`Joy to the World`

www.belmontvision.com
The student newspaper of Belmont University
Vol. 57, No. 4
October 10, 2007
‘Joy to the World’
Melinda Doolittle brings star power to ‘Christmas at Belmont’
Getting there
By Cheryl Bak
MEMPHIS – American Idol contestant Melinda Doolittle
will host this year’s “Christmas at Belmont.” Taking place for
the first time off campus, the event will be at the downtown
Schermerhorn Symphony Center Nov. 19.
“I’m so excited!” Doolittle exclaimed at the American
Idols Live! tour in Memphis. Doolittle, who graduated from
Belmont in 1999, came in third on the top-rated reality show
and recently finished a 59-city tour with other Idol contestants. She credits Belmont
for contributing a lot to
TV series
her musical career, especially a course she took in
for ‘06 alum
pop/rock styles.
Rachel Smith
“That class really
Rachel Smith, Miss USA
taught us how to sing different styles, and so it was
2007 and December ‘06
Belmont grad, will give MTV like priceless for this
show … it’s one of those
viewers a peek into her life
things that I really needin Pageant Place, filmed in
ed,” Doolittle said.
Besides performing,
New York where she lives
Belmont also helped
with Miss Teen USA and
Doolittle with the busiMiss Universe in a luxury
ness side of things. From
apartment owned by Donald understanding details in
contracts, publishing,
Trump. The eight-week
management and percentseries premieres at 9 p.m.
what she learned has
Wednesday, Oct. 10 on MTV age,
really come through for
her.
“It’s so cool to speak up and say, ‘This is what I learned
in class.’ Even at meetings that I’ve had, they’re like, ‘Wow
you know a lot about the business,’ “ Doolittle said. “I’m
like, ‘Thanks Belmont!’ It works out great.”
As a student, she worked at Belmont Central, sang with
Chadasha gospel choir and boosted school spirit as Bruiser,
the Bruins mascot.
See MELINDA, page 3
STAFF WRITER
Christmas at Belmont
hosted by Melinda
Doolittle, Belmont alum
and popular American Idol
finalist.
• Monday, Nov. 19 at
7:30 p.m.
• Schermerhorn
Symphony Center
in downtown
• For tickets: Belmont
students, faculty and
staff can request tickets
starting on Oct. 15 at
10 a.m. and the general
public on Oct. 29.
E-mail:
ChristmasAtBelmont
@mail.belmont.edu
at the appropriate time
with name, mailing
address, daytime phone,
major or department
and number of tickets
(limit 4).
PHOTO BY CHERYL BAK
Melinda Doolittle, left,
and Sanjaya Malakar perform on the American
Idols Live! tour at its
Memphis stop. Both were
finalists in spring 2007.
Follies for fall, for fun
By Kourtney Overbey
The always jam-packed production of
Fall Follies is nearing, providing an opportunity to laugh at all that is Belmont – from the
campus police to the non-existent football
team to the vast music business school.
The variety show comprised of skits and
musical acts will take place Oct.19-20 in
Massey Performing Arts Center. It’s not convocation credit; however, admission is free.
“It’s like SNL (Saturday Night Live); It’s
really funny and [students] should come,”
Chris Mix-Foley, follies producer, said.
Previous skits have targeted an attack of a
real-life bruin, marriage-minded co-eds and
even Belmont’s president, Bob Fisher.
Mix-Foley said special musical acts
include Lauren Wedertz, Cristina Taddonio,
Alvin Love with Tennisha Northington,
Josiah and the Brotherhood and the house
band led by Mary Lawren Maples.
Some students have already made plans
to attend. Heather Pierce and Sarah
Chellappa, both sophomores described the
event as “amazing” and “very well done.”
“There was never a dull moment,” Pierce
said of the 2006 follies.
