of Sudan and selective divestment from international corporations that do business with Sudan. When Amnesty hosts the letter-writing\, the issues come from the international headquarters in London and are about all kinds of human rights violations\, such as torture\, execution and “disappearance”. The focus is often on prisoners\, and frequently the people are in prison because of what they believe.\n“[Writing letters] has been the basic bread and butter of Amnesty International for over 40 years\,” Schafer said. “It’s about gathering information on people whose basic civil rights are being violated\, putting together action reports and distributing them to people around the world.”\nAbout 25 to 35 students come to the letter writing sessions each week. Participants hear a brief introduction and then collect the information papers and spend the next 40 minutes writing.\n“We give them all the information that they need\,” Johnson said. “We give a form letter that makes recommendations about how to address the person you're writing to and specific recommendations on what to say and what not to say and how to do it with respect.”\nThe cases are almost always about specific individuals who are in danger from their government or an armed group in conflict. They are urgent and considered to be at risk right at this moment. These cases come with a time frame and are replaced when they are expired.\nJohnson is particularly interested in writing about child soldiers because of her past work with the Invisible Children movement. She said they offer a broad scope of issues. Johnson knows students can get so overwhelmed with things going on in their own lives that it’s easy to lose focus of the world around them.\n“I think we all potentially would like to make a difference in some kind of way\,” she said. “That’s why we offer letter writing. It’s a simple opportunity for students to participate.”\nHandwritten letters are more time-consuming but are believed to be more effective than email communication or petitions. These letters are sent to domestic and international leaders that can do something to help the situations.\n“When you can actually see the stack of letters or bags full of letters that have come in on an issue\, that sends a different kind of message than a bunch of cut and paste e-mail letters\,” Schafer said.\nThere is evidence that the letter writing truly has made a difference. Though it’s sometimes difficult to know whether it was the letter writing or other organizations or governments working on the case\, Amnesty estimated several years ago that about a third of the circumstances of the individuals in question improved due to the efforts of Amnesty’s members.\n“What I tell people is that this is an extraordinary success rate for a bunch of people around the world taking up pen and paper\,” Schafer said. “You didn’t have to apply sanctions\, didn’t have to send in military forces\, didn’t have to get the U.N. involved. That’s the power of publicity.”\n    Other than host letter writing campaigns\, these two organizations have held other events such as a movie series and a benefit concert last year. They have meetings every other week\, and to find out how you can be involved in the fall\, send Schafer an e-mail at schaferd@mail.belmont.edu [mailto\:schaferd@mail.belmont.edu].\n“Students need to know that there are lots of ways they can be a positive force for human rights\,” Shafer said. “We don’t have to just sit down and let evil have the final word.”
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CATEGORIES:news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080422T143018
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190835
ORGANIZER;CN=Chansin Bird\, Senior Writer:MAILTO:chansinbird@msn.com
DTSTART:20080422T152700
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/936
SUMMARY:Art by homeless focus of show
DESCRIPTION:Through new ideas\, planning and passion for the homeless\, two Belmont students hope to change the way Nashville looks at homeless people.\n    Cash Forshee\, a junior\, and Micah Oelze\, a sophomore\, both active with Mobile Loaves and Fishes\, an organization that feeds the homeless\, created an exhibit of photographs taken by homeless people they encountered through Mobile Loaves and Fishes.\n    “I believe the first step is always awareness\,” Forshee said about his hopes to create change\, and the exhibit was a way for him to do that.\n    More than 150 visitors\, including students and other members of the Nashville community\, attended the opening night April 9. The university communications department sent out press releases about the exhibit\, which will later travel to five different churches in the area.\n    The students’ main goals were to humanize and undo stereotypes about the homeless\, Forshee said.  He wants to get rid of misconceptions. “They are just like me.  They just don’t have a house\,” he said.\n    Forshee and Oelze hope to meet these goals with the exhibit and by continuing to work to achieve them when the exhibit ends. “In a lot of ways\, me and Micah are back at the drawing board trying to figure out how to get people more aware\,” Forshee said.\n    Oelze agreed. “I just want awareness\, and I want people to feel the responsibility they have to each other and to take their individual parts\,” he said.\n    The project wasn’t just the work of two students\, Forshee said. They received help from Mobile Loaves and Fishes\, the sociology department\, the art department and their friends.\n    Forshee and Oelze also held a benefit concert for the homeless in January.\n
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CATEGORIES:mobile-loaves-and-fishes,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080422T143339
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190846
ORGANIZER;CN=Liz Hunton\, Senior Writer:MAILTO:lizhunton@gmail.com
DTSTART:20080422T153100
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/937
SUMMARY:A day to celebrate with Belmont's president
DESCRIPTION:As this semester gets closer to an end there is still another chance to catch a very special event on campus. You will not want to miss the President’s Concert\, an annual event that will be held this year on Saturday\, April 26.  The President’s Concert continues to be a tradition at Belmont and this year marks its 19th concert.\n    This year’s concert\, recognizing Belmont President Bob Fisher\, promises excitement and entertainment for the audience. It will feature musical and dance performances from students of the College of Visual & Performing Arts.\n     “It’s an excellent concert because of the variety\,” said Sarah Davis\, director of public relations and advancement for the College of Visual and Performing Arts.\n    Davis discussed the different musical styles that will be in the concert\, including brass\, piano\, orchestra\, jazz\, classical vocalists and dances.\n    Because there are so many different acts\, Davis said\, “there is something for everybody.”\n    The concert will be held in the Massey Concert Hall. There will also be an Applause Award given to Steinway & Sons Piano Company. Davis described this award as given to “someone or an entity that has made a significant contribution to the arts.”\n     By giving the award to Steinway\, Belmont will officially announce its intent to become an “All-Steinway School” with the purchase of approximately 70 additional pianos from Steinway\, according to a Belmont press release. The funds for the replacement came from a gift of more than $2 million from the Merrydale Woods estate\, a donation that will also provide new scholarships for future piano students   \n    Additionally\, Davis said all money generated from the President’s concert will also go toward scholarships for the College of Visual & Performing Arts.\nGetting there\nThe President’s Concert is Saturday\, April 16\, at 8 p.m. in MPAC. Ticket prices\: Belmont students\, $5\; faculty and staff\, $10\; senior citizens\; $10\; general public\, $15.
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CATEGORIES:aande
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:4
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080422T143546
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190905
ORGANIZER;CN=Jeannette Ceja\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:Prisi791@hotmail.com
DTSTART:20080422T153300
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/964
SUMMARY:MIA unites music fans at City Hall
DESCRIPTION:Cinco de Mayo was originally celebrated in honor of General Ignacio Zaragoza Segu&iacute\;n\, who\, with his Mexican army\, defeated the French in 1862 at the Battle of Puebla. Although the French took Mexico City five years later\, the holiday remains in popular culture as a celebration of Mexican culture and an excuse for college students to have a party under the misunderstanding that they’re celebrating Mexican Independence Day. In 2008\, a flicker of that celebration could be seen in the eyes of the hundreds who packed City Hall—completely dismissing the Mix 92.9 mariachi band a few blocks down the road—to see something of a revolution themselves\: Maya Arulpragasam\, aka M.I.A.\n Before Sri Lanka’s favorite daughter came on stage\, however\, a band whose full name would be frowned upon in print at Belmont took the stage to rock some Juno nominated electronic improv. For the sake of not ruffling any feathers\, let’s call them “Holy F-Bomb.”\n Holy F-Bomb is the kind of band that would play Bonnaroo in the 2 a.m. timeslot and act as a magnet to exhausted fans that spent the last 10 hours partying in the sun. On their way back to camp to crash until the oppressive Manchester heat turns their tents into ovens\, only the most intriguing band is going to break their march and get them dancing for just a little longer. The hunched over fellows of Holy Four Letter Obscenity easily meet that criteria with a constantly escalating set built out of spazzy beats backed by live drums and bass.\n The quartet have made a name for themselves by replacing modern electronic standbys like sampling\, splicing and programming through laptops with old-school ingenuity. Instead\, they become the ultimate slight-of-hand band\, distracting the audience with bridges between songs while the rest of the band franticly retunes their instruments or rips film through the 35 mm sequencer before launching into another song which quickly melts into their ever evolving ball of electro-jams.\n What was most endearing to them was that they were able to keep the crowd moving through out their entire set\, even though their style of music is completely different from what most people paid over 30 dollars for. One of the most diverse crowds\, speaking in all manners of diversity\, to run rampant at City Hall turned out for the show and an initial wave of indifference could have sunk the two hours before M.I.A. took the stage. But\, on the contrary\, the band succeeded in hyping the crowd into a frenzy begging for more. Had DJ Million $ Mano’s extended DJ set which followed been excised entirely so that Holy F could play longer\, there is little doubt in my mind that the crowd would have minded.\n  [http\://www.flickr.com/photos/indierocklance/2472559704/] Fast-forwarding to 10 p.m.\, the huge screen behind the stage flickered to life with the broadcast of a radical election speech by Kouichi Touyama\, a left-wing street musician who called for the overthrow of the Japanese government during his bid for the governorship of Tokyo in 2007. Cheers erupted when Touyama declared “Elections won’t change anything anyway\,” which does not bode well for the three U.S. presidential candidates presently duking it out in the polls. He bid us to join in on a “terrifying conspiracy to overthrow the government\,” which brought more cheers and a hint at what was to come.\n There is good reason why M.I.A. has topped “Best of” lists with both 2005’s “Arular” and last year’s “Kala.” It’s not hard to misunderstand the broad umbrella of electronic music and it\, largely\, can be perceived as superfluous\, interchangeable dance music. What sets M.I.A. as the queen of the genre is the incredible political and social awareness which goes into her lyrics. She quickly launched into “World Town\,” a surprisingly danceable\, globally conscious song about child soldiers which was at home alongside anthems against war (“Pull Up the People”) and gun culture (“Sunshowers”). Her music doesn’t just cross borders—it pulls them down like chunks of the Berlin Wall.\n But none of that matters as much as the fact that a M.I.A. show is an incredible musical experience. These are songs that make you dance as much as they might make you think and her live performance brings the added intrigue of video which\, when not broadcasting rants by Japanese dissidents\, forms into a multimedia experience that pulsates with 8 bit Nintendo graphics and virtual dancers to accompany the real-life ones on stage. When time came for her to play “10 Dollar” off “Arular\,” the dancers on stage multiplied exponentially when she called the ladies in the crowd to climb on stage with her to dance and even sing along from time to time.\n For her grand finale\, M.I.A. graced us all with “Paper Planes\,” the third single from “Kala” which cribbed a guitar riff from a Clash tune and had people throwing fists in the air to the sound of gunshots which rang out in each chorus. It’s the most fun you’ll ever have listening to a song about xenophobia.\n In all\, her set was about an hour and a half long\, but it felt significantly shorter. Any feelings about what time it was or how bad traffic might be when I left were replaced with\, dare I say\, dance fever and perhaps slight claustrophobia. Artists like M.I.A. thrive upon live performances and seeing her live adds entire new levels to songs that are already pretty good. Her performance at the soon to be defunct City Hall was no exception.\n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:aande,music
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:10
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080507T020457
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T215636
ORGANIZER;CN=Lance Conzett\, Online Editor:MAILTO:conzettl@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080507T030300
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1011
SUMMARY:On liberal arts
DESCRIPTION:Belmont University is quite the interesting college. As I go from class to class and talk with more and more people\, one thing in particular seems to stick in my mind\: why do so many people who go here love to complain? You’ve all had them in your classes and you all know what their favorite phrases are\: “Why do I even have to know this?” or “This has nothing to do with my major.” Aside from the fact that you could simply transfer\, I would like to take a moment to explain why Belmont University’s general education program is what it is.\nYou are attending a liberal arts university. What does that mean? It means rather than attending a professional\, vocational\, or trade school\, you are working to get a general understanding of various topics. This Latin derivative literally means the art for the free man. A free man\, rather than being slave to one single occupation\, is free to enjoy the knowledge of the world\, of culture\, of humanity and of countless subjects. Someone who is truly intelligent knows that education and academics are not just about preparing you for “entrepreneurship” or “songwriting.” (No offense.)\nThe traditional curriculum of liberal arts colleges includes theology\, literature\, language\, philosophy\, history\, mathematics and science. This means that you should leave Belmont with your diploma in hand\, but also with life skills\: cultural understanding\, respect for various subjects\, and the ability to critically analyze.\nJohn Adams said\, “Laws for the liberal education of youth…are so extremely wise and useful that to a humane and generous mind\, no expense for this purpose would be thought extravagant.” Given\, some might consider Belmont’s tuition somewhat extravagant\; one should appreciate the idea of liberal arts (as long as you’re paying for it\, at least.)\nSo next time you complain to one of your friends about First Year Seminar or that humanities requirement\, think about what it means to have the opportunity to engage and learn in the realm of a diverse set of disciplines.\nDavid Grizzell\nsophomore finance major\n
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CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:4
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080508T121020
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190930
DTSTART:20080508T130700
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1012
SUMMARY:Don't point your nose so high\, you might get second-hand smoke
DESCRIPTION:There’s nothing like the piercing look of judgment. That is\, nothing as bad as it.\nWhen I enjoy my occasional cigarette (in a designated smoking area ALWAYS)\, it’s fun to notice the looks of disgust and awe at such a habit. Yes\, smoking is unhealthy.\nDo smokers’ know this? Yes. Do we want you to tell us – whether verbal or non-verbal? No. But enough about the stigma behind tobacco use. I want to address the growing movement for a campus-wide ban on smoking.\nI’m not a big fan of the current statewide ban on tobacco use. I understand the need for a ban in true public places\, but not in private places. Bars and restaurants are private institutions\, and as such\, reserve the right to allow\, or deny\, service to anyone. If they don’t like your crocs\, they have the right to deny you a drink (I would). You don’t like the smell of smoke? You must not be aware that it is commonplace in “nightlife” institutions. Remember that it is your privilege\, rather than right\, to enter a private business.\nAs for a campus-wide ban\, that is up to university administration. I would consider it an unwise move due to the level of smoking on campus and difficulty of enforcement. No one can deny that a fair portion of students on campus smoke. To ban it would be to go against these students who have a voice. As tuition-paying people\, we should be allowed to have a say in our rights. Now I’m stepping on toes…I know what the reply will be\: “I have to walk behind a smoker on the way to  class!” Yes\, you do. That smoker is also not obeying the designated smoking area policy. This is a matter of enforcement and lies under the jurisdiction of residence life and security. There is no need to enact a new policy when the solution is to enforce the current rule. So next time you see a smoker having a cigarette in a designated smoking area\, smile and show a little Christian love rather than glare in disgust and judgment.\nDavid Grizzell\nsophomore finance major\n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:8
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080508T121322
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T190946
DTSTART:20080508T131200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1272
SUMMARY:The Searchers inspires two at Nashville Film Festival
DESCRIPTION:In John Ford’s The Searchers\, John Wayne plays a Civil War veteran who spends years searching for his niece\, who was captured in a Comanche raid. Through out his journey\, questions regarding the nature of justice\, racism and the motivation for violence are explored and over time\, the film has gradually gained favor with Western enthusiasts and critics. Now\, the film is considered to be one of the great Westerns of all time and may very well have been what saved Wayne from the fallout of his other 1956 film\; the dazzlingly lousy The Conqueror\, in which he was hilariously miscast as Genghis Khan.\n    Two films inspired by the epic classic\, Tracing Cowboys and the aptly named Searchers 2.0\, screened at the 2008 Nashville Film Festival and they couldn’t be any more different from one another.\n    Searchers 2.0\, Alex Cox’s hyper-low budget send-up comedy is a rambling film which holds very little significance for anyone outside of two washed-up actors on a quest for revenge and their fellow film geeks. When Mel Torres and Fred Fletcher\, played by Del Zamora and Ed Pansullo\, were children on the set of Buffalo Bill vs. Doc Holliday\, they were traumatized by a cruel screenwriter named Fritz Frobisher\, played by long-time Cox collaborator Sy Richardson. Now\, with a special screening of the film looming coupled with a Q&A by Frobisher himself\, the two decide to trek down to Monument Valley for the express purpose of beating up the 86 year-old screenwriter.\n    As Torres and Fletcher meander down the road from Los Angeles into Arizona\, in a black SUV driven by Torres’ beautiful\, Ayn Rand obsessed daughter Delilah\, they hamfistedly tackle political commentary about when violence is justified\, the war in Iraq and conspiracy theory\, but only when they aren’t babbling on and on about obscure westerns. But\, the film isn’t a complete waste for the layman. Cox\, who also directed the punk rock cult films Repo Man and Sid & Nancy\, is a dedicated bender of the rules of film and Searchers 2.0 is at its best when Cox is ignoring the rulebook.\n    In one particular scene\, the motley crew has stopped at a bar where the actors are chatting about the great revenge dramas of film history. Delilah interrupts them and for a few minutes\, looking straight into the camera\, breaks the fourth wall to explain why these two have it all wrong and utterly deflate their entire motivation. This is the kind of flagrant disregard for the rules where Cox is at his best. But no matter how good he is at breaking down conventions\, it takes more than an edgy filmmaker and a cameo by b-movie legend Roger Corman to salvage a movie that wanders as aimlessly as Searchers 2.0 does.\n    On the entire opposite edge of the spectrum is the beautifully shot drama Tracing Cowboys\, which tells the story of Ethan and Debbie (named for the Searchers characters) in a fragmented timeline. When Debbie vanishes from their ranch home\, Ethan goes on a journey to track her down during the height of Day of the Dead in rural Baja\, Mexico\, spurred from photographs she had taken along the way. As the film progresses\, however\, it becomes increasingly obvious that the film is less about the journey itself than it is about Ethan\, which is particularly poignant considering the real life tragedy which befell the production\: On the final day of shooting\, the film’s screenwriter and lead actor\, Sacha Grunpeter was killed in a car wreck.\n    “The script and the story were very close to Grunpeter’s life and to the things he was interested and who he was\,” said director Jason Wolfsohn in an interview at the festival. “I don’t want to say it’s autobiographical\, because it absolutely wasn’t. There were many things about that character that Sacha was interested in and attracted to and wanted to explore. In many ways\, those were things that he was interested in his own life.”\n    Ethan is introduced as an Englishman who is fascinated with the American west and aspires to be country-western singer. With his cowboy hat and demo tape in hand\, he has the sensibility that has so often been seen on the streets of Nashville. Anyone who has spent any amount of time in downtown Nashville can attest to the amount of country hopefuls\, either playing in bars or busking on corners. While Ethan has the demeanor of someone who wants to make it\, he’s also weighted down by a distinct feeling of half-heartedness.\n    Viewing the film with the knowledge of Grunpeter's death gives it an otherworldly feel. Wolfsohn said that although the film is very close to their original vision for it\, in a practical sense many pieces of the character are unpolished. Grunpeter wasn’t available to shoot additional scenes\, record dialogue looping or reproduce the music sung by his character in the film. As a result\, Ethan is oddly understated. His voice is quieter than the other characters and that feeling of isolation travels through out the film. All of these unintentional elements pull together to strengthen the main theme of discovery in the film and\, in the end\, the story being told is about one man’s resurrection and the search for something more metaphysical.\n    Tracing Cowboys was an impressive sleeper at the Nashville Film Festival which deservingly won the festival’s award for best cinematography. Even when the real-life context is removed\, the film is striking but the fact that this was Sacha Grunpeter’s swan song makes it an uncompromisingly emotional narrative.\n    What made this film succeed\, on one level\, is what caused Searchers 2.0 to flounder. At no point does the viewer feel as if they’re missing something by not being fluent in spaghetti western. Even with a brilliantly funny performance by Sy Richardson\, Searchers 2.0 is a tough sell to the average moviegoer. Even the non-average moviegoer is going to have a hard time appreciating this one unless they belong to a very specific cross-section of Alex Cox fans and die-hard western lovers. If you can’t call allegiance to both groups\, Searchers 2.0 is not the movie for you.\n
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CATEGORIES:2008-nashville-film-festival,aande
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:5
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080614T154209
LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T191000
ORGANIZER;CN=Lance Conzett\, Online Editor:MAILTO:conzettl@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080522T163400
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1808
SUMMARY:Nashville Shakespeare Festival takes political turn
DESCRIPTION:"Coriolanus\," a lesser known tragedy from Shakespeare's later years\, may not be the most conventional choice for the Nashville [http\://www.nashvilleshakes.org/] Shakespeare Festival’s latest production\, but one could make a strong argument for it being the most timely.\n“‘Coriolanus’ is a play of action before thought\,” said director Mark Cabus\, who also serves as artistic director for Naked Stages. “As Shakespeare’s final tragedy\, it represents the worst in all of us.”\nSet in and around pre-imperial Rome\, the play tells the story of Caius Martius\, a heroic general who is given the titular name after his valiant efforts in taking the nearby city of Corioles. Upon returning home\, he is offered the position of consul by the senate but only if he secures the votes of the people. The story is at once the portrait of a man on the brink of obtaining an influential public office and a study of the sparks that fly when patricians (the ruling powers-that-be) and plebeians (the commoners) collide.\nSound familiar?\n“In a point by point comparison\, neither [Obama nor McCain] much resembles Coriolanus\, but the play raises the same questions we still grapple with four hundred years later\,” said dramaturg Christine C. Mather. “We still debate whether failing to follow custom is a signal that a candidate despises us and our beliefs or a sign of integrity. Is it a fault or a virtue to conform to expectations when not doing so becomes offensive to the voters? Does war experience make for a better leader\, or for a more belligerent one?”\nAn innovative marketing campaign for the production has taken cues from the play's subject material and the nation's current election frenzy. Yard signs advocating "Coriolanus for Consul" are proudly displayed in many local neighborhoods and a NSF fundraiser held at Estel Gallery last month featured campaign donation requests and a mock press conference in which the candidate was beamed in from "Rome."\n“He holds himself to a higher standard and despises all who fall short of his criteria\,” said Cabus of the the central character. “He is a man of too little education and too much rhetoric. In Shakespearean terms\, he is destined to fail. In modern American terms\, he is every individual set upon a pedestal for public scrutiny.”\n"Coriolanus" continues every Thursday through Sunday and Labor Day Monday through September 7. It is presented in the Centennial Park bandshell and is free to the public. The performance begins at 7\:30 p.m. with pre-show entertainment at 6\:30 p.m.\n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:ae,theater
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:48
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080817T103603
LAST-MODIFIED:20080912T180047
ORGANIZER;CN=Andrew Cole\, Managing Editor:MAILTO:coleat@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080821T232600
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1851
SUMMARY:'U.S. News' says Belmont a school worth watching
DESCRIPTION:Belmont is worth watching\, and “U.S. News and World Report” told the nation that in its just-released annual rankings of colleges and universities.\nThis year\, for the first time has a rich history\, the category of “schools to watch” was added\, and Belmont is No. 2 among master’s-level universities in the South.\n“I don’t believe Belmont University could have received a higher compliment than to be noted by our peer institutions as a Top School to Watch\,” President Bob Fisher said in a statement released Friday.\nAccording to “U.S. News\,” the “schools to watch [http\://www.usnews.com/articles/education/best-colleges/2008/08/21/up-and-coming-colleges-offer-top-colleges-new-competition.html]” were identified by top college officials across the country “as schools that have recently made the most promising and innovative changes in academics\, faculty\, students\, campus or facilities.”\nFisher added that Belmont has a wealth of entrepreneurial people.\n“Sometimes I wonder if there’s a sign outside my office door that says\, ‘Anyone who has a crazy idea\, come on in\,’” he said. “The amazing thing is\, most of these crazy ideas are working.”\nThe innovative institutions are ranked in the same categories as those of the regular rankings\, where Belmont is ranked 11th overall in the South’s Top 15 master’s-level universities. This is the fourth consecutive year Belmont has been in the Top 15 and it is in the highest position of any university in the state.\nIn its published report\, “U.S. News” noted that two mid-size schools\, Elon University in North Carolina and Belmont\, were cited most as national educators noted their improvements.“\nU.S. News” stated\, “For prospective applicants\, we believe the schools on this list [of schools to watch] offer the reassurance that whatever their historical reputation (or lack thereof)\, they’re firmly focused on improving the job they’re doing today – at least in the judgment of their peers.” \n In early August\, Belmont earned another ranking\, that one putting it among 139 schools in the Southeast designated in "The Princeton Review's" 2009 Best Colleges.\n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:8
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080822T154837
LAST-MODIFIED:20080912T175832
ORGANIZER;CN=Staff reports:MAILTO:vision@mail.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080822T164400
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1852
SUMMARY:Andy Davis\, on fall tour\, has two dates in Nashville
DESCRIPTION:“USA Today” last week noted that Andy Davis  [http\://www.myspace.com/andydavis]“has a flair for warm\, accessible pop.” But many who’ve been around Nashville– Davis is an ’03 Belmont alum – admired those qualities early on.  Two local appearances are coming up for fans and those who want to hear what the growing attention is about.\n Davis is scheduled for a gig at 8\:30 p.m. Thursday\, Aug. 28\, at Mercy Lounge [http\://www.mercylounge.com/]\, and another at 11 p.m. Saturday\, Sept. 13\, at the Cannery Ballroom [http\://www.mercylounge.com/]\, a performance that’s part of Next Big Nashville [http\://www.nextbignashville.net/].\n Last spring\, Davis sat down with Vision writer Ashley Bearden (’08) for an interview.  You can see the video [http\://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCbJ0CSWAUo] and the story  [http\://www.belmontvision.com/news/2008/04/21/woman-expands-davis-horizons.926]on belmontvision.com.\n 
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:andy-davis,ae
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:23
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080822T183757
LAST-MODIFIED:20080912T175953
ORGANIZER;CN=Staff reports:MAILTO:vision@mail.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080822T193200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1853
SUMMARY:Next BIG Nashville takes local music to the mainstream
DESCRIPTION:Nashville’s music scene is often unfairly pigeonholed as simply a haven for aspiring country musicians\, all hoping to get discovered playing in a bright neon honkytonk on Broadway or at the Bluebird’s [http\://64.20.48.250/~bbccom/] open mic night. The city’s reputation as being a music town isn’t because of the country music industry’s entrenchment into Music Row\, however\, it’s because you can’t swing a guitar in this town without accidentally clubbing a musician with it\, and chances are better than good that your poor victim won’t be wearing a cowboy hat. An eclectic variety of genres calls Music City home and Next BIG Nashville [http\://www.nextbignashville.net/] has made its purpose to give them a little more attention.\nNow in its third year\, Next BIG Nashville has ballooned from its humble beginnings in 2006 as a simple showcase over a weekend at Mercy Lounge [http\://www.mercylounge.com/]. Last year saw its line-up of bands quadruple in size from 36 to 147 and in 2008\; the number has grown to over 250 artists performing in over 18 venues across town. Beyond the shows\, NBN has added on an entire music conference featuring panels\, exhibitors and demonstrations hosted by the Musicians and Country Music halls of fame.\nOnly artists with some kind of connection to Nashville are allowed onto the festival’s roster\, although that connection can include “personal history\, business connections or musical endeavors\," allowing in bands like Louisville\, Ky.\, rockers Wax Fang\, who held their CD release show at The Basement [http\://www.thebasementnashville.com/] and have often supported local bands like The Protomen and Glossary (both are performing in NBN 2008 as well).\nBands involved in this year’s NBN include The Features\, Superdrag\, Space Capone\, Brooke Waggoner\, Kindergarten Circus\, How I Became the Bomb\, The Dynamites\, Forget Cassettes\, The Pink Spiders\, Cortney Tidwell\, Caitlin Rose and dozens of others. Belmont is represented as well by bands like Biscuits and Gravy\, Six Gun Lullaby and Lorien.\nFestival wristbands are on sale at TicketsNashville.com  [http\://www.ticketsnashville.com/WebSales/Pages/RegionalPortalPage.aspx?og=fe0ec196-6999-4c80-a949-1b8d336da513&]for $35 each in advance or $45 for walk-ups. Wristbands allow entry to all Next BIG Nashville venues and showcases\, exclusive after-parties\, discounts from festival partners like Grimey’s and free subscriptions to music magazines like Paste. The VIP badge\, $100 in advance and $125 for walk-ups\, includes all the perks of the wristband\, plus free swag and access to VIP receptions.\nOf course\, if you’re not interested in the entire festival\, individual tickets can be bought at the door of your show of choice\, but be aware that the people who shelled out more cash get priority if the show hits capacity.\n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:aande,lorien,music,next-big-nashville
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:7
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080822T215226
LAST-MODIFIED:20080831T205007
ORGANIZER;CN=Lance Conzett\, Online Editor:MAILTO:conzettl@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080822T224300
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1854
SUMMARY:Campus gears up for town hall presidential debate
DESCRIPTION:Students moving onto Belmont’s campus this weekend might notice a color scheme in signs\, T-shirts and bookstore merchandise\: red\, white and blue.  As the university prepares to host the Town Hall Presidential Debate  [http\://www.belmontdebate08.com/]with moderator Tom Brokaw on Oct. 7\, patriotism and democracy will take center stage in a series of convocations\, speakers and special events. \n The speakers’ series\, called “The Art of Being Free\,” will kick off with Dr. Tony Campolo speaking on Sept. 3 on “Citizenship and Faith.” Speakers throughout the series will include documentary filmmaker Ken Burns on Sept. 3\; Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner\, former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus\, on Oct. 29\; and historian and author David McCullough in the spring semester.  The Vision will report more on the speakers’ series in advance of each event.\nThe week of Sept. 7-15\, Belmont's 7th annual Humanities Symposium  [http\://www.belmont.edu/english/humanities%5Fsymposium/]will offer a wide program of speakers and panels on "Debate\, Dissent and Dialogue."\n While students will be on fall break during the actual debate\, student programming will begin in early September and last through the academic year. “I think it’s great how Belmont is making sure that they are engaging everyone within our community with the programming\,” said Klay Kelley\, Student Government Association president.  “By making sure everyone is engaged\, it helps keep everyone on campus connected and helps them recognize the importance of how historical this is that the debate is at Belmont and in Tennessee.”\n Few details are known about the actual impact of the debate on student life.  The event is carried out by the Commission on Presidential Debates [http\://www.debates.org/]\, a nonpartisan\, nonprofit body that has sponsored all presidential debates since 1988. Most of the guidelines about the debate and the security around it are handled by the CPD.\nBelmont  moved fall break to coincide with the week of the debate\, so students will have the option to remain on campus or leave.  In an email sent to all students in late July\, Provost Dan McAlexander said that students who elect to remain on campus during the debate will not be allowed to enter or leave residence halls from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Oct. 7.  More details will be available on BIC as they are known. \n The Town Hall Presidential Debate will be hosted by NBC’s Brokaw\, who is the interim host of “Meet the Press.” Belmont University President Dr. Bob Fisher said in a press release\, “We are thrilled to host Tom Brokaw at Belmont University. His professionalism and political expertise are a hallmark of each presidential election season\, and we are excited to have a journalist of his caliber on our campus for this historic event.”\n Attendance at the debate will be determined by the Gallup Organization\, but students will be volunteering throughout the week of the debate.  During the summer\, students had the opportunity to submit applications to volunteer.  Even if students choose to leave town for fall break\, however\, there will certainly be plenty of programming to engage them in the debate throughout the year. \n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:presidential-debate,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:13
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080822T222642
LAST-MODIFIED:20080912T180132
ORGANIZER;CN=Melanie Bengtson\, Editor:MAILTO:vision@mail.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080822T232500
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1855
SUMMARY:Bruins men's basketball to face Pitt\, UT in packed '08-09 season
DESCRIPTION:The sports highlight of last year’s men’s basketball season – and one that caught the eyes of the nation – was the Bruins’ oh-so-close one-point loss to Duke in the first round of the NCAA.\n    Belmont got national attention\, great experience and serious motivation\, which will surely be evident when the 2008-09 season opens Nov. 14 against Samford in the first of two back-to-back home games. The Bruins follow Samford with fellow NCAA Tournament participant Austin Peay Nov. 17.\n    That’s just the beginning of the march back to the Big Dance\, which begins March 19\, 2009. And the A-Sun Conference Tournament precedes that\, scheduled March 14-17 just blocks away at rival Lipscomb.\n    While another trip to the NCAA is not the measure of a season\, it’s surely tucked away in Coach Rick Byrd’s mind as he noted in a statement released by the athletic department.\n    "The Atlantic Sun appears to be the strongest it has been in many years and it will be difficult to make any one team the favorite this season\," Byrd said. "As always\, it will be our hope to contend for the regular season championship and to be playing our best in early March."\n    Before that\, however\, the Bruins will follow their first two home games with a trip to the Big East Nov. 25 to play Pitt’s Panthers\, a team that rivals.com has in the No. 2 spot in its preseason poll.\n    Not a month later\, on Dec. 20 the Bruins will be in Knoxville\, facing the Tennessee Vols\, rated No. 9 in preseason rivals.com picks. Adding to the tension there is that Byrd is a 1976 graduate of UT-Knoxville.\n    Belmont’s conference schedule has grown from 16 games last year to 20 games for the coming season. On Dec. 4\, the Bruins will face Jacksonville\, the team they defeated in 2008 to earn their third consecutive A-Sun title.\n    Among other non-conference games\, the Bruins will face TSU and MTSU\, and they’ll travel west in December to the Cable Car Classic holiday tournament at Santa Clara in the San Francisco Bay area.\n    Check the Bruins men's basketball site [http\://belmontbruins.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/belm-m-baskbl-body.html] for all the details of the schedule\, the players and the news they make on and off the field.\n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:sports
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:9
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080823T113044
LAST-MODIFIED:20080912T180234
ORGANIZER;CN=Staff reports:MAILTO:vision@mail.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080823T122900
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1857
SUMMARY:Monday's Job Fair has options for on-campus employment
DESCRIPTION:Got work to be done? Need work to do?\n    On-campus departments seeking employees will meet students seeking jobs at the Student Employment Job Fair\, noon- 2p.m. Monday\, Aug. 25.\n    The event is in Neely Dining Room.\n    Jobs available include both those who have a Federal Work-Study Award as well as those seeking regular Belmont employment.\n    With rising tuition as well as overall cost of living\, more students than not find jobs to supplement scholarships\, grants and family assistance. Numbers gathered in national studies show that almost 60 percent of traditional age students  – and 70-80 percent of all college students – work full- or part-time.\n    But why work on campus? A number of reasons actually\, as Patricia Jacobs\, director of Career Services told Cody Badaracca\, a writer for the on-campus “Connect” magazine.\n    “What students tell us is that it’s very convenient\; that they can easily go to their classes and come back to the office that they’re working\,” Jacobs said.  “Most of the office managers in the various departments tend to be a little more flexible because they understand they’re a student. It really saves on time\, which is important to students.”\n    But Career Services can also help you if you want to find an off-campus job.\nWith CareerConnector\, [http\://belmont.erecruiting.com/er/security/login.jsp] employers around Nashville submit job opportunities to Belmont. Belmont puts these jobs on CareerConnector\, and students can search the jobs by date\, job type\, location\, etc.\n    Jacobs said on average about 500 jobs are on the list daily. The site automatically drops the listing after 30 days\, so you know the offers are always current. Openings include full-time\, part-time and internships.\n    Students can also post their resumes on the site so that it’s available to potential employers.\n
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CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080823T122116
LAST-MODIFIED:20080830T151505
ORGANIZER;CN=Staff reports:MAILTO:vision@mail.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080823T131800
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1860
SUMMARY:Class of 2012 arrives for move-in day
DESCRIPTION:Photos by Lance Conzett\n Watch move-in day slideshow [http\://www.flickr.com/photos/belmontvision/sets/72157606912854216/show/]\n Belmont freshmen arrived Saturday\, Aug. 23\, bearing boxes\, suitcases\, refrigerators and other large bulky items\, all essential to dorm life in 2008-09. With help from Belmont student\, faculty and staff volunteers\, several hundred new students began settling into vintage rooms in the residence halls that are in the shadow of the Belmont Mansion as well as the yet unnamed "New Dorm." Classes begin Wednesday\, Aug. 27\, for what will be a record enroilment of nearly 5\,000 Belmont students.\n
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CATEGORIES:move-in-day,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:12
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080823T202447
LAST-MODIFIED:20080912T180454
ORGANIZER;CN=Staff Reports:MAILTO:vision@mail.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080823T212200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1827
SUMMARY:A&E spotlight for Aug. 25-31
DESCRIPTION:Belmont Back to School Hootenanny\n8 p.m. Wednesday\, Aug. 27\, Exit/In (Free!)\n    There is no shortage of Belmont bands that will play at some point during the semester\, so why is the Belmont Back to School Hootenanny down at Exit/In any different? Simply put\, chances are that those cats who are begging you to catch them at the Curb are going to be playing again within two weeks time. Sawgrass\, sadly\, is not.\nSawgrass is a project headed up by singer/songwriter James Moore and supported by a rotating cast of musicians and friends. What sound comes through depends somewhat on who happens to be playing\, but at its core Sawgrass is a contemplative acoustic folk group not unlike The Mountain Goats\, another umbrella folk band with an unbelievable stock of versatile tunes led by lo-fi folksy storyteller John Darnielle. Occasionally Sawgrass flirts with bluegrass and indie rock\, but the band is best when proving that a truly good song stands strong with simple acoustic instrument—even if it can be reconfigured to fit in everything from banjos to keyboards.\nSawgrass\, this time comprised only of Moore and Belmont student Julia Carruthers-Thorne\, will go out with an intimate acoustic performance on August 27 at 9\:00. After their show\, Moore will be moving north to Boston\, where he’ll remain for “the next couple of years”. Also performing are Andrew Neil\, Jesse Lafser and Austin Manuel. Doors open at 8\:00.\nThree Six Mafia\n9\:30 p.m. (doors open)\, Friday\, Aug. 29\, Wildhorse ($35/$45 General Admission)\nThere was a surreal moment in Los Angeles on Mar. 5\, 2006 when\, after a bizarre interpretive dance around a burning car to a song from “Crash”\, four men from Memphis took the stage of the Academy Awards to perform a song about the difficulty one has while making a living managing prostitutes in North Memphis. Then\, to make the night even stranger\, “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” won the award for Best Original Song\, something which host Jon Stewart jokingly responded to with “To recap\, Three 6 Mafia\: 1 [Oscar]. Martin Scorsese\: 0”.\nNot to be out done\, the Memphis hip-hop group will perform at the Wildhorse Saloon\, where line-dancing lessons are held daily\, on Aug. 29. Along with shows by The Hives and Ringo Starr\, this concert is the latest in a series of bookings meant to push the Wildhorse in a very different direction. Tickets range between $35 for general admission on the main floor in advance to $125 for VIP status\, which nets seats on the second floor and a meet and greet with Triple Six themselves.\nFor a more “Wildhorse” kind of show\, A Flock of Seagulls will appear with Max Headroom on Sept. 2 and Foreigner is playing two dates on Oct. 8 and 9.\n
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CATEGORIES:ae,music,spotlight
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:12
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080819T145359
LAST-MODIFIED:20080912T180705
ORGANIZER;CN=Lance Conzett\, Online Editor:MAILTO:conzettl@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080826T154300
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1886
SUMMARY:Edgy 'Romeo and Juliet' intrigues at the Black Box
DESCRIPTION:“Romeo and Juliet” receives a 21st century facelift in the current staging by NewArtist Theatre\, Nashville’s newest theater company presenting its premiere production in the Black Box through Saturday.\n  “What we are doing here is truly different\,” said Director Benjamin Reed\, a recent Belmont graduate. “NewArtist gives young artists of all types an outlet to get their creativity out of their head and in front of an audience. It ushers in a new generation of artists and while we all will admit we are inexperienced\, we also will not concede that our creative minds are any less valuable.”\n In an innovative collaboration of theater\, music and visual art\, the company has invited L&oacute\;rien to write an original score for the show and local artist Shara Dewitt to exhibit in the lobby as well as help with the visual look of the set. Both artists were chosen to fit Reed’s post-apocalyptic take on the play\: Romeo and Juliet are children of a ruined world living in an abandoned industrial warehouse and their families’ strife is not just an ancient feud but also a battle to literally stay alive.\n Professional actor and Nashville favorite Matt Chiorini describes the show as a “90-minute Tarantino-style Romeo and Juliet.” Chiorini isn’t far off as Reed has made significant cuts to the script and added some stylized twists to the movement of the show.\n Expect to see some familiar faces on stage and behind the scenes. The cast features younger actors\, many of them Belmont students\, as well as more experienced veterans of the stage.\n    “Romeo and Juliet” continues August 27 through August 30 at 8 p.m. There will also be a special late night performance on Saturday at 11\:30 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door for $5.\n
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CATEGORIES:ae,theater
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:10
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080827T232002
LAST-MODIFIED:20080912T180636
ORGANIZER;CN=Andrew Cole\, Managing Editor:MAILTO:coleat@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080827T121200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1893
SUMMARY:A&E spotlight for Sept. 1-7
DESCRIPTION:Trailer Park\n5\:30 p.m. Thursday\, Sept. 4\, Belcourt Theater ($30 for Students)\nWhy watch a whole movie when its three-minute trailer will tell you everything you need to know? The latest Belcourt membership event puts that sentiment on a pedestal with “Trailer Park\," a night of the “best and most bizarre” trailers ever to grace the eyes of the people who run the place. Don’t expect to see a promo for the latest Harry Potter movie here\, instead the night promises to feature an eclectic line-up with everything from Thai westerns to gory horror b-movies. You can pack in an awful lot of trailers in three and a half hours.\nIn addition to a constant stream of cinema’s strangest trailers\, food will be provided by Hard Rock Caf&eacute\; to compliment the Belcourt’s own selection of concessions. However\, only members of the Belcourt will be allowed into the theater for the night. Cost of membership starts at $30 for students (fully tax-deductible) and goes as high as $2500 with new perks at each membership tier.\nBottom-level membership benefits include tickets discounted to $5.75\, a 20 percent discount on merchandise and non-alcoholic concessions\, further discounts on special events\, a monthly calendar of events and that warm fuzzy feeling you get from helping a Nashville mainstay remain open. -- Lance Conzett\nAn Evening with Crispin Glover\n7\:30 p.m. Friday\, Sept. 5 and Saturday\, Sept. 6\, Belcourt Theater ($18/$20)\nHe might not look it from his days playing George McFly in “Back to the Future”\, but Crispin Glover is a weird guy and his two dates at the Belcourt Theater will reflect that. He warped songs by Lee Hazlewood and Charles Manson beyond recognition on his 1989 album “The Big Problem Does Not Equal the Solution\, The Solution Equals Let It Be” and has since been drawn to eccentric roles like the lead role in the 2003 remake of “Willard” in which he played a social misfit obsessed with a colony of rats living in his home.\nAt the center of both nights is a screening of “What Is It?” a surrealist film that Glover spent a decade filming in the style of Alejandro Jodorowsky. The film is described by Glover as being “the adventures of a young man whose principle interests are snails\, salt\, a pipe and how to get home as tormented by a hubristic racist inner psyche” starring a cast principally made up of actors with Down syndrome\, although the condition isn’t addressed in the film itself. The film has not been\, and likely never will be\, released on DVD.\nAside from the first in his trilogy of bizarre films\, Glover will also be narrating eight of his illustrated stories\, holding a Q&A session and\, finally\, signing books. -- Lance Conzett\n
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CATEGORIES:ae,movies,spotlight
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:10
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080901T191913
LAST-MODIFIED:20080912T181534
ORGANIZER;CN=Staff Reports:MAILTO:vision@mail.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080901T201300
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1900
SUMMARY:Henry Rollins talks politics\, heads to Nashville Sept. 24