STAFF WRITER
‘Freedom to Read’
PHOTO BY CHRIS SPEED
Belmont’s Bunch Library joins other libraries nationwide for Banned Books Week, which
celebrates American democratic freedoms. Banned Books Week, sponsored by the
American Library Association, is in its 25th year. Some of the titles onits 2006 list of
most-challenged books include Nobel Prize-winner Toni Morrison’s Beloved and The
Bluest Eye and Robert Cormier’s popular young adult book, The Chocolate War.
Getting there
Fall Follies, an annual variety
show, is set for 8-9:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 19, and Saturday,
Oct. 20, in MPAC. Admission is
free.
Fall Follies is one of several events hosted by Student Affairs/Program Board. The
board also provides funds for materials, such
as costumes and props.
Preparation for the program is a long,
detailed process. Producer Mix-Foley said
the process begins in April and the responsibility of thinking of script ideas falls during
summer. When school begins, students write
scripts and meet twice each week to discuss
ideas. Participants must have script ideas and
must audition by monologue, Mix-Foley
said.
The event, considered a tradition at
Belmont, has been around for 13 years. Its
popularity is fueled by word of mouth and
students’ reactions, which are overwhelmingly positive.
Page 2
The Belmont Vision, October 10, 2007
Worship, prayer, community
By Chansin Bird
Organized by students for the benefit of
students, Synodia, pronounced “soon – a –
dee – a”, is meant to be true to the meaning
of its name, “a journey in company.” The
leaders of this new weekly worship service
held at 7 p.m. Wednesdays on campus hope
to reach out to students from all Christian
backgrounds.
“I think the purpose is to kind of break
those denominational boundaries and come
together in unity knowing that Jesus is Christ
and we are brothers and sisters,” senior
Callie McKinney, one of the leaders, said.
Refuge, the former citywide college worship service, came to a close this past summer. Because many Belmont students over
the years took advantage of that worship
opportunity, campus ministers Guy
Chmieleski
and Christy
Ridings wanted to start
“Everybody felt something
it was just sup- new for
Belmont stuposed to be wor- dents.
“It
ship. It’s not
seemed like a
about the suc- good time to
cess in num- move toward
something
bers. It’s not
more campusbased,”
about the
singers or even Chmieleski
said.
the music. It’s
Because
Refuge
about coming an eventwas
for
to find God.” students from
multiple uniAdam Rae versities,
a Synodia leader Chmieleski
distinguishes
Synodia as a
solely Belmont gathering. The campus ministers, though only serving as advisors and
not actually running Synodia, are available at
each of the services to help students connect
with small community groups and outreach
and missions opportunities.
Another feature of Synodia, which is held
in the Maddox Grand Atrium, is that it is an
all-music service. There is no sermon or
speaker.
“We wanted to start it small and simple
and allow God and students to shape it to
what they felt would be something meaningSENIOR WRITER
ful,” Chmieleski said.
The plan was to have music with some
prayer and Scripture reading at the first
Synodia and then to add a speaking component the second week. However, the student
leaders met after the first week and all
agreed they wanted to keep doing an entirely-music worship service for a while.
“Everybody felt it was just supposed to be
worship - worship and prayer and community,” senior Adam Rae, one of the leaders,
said.
In the future, they may bring in a speaker.
“But as for now, if this is what students
want, that’s what we are going to do,”
Chmieleski said.
Lisa Klingensmith, a junior audio and
video production major, has attended
Synodia multiple times.
“I felt it was another way I could worship,” she said. “It wasn’t the same. It wasn’t
boring to me. I liked it a lot.”
Last spring Chmieleski contacted students
who had previously been involved in campus
ministries and asked if they’d like to start a
new worship ministry. A number of students
responded.
“The ownership of it is very spread out so
it’s not one person doing everything,” Rae
said.
For the first service, fliers were handed
out at the activities fair, posters were put up
the day of the first service, and some leaders
sent out Facebook invitations. Despite the
fact they’ve done little to advertise Synodia,
in the first couple weeks, about 150 students
attended.