DESCRIPTION:Whether it is The Decemberists opening for a Barack Obama speech in Portland or Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee endorsing John McCain\, musicians have become more present in presidential politics than they have been in recent memory. Over the coming weeks\, until Election Day\, the Vision will present interviews will politically conscious musicians on both sides of the aisle.\nHenry Rollins [http\://21361.com/] is a poet\, actor and talk-show host from Washington\, D.C. He is perhaps most well known for his stint as the singer for Black Flag between 1981 and 1986. Often cited as one of the godfathers of hardcore punk\, Black Flag pioneered a do-it-yourself ethic which revolutionized how underground bands approach everything from touring to recording. After Black Flag broke up in 1986\, Rollins turned his attention to spoken word performances and a solo project which eventually transformed into Rollins Band.\nNow focused almost entirely on speaking engagements\, Rollins regularly tours the world\, telling stories and offering his insights as an “aging alternative icon.” He has also performed on USO tours since the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003. Rollins spoke with the Vision over e-mail\:\nVision\: You've criticized presidential campaigns in the past - you've called the 2001 election "truly depressing" on "Talk Is Cheap\, Vol. 1" (and elections in the past\, for that matter) because it's always a choice between the lesser of two evils. Is it the same this year as it has been for the past 20?\nRollins\: This time around\, for me at least\, it’s not a matter of the lesser of two evils. It’s a matter of wanting four more years of the same thing\, or something else. I am in favor of the latter. I believe that McCain will win. His attack ads and sympathizers are very potent and Americans are proving themselves to be\, more and more\, not the sharpest knives in the drawer. There’s been a lot of work to make that happen though. The threat to fixing the intellectual pothole many of these people reside in not desirable if one wants to maintain the warrior and prisoner class. They are\, the biggest cash cow America has.\nVision\: In the 2004 election\, the punk community was absolutely involved and vocal about punks being politically involved\, notably including Fat Wreck's "Rock Against Bush" compilations/tour and their relationship with PunkVoter.com [http\://PunkVoter.com] at the forefront of that movement. Yet\, in 2008\, there has been little noise if any from that same community. PunkVoter's conservative counterpart has had more updates in August than PunkVoter did in all of 2008. Why hasn't there been more mobilization from these same people\, or even other politically-minded punks?\nRollins\: All I have is a theory and it may very well be totally off the mark. I think this time around\, many people have been lulled into a false sense of security due to the sheer dynamic quality of Obama. Kerry had nothing like that and people realized they had a fight on their hands\, also Bush was the incumbent candidate. Things are not as clear cut this time around unless you do your homework and then you realize the bad guys have only refined their deadly potential in the last four years and there is more work to do than ever.\nVision\: The candidates and the press tend to only hit on nebulous broad points like the economy or Iraq without talking about specific issues. What should be talked about on the campaign trail that's being ignored?\nRollins\: A real time line for troop withdrawal. Hard talk about energy policy as it pertains to our foreign policy. What must be done about Darfur\, relationships with all the countries around the Caspian Sea\, stuff like that. Real world stuff. Not this bull---- about who might be a Muslim or something.\nVision\: It seems like this campaign is far more international than it usually is\, especially with Obama's recent stint in Europe. As an American that frequently travels internationally\, have you gotten a sense of the international opinion about our current political situation?\nRollins\:  People in Europe and other places wonder what the hell is in our water. They have no idea as to how we could have elected Bush a second time\, why we went into Iraq\, etc. From the outside\, our behavior is often bizarre to people. Many people regard us as overfed and undereducated\, war loving and hostile. Most that I have met seem to understand that you would be losing the plot to judge the many by the actions of the few. Also\, like in places such as Iran and Syria\, there is a great love for America but fear of the present administration.\nVision\:  Whoever wins the election has his work cut out for him. What is the first thing you would like to see the future president do in office?\nRollins\: Get out of Iraq.\nRollins will be appearing at the James K. Polk Theater on Sept. 24. Tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster or the TPAC box office for $27\, plus any applicable fees. He can also be seen weekly on his IFC series “The Henry Rollins Show” and heard Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on KDLD [http\://www.indie1031.fm]\, a Los Angeles radio station which also streams live online.\n
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CATEGORIES:ae,music
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:7
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080902T215801
LAST-MODIFIED:20080912T180824
ORGANIZER;CN=Lance Conzett\, Online Editor:MAILTO:conzettl@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080902T225100
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1920
SUMMARY:Alumni 'Coming Home' for Sept. 20 showcase
DESCRIPTION:Some old faces will return to Belmont Sept. 20 for the first annual Coming Home for a Cause Showcase.\nThe event will take place at the Curb Event Center and feature alumni including  Abby Burke and the Manly Band\, King Billy\, Sam & Ruby  and Andy Davis. The concert is free and open to the public. It starts at 7\:00 p.m.\, doors open at 6\:30 p.m. \n“We have so many great alums\,” said Jamie Stamey\, coordinator of student enrichment\, discussing the opportunity for  present students to work together with past students who have industry experience while producing this showcase. Stamey also added\, “we want to show our alums what a great job our students do.”\nAside from mutual exposure\, Coming Home for a Cause has a philanthropic side. The showcase staff is teaming up with a nonprofit organization called Shaohannah's Hope\,  founded by alum and Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman.\nAccording to a press release\, the organization aims to “care for orphans and to help more experience the miracle of adoption by reducing the financial barriers.” \nThe monetary goal for the event is $1\,200 to repair the cleft lip of an 18-month-old Chinese baby named John.  \nDonations can be given in black buckets around campus labeled “Change for Orphans\,” as well as the night of the show.\n“[Shaohannah’s Hope] was a natural tie-in to raise awareness and money\,” Stamey said.\n
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CATEGORIES:andy-davis,ae,music
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:27
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080904T163846
LAST-MODIFIED:20080912T180934
ORGANIZER;CN=Erin Carson\, Assistant Online Editor:MAILTO:carsone@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080903T172900
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1929
SUMMARY:Humanities symposium addresses debate\, discourse
DESCRIPTION:Belmont’s Seventh Annual Humanities Symposium turns its attention this year to the timely topic of “Debate\, Dissent and Dialogue\,” kicking off this Sunday and continuing through Sept. 15. The series of thought-provoking speakers\, seminars and presentations is sure to engage students in a purposeful way before the road to the White House makes its way through the Curb Event Center.\n Focusing on the nature of argument and language in discourse\, especially political\, the symposium will feature talks by Family Professor in Literature at Pennsylvania State University Dr. Michael B&eacute\;rub&eacute\;\, Marshall College Writing Center Director Dr. Daniel Frick and Belmont alumnus and current Kent  State University faculty member Dr. Masood Raja.\n More than 20 academic lectures and special events will be held during this year’s eight-day symposium\, including the viewing and discussion of two recent films\, the William Wilberforce biopic “Amazing Grace” and the Edward R. Morrow-inspired “Good Night\, and Good Luck.”\n Assistant Professor of English Dr. Bonnie Smith \, who also serves as director of Belmont’s Writing Center and helped with symposium planning\, explained that the programming “seeks to fulfill the classical definition of what a symposium should be\: a gathering of friends for the purpose of intellectually stimulating conversation on a matter important to humanity\, time and place.”\n In conjunction with the series\, Smith is currently teaching a 3000-level English class that focuses on the symposium’s themes.\n “Debate\, dissent and dialogue are three quintessentially human activities relevant to the life of our students and community not just in the ‘here and now’ of an election year\,” said Smith. “Rather\, debate\, dissent and dialogue are acts of compassion essential for members of a free society. Our symposium will invite deeper conversations about the nature of debate\, suggest that dissent is a patriotic deed\, and provide opportunities for students\, faculty and staff to dialogue on an array of issues related to film\, philosophy\, literature\, politics\, history and language.”\n “I hope the campus learns about it in enough time to attend the events because the more people that attend\, the more effective the dialogue will be\,” said Chris Dorsey\, a senior music business major who is also a student in Smith’s “Debate\, Dissent and Dialogue” class. “This is an event for the whole university\, not just the English department.”\n B&eacute\;rub&eacute\;\, whose book “Life As We Know It” was a New York Times' Notable Book of the Year for 1996 and was chosen as one of the best books of the year by Maureen Corrigan of National Public Radio\, will speak Thursday night and participate in a panel on Friday. He has written more than 150 essays for a wide variety of academic journals.\n Dr. Daniel Frick is Director of the Writing Center and adjunct professor of English at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster\, Pennsylvania. He teaches courses in rhetoric and American fiction\, and his book\, “Reinventing Richard Nixon\: The Cultural History of an American Obsession\,” has just been published by the University Press of Kansas.\n Belmont alum Dr. Masood Raja moved to the United States in 1996 after resigning his commission in the Pakistan Army. He teaches in the English department at Kent  State\, and he specializes in Postcolonial Literature and Theory with a special emphasis on the Literature of South Asia\, the Islamic world and global responses\, popular and literary\, to the neoliberal globalization.\n Academic Lecture convocation credit will be available at all events in the Humanities Symposium.\n Sunday September 7\n “Debate Camp” & “Game On”\: A Viewing & Discussion of Two Episodes of “The West Wing”\n Dr. Bonnie Smith and University Media Writer and Belmont alumna April Hefner (M.A. ’07) 2\:00-4\:30pm LCVA 117\n Monday September 8\n “Please Argue With Me!\: A Summons to the Symposium”\n Dr. Bonnie Smith\, Department of English\, Belmont U\n 10-10\:50 am\, Massey Boardroom\n “One of the Greatest Debates in Western History\: The Controversy of Valladolid"\n Dr. Natalia Pelaz\, Department of Foreign Languages\, Belmont U\n 2\:00-2\:50 pm\, Massey Boardroom\n “’The Criticism of Honest Opponents” and Our Heritage of Dissent’”\n Dr. David Curtis\, Department of English\, Belmont University\n 5\:00-5\:50 Belmont University Amphitheatre (rain location Massey Boardroom)\n “Debate\, Dissent\, Dialogue\, and Indirection” A Viewing of "Amazing Grace"\n with Dr. Maggie Monteverde and Michael Jackson\n 6\:30-9\:30pm\, Massey Boardroom\n Tuesday September 9\n “Willie Stark\, the Voices of the People\, and theVoices of the Powerful\: Executing Change on a Local Level in Robert Penn Warren's 'All the King's Men'”\n Professor Sue Trout\, Department of English\, Belmont U\n 11\:00-11\:50am\, Bunch Library\, Leu Art Gallery\n Panel on Dissent and Debate in Nashville\n Representative Beth Harwell\, Candidates Eric Stansell and Bob Tuke\, activist Larry Woods\, and radio host Freddie O’Connell\n 4\:30 pm – 6\:00 pm Bunch Library\, Leu Art Gallery\n Refreshments 6\:00-7\:00 pm\n "Extra Terrestrial\: The Outsized Influence of Talk Radio in America's Political Discussion" Freddie O’Connell\, WRVU host Vanderbilt U\n 7\:00-8\:00 pm Bunch Library\, Leu Art Gallery\n Wednesday September 10\n “Dissent in the Nixon Era”\n A Conversation with Dr. Jeff Coker & Dr. Peter Kuryla\, Department of History\, Belmont U\n 4\:30-5\:30 pm Bunch Library\, Leu Art Gallery\n “Reinventing Richard Nixon\: Debating Cultural Values and National Identity”\n Dr. Daniel Frick\, Franklin and Marshall U\n 7\:00-8\:00 pm Bunch Library  Art Gallery\n Refreshments 8\:00pm\n Thursday September 11\n “Just War and the U.S. Policy of Preemption”\n Dr. Ronnie Littlejohn\, Department of Philosophy\, Belmont U\n 11\:00-11\:50 am\, Frist Lecture Hall (4th Floor  Inman Health  Sciences Building)\n “Telling National Stories\: A Novel Way to Debate Argentina”\n Dr. Paulo Boero\, Department of Foreign Languages\, Belmont U\n 2\:00-2\:50 Frist Lecture Hall (4th Floor IHSB)\n “Jihad in Islam\: The Creation of a Mujahid Identity in the Past and Present”\n Dr. Masood Raja\, Kent State U and Belmont Alumnus\n 4\:30-5\:30 pm\, Frist Lecture Hall (4th Floor IHSB)\n Reception for the Symposium Speakers\n 6\:00-7\:00 pm\, 4th Floor Lobby IHSB\n "'Interesting Point'\: Pulp Fiction\, Postmodern Philosophy\, and the Fine Art of Disagreement" Keynote Address by Dr. Michael B&eacute\;rub&eacute\;\, Paterno Family Professor in Literature at Pennsylvania State U\n 7\:00-8\:00 pm\, Frist Lecture Hall (4th Floor IHSB)\n Friday September 12\n Debate\, Dissent & Dialogue Symposium Panel\n Featured speakers Dr. Masood Raja\, Dr. Daniel Frick\, and Dr. Michael B&eacute\;rub&eacute\;\n 10\:00-10\:50 am\, Frist Lecture Hall (4th Floor IHSB)\n Philologoi on the Value of Democracy\n Dr. Mark Anderson and Belmont Philosophy students\n 3\:00-3\:50 pm\, Frist Lecture Hall (4th Floor IHSB)\n Sunday September 14\n “‘We Will Not Walk in Fear of One Another’”\: Good Night\, and Good Luck and Dissent in the Media Moderated by Dr. Rich Tiner\, Department of Media Studies\, Belmont U\n 2\:00-4\:30 pm LCVA 117\n Monday September 15\n “Please Argue Some More!\: A Wrap-Up of Debate\, Dissent and Dialogue”\n Panel Discussion moderated by Dr. Maggie Monteverde\n 10\:00-10\:50 am\, Massey Center 100\n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:10
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080905T192635
LAST-MODIFIED:20080912T181051
ORGANIZER;CN=Andrew Cole\, Managing Editor:MAILTO:coleat@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080905T201700
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1982
SUMMARY:Debate hospitality tent sponsored by Anheuser-Busch
DESCRIPTION:"Tennessean" reporter Colby Sledge is reporting on his election blog  [http\://tnelection.blogspot.com/2008/09/hammering-down-tent-stakes-without.html]and in today's "Tennessean" that Anheuser-Busch is a sponsor for the hospitality tent that will be set up on Belmont's tennis courts for the presidential town hall debate.\nThe tent\, a 5\,000-square-foot space that will be adjacent to the 25\,000-square-foot media tent on the soccer field\, will be like the hospitality tents the brewery will host at the three other debates in September and October.\nBelmont's rules forbid alcohol on campus\, so the Anheuser-Bush tent\, which will provide the company's products\, is an accommodation that is unusual for Belmont.\nConstruction began Monday on the media tent that will cover at least 25\,000 square feet of the soccer field and house more than 3\,000 media. \nStudent reaction to the news that Anheuser-Busch will bring what will surely be significant quantities of beer to the campus appears to be mild\, but the report is not yet widely known.\n"It doesn't bother me at all\," said Tyler Schlandt\, a senior marketing major from Clinton\, Tenn. "I don't think it's a big deal. Anheuser-Busch doesn't make their money solely from beer\, they also have entertainment holdings.  Many students go to Busch Gardens\, so you can not support beer but still go to Busch Gardens."\nAccording to Sledge's blog\, Belmont officials commented last week that Anheuser-Busch will not sponsor the tent\, but the Comission on Presidential Debates has not released its list of official sponsors.\nThe university's position this week\, according to the "Tennessean\," is that Anheuser-Busch will not advertise on campus. They reported that information as coming from Pamela Johnson\, Belmont's  debate director and director of strategic marketing.\nThe sponsorship has come into question this year because Cindy McCain\, Republican nominee John McCain's wife\, holds more than $1 million in Anhesuser-Busch stock\, according to reports on the financial disclosure form her husband released as part of his candidacy.\n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:presidential-debate,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:22
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080908T153841
LAST-MODIFIED:20080912T181118
ORGANIZER;CN=Melanie Bengtson\, Editor:MAILTO:vision@mail.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080908T121500
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2008
SUMMARY:Student ticket lottery begins for presidential debate
DESCRIPTION:Belmont students can now register to enter an official ticket lottery for the presidential town hall debate\, which will happen at Belmont on Oct. 7. Registration is on BIC [http\://bic.belmont.edu]\, Belmont Intranet Connection.\nThough the university still does not know how many tickets will be available for the event\, which is hosted by the Commission on Presidential Debates\, the lottery will allow university officials to have a system in place if tickets become available for students.\nThe audience for the town hall debate is chosen by the Gallup Organization\, which conducts polls.  Gallup will choose the audience 2-3 days before the debate\; most of the audience will come from the Middle Tennessee area. \nThe student ticket lottery will take place Sept. 16. At that time\, a list will be made of students who have registered for the lottery. Students receiving tickets may not be notified until a few days before the debate. \n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:presidential-debate,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:7
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080909T145746
LAST-MODIFIED:20080927T172823
ORGANIZER;CN=Melanie Bengtson\, Editor:MAILTO:vision@mail.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080908T154500
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/1984
SUMMARY:Unofficial 'Deal or No Deal' has Belmont host
DESCRIPTION:\n  Move over\, Howie Mandel! That “Deal or No Deal” gig you’ve got? Hey\, there’s another guy who’ll eat your lunch. Name’s Frank Donnelson. He’s a used car salesman in Nashville\, he’s hairier\, and he looks amazingly like a Belmont University student named Matt Rausch. Some people\, in fact\, think he’s Rausch’s alter ego.\n But last week\, when Hillside/Commons hosted “Deal or No Deal” in the Atrium after the volleyball game (Belmont\, 3\, Evansville\, 0 – you go\, girls!) the host who brought the audience to its feet for a chance to win up to $300 looked\, well\, a lot more like Rausch than he did Mandel.\n “This was the first time we’ve done it\,” Sam Dorgan\, a residence director in Hillside/Commons said. “We kind of wanted to make it a big deal.”\n But was there a host who was ready for prime time?\n Frank Donnelson. Dorgan had met him when Matt Rausch made his application to be an RA. In fact\, Rausch had produced a video [http\://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQubb9GoTDE] showing Donnelson campaigning for him\, making the case that Rausch would be a great RA.\n So it was Donnelson who appeared in Belmont’s Grand Atrium in jacket and tie (no casual cashmere turtleneck for him!).\n Two big winners were Nicoleah Lay\, who won $50\, and Jerel Henderson\, who took home $40.\n Some time after the excitement was over\, Donnelson answered media questions\:\n VISION\: Just who is Frank Donnelson?\n DONNELSON\: I\, Frank Donnelson\, am a fun-loving\, slightly crotchety and always “buddy-buddy” 45-year-old used car salesman that works at Donny's Used Car Lot over on 8th and Porter. I love to give a good deal on a used car. Makes a man feel good inside.\n VISION\: How do you think you compare to NBC’s Howie Mandel? Similarities\, differences?\n DONNELSON\: I don't like to compare myself to people much\, but I would say that we are both more man than people might be able to handle. I loved that Bobby show he did. I remember watching it many a time with my first wife LouAnn while I sat in my undertrousers\, eating some Oreos. I would say that we differ in that I'm quite a bit hairier and more accustomed to germs. I hear that the guys and gals over in Hillside were in talks with Howie\, but it fell through. My biggest selling point is that I'll do anything for a roast beef submarine sandwich.\n VISION\: Do you watch Mandel's version of "Deal or No Deal"?\n DONNELSON\: I do watch Deal or No Deal. I'll catch it on late at night and start mumbling at the contestants. I'm not sure about the rules and regulations still\, but I like that they give money to people for saying a number. That's a show a simple man can get behind.  I do wish they would just use one girl to open them cases\, like a Vanna White type gal\, though.  Maybe if that whole “Wheel of Fortune” thing goes by the wayside we can get Pat and Vanna to class that act up.  Grab a bedazzler and go to town on the set.\n VISION\: You appear in an RA campaign video for Matt Rausch. How did a guy like Donnelson and a guy like Rausch ever get together?\n DONNELSON\: I reluctantly did vouch for Matt Rausch as he was getting ready to apply to be a Residential Assistant at Belmont University. I knew he was a good citizen.  Matt and I met at a dark time in my life. He helped me grasp my full potential like a glorious eagle reaches for its prey. The kid can't do wrong\, in these tired eyes. I gave the kid a heck of a deal on a maroon Ford Taurus station wagon. Great vehicle.\n VISION\: What's ahead? Do you have any more appearances scheduled live or on youtube?\n DONNELSON\: I am hoping that more people strapped for cash will give me a chance to host their wacky events. My childhood dream was to be one of those guys that sells hot dogs on the sidewalk\, to use my natural talent as a salesman and the number one guy you want to buy a sweaty hot dog from. People still come up to me asking for a hot dog\, too. I've also been looking into stand-up comedy. I figure sitting under some hot lights and sweating Old Spice from every pore might be a good way to lose some pounds. It might get some kid's over to Donny's Used Car lot\, too. I got some decent deals on Chevys right now.\n
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CATEGORIES:feature
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:13
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080908T185112
LAST-MODIFIED:20080912T181212
ORGANIZER;CN=Melanie Bengtson\, Editor:MAILTO:vision@mail.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080908T194600
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2009
SUMMARY:Next Big Nashville has Belmont roots
DESCRIPTION:In 1950\, David Cobb first used the phrase “Music City USA” to describe Nashville during a broadcast on WSM-AM. The radio station was established in 1925 and quickly made a name for itself—and for Nashville—when it laid the foundations for Grand Ole Opry in the very same year. Since then\, the city itself has followed suit with an influx of record labels\, publishing companies\, honkey tonk bars and\, at one point\, a country music theme park. Sometimes\, it seems more appropriate to call Nashville “Country Music City USA” but one music festival is determined to set the record straight.\nOn Wednesday Sept. 10\, at least for a few days\, country music gets forcefully kicked out of the limelight when Next Big Nashville takes over nearly every major music venue in the city to showcase Nashville’s most diverse and eclectic bands which don’t fall under the vast umbrella of country music. Everything from indie rock to hip-hop\, but absolutely no commercial country\, will be sprawled across over two dozen venues and former Belmont student and Next BIG Nashville founder Jason Wilkins is the man to thank for it.\n“We have done such a great job over the years of making the word Nashville synonymous with Country Music that we now have to remind everyone\, including ourselves\, that we are a multi-faceted city with a multi-faceted scene and a multi-faceted music industry\,” says Wilkins about the goal of the festival.\nChase Gregory\, guitarist for L&oacute\;rien\, echoes that sentiment\, “There's always that everlasting\, horrible pigeonhole that people put Nashville into--being only country music. I kinda thought that before I came down here\, but now I realize what a great rock scene there is and even some other genres as well.” L&oacute\;rien will be performing as part of that rock tradition at The Anchor on Thursday at 9 p.m.\nAlthough the inaugural Next Big Nashville festival was born out of an article Wilkins wrote for the Rage\, its roots go as far back as his tenure at Belmont.\n“I’m a compulsive listmaker and mixtape guy\,” explained Wilkins\, “so the original Other Showcase and the Best of the Best\, which I also helped create\, was really a way to make a live mixtape for a larger audience than say\, the girl I had a crush on from the Classical Music department. Over the years various things I've been involved with from CD compilations to festivals to radio to print have been a part of this desire to share music with people in this way and NBN is definitely that as well\, but on a much grander scale.”\nNext BIG Nashville was originally a weekend affair on Cannery Row\, featuring 33 bands pulled from various corners of Middle Tennessee. The event was a stunning success which resulted in 17 of those bands landing record deals. When the next year rolled around\, the festival had to grow in size\, almost out of necessity. In 2008\, the number of bands increased to nearly 150 and found itself under international scrutiny by magazines and newspapers like The Independent\, NME and the Dublin Herald.\nAlthough many elements of this year’s version of the festival are the same—the shuttles are returning (although Wilkins called last year’s experience “a bit of a disaster”)\, Reel Big Nashville again kicks off the festival with a local film (this time\, the zombie romance “Make Out with Violence” featuring music by Non-Commissioned Officers)\, festival goers once more get to reap the benefit of discounts at places like Grimey’s\, The Groove and Local Honey—there are some stark changes with the festival\, particularly the inclusion of the conference.\n“We talked about doing [a music conference] last year but did not want to do it in half-measures. This year we were able to secure the perfect venues - the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum and the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum - and an amazing group of panelists\,” said Wilkins.\n“It has been a great opportunity to shine a light on all the different kinds of music business being done in Nashville from management for major rock acts to recording for famous indie rockers to new digital businesses cropping up all over the place. It's exciting to get a number of these people in the same room together.” The conference pivots around the theme of “21st Century DIY” and a keynote address by noted piano rocker and Belmont neighborhood resident Ben Folds. Although Folds is a Nashville dweller and\, therefore technically a local artist\, you won’t see him behind the piano at Exit/In.\nThe tricky part of holding a festival of local music comes in selecting the bands. In previous years\, festival sign-ups were conducted through informal submissions and invites from the festival promoters. 2008 saw a shift towards using SonicBids\, an online service which connects bands with promoters. Beyond the bands which signed up online\, invitations were extended to a number of established locals like Kings of Leon\, Paramore\, Matt Wertz and Mat Kearney but all four were unable to perform.\nBut\, even with increased transparency\, some artists have criticized Next BIG Nashville for their booking decisions. Brandon Jazz\, singer for Armed Forces\, wrote an open letter to the festival which argued that a “smaller and smaller circle of people have been appointed the taste-makers of town.” Jazz vowed to collect 600 signatures to prove that the “voice of the people” was being squelched by “social fascism.”\nWilkins responded saying\, “I have expected to hear more criticism of this sort due to the emotional nature of this process but people have been amazingly supportive. I think that's because most of them realize that there is no secret backroom music business answer to the Masons. No group of cigar chompers sitting around dispensing fame at their whimsy. That's a very naive and fantastical view of the music business.”\nWilkins does understand Jazz’s frustration\, though. When not running in circles making sure Next Big Nashville goes off without a hitch\, Wilkins is a working musician who will be one of 10\,000 artists to apply for South by Southwest this year.\n“The only sure way to get selected is to make it impossible for the event not to select you\,” advises Wilkins. “Get some reviews\, play some shows\, get some fans genuinely excited about your band\, find a way to make a dent. Now\, more than ever\, that responsibility lies in the hands of the artists\, not any perceived kingmakers.”\nIn the end\, due in part to a poll held on the Next Big Nashville blog\, Armed Forces were given a slot in the festival. Other artists performing this year include Superdrag\, The Features\, Biscuits & Gravy\, Charles Walker and the Dynamites\, The Protomen\, Brooke Waggoner\, Six Gun Lullaby\, Cortney Tidwell and Dukes of Daville.\nFor musicians\, entertainment is almost beside the point. “Getting to see all these great musicians and all these great bands can be really inspiring\,” says Chase Gregory about the festival. “[Next Big Nashville] kinda gives you that extra push to keep going\, keep trying to get better at what you do.”\nAnd when 3rd & Lindsley closes its doors on Sunday night\, signaling the official closing of Next Big Nashville 2008\, where will Wilkins and the others behind the festival go from there?\n“To bed\,” says Wilkins. “And after that who knows. I hope you ask me the same question next year.”\n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:ae,lorien,music,next-big-nashville
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:5
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080909T160422
LAST-MODIFIED:20080912T181237
ORGANIZER;CN=Lance Conzett\, Online Editor:MAILTO:conzettl@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080909T165400
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2010
SUMMARY:MTA sponsors jingle contest for new transportation hub
DESCRIPTION:Songwriters of all ages who have ever come up with a catchy jingle and thought\, “If only there were only a way to make some money off of this thing\," should take note – and they can\, but in this case they just have until Sept. 15 to have a chance.\nThe Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) is opening the new downtown Music City Central transit center on Oct. 24 and wants to introduce it “Nashville style" with the Big Gig Jingle Contest. [http\://www.nashvillemta.org/jinglecontest/contest.asp]\nFor all you out of state students\, this means by music.\nMTA wants songwriters to send in an original\, 60-second jingle of any genre about all the reasons they choose to use public transportation.The winner will win a $1\,500 cash prize courtesy of Balfour Beatty Construction and will perform their song at the grand opening of the new facility. Deadline for the contest is Sept. 15.\nMTA’s Patricia Harris-Morehead hopes this contest will “generate excitement and community interest.” She also shares that the site of the new transit center has “rich musical heritage\," hence the name of the development.\nAll submitted jingles will go before judges such as Woody and Jim from 107.5 The River and Belmont’s own Dr. Deen Entsminger.\n
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CATEGORIES:music,nashville,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:7
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080909T174822
LAST-MODIFIED:20080912T130415
ORGANIZER;CN=Greta Crouch\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:gretadanielle@yahoo.com
DTSTART:20080909T184800
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2025
SUMMARY:Lil Wayne set to headline Vandy's Quake
DESCRIPTION:If “Tha Carter III” proves anything\, it’s that Lil Wayne is a master of building hype. Instead of putting out a new album immediately following “Tha Carter II” in 2005\, Lil Wayne laid low and started putting out mixtapes while appearing on over a dozen hip-hop and pop singles as a featured performer. In two years\, Lil Wayne recorded over 1000 songs and freestyles in preparation for the third in his “Tha Carter” trilogy. Then\, in 2008\, “Tha Carter III” dropped in stores and became the fastest selling hip-hop record since 50 Cent’s “The Massacre” in 2005. A month later\, the album sold more than two million copies and was certified as double platinum by the RIAA.\n Fresh off single-handedly proving that the music industry isn’t dead\, Lil Wayne has set his sights on Vanderbilt University’s Commodore Quake. The New Orleans based rapper will headline the event with support by critically-acclaimed rapper Lupe Fiasco and Memphis soul/hip-hop group Free Sol. In previous years\, the homecoming celebration has played host to artists like Kanye West\, Ludacris\, Common and Guster.\n Tickets go on sale Friday morning at 10 a.m. from Ticketmaster [http\://www.ticketmaster.com]. Tickets can also be purchased without a service charge from the Sarratt Box Office on Vanderbilt’s campus. Tickets cost $40 for the general public and $20 for Vanderbilt students.\n
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CATEGORIES:ae,music,vanderbilt
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:5
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080910T155357
LAST-MODIFIED:20080919T143922
ORGANIZER;CN=Lance Conzett\, Online Editor:MAILTO:conzettl@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080910T165100
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2027
SUMMARY:Belmont entrepreneurship program ranked in top 25
DESCRIPTION:Belmont University's entrepreneurship program has been ranked in the top 25 in the United States by "Entrepreneur" magazine and "The Princeton Review." Belmont was ranked 23 out of 2300 universities\, according to emediaworld [http\://www.emediaworld.com/press_release/release_detail.php?id=164309].\n "I love the entrepreneurship program here\," said Katherine Turner\, a junior entrepreneurship major.  "The teachers and my adviser\, Dr. Cornwall\, are really helpful. There are lots of networking opportunities."\n "Belmont made the committment to create a quality program in entrepreneurship and I am proud that we have been able to make so much progress in only five years\," said Dr. Jeff Cornwall\, director of Belmont's Center for Entrepreneurship\, said in the Tennessean. [http\://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880910048]\n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:13
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080910T172917
LAST-MODIFIED:20080913T164905
ORGANIZER;CN=Melanie Bengtson\, Editor:MAILTO:vision@mail.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080910T173700
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2030
SUMMARY:'Freedom Sings' brings music censors didn't want on the air
DESCRIPTION:“Freedom Sings\,” a multimedia concert event\, will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday\, Sept. 13\, in MPAC. Censored and controversial songs from music’s past\, dating back to the 1700s\, will be featured. Performers include Bill Lloyd\, [http\://www.billlloydmusic.com/] Don Henry\, [http\://www.donhenry.com/] and Craig Krampf [http\://home.comcast.net/~craigkrampf/index.html].\n The concert is “the best music you’ll ever hear for free\,” said Thom Storey\, professor of media studies.\n Started 10 years ago\, “Freedom Sings”  [http\://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/about.aspx?item=Freedom_Sings]celebrates the First Amendment\, bringing together Nashville singers\, songwriters\, and Grammy winners. Performers change according to shows but past performers include Steve Earle\, Beth Nielsen Chapman\, John Kay of Steppenwolf\, and Janis Ian\, just to name a few.\n Belmont began hosting “Freedom Sings” three years ago. With the Town Hall Presidential Debate just three weeks away\, the freedom of expression and viewpoints of students are crucial. The program will challenge views while\, at the same time\, be very entertaining\, planners say. One culture and arts convocational credit will be given to students who attend.\n
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CATEGORIES:ae,music
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:26
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080910T193831
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T083441
ORGANIZER;CN=Amanda Stravinsky\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:stravinskya@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080910T203800
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2063
SUMMARY:Van Hatten-Granath creates art with a green impact
DESCRIPTION:In the past decade\, being "green" has taken the nation (and this campus) by storm. Teresa Van Hatten-Granath\, an art teacher here at Belmont\, has come up with an inventive way to get others to be ecologically friendly.\n In early 2008\, Van Hatten-Granath started giving away fabric bags if people promised to use them for groceries\, schoolbooks\, or at the mall. She started creating the bags in response to an incident with her husband.\n “I was scolding my husband for getting plastic bags at the grocery and he said he had to because there were no fabric bags in the other car\," said Van Hatten-Granath. "So I decided to go through my fabric bins [. . .] and dig out fabric that had no other use. I ended up with quite a pile and I just started making bags.”\n Van Hatten-Granath started giving them out to just friends\, family\, and students but it quickly grew from there. In June\, she was on NBC news in the U.S. and Canada. After that\, she began to receive 200-300 requests a day for bags. On June 15\, she stopped taking requests because she had a total of 1400. So far she’s given away over 1900 bags to people in 45 states and 20 different countries. She still has 250 requests that she’s filling.\n Since the overflow of requests\, she has added a few ladies to her sewing crew. So far there are 10\, two being staff members at Belmont\, Karen Luter and April Simpkins\, and one a former staff member\, Anna Talley. She also got Elna Sewing Machines to donate six machines towards the project.\n Along with sending bags to people who request them\, Van Hatten-Granath holds events around town. She brings her sewing machine to the location and makes bags right there for free to whoever promises to use them.\n “I am not selling the bags or getting any compensation for them\," said Van Hatten-Granath. "They are a gift. I want you to feel obligated to use them\, that is why I have you promise to use them instead of paper or plastic. If you to buy them from me\, they become a commodity and there is no obligation any longer because you own it.”\n At the moment\, she is trying to set up an event at Whole Foods in Green Hills and at Belmont in conjunction with Earth Day and week. News of these events will be on her blog\: www.greenbaglady.org [http\://www.greenbaglady.org].\n Van Hatten-Granath is always accepting leftover fabric scraps. If you have any that you’d like to donate you can bring them to her office in the Leu Center for the Visual Arts\, Room 113. And if you happen to sew and would like to learn how to make your own bag you can go to her blog and download a PDF of the pattern that she uses.\n “With this project\, I would like more artists to think about the ecological impact of their art as well as producing work that has a direct\, positive impact on the environment."\n
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CATEGORIES:art,features
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:12
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080911T150006
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T083427
ORGANIZER;CN=Chelsea Reed\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:creed@jcreed.com
DTSTART:20080911T164600
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2077
SUMMARY:NBN 2008 Day 1\: "Make-Out with Violence" opens festival
DESCRIPTION:It wasn’t too long ago that The Non-Commissioned Officers were opening for The Protomen at The End and explaining the concept behind their band to a bewildered audience—every song they played would eventually comprise the soundtrack for an ambitious film about a zombie and the boy who loves her. But to call “Make-Out with Violence” a love-story with zombies is grossly oversimplifying matters.\n The film tells the story of Patrick and Carol Darling\, twin brothers living in suburban Tennessee. In their first summer after graduating high school\, their lives are irreparably damaged by the disappearance of their friend and\, in Patrick’s case unrequited love interest\, Wendy. Along for the ride are Beetle\, their younger brother\, and Addy\, their childhood friend. A handful of secondary characters fill out the cast like Addy’s friend from boarding school\, Anne Haran\, a troublemaker named Rody and Brian\, Wendy’s boyfriend.\n After the search for Wendy is called off\, Carol and Beetle stumble across her reanimated corpse\, tied to a couple of trees in the cicada swarmed woods surrounding their town. Carol and Patrick decide to bring her back home and\, in a bout of unclear logic\, try to revert her to the girl she once was. What ensues is a treatise on life after death\, on more than one level.\n “Make-Out with Violence” is no more a zombie movie than “The Lost Boys” is a vampire movie. Certainly\, both are drenched in horror elements and both revolve around otherworldly creatures to progress the plot\, but in this film\, the word “zombie” isn’t used once in the entire film. Instead\, Wendy’s condition is described as “returning” or “dying again.” But\, more often than not\, the fact that she’s undead isn’t mentioned at all. The fact that Wendy is a zombie takes a backseat to the expressions of grief by the main characters.\n Grief is a hell of an emotion\, and it makes people do strange things. While some characters grow together\, Patrick’s personality slowly warps into a Norman Bates psychosis\, obsessed with a dead woman and unable to move on with his life. In some ways\, the film is much like “I Love Sarah Jane\,” an Australian short film that took home an award from this year’s Nashville Film Festival for best narrative short. The Australian film takes a look at the emotional impact of a loved one dying and becoming undead\, told from the central conflict of a young boy’s love for his neighbor Sarah. However\, the frustration and bizarre fascination with the undead subject which Patrick is afflicted by is shown on a much wider scale.\n Although the movie is full of character moments from these four central characters\, other plot points are left flapping in the breeze. What happened to Wendy between her disappearance and reappearance in the woods is never made entirely clear\, for instance. In some cases\, characters are introduced and drop off the face of the earth once they’re no longer useful—Rody leaves the film after his duty as comic relief is fulfilled and only returns once at the very end.\n From a technical standpoint\, though\, aces all around for the movie. The Deagol brothers spent four long years making “Make-Out with Violence” and the effort they and the rest of the crew put into it shows. The lighting is striking and you only very rarely get the awareness that comes along with watching a low-budget movie. The tense moments are palpable and the editing deftly brings some very funny comedy before plunging the audience right back into a void of nervous despair.\n But the movie’s strongest suit\, even among its already impressive qualities\, is its soundtrack. The Non-Commissioned Officers were formed by Eric Lehring\, who played Patrick and co-write the movie\, and other members of the cast and crew to provide an actual soundtrack to the film and not just a score. To give the film continuity\, the band tackled different styles of music\, wrote songs for characters that could be deconstructed into themes and eventually wound up with over a dozen tunes that not only fit the scenes but stand up on their own when performed live. If a soundtrack album were released\, it would be just as successful as the movie itself\, if not more.\n After the 8\:45 p.m. screening of the film ended\, the Non-Commissioned Officers performed on stage for the last time\; this time not for a need for fundraising but instead out of celebration for a job well done. No\, “Make-Out with Violence” isn’t the perfect movie. It has its flaws\, but harping on them does a disservice to the enormous feat that the filmmakers accomplished. The fact that this is the Deagol Brothers’ first feature production makes all of the issues with the movie—loose ends\, a middle that meanders somewhat\, disappearing characters\, etc.—a non-issue.\n This is the kind of movie that will be picked up for screening at the Belcourt or the Nashville Film Festival and it is worth seeing for everyone except\, perhaps\, the squeamish who might find some of the gorier moments objectionable. But\, then again\, with a title like “Make-Out with Violence” most people should know what they’re getting themselves into.\n Watch the trailer for "Make-Out with Violence". [http\://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqn2WjbQ3iU]\n
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CATEGORIES:aande,movies,next-big-nashville
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:5
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080911T155752
LAST-MODIFIED:20081203T220713
ORGANIZER;CN=Lance Conzett\, Online Editor:MAILTO:conzettl@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080911T165200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2078
SUMMARY:The Vision covers Next Big Nashville
DESCRIPTION:Next Big Nashville has taken over Nashville’s biggest music venues for five days and the Vision is reporting from as many shows as possible. As the website updates with new articles\, photo galleries and multimedia pieces about the festival\, we’ll post them here in one convenient spot.\n  * Next Big Nashville has Belmont roots [http\://www.belmontvision.com/news/2008/09/09/next-big-nashville-has-belmont-roots.2009]\n  * NBN 2008 Day 1\: "Make-Out with Violence" opens festival [http\://www.belmontvision.com/news/2008/09/11/nbn-2008-day-1-make-out-with-violence-opens-festival.2077]\n  * NBN 2008 Day 1\: Photo Gallery [http\://www.flickr.com/photos/belmontvision/sets/72157607235891700/show/]\n  * NBN 2008 Day 2\: Grand Palace and others rule Thursday [http\://www.belmontvision.com/news/2008/09/12/nbn-2008-day-2-grand-palace-and-others-impress-thursday-night.2082]\n  * NBN 2008 Day 2\: Photo Gallery [http\://www.flickr.com/photos/belmontvision/sets/72157607257098470/]\n  * NBN 2008 Grimey's Outdoor In-Store\: Photo Gallery [http\://www.flickr.com/photos/belmontvision/sets/72157607288834434/show/]\n  * NBN 2008 Day 4\: Nashville's Heavy Hitters [http\://www.belmontvision.com/news/2008/09/15/nbn-2008-day-4-nashvilles-heavy-hitters.2092]\n  * NBN 2008 Day 4\: Photo Gallery [http\://www.flickr.com/photos/belmontvision/sets/72157607294193550/show/]\n VIP badges and wristbands can still be bought Friday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. at the Musician’s Hall of Fame & Museum on 6th Ave. South.\n
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CATEGORIES:aande,index,next-big-nashville
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:21
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080911T184205
LAST-MODIFIED:20080926T133037
ORGANIZER;CN=Staff Reports:MAILTO:vision@mail.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080911T193200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2082
SUMMARY:NBN 2008 Day 2\: Grand Palace and others rule Thursday
DESCRIPTION:The Kindergarten Circus (8\:45 p.m.\, The End)\n It’s been a year since I first saw the youthful dynamo that is Kindergarten Circus at last year’s Next Big Nashville and\, if anything\, the band has only gotten louder and more impressive.\n Kindergarten Circus funnels a clear influence from blues rock bands The Who\, The Kinks and early White Stripes through gritty\, raw garage punk. This band is all about crashing distorted guitars punctuated by blistering blues-inspired solos. There’s a good reason why the boys in the band gushed about their adoration for The Clutters in a questionnaire on Janet Timmons’ “Out the Other” blog last year. Closing your eyes\, it’s easy to forget that the members of the band are only 17\, 16 and 15.\n Although the elder singer and guitarist\, Dillon Watson\, is still the focal point for the band\, bassist Logan Sissom and drummer Aaron Browning have grown as musicians and stand-out on their own as well. The band is like a rusty freight train\, barreling down the tracks with no hopes of stopping. That is\, until something breaks and the whole thing is derailed for a bit. Whenever Watson had to stop to change tuning\, the momentum collapsed and they had to work to build it back up again.\n The teenage trio is the best reason why Nashville is sorely in need of an accessible all ages venues without the baggage associated with RCKTWN.\n Velcro Stars (9\:30 p.m.\, The End)\n Following Kindergarten Circus as the Grand Palace showcase were Velcro Stars\, a band that has somehow become more famous for being a springboard for other bands like former drummer Andy Spore and How I Became the Bomb and\, now\, current bassist Jonathan Brock and Shoot The Mountain.\n “Basically\, if you start a band and join Velcro Stars around the same time\, your other band will f---in’ blow up\,” joked singer/guitarist Shane Spresser after introducing Brock as “Nashville’s newest celebrity.” Why Velcro Stars haven’t been launched into the stratosphere of local rock fame is a mystery\, but maybe it has something to do with how completely “un-Nashville” they are.\n Although Velcro Stars are based in Murfreesboro\, their sound comes straight from Athens\, GA. Keith Pratt and Spresser wail through light-hearted pop songs in the style of Robert Schneider\, The Apples in Stereo and\, on a larger scale\, the Elephant 6 Collective. Somehow\, Athens has becomes the national headquarters for bright\, happy tunes.\n Consider Velcro Stars as an ambassador from Athens\, bringing the fire of twee pop down from Olympus to whoever will listen.\n A Note on Shuttles\n Shuttles are a great idea. In theory\, you can travel from Cannery Row to anywhere you want in 20 minutes or less. Shuttles keep you from having to burn gasoline speeding down West End. They protect you from the horror of trying to find parking at the Rutledge. They put every show at your fingertips\, allowing you to hop all over town\, collecting stamps until the back of your hand is overcome by a splotch of colored ink.\n In theory.\n For the most part\, the shuttle service does everything that it advertises. Unless\, that is\, you’re hoping to cross the river to see what’s going on at The 5 Spot or LimeLight. When I got on the dark shuttle from Exit/In in hopes of seeing Dukes of DaVille without having to figure out where LimeLight was\, I was eventually informed of this limitation. Although\, the driver did offer to drop me off with the understanding that he wouldn’t be coming back.\n Tempting as a long walk across James Robertson Parkway is\, I wound up at Cannery instead. But before my shuttle arrived at Cannery Row\, I was treated to a high-speed winding tour of Nashville’s venues from the comfort of a dark shuttle in which I was the only passenger. On my eventual ride back to Exit/In\, the driver told me that fewer people have been riding compared to last year. She confided to me that “it makes driving hard with an empty bus.”\n The Pink Spiders (10\:30 p.m.\, Cannery Ballroom)\n The Pink Spiders have had a rough couple of months. Founding members Jon Decious and Bob Ferrari left the band and trashed remaining member Matt Friction in a tell-all interview with the Nashville Scene. The band’s still struggling to get their nearly scrapped third album out in stores after being unceremoniously dropped from Geffen\, all while attempting to recapture lightning in a bottle with a band full of new members.\n In all truthfulness\, I hadn’t planned on seeing the band play after seeing a tired\, egotistical performance by the band at last year’s festival. But after a wayward journey via shuttle\, I stuck around to see how the new Pink Spiders faired. What was most immediately noticeable was that they’ve apparently done away with the costumes\, finally casting off the tired gimmicky image they’ve foisted upon themselves. Matt Friction had a good thing going with Silent Friction and The Pink Spiders are virtually the same band\, except with more ego than most people are comfortable with.\n If the band can reinvent itself as a band first and not an image\, then maybe they can move past their dismal recent history and win back some of the fans they’ve spurned. Until then\, they’re playing adequate Kinks-inspired garage pop songs and there’s nothing wrong with that.\n Glossary (11\:15 p.m.\, The End)\n After another shuttle ride across town\, Glossary had already taken stage at The End. After witnessing the historically phony Pink Spiders\, it was a culture shock to see a band that was nothing if not genuine. Glossary played a stripped down set of Americana tunes rooted deep in Southern tradition. This is a band that’s playing music only because it’s in their nature to write and record these songs.\n That sentiment was best reflected when they released “The Better Angels of Our Nature” last year for free online with only a limited pressing of CDs sold in stores and direct from the band. Unfortunately\, their set was over before I knew it\, after only a handful of songs. But even though I was only able to see the band play three or four songs\, I can say with confidence that they put on one of the best shows of the night\, if not the festival. The band isn’t riding the cusp of local fervor like How I Became the Bomb or The Features do\, but they still put on a show made up of reliable\, good ol’ fashioned tunes.\n Dead Confederate (11\:45 p.m.\, Exit/In)\n One of the beauties of Next Big Nashville is that\, from time to time\, you’ll stumble across a band that you’ve never heard of before. Sometimes they’re playing across the street at a time when you’ve got nothing else going on. More often\, they’re a band preceding the band you showed up to see in the first place. Dead Confederate\, an import from Georgia\, is one of those bands.\n The band’s lighting was strikingly minimalist. All of the overhead lights were shut down and replaced\, instead\, with bright white can lights which would burst and dim like flash bulbs. The result was a band quite literally appearing larger than life\, with their shadows dwarfing them on the walls. This same trick was attempted by Mother/Father in December when they opened for the Protomen\, but they didn’t quite pull it off. Dead Confederate has the sound and presence necessary to use a moodier rock aesthetic.\n Dead Confederate blends shades of Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine into a shoegazer wall of sound. Everything about the band lends well to the kind of ethereal\, psychedelic sound that they presented at Next Big Nashville. Dead Confederate is a band worth keeping an eye on\, just like Wax Fang was last year.\n The Protomen (12\:30 p.m.\, Exit/In)\n Next Big Nashville poses some problems for some bands. Generally\, the sets are shorter and bands are at the whims of the person running the soundboard. More than one band was cut off short by Bruce at The End without any negotiation for two more songs. So\, what’s a theatrical band like the Protomen\, who employ elaborate make-up\, costumes and framing devices in their live shows\, to do? I had assumed that they would have simply dialed back the theatrics\, but this assumption was completely and utterly wrong.\n The Protomen started their Mega Man inspired rock opera three years ago with a self-titled album about a freedom fighting robot who attempts to get revenge for his brother\, who was apparently killed in an assault on fascism. As time progressed\, the band has swelled to include a four person chorus\, all while holding down their songs with 8-bit tunes upgraded to fit the energetic rock & roll fury put forward by the band’s two guitarists. They’re larger than life and know it\, which is immediately obvious from their live performances.\n In 2009\, the band will finally release their second act. Because the new album is so close\, they dismantled their usual setlist to mash together old songs and new. The band has such power over the crowd that although it was approaching 1 a.m. midway into their set\, no one seemed ready to leave. That’s the sign of a great live band.\n
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CATEGORIES:aande,music,next-big-nashville
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:7
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080912T191710
LAST-MODIFIED:20081203T220659
ORGANIZER;CN=Lance Conzett\, Online Editor:MAILTO:conzettl@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080912T201300
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2083
SUMMARY:Melinda Doolittle encourages students to 'Rock the Vote'
DESCRIPTION:Rock the Vote\, the organization that seeks to educate and engage youth in the political process\, came to campus on Saturday\, September 13 to kick off its "Road Trip '08" voter registration tour. The two-hour event featured musical performances from four acts who have ties to Belmont\, including "American Idol" finalist Melinda Doolittle.\n "I think [events like this] make it so easy for people to register to vote\," said Doolittle. "Especially at this age\, people will find excuses not to vote. I know when I was in school I didn't know much about the process.\n "I'm really impressed with Rock the Vote and what they have been doing. In this election\, both candidates are trying to figure out how to get the youth vote. They are going after the people who will be shaping the world and I think that's awesome."\n More than 1.4 million people have registered to vote through Rock the Vote [http\://www.rockthevote.com]\, making it the largest youth voter registration drive in history. Saturday's event\, which had over 200 people in attendance\, added at least 40 more to that tally.\n "It's so important for people in our age group to get their voices heard\," said 23-year-old Willa Brown\, the volunteer coordinator for Rock the Vote. "In the 2004 election\, 81.6% of registered 18-29 voters showed up to the polls. Politicians tend not to talk to us because they don't think we are listening so we need to show them that we are."\n "We need somebody to represent our beliefs\," said Zach Allen\, a senior audio engineering major who also helped bring the event to campus as vice president of events for Program Board. "We're just a couple of years from getting out of school and being on our own\, needing to worry about things like health care and gas prices. We need someone to help cater to us."\n Turnout amongst young voters has increased dramatically in the 2004 and 2006 elections and again this year with the 2008 primaries.  \n "This is one of those elections where the nation could truly go one way or the other\," said Rachel Hollister\, a freshman who also majors in audio engineering. "There are issues becoming bigger that should have been bigger in years past. I think it's huge how candidates are going about getting to voters our age.\n "A lot of times in the voting process\, people feel like their vote doesn't count. If you expose them to the process in a way that connects to them\, like music\, you have a better chance of hitting your audience."\n Doolittle performed a four-song set to close the afternoon\, belting out tunes as diverse as "Declaration of Love" and her new single "It's Your Time." Also performing at the event were Biscuits and Gravy\, Natalie Henderson and Gordon Kennedy.\n Rock the Vote's "Road Trip '08" continues next in Blacksburg\, Virginia before heading to 13 other cities over the next three weeks.\n Check out photos from the event here [http\://www.flickr.com/photos/belmontvision/sets/72157607270340046/show/].\n
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CATEGORIES:election,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:6
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080913T164800
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T083329
ORGANIZER;CN=Andrew Cole\, Managing Editor:MAILTO:coleat@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080913T174200
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2092
SUMMARY:NBN 2008 Day 4\: Nashville's Heavy Hitters
DESCRIPTION:Brooke Waggoner (9\:30 p.m.\, Cannery Ballroom)\nIn last month’s issues of Paste Magazine\, an article declared that\, along with fellow Nashville singer/songwriter Katie Herzig\, Brooke Waggoner was one of 25 artists to watch. Waggoner\, a classically trained pianist\, has the incredible ability to pull apart the most seemingly simple melody and arrange the resulting tune into dozens of different ways. There’s no shortage of piano playing singer/songwriters in the world\, but Waggoner’s songs make her look more like a composer than the average piano-playing songwriter.\nWaggoner demonstrated these skills on her latest release\, “Heal for the Honey”\, which featured a veritable orchestra of local musicians. In her Next Big Nashville performance\, however\, she brought things back to basics with a stripped down solo performance. It would have almost been intimate\, had Cannery not taken inappropriate times to remind the audience of their smoke machine.\nUnfortunately\, Waggoner’s performance brought up one of the frustrations of Next Big Nashville—there’s no telling when these shows will actually begin. Waggoner was scheduled to begin at 9\:45 but apparently started early at 9\:30. By the time I managed to park at Cannery and make my way inside\, she was already finishing up her set. But even with only two and a half songs\, I could tell that I had cause for my disappointment.\nForget Cassettes (10\:15 p.m.\, The Rutledge)\nWhen going to see a Forget Cassettes show\, it’s important to remember that Forget Cassettes in 2008 is completely different from Forget Cassettes in 2006. They may as well be two entirely different bands at this point\, despite the fact that the band has always been directed by Beth Cameron. In the past\, the band gained notoriety for energetic\, but contemplative art rock songs. “Quiero\, Quieres” and “Patience\, Beth” off the band’s 2006 album “Salt” are great examples of what made the band famous outside of Nashville.\nBut now\, you could never tell that the band was once inexorably linked with …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. Their performance at the Rutledge was weighed down by melodramatic Gregorian chant\, which slowly plodded forward over the top of Cameron’s piano playing. They’ve become more PJ Harvey or Rasputina than Yeah Yeah Yeahs\, instead choosing a dark\, ethereal mood over sporadically aggressive catharsis.\nIt’s hard to separate the new band from the old band\, mainly because it’s the same band. It’s even harder to convince an old fan that change is a good thing\, even in the face of the fact that Cameron is still a talented songwriter and the band is just as talented as they were six years ago.\nWe Were the States (10\:45 p.m.\, The End)\nWhen The States changed their name to We Were the States last year\, it confused just about everyone. I lost track of how many people wondered out loud if the band had broken up and changing the name on their MySpace page was a passive way of closing the curtain on their band. In the end\, it turned out that they didn’t want be confused with the Brooklyn band of the same name and when “We Are the States” turned out to be too self-aware a name\, they went the opposite direction. Now\, with all that confusion out of the way\, the band can go on doing what they’ve always done\: playing catchy rock songs loaded down with distorted fuzz guitar.\nWe Were the States are devoted disciples of the Pixies’ trademark loud\, quiet\, loud rock and roll cadence. They’re nothing if not energetic and show great promise of improving and impressing in the future.\nThe Clutters (11\:30 p.m.\, The End)\nSomething about the Clutters’ performance at last year’s Next Big Nashville didn’t sit right with me. The band had performed as a three piece due to the departure of organ player Ali Tonn\, a return to the foundation of the band. But by now\, they had two albums with Tonn’s influence under their belt and the removal of her pop counterpoint to the band’s garage punk roots left a serious deficit that need to be filled.\nEnter Wurlitzer piano player Todd Kemp to save the day. The band went without an organ player for a while and it’s unclear when Kemp joined the band\, but he is a welcome addition. But\, that isn’t to say that he is an exact replacement for Tonn. What Tonn’s organ brought to the Clutters’ music was a bright\, piercing Farfisa organ sound which cut through the wall of distorted guitar and bass. Kemp’s Wurlitzer has a more traditional piano sound which tends to meld into the rest of the sounds more. Maybe it was just The End’s mixing\, but I found myself having to listen for the piano in some songs because it had a tendency of disappearing into the mass of noise. That being said\, Kemp strikes me as a more capable pianist who adds more than catchy organ riffs sprinkled throughout.\nAlthough the band works as a trio and could have easily soldiered on without the keys\, their performance at The End blew last year’s show at Exit/In away because the band feels more complete.\nHow I Became the Bomb (12\:00 a.m.\, Exit/In)\nBy midnight\, Next Big Nashville was starting to wind down across the city\, but not at Next Big Nashville. How I Became the Bomb arrived on stage shortly after midnight\, decked out in a set of new costumes. Before\, the band looked like they had fallen out of a Devo video\, but now the band looks like they’ve come from another planet to kill Superman with glitter and purple.\nI can only assume that the band’s wardrobe change is timed to coincide with the release of their next album\, which is rumored to hit the internet later this month in a series of installments. Although the album has yet to be officially announced\, that didn’t stop the band from packing their set almost entirely with new songs. Some of them like “Harvest” and “Danger Lady” are familiar from the band’s recent shows\, but many are entirely new. In fact\, the only two songs to grace the band’s setlist were “Killing Machine” and “Secret Identity” off their 2006 EP.\nThese new songs don’t resemble a grand shift in sound like Forget Cassettes\, though. The band is still playing the same synth-pop tunes that place heavy emphasis on odd electronics like keytars and vocorders. There’s a lot to like about this band and they haven’t done away with any of it. Most notably\, lead singer Jon Burr is as expressive a singer as ever and Ricky Bizness’s bass lines are infectious and surprisingly complex for a pop band. The band’s yet to be titled forthcoming release is one of local music’s most anticipated records. But it isn’t at the top. That designation belongs entirely to the next band.\nSaturday night brought most Next Big Nashvillians back to Cannery Ballroom for the Next Big Nashville after-party\, relocated from City Hall due to an accidental double-booking mistake. But\, just as Cannery was the source of one Next Big Nashville woe earlier on\, they quickly proved to be the source of another upon arrival. Inexplicably\, the after-party turned the venue into a 21+ facility at the stroke of 1\:00 a.m.\, despite allowing in younger folks for the previous three hours of music.\nSeveral people were turned away at the door for being under age\, with the bouncer at the door pointing to some hastily scribbled signs stating the party’s age requirement. But\, before hitting the door\, no one knew that the party was 21+\, even when the show was still at City Hall.\nIt became immediately apparent inside that the ruling wasn’t being actively policed. A small smattering of black X’s were sprinkled into the crowd milling about before the Features took stage\, and those people remained inside unmolested until they chose to leave. Nothing about the decision to keep non-drinkers outside made much sense.\n“There wasn't even any logical reason to keep us out\,” wrote Tennessee Tech student Kassi Thomas in a Facebook note\, “They were serving the same drinks as they were 3 hours earlier when we were there to see Brooke Waggoner.”\nBut sometimes\, you can’t argue with City Hall (or\, in this case\, Cannery Row)\, and many of those would-be attendees wound up going home early. Which is a shame\, because arguably the biggest band of the festival was about to play.\nThe Features (1\:00 a.m.\, Cannery Ballroom)\nThe Features were named Nashville’s favorite local band in a poll conducted by the Nashville Scene\, and for good reason. They’re a holdover from the days of Spongebath Records\, which propelled a wealth of Middle Tennessee’s most talented musicians\, including Matt Mahaffey of Self\, into relative stardom. After a turbulent year or so on Universal Records\, the band returned to self-production and has slowly built up local hype for a new record.\nThere’s something very fanatical about the Features’ fanbase. The band’s long awaited second album\, “Some Kind of Salvation”\, isn’t available for purchase until the end of September\, but a mistake made by digital music online shops Amazon and Lala resulted in the album falling into the hands of diligent fans months in advance. New songs like “Baby’s Hammer” and “Foundation’s Cracked” turned into boisterous sing-a-longs led by fans who have committed the songs to memory.\nUnlike How I Became the Bomb\, who largely excised old material from their set in favor of giving crowds a taste of new material\, The Features kicked off their set with “Circus”\, the organ fueled rollercoaster which closed their 2004 major label release “Exhibit A”. Other old songs like “Exorcising Demons” and “Me & The Skirts” were thrown in as well\, but an outsider would have never known the difference based on the crowd’s energy. The best they could do is identify what makes these new tunes different from four years ago\, namely the new emphasis on cutting bass lines\, as performed by founding member Roger Dabbs\, and away from loud\, expressive organ rock.\nBut\, with all that being said\, the 45 minute Features set was completely typical of the band’s usual performances. Singer and guitarist Matt Pelham was typically a stone wall who only seldom addressed the audience and\, while the band performed admirably\, they didn’t blow me away like they did with a long set this summer at Mercy Lounge which allowed them to break out old\, once thought retired\, songs like “Armani Suede”. Worse yet\, the crowd was large\, but not by typical Cannery Ballroom standards. It certainly wasn’t the mass of people it would have been had the show remained open to 18\, 19 and 20 year-olds.\n
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CATEGORIES:aande,music,next-big-nashville
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080915T164946
LAST-MODIFIED:20081203T220648
ORGANIZER;CN=Lance Conzett:MAILTO:conzettl@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080915T174500
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2105
SUMMARY:A&E spotlight for Sept. 15-21
DESCRIPTION:The Felice Brothers\n8\:00 p.m. Thursday\, Sept. 18\, Exit/In ($10)\nAmidst the flurry of acoustic guitars and traditional music untainted by whatever it is that Jessica Simpson thinks she’s doing these days in Nashville that is the Americana Music Conference and Festival is an unrelated performance by alumni of last year’s festival.\n“We got together every Sunday at our father’s house to play music and out. It just sorta started like that. The more we played together\, the more we learned\,” said accordion player James Felice. As the get-togethers crystallized into an actual band\, the Felice Brothers recruited their friend Christmas on bass and set into the subways of New York City.\n“After we’d been playing for a while\, we needed to make some money\,” recalls Felice. “So we started busking\, playing out live. We needed to make money\, we needed to get better.” The band’s career up until last year has been mostly low-key—recording in a chicken coop and putting out the resulting records out independently were chief among their exploits.\nAll that changed in 2007\, when the band went on tour opening for Bright Eyes. The ensuing popularity resulted in being signed to Conor Oberst’s Team Love label\, a “brick and mortar” debut in March 2008 and eventually performances at major festivals like Bonnaroo and the Newport Folk Festival. The folk rock band is now on a national tour supported by AA Bondy\, which stops on Thursday at Exit/In. Tickets can be bought in advance at Grimey’s for $12 or at the Exit/In box office. — Lance Conzett\nAmericana Music Festival\nWednesday to Saturday\, Sept. 17-20 ($35)\nHot on the heels of Next Big Nashville comes its mellowed out cousin\, the Americana Music Festival & Conference. Now in its ninth year\, the Americana Music Festival spans five venues—The Basement\, Station Inn\, 3rd & Lindsley\, Mercy Lounge and Cannery Ballroom—with a slew of unofficial parties all across town at all hours of the day. The festival is accompanied by a conference at the Nashville Convention Center featuring panels on the resurgence of vinyl\, music on television and even environmental consciousness.\nThis year’s performers include Ben Kweller\, O’Death\, Glen Campbell\, The Boxmasters featuring Billy Bob Thornton\, Raul Malo\, Kane Welch Kaplin and the reunion of legendary cowpunk locals Jason & The Scorchers. The Americana Music Association\, who puts on the festival annually\, has made it its mission to spread awareness for the genre\, which it defines on its website as “music that honors and is derived from the traditions of American roots music.”\nWristbands are available for purchase online at AmericanaMusic.org or at Grimey’s for $35. The wristbands allow entry to all showcases\, but not the conference or the Americana Honors & Awards show at the Ryman which have separate costs. All showcases\, with the exception of performances at Station Inn\, have an age restriction of 21 or older. — Lance Conzett\nThe Girl Can’t Help It\n6\:58 p.m. Saturday\, Sept. 20\, Belcourt Theater (Free!)\nThe penultimate picture in the Belcourt’s free Saturday Summer Series is “The Girl Can’t Help It!”\, a screwball rock & roll comedy from 1956 starring Jayne Mansfield as the girlfriend of a gangster who wants to transform her into a rock star in six short weeks. Unfortunately for the ditzy Jerri Jordan\, she doesn’t have a musical bone in her body. Worse yet\, she’s forced to stack up against on-screen performances by musical greats like Little Richard and Fats Domino.\nThe program starts around sunset\, with the feature film actually starting whenever the sun is low enough to see a projection on the side of theater in the parking lot. A collection of movie trailers\, commercials\, cartoons and other shorts fill in the time preceding the film. Be sure to bring a blanket or a lawn chair\, unless you’re fond of cold hard concrete. — Lance Conzett\n
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CATEGORIES:aande,spotlight
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080916T081838
LAST-MODIFIED:20080919T142822
ORGANIZER;CN=Staff Reports:MAILTO:vision@mail.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080916T091100
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2187
SUMMARY:Americana Music Festival firmly roots itself in tradition
DESCRIPTION:Less than a week after Next Big Nashville’s grand finale\, Nashville played host to another music festival sprawled across a handful of local venues. The Americana Music Festival and Conference kicked off on Wednesday Sept. 17 and ran until Sept. 20 in five venues—Mercy Lounge\, Cannery Ballroom\, The Basement\, 3rd & Lindsley and Station Inn. Though Next Big Nashville easily dwarfs the Americana Music Festival with sheer numbers\, its predecessor easily makes up for it in prestige.\nThe ninth annual Americana Music Festival isn’t big\, but it curries sincere reverence from artists and fans alike. “I’m more excited about playing this conference than any other. South by Southwest\, CMJ\, all of them\,” said Ben Kweller during his Saturday night set in The Basement. The festival attracts a crowd of Americana devotees\, who travelled to Nashville from all corners of the nation\, plus England\, Australia and even Japan.\nAll of these fans joined together Thursday night for a spectacle of an awards show which included performances by Steve Earle\, Buddy Miller with Robert Plant\, Joan Baez\, Kane Welch & Kaplin and others. The evening was like the live equivalent of an Americana themed mixtape\, showcasing some of the best and newest stars in an incredibly vast genre. Watching the Americana Honors & Awards at the Ryman is fascinating because of how demonstrably different it is from similar music awards shows. The music is always at the focus and\, when music isn’t being played\, musicians or industry types are speaking very passionately about their craft before stepping to the left\, picking up a guitar and singing a song.\nBut the togetherness was short-lived and quickly dissipated by the time the awards show was over.\nThere is an odd age difference which pervades the Americana Music Festival. Attendance at The Basement was largely made up of younger people in their 20s\, there to see musicians who pushed the boundaries of what “Americana” means and were on the cutting edge of music in a genre that is inexorably linked to the past. Though Ben Kweller is a popular musician who has filled local venues like Exit/In and RCKTWN for years\, his show at The Basement was sparsely populated. The playing room\, which isn’t very large to begin with\, was only half full. The population increased slightly for Kweller and dispersed before Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band\, but it was hardly ever nearing capacity.\nMeanwhile\, only a few short blocks down the road\, Cannery Ballroom and Mercy Lounge were like stepping into an entirely different festival. The average age in both venues skewed 20 to 30 years older\, many of whom were wearing membership badges. The difference between the two venues may have been because Kweller had the misfortune of playing against instrumentalist of the year winner Buddy Miller\, but the same gap could have been seen on any night. Most of the Basment’s shows were bands to be blogged about\, O’Death and local folk throwbacks Those Darlins chiefly among them\, while the established acts took root at Cannery\, including Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters on Wednesday night. There seemed to be very little crossover between the two worlds.\nBut in a festival like the Americana Music Festival\, there are no wrong choices to make. Because the festival is so lean\, it is limited to the very best musicians available who are playing within the bounds of the genre. Even Kweller\, who cut his teeth as an alternative rock wunderkind and is only now starting to turn towards the roots of purely American music\, was well deserving of his slot in the festival. Raul Malo and Jason and the Scorchers certainly impressed\, but they were expected to. What was more exciting was to see the new stars get a foothold among the legends. Many bands like the Waybacks and Christopher Denny are put in the unique situation of being able to perform alongside their greatest inspirations like Jim Lauderdale and Joe Ely.\nThough the weekend long gas shortage put a damper on the festival for locals\, the shows that they were able to make without being stranded in the Station Inn parking lot were well worth the risk.\n
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CATEGORIES:aande,music
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080921T180104
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T164127
ORGANIZER;CN=Lance Conzett:MAILTO:conzettl@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080921T185400
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BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2218
SUMMARY:Unsung heroes keep us safe
DESCRIPTION:Last week\, there was a momentary pause in the relentless cycle of campaign news. One story appeared that wasn’t linked to politics\, to flag pins\, to campaign ads or to polling numbers. It didn’t last long\, of course\, but it was a story that to me is more important to the American narrative than any of this campaign hype. \nThere was a bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen. It was a ruthless attack on American soil\, but only one American was killed … so it fell out of our news cycle almost as soon as it fell in. That logic – “but only one American was killed” – is where we fail. \nYes\, one American citizen was killed. She was 18 and was standing outside of the embassy with her Yemeni husband. But there were nine others killed – not including the six attackers – who died defending the Americans who work inside of the embassy. Six of those killed were Yemeni guards\, who would stand outside of the embassy gates every day to control who went in and out of the compound.\nLast fall I spent a semester interning at the U.S. Embassy in Santiago\, Chile. My first day at work\, I rode up to the embassy compound scared and overwhelmed – I had no idea what would happen. A huge wall\, several gates and a number of security guards\, both U.S. Marines and Chilean guards\, surrounded the compound. We drove up to the first outpost\, where we rolled down the windows and waved at a friendly guard who then asked us to stop.\nHe didn’t recognize me – it was my first day. He was an older gentleman\, with white hair and a big grin. He had a little white mustache. He was tall and thin and always wore his navy blue blazer and carried a walkie-talkie with which he could communicate to the guard who could push the button to lift the gate to let us inside. \nHe came up to my window and with the biggest\, friendliest smile introduced himself in a barely understandable mumble of Spanish (which it would take me over a month to comprehend). I told him my name and he waved us inside.\nEvery day after that\, my friend at the gate would welcome me with a huge smile and an “Hola Melanie!” I am ashamed to admit that I do not remember his name\, because I am sure he would still know mine. He loved all of us – everyone who worked in that building. We were under his care – he was the first line of defense to protect us. When I would leave the embassy alone – even just to run across the street to Starbucks – I could always look back and see him watching me\, watching the area\, keeping me safe.\nThere is nothing more humbling than to meet others whose only job is to keep you safe. To keep you safe because you are an American and a target. Nothing makes you question your country and its policies more than having your car inspected for bombs before you can park it each day. \nAnd nothing makes my heart hurt more than knowing that men like my Chilean friend were killed last week\, just because they were doing their job. Just because they worked for Americans. I don’t know how that makes you feel – humbled\, angry\, hurt or indifferent. But it’s a news story that is worth more than a second thought and certainly more than a brief bit of coverage in our news cycle. \nVision editor Melanie Bengtson is a senior political science major in the Honors Program.\nEmail\: bengtsonm@pop.belmont.edu [javascript\:location.href='mailto\:'+String.fromCharCode(98\,101\,110\,103\,116\,115\,111\,110\,109\,64\,112\,111\,112\,46\,98\,101\,108\,109\,111\,110\,116\,46\,101\,100\,117)+'?']\n
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CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T145350
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T082647
ORGANIZER;CN=Melanie Bengtson\, Editor:MAILTO:vision@mail.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2217
SUMMARY:Belmont's mission 'bigger than us'
DESCRIPTION:Belmont’s president\, Dr. Bob Fisher\, tossed out some big numbers at the annual State of the University address\, with the most significant one likely the university’s nearly 70 percent growth in eight years.\nHow much larger will Belmont – with nearly 5\,000 students this year – become?\n“My answer is\, ‘I’m not sure\, but we’ll know it when we get there and I don’t think we’re there yet\,’” Fisher said.\nFisher acknowledges that the growth is not always easy on students\, faculty and staff\, but he said it also boosts the university’s reputation.\n“Our growth has fueled so much of our opportunity\,” he said. “So much of what we’re celebrating today would simply not be possible if we had held enrollment under 3\,000.\n“So for now the enrollment strategy is full speed ahead.”\nSome students are not quite as enthusiastic\, even though they acknowledge that it’s a necessary step towards strengthening each diploma with Belmont’s name on it.\n “I am all for the growth and promotion of Belmont\, but I think it should be done at a reasonable pace and should be thought out carefully before acted upon. A 70 percent increase in just eight years is definitely a lot and our campus has taken a hit for it\,” said Mat Fiedler\, a junior in the music business program.\nIn a nod to rhetoric being used in the election season\, Fisher said\, “We own change.”  He was referring to Belmont’s reputation for landmark moments and substantial transformation in recent years\, which have included the men’s basketball team’s inaugural trip to the NCAA tournament and the annual CMT music awards that bring music industry stars to campus\, the latter not always a thrill for some students.\n “I guess the CMT awards are a big deal\, but other than that there is really not much that has happened here [at Belmont]. I do feel\, however\, that the times are changing at Belmont and that soon it will become a campus that attracts some influential faces\,” remarked Tyler Howell\, a senior communications major.\nStaying on a positive note\, Fisher added\, “As much as we are achieving\, keep looking higher.”\nFisher also made comments that surrounded the mission and purpose of Belmont. “The things that are happening at Belmont [this semester]\, are bigger than us.”\nHowell agreed\, with a little qualification.\n“It is interesting that Dr. Fisher said that. I partly agree with him\, in the fact that hosting a presidential debate is an opportunity to thrust Belmont into another class of institutions\,” he said.\nFisher also told the audience at the opening convo that Metro Nashville recently won a court case “that moves us one step closer to rebuilding Rose Park for use by the community and our field sport teams.”\nBelmont’s proposal for the park\, a few blocks from campus in the Edgehill neighborhood\, has met some local resistance.\n
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CATEGORIES:growth,news,president-fisher
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T144945
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T082705
ORGANIZER;CN=David Bergfeld:MAILTO:bergfeldd@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2216
SUMMARY:Enrollment up 5%\, growth isn't slowing
DESCRIPTION:Belmont continues to outdo itself with the enrollment numbers for this fall reaching nearly 5\,000. In fact\, enrollment for this fall has broken previous records in both the total number of students – 4\,992 – and the number of first time freshmen – 932.\n This growth represents a 5 percent increase in the total number of students\, with a 16 percent increase in the number of first-time freshmen. The university has hired 31 new undergraduate faculty members\, a 14 percent increase that keeps close pace with student growth.\n Nowhere can evidence of growth be seen clearer than in the new dorm locked in a tight squeeze with Hail Hall or the parking lots that seem to be full at nearly all hours.\n According to Ike Ikenberry\, chief information officer of Institutional Research\, the official enrollment of 4\,992 students includes both full and part-time\, undergraduate and graduate.\n The number of first-time freshmen saw the steepest climb\, rising to 932 from last fall’s record setting 804. The enrollment of first-time freshmen rose an average of 9 percent each year for the last five years and shows no sign of leveling off.\n With the rise in student number\, one might expect to see the effects of additional tuition dollars at work. However\, the additional $4-5 million generated by tuition from new students will scarcely make a dent in the costs they help to create\, administrators say.\n In anticipation of the increased enrollment numbers\, last fall witnessed the groundbreaking of  Maple Hall the new dorm\, costing $12.5 million and capable of housing 200 students.  It should come as no surprise that Maple has\n been full to capacity with new freshmen since it opened this fall.\n In his annual State of the University address\, Belmont’s president\, Dr. Bob Fisher\, revealed that Maple is only the first of three similar residence halls in the works.\n “When the school year concludes in May\,” he said\, “we plan to begin the construction of two additional residence halls. These two buildings will create additional residence space for up to 400 students.”\n New dorm. New students. But will there be a place for them to park?\n Belmont currently has 2\,850 parking spots to share among students\, faculty\, and staff. Campus Security has issued more than 3\,600 decals\, about 1\,800 of which belong to faculty\, staff\, and students living in dormitories\, whose cars are likely to be on campus.\n Eric Simpson of Campus Security expects to issue about 4\,500 decals altogether. While he says the number of decals is not drastically higher than previous semesters\, the parking situation is more difficult because of spaces lost due to construction and preparations for Debate ‘08.\n However\, there is some relief from parking woes in sight\: During the long list of upcoming building projects\, Fisher announced the construction\, beginning in mid-October\, of the new School of Pharmacy building\, which will include 450 parking spaces in the garage beneath.\n But for the next few semesters at least\, Belmont’s growth is likely to be as evident at the bike racks as it is in the parking garage.\n
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CATEGORIES:enrollment,growth,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:6
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T144556
LAST-MODIFIED:20080927T130658
ORGANIZER;CN=Brendan Moss\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:brendanmoss_@hotmail.com
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2215
SUMMARY:'Ethix Rox' looks at shaping of political ideas
DESCRIPTION:It’s important to think through your own history and why you hold the convictions you do\, says religion professor Andy Watts. In this election year and time of political emphasis around campus\, Watts has organized such a discussion among several professors and interested students.\nThe Christian Faith Development convo will be held at 10 a.m. Friday\, Oct. 10\, in Massey Business Center\, Room 100. The panel of  faculty will include   Nathan Griffith\, political science\; Linda Jones\, psychology\; Bob Byrd\, religion\; and Watts.\nTitled “Voting the Common Good” or “Ethix Rox” on BIC\, the 50 minutes will be a time to discuss the professors’ different perspectives.\n“The convo is not about voting or any concept of the common good or about the election coming up\,” Watts said. “It’s about the deep convictions and beliefs each of these panelists hold that have formed their political interests and political persuasions.”\nIt’s not about what their politics are right now but from where their politics come. They will probably share some of the stories that have formed their lives and affected them to hold their current convictions.\n“I don’t so much want to find out what they believe as Republicans or Democrats but rather why they’re a conservative or a liberal or libertarian\,” Watts said.\nThe panelists were selected because of their diversity of viewpoints. Watts said this kind of discussion isn’t had often and hopes hearing from the professors will encourage students to examine their own lives.\nEach professor will speak four to five minutes and the rest of the hour will consist of Q&A.\n
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CATEGORIES:news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T144131
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T082740
ORGANIZER;CN=Chansin Bird\, Senior Writer:MAILTO:chansinbird@msn.com
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2214
SUMMARY:'Jesus for President' author at Belmont Oct. 1
DESCRIPTION:While it is one of the convocations closest to the presidential debate at Belmont University’s campus\, “Jesus for President\,” which takes its title from the book by Christian activist Shane Claiborne and theologian Chris Haw\, has nothing to do with America’s major political parties.\nIt is\, according to its introduction\, “a book to provoke the Christian political imagination.” Reports of packed-house crowds during Claiborne’s yearlong book tour – “Jesus for President” was published in January – say that it is definitely provocative.\nClaiborne\, who travels on a bus fueled by used vegetable oil\, comes to Belmont as a stop on his national tour at 10 a.m.\, Wednesday\, Oct. 1. The event is in Neely Dining Room. Claiborne will discuss his book and an unconventional Christian approach to modern politics that he draws from the Bible.\n“We want to be good Christians\, but deep down we trust that only the power of the state and its militaries and markets can make a difference in the world\,” Claiborne writes.\nRather than claiming that Jesus would be liberal or conservative\, Republican or Democrat\, Claiborne writes\, “[Jesus] saw governmental power not as a coveted position to run after but rather as the Devil’s playground.”\nUsing the political and historical context of Jesus’ time\, Claiborne makes an effort to dissect the contextual motives for Jesus’ words and actions. He offers the thought popular culture assimilates into the U.S. political system\, although Jesus promoted the opposite. Claiborne points out in the book\, “People went to the wilderness to get Rome out of them\, purging themselves of empire and seeing the world stripped of the fabrications of civilization.”\nIn Claiborne’s talks\, he shares his belief in Jesus as an activist who rebelled against power and greed through love.\n“Jesus would enter his people’s story\, tears\, sweat\, and hunger and show them a way out that doesn’t require the financial\, military\, and political power of kings and presidents and cabinets\,” he said.\n“Christianity Today” called Claiborne the new face of monasticism\, taking biblical discipleship and bringing it to a 21st-century time.\nIn addition to his work as a writer\, Claiborne is a founding member of The Simple Way\, a Philadelphia organization devoted to loving God\, loving people\, and following Jesus.\n
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CATEGORIES:news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:4
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T143817
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T082754
ORGANIZER;CN=Cassidy Hodges\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:hodgesc@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2213
SUMMARY:Bruin Hills gates open\, students' reactions mixed
DESCRIPTION:It’s no secret that security on campus has been tight recently in preparation for the upcoming debate. However\, some students are expressing concern for their safety because of the removal of the Bruin Hills entrance and exit gates on 15th Avenue.\nPrior to the fall 2008 semester\, students living in Bruin Hills\, Thrailkill and Hillside had to swipe their student ID cards to enter both the vehicle and pedestrian gates in the evening hours. While the gates have always been open during the daytime\, they closed at night and remained that way until early morning for security purposes.\nNow Belmont officials have decided the gates should remain open 24-7. “We found that there were very few hours just in the very middle of the night that the gates were doing any good at all\,” said Terry White\, director of campus security. “We were getting very little security out of them for a pretty high cost and we felt the money could be better used in other areas to do other things from a security standpoint.”\nThe gates were originally put in place when Bruin Hills was on the edge of campus\, before Hillside and Thrailkill were built. Now\, with many more vehicles passing through those gates and 12th Avenue as the border of campus\, adjustments were necessary.\nResidence Life officials also contributed to the decision to remove the gates. “We talked to students and of course we found out that they would rather those gates be down\,” said Bryan Hayse\, assistant director of residence life. “They felt that security-wise they were OK\, so we evaluated the whole situation and decided\, you know what\, that’s a request that we can probably grant.”\nWhile some students are enjoying the convenience of the permanently open gates\, they are unsure when it comes to their safety. “We won’t have to use our cards to get in and all that stuff\, but I don’t know exactly what that’s going to do for our security\,” said Peter Wierenga\, a sophomore Bruin Hills resident.\nSome students who may have felt more at ease without taking personal safety precautions because of the existence of the gates are now taking a more active role in protecting themselves and their belongings. “I feel like I have to have my door locked in my apartment and make sure I’m stressing that with my roommates\,” said Britney Knoeck\, a junior Hillside resident. “Anybody could come into my apartment and I’m on a bottom level\, so I like the gates being there.”\nIn order to maintain a safe environment\, Belmont Security has increased patrols in the Bruin Hills/Thrailkill/Hillside area. “We’re keeping a closer eye and maintaining higher visibility in that area so that anyone who would come in to break into a car or anything like that\, they’re going to see more of us and it’s going to make them more reluctant to do that\,” White said.\nWhite also emphasized that there are no plans to remove any other gates at this time. “We feel the 12th Avenue gates are very\, very needed at this point in time and\, having done away with the gates on 15th Avenue\, we can use some of the repair money to be sure that those gates are properly maintained so that they work all the time\,” he said. The Belmont Commons gates are also still up and running with no plans for removal.\nWith or without gates\, Belmont Security and Residence Life officials stress that students need to be mindful of their surroundings\, locking their doors and keeping valuables out of sight as Belmont’s campus is in an urban area. “Students are only as safe as they make themselves\,” Hayse said.\n
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CATEGORIES:news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:5
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T143226
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T082434
ORGANIZER;CN=Jessica Walker\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:walkerj1@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2232
SUMMARY:A conversation with The Deep Vibration A band gets back  to the 'Golden Age'
DESCRIPTION:The story of how Matt Campbell\, Jeremy Fetzer\, Luke Herbert and Adam Binder became The Deep Vibration begins in a manner not uncommon in and around Belmont University. Singer\, songwriter and guitarist Matt Campbell moved to Nashville from Chattanooga in 2005 to attend Belmont. But what he really wanted to do was start a band.\nDuring freshman orientation\, he asked fellow students if they wanted to join a band and\, of course\, about 73 percent of them did. Campbell eventually teamed up with guitarist Jeremy Fetzer and formed a band called The Attack!. Along with various rhythm section incarnations\, Campbell and Fetzer began recording countless demos in RCA Studio B and putting on head-turning performances around town.\nAnd then things got strange.\n On the night of May 2\, 2008\, Campbell and Fetzer waited in the rain outside the stage door of the Ryman Auditorium. They were standing there because they had realized that there had been another band called “The Attack” in the ‘60s and had decided it would be wise\, given the possibility of facing the wrong end of a trademark lawsuit\, to change their name… to whatever Lou Reed told them.\n“It was pretty weird that night. The moon was like purple\,” says Fetzer\, describing the scene outside the Ryman after a performance by Reed\, whose rock legacy dates back to the Velvet Underground.\nOf course\, you couldn’t ask for better conditions to seek the counsel of Lou Reed.  And Reed’s behavior was also perfect for the occasion.  “He comes down the stairs . . . No one’s really talking to him\; people are just handing him things and he’s signing them\,” Campbell recalls. “And so I lean in and was like\, ‘Lou\, we need a band name.’ And so he keeps signing things and his head’s down. And he kind of lifts his head up and goes\, ‘Deep Vibration.’” \n“And that was all he said\,” Fetzer adds.\nNow if that isn’t a picture-perfect VH-1 documentary moment\, I don’t know what is. But that night’s events also served as a kind of mythological initiation for the band (yes\, I’m serious) and not just because The Deep Vibration had just signed with Dualtone Records and solidified their rhythm section to include Luke Herbert on drums and Adam Binder on bass. Reed’s naming the band acted as a rite of passage for them precisely because Reed was one of the pioneers of the musical paradigm in which The Deep Vibration operate.\nCampbell insists on speaking in terms of musical heritage rather than genres when referring to The Deep Vibration’s amalgam of rock\, country\, and soul.  He rattles off a list of names – Elvis\, Bob Dylan\, Bruce Springsteen\, Gram Parsons\, Neil Young – that constitute what he calls the “Pillars.” And his wording here is important\; these are more than just influences for him. These men are rock ‘n’ roll archetypes\, heroes from a golden age\, which Campbell argues stretched from the release of “Highway 61 Revisited” (1965) to the release of “Born to Run” (1975)\, who established and gave meaning to an art form. Their music is the ideal toward which The Deep Vibration strives.\n“There hasn’t been another flourishing of good music\,” Campbell says\, when asked why he thinks the heyday of the Pillars was the peak of rock excellence. “There’s a good band here and there [now]\, but there aren’t like five amazing\, world changing bands around. If you look at the charts from 1965 and the charts today\, people on the charts now filter out within a year\, and back then\, people would be on the charts for like 10 years. And the people on the charts now\, lots of times they’re like Disney Channel kids. It’s just sad.”\nBut Campbell does acknowledge that there is still good music happening today. Among others\, Campbell and Fetzer list Wilco\, Radiohead and Gillian Welch (who\, incidentally\, happens to make a guest vocal appearance on The Deep Vibration’s debut EP) as acts whose music they love. This addendum to Campbell’s musical ideology is important for at least two reasons. First of all\, it is essential for his band’s existence\, given that they are making music in 2008. Secondly\, it lays the groundwork for The Deep Vibration’s music to ascend from a state of mere nostalgia to a position of relevance to the current culture.\nYou can certainly hear the foundation laid by the Pillars on the songs on The Deep Vibration’s forthcoming debut EP\, “Veracruz\,” slated for release Oct. 21. The band recorded Veracruz over a period of just five days with producer Niko Bolas who has worked with\, among others\, Neil Young. The songs contained therein – songs like “Oklahoma City Woman Blues” and “Thanks to You” – do indeed harken the listener back to the ‘65-‘75 golden age.\nBut the more you listen to The Deep Vibration’s music\, the more you pick up on a distinctively postmodern undercurrent – an influence of punk and experimental music – lurking below the traditional surface. In “Third Day of July\,” for instance\, there are moments where harsh noise breaks into what begins as a beautiful country rock ballad. Elements like this that embrace the practices of current music are what keep The Deep Vibration from becoming merely a throwback band trying to mimic the heroes of rock ‘n’ roll’s yesterday.\n“There’s no way of filtering out the music you’ve heard\,” Campbell says.  “I’m not going to sound like Bob Dylan because I’ve also heard Radiohead and The Ramones and The Clash.  Those crazy parts\, I’ve experienced them\, so there’s no way of getting around them.”\nSo while The Deep Vibration aim for an ideal of excellence that developed in the ‘60s and ‘70s\, they are not afraid of the implications of framing their music in the context of 2008.  Lou Reed’s naming ceremony marked a passing of the torch from a legend of the golden age to a young band of today about to release their first record.  Unfortunately\, we may have to wait another 30 or 40 years to see if The Deep Vibration matches the excellence and influence of the Pillars. But for now\, we get the honor of watching them try.\n
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CATEGORIES:ae
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:6
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T155730
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T083836
ORGANIZER;CN=Jason Hardy\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:hardyj@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2231
SUMMARY:BUSA sponsors Perryman Jones convo
DESCRIPTION:Belmont University Songwriter’s Association will host a convocation event with Nashville-based singer/songwriter Matthew Perryman Jones on Friday\, Sept. 26.\nJones will share his experiences with\, methods for\, and journeys in songwriting. He will also play a few songs from his new record\, “Swallow the Sea.”\nJones is associated with the network of independent artists known as Movement Nashville. Other artists in Movement Nashville include Leigh Nash\, Paper Route and Brooke Waggoner. Jones’ 2006 full-length release\, “Throwing Punches in the Dark\,” gained him a wide local following which grew to a national level with his second studio-produced LP. Several songs from the new record have been featured on primetime television\, including ABC’s “Private Practice\,” ABC Family’s “Kyle XY” and CW’s “One Tree Hill.”\nAccompanying Jones at the event will be producer and friend Neilson Hubbard\, who has worked with Jones on both “Throwing Punches” and “Swallow the Sea.”  Hubbard’s production work includes artists Glen Phillips\, Kate York\, Garrison Star and Judd & Maggie\, who will be speaking at Belmont Nov. 21. \nJones and Hubbard will be speaking in Massey Business Center Room 103 at 10 a.m.\nPersonal growth convocation credit is available.\n
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CATEGORIES:ae,busa
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:4
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T155336
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T082849
ORGANIZER;CN=Kaiti Jones\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:jonesk@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2230
SUMMARY:Moon Taxi expands fanbase\, catalog
DESCRIPTION:Belmont University has been the birthplace of many musical groups through the years. One of the newest\, Moon Taxi\, a Belmont-based indie band\, is receiving growing attention from both their fans and the music industry.\n “It is nice to exist under the radar of the ‘commercial’ music business and at the same time be a very successful regional act\,” Trevor H. Terndrup\, Moon Taxi’s singer and guitarist\, said.\nTerndrup\, along with Spencer Tomson (also on guitar)\, Tom Putnam on bass and background vocals\, Wes Bailey on keys and background vocals and Tyler Ritter on drums\, are currently touring the southeast playing shows in Nashville and other cities inside and outside of Tennessee. They have also successfully produced a debut album\, “Melodica\,” which contains original songs\, including “Gimme a Light\,” “Mustang” and “Morningtime.”\n“Gimme a Light\,” a powerful song in their set list\, uses strong lyrics to carry a deep message to its audience\, with music by Putnam and lyrics by Terndrup.\n“Aside from the anti-fundamentalist themes\, it is a song about taking a stand against dogmatism. It pleads for the listener to challenge what they hold to be true\,” Terndrup said.\nMoon Taxi also recently recorded their first live album. Terndrup admits\, “My favorite moment was walking out on stage and being blown back by applause which sent chills all the way to the marrow.”\nMoon Taxi is not all about crowd-pleasing performances based on funky\, upbeat melodies and original lyrics. Their mission is to be a passionate group of business partners\, dedicated to delivering their message and music to the people. Terndrup tells of their fight from the beginning to keep their music alive in today’s industry.\n“My favorite part about chasing down my dream of playing music has been the challenge of doing everything for ourselves. After graduation\, we opened our own record label\, 12th South Records LLC. We manage everything internally. From booking the shows to promotion to managing our finances\, we do it all.”\nMoon Taxi’s fans only empower their rising popularity\, as one fan wrote on Jambase.com of his experiences with the band.\n“I have seen them before in Bowling Green\, but the last show at Tidballs blew me away\,” the unidentified fan said. “The band is really expanding the concept of melodies along with psychedelic jams. This band will go places. I cannot wait to see them again.”\n
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CATEGORIES:ae,moon-taxi,music
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:4
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T154811
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T082902
ORGANIZER;CN=Jesse Johmson\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:johnsonjg@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2229
SUMMARY:Violett takes Broadway stage
DESCRIPTION:Last semester\, Gabe Violett\, a freshman at Belmont in 2007\, spent most of his nights studying hard for exams\, practicing for voice lessons and celebrating the weekends with his friends.\nThis year\, Violett is trading in his books and Bruin Bucks for the bright lights of Broadway\, where he is making his debut as Otto in “Spring Awakening.” The musical\, which was written by Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik\, has won not only critical acclaim\, but also eight Tony Awards\, including 2007’s Best Musical.\nIn the spring semester of 2008\, Violett and a friend drove to Chattanooga to audition for the musical “on a whim” and Violett was shocked when he received a phone call a few weeks later and was asked to come audition again for the show in New York City. After his New York audition\, “the casting directors told me they really liked my voice\, there just wasn’t a place in the show for me at that time\,” he said.\nThey’ve certainly found a place for him now. Violett and a friend moved to New York City this summer for a month\, just for fun. The day before Violett’s flight back to his hometown of St. Louis\, he got a call from the casting director of “Spring Awakening” asking him if he would play the role of Otto. Violett was also asked to understudy for one of the lead roles\, Mortiz\, and to start the following week.\nIn a recent interview with Broadway.com\, Violett said of the phone call\, “It was the first time in my life I was genuinely afraid that I may have been dreaming.”\nThat call was certainly in real life and real time\, but Violett is sure that he is living out his dream - not bad for a homeschooled boy from Missouri who grew up starring in high school musicals and local theater productions with no formal vocal training.\nNow Violett lives in an apartment in the heart of New York City\, where he works full-time. “It’s amazing how casual it feels to be on Broadway\,” Violett said of his new career. However\, fulfilling his goals this early in life seems a little premature for Violett. “In the course of minute\, I quit school\, moved to New York\, got a full-time job\, and fulfilled my lifelong dream. What do I do next?”\nWith his future overwhelmingly promising\, could it be safe to say Gabe Violett won’t need those Bruin Bucks any more?\n
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CATEGORIES:ae
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T154227
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T082915
ORGANIZER;CN=Sammie Fowler\, Satff Writer:MAILTO:fowlers@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2228
SUMMARY:Why side with anything?
DESCRIPTION:“But you and I will be undefeated / By agreeing to disagree. / No one wins but the thieves\, / So why side with anything?” sings Jeff Tweedy in Wilco’s “Side with the Seeds.”\nReally\, Jeff? Do you honestly think that is the answer to the problem?\nIt’s no secret that we humans disagree on the answers to the “big” questions. And it’s also no secret this disagreement has caused us quite a few problems\, the likes of which include\, I don’t know\, wars\, genocide\, discrimination\, and the like. So I can certainly understand the reasoning behind Jeff Tweedy’s suggestion not to take sides. After all\, we\, the postmodern jury\, are still out on the verdict of whether or not our old friend “objective truth” actually exists.\nBut honestly\, I think that Jeff’s proposal that the best way for humanity to reach harmony is to discard all strongly held beliefs (a mindset that seems quite common these days) is kind of a copout. And after I saw Wilco play at the Florida Theater in Jacksonville this summer\, I think he secretly agrees with me—even if he doesn’t want to. Here’s why\:\nDuring the concert\, I became distressed. Now\, I’ll not burden you with an in-depth explanation of my rock concert ideology\, as I already have in a previous column\, other than to say that I feel quite strongly that audience participation (i.e.\, standing up\, dancing\, singing\, etc.) is absolutely integral to the rock concert experience. And at this particular concert\, the majority of the crowd remained seated\, taking in the show like an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.”\nMy friends\, I could not sit idly and let my errant fellow audience members fail to experience the concert to its full potential. In my righteous anger\, I yelled at the top of my lungs\, “EVERYBODY STAND UP!” during a lull in post-song applause. Mr. Tweedy promptly provided commentary on my call for action\, as is his custom for obnoxious fans who yell ridiculous things from the audience\, by saying something along the lines of\, “Now\, I’m not going to get involved with the whole sitting versus standing debate\; I‘ve learned my lesson on that. You all just figure that out amongst yourselves\, and\, in the end\, everyone will do the right thing for themselves.”\nThe crowd cheered in approval for Tweedy’s diplomatic response\, and I sheepishly conceded the point\, recognizing his authority over his own concert. The band kicked in to “Forget the Flowers\,” and I sang along happily\, relishing the fact that I had actually engaged in dialogue with Jeff Freaking Tweedy. Before beginning a rousing rendition of “Hate It Here” directly afterward\, however\, a magical thing happened\: Tweedy returned to the microphone and said\, “All rright. You all might want to stand up for this one.” Words cannot describe the joy I felt at my vindication. The crowd happily stood up and began enjoying the music properly. Order was restored to the universe\, or at least  inside the Florida Theater.\nNow\, it doesn’t take a master logician to realize that Mr. Tweedy’s encouragement of the crowd to stand completely contradicts the stance he took with his previous statement. And what’s interesting about this disparity is the fact that Tweedy’s original statement is more in line with his ostensible ideals than his subsequent suggestion that the crowd stand up. And that’s my point. His quasi-relativistic approach to solving the “why-can’t-we-all-just-get-along?” problem does not work. And he knows it.\nThink about it. The way I see it\, there are codes of proper behavior in all contexts\, including rock concerts. The two main schools of thought seem to be that one should either remain seated out of consideration for everyone else or that one should feel free to enjoy himself/herself by standing\, dancing\, singing\, etc. because that’s just what you do at a rock concert. I obviously fall into this second camp. But I recognize that there are people who disagree with me\, and though I think they are utterly wrong\, I recognize their right to their own opinions. Furthermore\, I think that both sides can and should engage in civilized discourse in order to come\, at the very least\, to a mutual understanding if not an agreement.\nAfter all\, it is possible for both sides of a disagreement to maintain respect for each other as fellow human beings—respect enough to recognize each other’s right to hold strong beliefs. And while this mutual respect is most certainly difficult to cultivate\, it’s the only way that we can achieve harmony. Jeff Tweedy’s suggestion to forfeit one’s ideals for the sake of community\, while perhaps an easier solution\, is ultimately unacceptable because it undermines humanity’s inherent desire for truth. And his decision to take a definitive side in the sitting/standing debate proves that even he cannot live by the na&iuml\;ve notion that the way to avoid unhealthy conflict is to do away with all grounds for conflict in the first place.\nIncidentally\, if you disagree with my position on the proper rock concert behavior\, I’d be happy to hear your arguments. Perhaps you have some insight that I lack. But\, for the record\, Jeff Tweedy happens to be on my side.\nJason Hardy is a senior English writing major. Email\: hardyj@pop.belmont.edu [javascript\:location.href='mailto\:'+String.fromCharCode(104\,97\,114\,100\,121\,106\,64\,112\,111\,112\,46\,98\,101\,108\,109\,111\,110\,116\,46\,101\,100\,117)+'?']\n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:7
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T153810
LAST-MODIFIED:20080925T132447
ORGANIZER;CN=Jason Hardy\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:hardyj@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2227
SUMMARY:TPAC offers student discounts
DESCRIPTION:Tennessee Performing Arts Center has presented a lot of Tony Award-winning Best Musicals in its 28-year history. (35 to be exact.) However\, it’s safe to assume that “Avenue Q\,” the hilarious Broadway musical that took the top prize in 2004\, is the first to feature “full puppet nudity.” Belmont students have the opportunity to buy tickets to the Oct. 28-Nov. 2 production for as low as $16.50.\n “Avenue Q” tells the story of Princeton\, a bright-eyed college grad who moves to New York with big dreams and a tiny bank account. The catch to this atypical musical is that most of the cast members use puppets to tell the story of the characters.\n “I thought it was going to be lame because it involved puppets but it was one the funniest shows I have seen in my life\,” said Anna Pandorf\, a senior music business major who saw the production in New York last year along with the rest of her Belmont East classmates. “The lyrics are cleverly written but they have an edgy side to them which makes the fact that they are coming out of the mouths of puppets even funnier.”\n So is it a squeaky clean PBS show or a subversive Saturday night comedy?\n “Well\, both\,” said Chris Szalaj\, TPAC’s business intelligence manager. “The puppets somehow keep their wide-eyed innocence in the midst of telling some really dirty jokes. Let’s just say that I was not prepared for a particular scene that featured full-on puppet sex.”\n The Grammy-nominated cast album\, which features titles like “It Sucks to Be Me\,” “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” and “The Internet Is for Porn\,” may be the best indicator of the show’s progressive attitude – it comes complete with its own parental advisory label.\n “‘Avenue Q’ caters directly to the college crowd because those moments of pee-in-your-pants hilarity are framed in the story of a young guy trying to find his way after graduation\,” said Amy Starnes\, TPAC’s senior group sales manager and Belmont alum. “It promotes diversity in such a fun\, humorous\, entertaining way but still brings home the message that love and acceptance should prevail.”\n Starnes and Szalaj have worked specifically to inform college audiences of the special discounts available to them for most shows in the TPAC season. A team of student advocates from area universities was assembled to canvas social networking sites with information about upcoming shows and the special ticket offers related to each.\n TPAC also has its own Facebook fan page that members can add in order to get the most up-to-date information about discounts and student ticket prices. Additionally\, a successful campaign in which students texted in a special code to win tickets was recently completed for the first two shows of the season. More information and upcoming contests can be found at www.tpac.org/contest [http\://www.tpac.org/contest].\n “Students have the opportunity to buy some of the best seats in the house for the lowest ticket price the show’s production company will allow\,” said Starnes\, who is responsible for organizing ticket groups of 10 or more in addition to managing TPAC’s Corporate Saver program. Both options give students the chance to buy tickets for $16.50. “There is still good availability on our student ticket nights\, but they are going fast!”\n “Avenue Q” plays TPAC’s Andrew Jackson Hall Oct. 28-Nov. 2. Showtimes are 7\:30 pm Tuesday-Thursday\, 8 p.m. Friday\, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday\, and 1 p.m. and 6\:30 p.m. Sunday. For more information\, visit tpac.org/avenueq [http\://www.tpac.org/avenueq]. To purchase student tickets\, call 615-782-4060 or visit tpac.org/corporatesaver [http\://www.tpac.org/corporatesaver]\, choose the desired show under "Universities" and enter the password "belmont."\n
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CATEGORIES:ae,avenue-q,tpac
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:11
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T153426
LAST-MODIFIED:20080926T195257
ORGANIZER;CN=Andrew Cole\, Managing Editor:MAILTO:coleat@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2226
SUMMARY:3-0 victory puts men's soccer stats on plus side
DESCRIPTION:A career-high four points from senior Cyrus Eaton helped lift the Belmont men’s soccer team (4-3-0) to a 3-0 victory over Presbyterian (1-5-1) at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex in on Sunday afternoon.\nSophomore Wesley Wrey made two saves for his second consecutive shutout of the season and his career.\nBelmont scored the first goal of the contest in the second minute of action on a crossing pass by Eaton that was touched by senior Navarda Heath and shot past the goalkeeper by sophomore Brett Parker for his second goal of the season.  Parker scored a goal in Belmont’s last game against UNC Ashville on Sept. 19.\nThe Bruins took a 1-0 lead into halftime and continued the offensive pressure with another goal in the 49th minute by Eaton off of a rebounded shot by junior Wade Wonderlin to make the score 2-0. It was Eaton’s first goal of the season and Wonderlin received credit for the assist for his first point of this campaign.\nThe final goal of the game came in the 51st minute by freshman Will Moorad who pushed a crossing pass by Eaton into the net for his team-leading third score of the season to secure the victory for Belmont.\n Belmont outshot Presbyterian 20-10 in the contest and attempted more corner kicks\, 18-3.\n“[Sunday] was a good performance for us and shows how well we can play if we stay focused from the beginning of a game\,” said Belmont head coach Earle Davidson. “We’ve played well the last three halves of soccer and need to bring this effort into all of our games.”\nSunday’s performance by Eaton comes at the end of the week in which he was named a national candidate for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award for men’s soccer.\n The Bruins return to action on Friday\, Sept. 26\, for their first official home contest of the season against Wofford at Lipscomb Soccer Complex starting at 5 p.m.\n– Belmont Athletics\n
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CATEGORIES:soccer,sports
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T153026
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T083001
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2225
SUMMARY:Cat Mundy hits milestone in Bruin loss
DESCRIPTION:In the second set of volleyball’s Battle of the Boulevard\, senior Cat Mundy made Bruin history\, recording her 1\,000th kill in a loss to Lipscomb in three sets.\nWith ten kills on the night\, Mundy finished the game with a total of 1\,004 kills\, good for sixth-most in Belmont history. She’s added a few dozen more since then\, including 16 in the Sept. 20 win over Campbell.\n“Earning 1\,000 kills in a little over 2 years is truly outstanding and this achievement is one of the benchmarks of a successful hitting career\,” said head coach Deane Webb. “We’ve had a couple of players in the Division 1 era get to 1\,000 kills\, but each of them started for four years.”\nIn front of a crowd of 723\, the Bruins made great come-back attempts in the first set. The Bruins were down four-to-10 early\, but three aces from Lauren Hall\, Mundy and Jenny Gray paired with the blocking tandem of Emily Cahill and Kayla Albritton\, allowed for a 16-14 lead. The Bruins continued to stay aggressive throughout the set\, but Lipscomb escaped with the 23-25 victory.\nSet two began with a Lipscomb lead 3-0\, until Mundy’s strong serving allowed for a 5-point Bruin run to take the lead. Tied 20-20 after Mundy reached her 1\,000th career kill\, the Bruins let Lipscomb take over\, going up two-sets to none with the 21-25 victory. Lipscomb then closed the door on the Bruins in set three\, winning 25-18.\nThe Bruins (6-4) will continue their journey toward the A-Sun Conference Tournament\, with upcoming road matches at Campbell\, Jacksonville and North Florida.\n“So far\, we’ve had good moments and bad moments\, as any team has\,” said Webb. “We’ve played better than I could’ve imagined in a few matches and worse than we should have in others.”\nWhile it didn’t happen on the home court\, freshman setter Channing Salava recorded the first triple-double of her career in the Campbell win.\nTo get more people to the home matches\, volleyball coaches and staff have been working on promotional events.\n“We’ve been working hard this season with our promotions because we think the sport is fun and exciting for viewers and we’re trying to get more people involved in coming to the games\,” said grad assistant volleyball coach Embrey Brannon.\nIn a home contest against Campbell Oct. 31\, the Bruins will host a Halloween-themed night where students can dress in a costume and the best costume will receive a prize.\n“Those who have never been to a Belmont volleyball match can expect a great environment\, and a team that works hard to make every Belmont student\, faculty and staff member proud that we represent them each time we take the floor\,” said Webb.\nThe next games in Nashville – both at Lipscomb’s arena – are at 3\:30 p.m. Oct. 3 against Florida Gulf Coast and 1 p.m. Oct. 4 against Stetson.\n
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CATEGORIES:sports,volleyball
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T152819
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T083016
ORGANIZER;CN=Hillary Bond\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:bondh@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2224
SUMMARY:Debate '08 gets classic touch
DESCRIPTION:Down the block from the Ryman Auditorium and down the street from the bars of Lower Broadway\, lies Hatch Show Print. The windows are plastered with posters\, filtering out the sunlight while showing off a style of their own. The Nashville landmark has hosted some of the world’s greatest musicians and entertainers since 1879 and continues to crank out authentic letterpress show posters today.\nBelmont University and its role as host to the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate is an addition to a client list that has included 19th-century evangelist Henry Ward Beecher\, Army general and President Dwight Eisenhower and entertainers like Johnny Cash\, Sheryl Crow\, Alan Jackson and hundreds more.\nTo commemorate the Oct. 7 debate\, April Lyons\, creative services supervisor of Belmont’s Office of Communications\, wanted to use the well-known company to capture the historical moment.\n And Hatch employee\, Mary Sullivan translated the university’s ideas onto paper. “A traditional Hatch-style poster\,” was the end result .\n“We wanted not only Belmont University to be well-represented but also the state of Tennessee\,” Sullivan said\, “since this is a big deal for all of us.” And the red\, white and blue poster is best described in the same way as Hatch Show Print – classic.\nThe Hatch brothers\, who led the print shop during its heyday\, once famously remarked\, “Advertising without posters is like fishing without worms.” After reeling in the biggest fish in Belmont’s history\, the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate\, it’s fitting that the historical Hatch Show Print advertise it.\nSince it began in the late 19th century\, Hatch has continued to produce posters in much the same way as it started. Hand carving images onto wood and metal blocks provide a template. Ink is carefully rolled onto sections of the images before lying paper down and pressing out the poster. The result is a unique stamp\, easily recognizable and the ultimate in handcrafted cool. In a world that is increasingly dependant on the ease of digital technology\, Hatch offers a refreshing change to computerized images.\nMySpace\, Facebook and Flickr\, all very much part of the lives of today’s college students\, are worlds away from the shop and that’s the way Hatch manager Jim Sherraden prefers it.\n“My mantra has always been preservation through production\,” the historian\, artist and printmaker said.\nHe joined Hatch in 1984\, after a college professor saw his art show and turned him on to the “dying\, old print shop.” He’s seen the company struggle through the years and owners come and go but he never stopped printing.\nThe shop\, now owned and operated by the Country Music Hall of Fame\, takes great pride in their work as well as their story. Once located behind the historic Ryman Auditorium\, Hatch forged a lasting friendship with the many artists who have performed on that stage.\nIt’s no surprise that it became the advertising company not only of country musicians\, but also of rock\, jazz and bluegrass. But\, the posters aren’t limited to the music industry. NASCAR\, wrestling and politicians have all ordered Hatch prints.\nAs Sherraden noted\, regardless of the industry\, “public figures are all entertainers and they all need posters.”\nBelmont’s poster will promote one of three pre-election presidential debates in what  will welcome arguably the most famous presidential campaign in history\, a significance not lost on the print shop. In addition to printing posters for the highly anticipated debate at Belmont\, they signed a contract with CNN to produce their artwork for the upcoming election. Despite the ease of point-and-click graphic design\, it seems everyone – even the fast-paced cable network – is after a look of authenticity that computers can’t offer.\n
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CATEGORIES:presidential-debate,features
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:8
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T152357
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T084614
ORGANIZER;CN=Julie Kenny\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:juliekenny1982@hotmail.com
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2223
SUMMARY:Volunteers needed to work polls
DESCRIPTION:Earlier this summer\, the Davidson County Election Commission contacted many local high schools and colleges about opportunities for students to work for the county on election day\, Nov. 4.\nTo volunteer\, students must fill out a written application and be a registered voter in Davidson County. The Election Commission also requires volunteers to attend one of many workshops in October and early November to learn how to run the polls. The costs of the workshop are covered by the county and all volunteers receive $95 in compensation for their efforts.\nDr. Vaughn May\, chair of the political science department at Belmont\, is spear-heading the recruitment drive on campus and is excited about the opportunity for students to become involved.\n "This event offers students [an excellent] opportunity to experience politics up-close\,” he said.\nOne freshman that has committed to volunteering said\, "I'm very excited to be doing this. It's a great opportunity to help serve the community and to observe the political machine at work. Plus\, I get gas money!"\nStudents that are interested in volunteering should contact May (mayv@mail.belmont.edu [javascript\:location.href='mailto\:'+String.fromCharCode(109\,97\,121\,118\,64\,109\,97\,105\,108\,46\,98\,101\,108\,109\,111\,110\,116\,46\,101\,100\,117)+'?']) or Sharon Ford of the Davidson County Election Commission (sharon.ford@nashville.gov [javascript\:location.href='mailto\:'+String.fromCharCode(115\,104\,97\,114\,111\,110\,46\,102\,111\,114\,100\,64\,110\,97\,115\,104\,118\,105\,108\,108\,101\,46\,103\,111\,118)+'?'] or at 615-862-8804).\nAdditional information can be obtained from the poolitical science department bulletin board on the third floor of the Wheeler Humanities Building. Students interested in applying the experience towards an academic requirement should speak with May.\n
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CATEGORIES:election-2008,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T152024
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T082505
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2222
SUMMARY:As debate site\, Belmont's busy
DESCRIPTION:While the rest of the nation is watching the first of the ’08 presidential debates at Ole Miss on Friday\, Belmont will keep its eye on the town hall debate\, coming to the Curb Event Center Oct. 7.\n It would be a big event in any year\, but it’s especially noteworthy because it’s going to be historic\, no matter what the outcome. A Democratic victory Nov. 4 will ensure that the United States has elected its first black president. A Republican victory will mean the country has elected its first female vice president.\n But the outcome of the election is not the only unknown at Belmont.\n About 1100 students entered a lottery for tickets to the debate – just in case any seats are available.\n Pamela Johnson\, Belmont’s marketing director\, said that the university will not be notified until very near the day of the debate\, but if there are slots\, students will be notified in the order of their lottery numbers.\n There are viewing parties all around – Belmont is hosting one at the Ryman\; the Barack Obama campaign\, at the Belcourt\; the John McCain campaign\, at Riverfront Park\; and AARP\, in Centennial Park.\n The Commission on Presidential Debates controls many issues of interest around the debate\, but Belmont has a full slate of events that are open to students\, most of which have convo credit.\n Here are just a few of the things that are ahead\:\n -    Ethical Responsibility in an Election Year\: Is the Media Helping or Hurting?\n     10 a.m.\, Friday\, Sept. 26\,\n Frist Lecture Hall\, 4th floor\, Inman\n The Center for Business Ethics and the New Century Journalism Program will host a lively dialogue on coverage of the presidential election. This program will feature John Seigenthaler\, award-winning journalist and Founder of the First Amendment Center\, and John Seigenthaler Jr.\, partner and CEO\, Seigenthaler Public Relations New York\, and former NBC news anchor.\n -     Ole Miss debate watch party. \n     8 p.m. Friday\, Sept. 26\, Belmont Heights Baptist Church\n     See the first of this year’s debates on the big screen at Belmont Heights Baptist Church. After the debate\, representatives from the College Democrats and Young Republicans will discuss various political and policy issues related to the debate.\n -    “What I Wish to Say to the Future President”\n     10 a.m. Wednesday\, Oct. 1\, MPAC\n     Experience a unique art form purposefully centered on the presidential debates. Performance artist Sheryl Oring uses a manual typewriter to type participants’ answers to a specific question. She then sends the original postcard to the White House to be read by the president – but in our case\, presidential candidates. At 4\:30 that afternoon in LCVA Gallery at a reception\, Oring will speak to students and guests about her “I Wish to Say” performance series.\n -     “Jesus for President”\n     10 a.m.\, Wednesday\, Oct. 1\, Neely\n     Christian activist Shane Clairborne discusses his book\, “Jesus for President.”\n     (See story in this issue of the Vision\,\n page 4).\n -   Ken Burns\: Telling American Stories\n     7 p.m. Tuesday\, Sept. 30\, Neely\n     Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns will\n address his approach to “history” in a ticketed event. Tickets are free to the public on a first come\, first serve basis. There’s no official word yet on availability of seats. To put your name on the list\, call 460-6183.\n -    Q&A with filmmaker Ken Burns\n     10 a.m.\, Wednesday\, Oct. 1\,\n Massey Boardroom\n     Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker Ken Burns will answer questions from students about his work\, which includes “Brooklyn Bridge\,” “The Civil War\,”  “Jazz\,” “Baseball” and “World War II.”\n -    Books Suppressed on Political Grounds\n     Noon Friday\, Oct. 3\,\n Leu Gallery in Bunch Library\n     At an observation of the national Banned Books Week 2008\, professors Susan Jellissen and Nathan Griffith will discuss books and texts suppressed on political grounds.\n
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CATEGORIES:presidential-debate
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:14
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T151226
LAST-MODIFIED:20080927T130819
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2221
SUMMARY:Beaman closing  for Debate '08
DESCRIPTION:Belmont’s campus is full of both excitement and changes as Oct.7\, the day of the Presidential Town Hall debate\, draws closer. Many at the university may need to alter their daily routines for at least three weeks as a Belmont staple – the Beaman Student Life Center – is closed for debate preparation.\nThe most recent word is that the Beaman will be off limits to students\, faculty and staff\, with some closings this week and others ongoing until Oct 13 – and possibly later. The popular study spot and frequented workout facility will soon be turned into Debate ‘08 central.\n“The Secret Service\, the CIA and a number of other offices that are traveling with the nominees will be housed in the Beaman\,” said Jamie Zeller\, assistant director of the Beaman Student Life Center.\n“There will be a ton of people working in here.”\nIn the latest bulletin on access\, the university noted that the weight room closed Wednesday\; the fitness room\, rec gym\, racquetball courts and climbing wall will close at 8 p.m. Friday\, Sept. 26\; and the entire facility except for the lobby will be closed starting Saturday\, Sept. 27. The lobby will remain open through Tuesday\, Sept. 30.\nStudents typically studying\, assembling or exercising in this favored location will have to find other areas to meet their various needs.\n“It’s going to affect me a lot because I have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.\, so most of my study time is done here\,” said Jenna Davidson\, a junior accounting major.  “I’m assuming I’ll be eating out a lot\, going to restaurants to study\, and I’ll probably study in the Massey building as well.”\nWhile the Beaman is a common study location\, it’s also a place for students to spend time catching up with friends and socializing.\n“I love just being able to see people walk through\, it’s a social atmosphere and it’s time to just hang out and build relationships and talk to people\,” said Ross Marshall\, a junior music business major. “I think for the three weeks that it’s closed we’ll kind of lose that feel.”\nBeaman regulars aren’t the only ones who will be affected by this change. Student workers will be temporarily unemployed during the time the facility is closed.    “Obviously we won’t have a [workout] facility or anything else\, so they won’t be able to come to work and\, unfortunately\, they will be out of work for however long we’re closed\,” Zeller said. “Hopefully we’ll get them back in here earning money as soon as we can and the students get in here to be able to work out.”\nThe Beaman is tentatively set to reopen Oct.13.  In the meantime\, students searching for alternative study spots can head to Bunch Library\, residence hall lobbies or one of the neighborhood coffee shops. For a workout\, students can run or walk on the Bruin Loop\, a one-and-a-half mile course around Belmont’s campus.\nWhile some may feel inconvenienced\, Beaman officials encourage students to focus on the significance of the debate and what it means to have it at Belmont.\n“Look at the scope and magnitude of this event and understand what is going to be taking place here on this campus and how this university is going to be put in the limelight for several hours in front of millions and millions and millions of people across this country and across the world\,” Zeller said. “It’s going to be something to be said and something to be seen.”\n
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CATEGORIES:presidential-debate,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:6
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T150901
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T084838
ORGANIZER;CN=Jessica Walker\, Staff Writer:MAILTO:walkerj1@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2220
SUMMARY:'Vision' emerging as online news source for campus
DESCRIPTION:You may have noticed something different about the “Belmont Vision” this semester.\nMaybe you were fanning yourself with it during move-in day. Or maybe you spotted the banner while studying outside the Caf. The reality of the situation is that the “Vision” has shifted focus to its online home\, www.belmontvision.com\, with the plan to convert completely to an electronic product by Fall 2009.\nWe at the “Vision” want to be able to give you the most up-to-date coverage of things happening in and around campus. And we’ve already begun. Head on over to www.belmontvision.com and check out the expansive coverage of Next Big Nashville or one of the many video pieces created specifically with you in mind.\nBookmark the page so you can easily access the only media source covering the Belmont debate from the students’ point of view. With “Vision” reporters in the hall.  the media tent\, the watch parties and the protest zone\, our coverage of the event is shaping up to be legen- wait for it -dary.\nBut don’t stop there – interact with us. Subscribe to our RSS feed. Comment on our blogs. E-mail us story ideas. The only way we can live up to our new tagline\, “Student News\, Student Views\,” is with the invaluable input of students like you.\n– Andrew Cole\nmanaging editor\n
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T150312
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T082608
ORGANIZER;CN=Andrew Cole\, Managing Editor:MAILTO:coleat@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2219
SUMMARY:Democracy\: one size fits all?
DESCRIPTION:My brother and I had a discussion the other evening about how certain issues in the world are swept under the rug. (I assure you\, I didn’t call him up to discuss world issues\: the conversation began with asking how his semester was going). We agreed that almost all nations\, just like many individuals\, have enough skeletons in their closets to fill a cemetery. But I wondered about Nigeria’s skeletons. \nThis summer I went back to Nigeria for the first time in three years and\, for the first time\, I asked questions about my family and my country’s history. I asked family members\, researched and read first-hand accounts of Nigeria before and after our independence from the British Empire in 1960. I think I knew this earlier\, but I did not recognize to its full effect that in the mid-1960s there was a genocide in Nigeria against Igbo people\: my people. For the first time I sat down and listened to my mother tell these stories of surviving a civil war as a 10-year-old child where starvation and disease were rampant killers and children were the most common victims. Almost three million people died in the war\, a large proportion from starvation and disease. It seems so supernatural that my brothers and I are just one generation younger than my parents who went through all this\, but the fact is that millions of Nigerians experienced the war and all its atrocities. So why don’t more of them talk about it? How is it that all this went past me and probably a good portion of my generation of Nigerians when we live with survivors?\nMy brother replied\, “It’s for the best that Nigerians don’t have public dialogue about the genocide or the war.” He says that because of Nigerians’ current volatility (which is arguably due to the country’s political and economic instability and also the ever-present religious and ethnic tensions)\, it is best to speak about these issues only in the privacy of one’s home.\nT\nhis year’s humanities symposium\, “Debate\, Dissent and Dialogue” stressed the importance\, power and value of speaking out\, discourse and openly disagreeing. At one of the symposium events\, Larry Woods\, a local political consultant and co-owner of Bookman/Bookwoman\, said\, “Dissent makes America the greatest nation in the world.”\n Perhaps this is true\, but I think what makes America truly great goes beyond just disagreement because Nigerians\, as silent as they are\, disagree a great deal. It is the freedom to step out and publicly oppose\, knowing there is a standing chance that something will come of it. It works in America because of the freedom here.\nBut is this concept of “debate\, dissent and dialogue” when propagated in foreign nations\, such as Nigeria\, as far-fetched as the concept of the ideal Americanized democracy in these nations? Is it just a dangerous fantasy that is real only to the citizens of free nations as the United States? It is very true what my brother said about keeping silent about the injustices of Nigeria’s past. Nigerians under the thumb of poverty and insecurity and cultural tensions are spoiling for a fight. The smallest chagrins could result in week-long riots. So they learn to keep silent and maintain peace for as long as they can even when all they want to do is talk about it. Does Nigeria’s understanding of her nature and sensitivity to her people’s current violent temperament stand between her and the greatness Woods mentioned.\nI will ask a similar question about democracy. I often hear that democracy is what makes America great. This could be true. But what happens when this ideal of American greatness is planted in other nations that have been ruled by kings\, queens\, chiefs\, and religious leaders for hundreds of years\, such as Nigeria? Does it make the nation’s situation worse? It certainly demands that people’s cultures change somewhat.\nMy parents talk about the good days when the government provided for them\: gave them a decent education\, jobs\, salaries\, cars. This was during military rule. After “democracy” came in\, things seemed to go downhill. Could it be that some nations are not fashioned for democracy? Could it be that America attempting to plant democracy in nations that are completely culturally and historically different from the United States is a little na&iuml\;ve of the great nation? Is it the best thing for these countries?\nI am going against the silent-for-safety disposition of my people. I’m dissenting and I’d like some debate and dialogue. Please argue with me!\nAdaeze Elechi is a senior journalism major. Email\: adaezeelechi@yahoo.com [javascript\:location.href='mailto\:'+String.fromCharCode(97\,100\,97\,101\,122\,101\,101\,108\,101\,99\,104\,105\,64\,121\,97\,104\,111\,111\,46\,99\,111\,109)+'?']\n
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CATEGORIES:opinion
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:2
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080923T150011
LAST-MODIFIED:20080924T082634
ORGANIZER;CN=Adaeze Elechi:MAILTO:adaezeelechi@yahoo.com
DTSTART:20080924T080000
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2259
SUMMARY:'Arabian Nights' continues at Troutt Theater
DESCRIPTION:\n Ali Baba and Sinbad the Sailor are on stage\, but their timeless tales have a contemporary twist in playwright Mary Zimmerman’s version of the “Arabian Nights\,” now playing at Belmont.\n Belmont Department of Theatre and Dance\, collaborating with a local theater company\, Actors Bridge Ensemble\, continues the performances at 7\:30 p.m. today-Saturday and at 2\:30 p.m. Sunday at Troutt Theater on Belmont Boulevard.\n Tickets are free for Belmont students and are $4 for faculty\, staff\, alumni and non-Belmont students. All tickets are available at the door.\n In promoting the event\, Belmont professor and Actors Bridge co-founder Bill Feehely noted that the adaptation offers a blend of the lesser-known tales from Arabian Nights with the recurring theme of how the magic of storytelling holds the power to change people.\n In this updated version by Tony Award-winning playwright Zimmerman\, the final scene brings the audience back to a modern day Baghdad with the wail of air raid sirens threatening the rich culture and history that are embodied by these tales.\n
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CATEGORIES:ae,theater
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:17
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080925T120623
LAST-MODIFIED:20080928T121944
ORGANIZER;CN=Staff reports:MAILTO:vision@mail.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080924T130300
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2112
SUMMARY:How does our garden grow?
DESCRIPTION:    As part of the Belmont Goes Green initiative\, some professors are taking their students outside of the classroom and into the dirt – literally. As part of a freshman Honors class\, students are working to plan\, plant\, and harvest a community garden. Additionally\, they are hoping to use the produce to supplement cafeteria dishes.\n    “Garden-based learning\,” as it has become known\, first germinated a few years ago at UCLA-Berklee through the idea that fresh produce could and should be incorporated into the community. Today\, several prominent universities have thriving community gardens\, including Yale and Sewanee. By providing students an outlet where they can take ownership in their campus\, educators are hoping to generate an awareness of the benefits of organic produce while reducing environmental waste.  \n    The idea for a community garden at Belmont first started in the hallways of faculty offices. “It’s something we have been talking about for several years now\,” says Dr. Kimberlee Boggs\, the professor spearheading the effort.\n    To move the project from ideas into reality\, a group of freshman Honors students enrolled in Boggs’ Analytics class have been given the assignment of creating proposals for possible site designs. At the end of the semester\, the five groups are hoping to present their ideas\, complete with their propositions on the types of fruits\, vegetables\, and herbs to be raised\, to senior leadership. The students are also hoping to design an area for contemplation.\n    In addition to writing proposals\, the class is also spending their lab time directly at the site to identify current greenery\, measure moisture content\, and learn what types of plants will be best suited for the area.\n    “We really want to try and utilize the plants native to Tennessee\; we want this to be a very ecologically minded project\,” says Boggs. The students will be taking fieldtrips to local farms and nurseries to learn what vegetation to include in their planning.\n     Stephanie Downing\, an Undecided major from Maryland and member of the class\, thinks the project will have significantly positive effects on Belmont and surrounding communities.\n    “I think it will add to the aesthetics of campus and allow a quite place to go and sit.” She continues\, “I also think it will also add to the student body’s understanding of the environment and provide for some interesting ways to get involved.”\n    While there are many opportunities to learn outside of the classroom\, Downing feels this provides a special avenue because it is the combination of theoretical ideas along with a very practical execution.\n    “We’re not just planning for something that may or may not happen and we’re not just putting someone else’s plan into reality.”\n    The group of students will focus on the design and implementation ideas\, and will have the option to help plant and harvest the garden next spring\, with the help a Junior Cornerstone class.\n    “Depending on how busy I am next semester and if I’m able\, I would love to.”   Laura Gearhart\, a fellow classmate and Audio Engineering Technology major from Pennsylvania\, expresses the similar thoughts.\n    “I would like to help because if we’re going to design the garden\, I’d like to see the results of our work.”\n    While Boggs and her class are starting the project\, she emphasizes the garden will be for the Belmont community as a whole. “We want for every student to feel like they have a piece of this\,” she says.\n    The quarter-acre patch\, which is located on Compton Avenue near Belmont’s Max Kade house\, will serve as a produce garden\, but organizers also hope the space can be used additionally for other activities.\n     “I see this garden having three purposes\,” says Boggs. “The first is obviously practical\; we will grow vegetables and herbs. I also hope that it can be a contemplative get-away where students and faculty can come to walk along the paths\, sit on a bench\, and find rest.”\n    Additionally\, there are talks of using the garden as a continuing educational resource to learn about recycling and compost\, alone with other ecological activities such as soil testing.\n    Though still a grassroots effort right now\, Boggs and other faculty members are hoping that\, with time\, the harvest of the garden can be used in the cafeteria.\n    “We know that to sustain the cafeteria\, we would need a large plot of land\,” she says. “We can’t do that\, but we can implement some ideas\, such as the use of herbs in certain dishes.” In addition\, Boggs hopes to inspire awareness about the use of organic foods. “We are thinking about having an ‘organic day’ and featuring a dish made with some of the produce we’ve grown.” This is another one of Belmont’s efforts to “go green.”\n    For those wanting to learn more about getting involved or how to stay updated on the progress of the garden\, an interest session will be held on Monday\, October 13 at 10 A.M.\n
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CATEGORIES:belmont-goes-green,environment,honors,news
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:9
DTSTAMP:20090703T173338
CREATED:20080916T155415
LAST-MODIFIED:20081023T151414
ORGANIZER;CN=Katy McWhirter:MAILTO:mcwhirterk@pop.belmont.edu
DTSTART:20080925T045400
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://www.sitemason.com/element/awzty8b/id/2258
SUMMARY:Review\: Freedom Sings
DESCRIPTION:Massey Performing Arts Center recently played host to "Freedom Sings\," a special concert dedicated to celebrating the liberties of the First Amendment. The Vision's Amanda Stravinsky went along for the ride to offer a glimpse of the evening\:\n“Musical innovation is full of danger to the whole State and ought to be prohibited\,” Plato said in 370 B.C. “Freedom Sings” begs to differ.\nMPAC hosted the fourth annual “Freedom Sings” on Saturday\, Sept. 13. Gene Policinski\, founder of “Freedom Sings\,” was the audience’s musical guide\, talking about songs from the 1700s to the present. The show is a “unique\, innovative way to reach people\,” said Policinski.\nThe performers for the night were Bill Boyd\, Don Henner\, Jonnell Mussler\, Ashley Cleveland\, Jackie Paterson\, Jason White\, Michael Web\, and\, the wild drummer\, Craig Krampf. These are "people who\, for many years\, have been giving us their time. They are extraordinary performers\," said Policinski.\nSongs like “You’re A Grand Ol’ Flag” and the national anthem\, once an old English drinking song\, were changed to be politically appealing. “Strange Fruit\,” a poem written by Abel Meeropol\, that described American lynching\, became a song sung by Billie Holiday and the “best song of the century.” Jackie Paterson gave the MPAC audience a chilling air with her haunting\, powerful voice while she did her rendition of “Strange Fruit.”\nThe Civil Rights movement was featured with songs like “”Lead Me On\,” which Ashley Cleveland\, two time Grammy Award winner\, performed with her magenta guitar. She got the crowd clapping and received a wild applause.\nJonnell Mussler\, known for her performances with B.B King and Ringo Starr\, performed a few 70s songs complemented with her sensual\, butter-smooth voice. Her fun\, free-spirited mantra gave a light-heartedness to the night.\nLike Jonnell Mussler\, Jason White\, famous for his collaboration with Tim McGraw\, had a 70s set voice. While singing “Red Rag Top\,” he captured the audience with his deep\, southern voice. He battled the protestors of the song\, dealing with the matter or abortion\, and convinced them by stating the song merely was a love song turned tragic that