“I feel like we’re off to a good start,”
Chmieleski said. “We really didn’t know
whether to expect five students or 500 students.”
Synodia leaders aren’t concerned about
how many students show up.
“It’s not about the success in numbers,”
Rae said. “It’s not about the singers or even
the music. It’s about coming to find God.”
At Synodia, the worship leaders play
music, but they also bring other elements
into the service. For example, one week they
told the students to sing their own songs to
God at the same time.
“The whole place was singing something
different. That was a unique moment,” Rae
said.
Another night students were given the
opportunity to shout out their favorite name
of God or read something from the Bible.
“It turned into this Scripture-reading
time,” Rae said. “Someone in the back on the
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY MINISTRIES
These students taking part in Synodia, a new weekly worship service at
Belmont, reveal that it provides a framework for Christian students to experience worship both as indivduals and as part of a group. The service is at 7
p.m. Wednesdays.
right read a Scripture they were gripping
onto and then someone in the front left
would follow.”
Freshman PR major Allison Hurst appreciates the unity of a group so diverse.
“Even though there are so many different
people here, we’re all united in Christ,”
Hurst said. “It’s cool to get together with a
bunch of people that I don’t know but I can
still call them my family – my brothers and
sisters in Christ.”
Synodia isn’t the only group on campus
in which students can worship God.
However, Chmieleski said the other religious
groups serve more of a niche of students.
Students with particular backgrounds or who
are involved in certain activities normally
associate with corresponding organizations.
Synodia is meant to be more all encompassing.
“You have very charismatic students
there, but you’ve also got students who are
much more reserved in how they choose to
worship,” Chmieleski said. “The hope is that
we’re creating a space where anyone feels
comfortable worshiping how they want to
worship.”
Synodia leaders look forward to continuing to create a place where students believe
they can meet God alongside other
Christians.
“We feel like we’re meeting a need with a
number of students, and we feel like God
will continue to draw people there who want
and need to be there,” Chmieleski said. “As
long as we’re meeting needs on campus by
creating a space for students to come together and worship, we feel like it’s a really good
thing.”
Know all about these?
Want it to be your job?
1900 Belmont Blvd., Nashville TN, 37212
Phone: (615) 460-6433
E-mail: [email protected]
MacAuthority is now hiring motivated part-time salesfloor members.
Must have knowledge of Apple products, flexible schedule a plus.
Email resumes to [email protected]
1106 Acklen Ave | Nashville, TN | 615-383-1010
Editor:
Managing Editor:
Online Editor:
co-Online Editor:
Photo/Graphics Editor:
Advertising:
Faculty Adviser:
Online/Graphics Adviser:
Courtney Drake
Adaeze Elechi
Joanna Larson
Lance Conzett
Sarah Mitchell
Karen Bennett
Linda Quigley
Angela Smith
Senior Staff: Chansin Bird, Chris
Speed, Drew Dean, Ameshia Cross,
Rachel Waller
The Belmont Vision, October 10, 2007
Page 3
Witch hunts on ‘Devil’s Path’
By Chansin Bird
Exactly one week before Halloween the
sociology department will host an academic
lecture convocation about the early modern
witch craze.
Dr. Gary Jensen, the chair of Vanderbilt
University’s Department of Sociology will be
speaking on the role of apocalyptic crises in
the explanation of panic witch hunts between
1450 and the 1700s.
This Oct. 24 lecture will be one of four
convos in the Living Sociology Speaker
Series this year.
“This convo is timely as Halloween is
only a week away,” Dr. Ken Spring, a professor of sociology at Belmont, said.
“However, I think anytime we can have an
informed conversation about historical
events, especially given the context of how it
fits within sociology, it is a good thing.”
Jensen is a professor of sociology and
religious studies at Vanderbilt University. He
has been on faculty there since 1989 and held
prior appointments at the University of
Arizona and the University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill. He teaches
SENIOR WRITER
Delinquency and Juvenile Justice, Religion,
Science and the Paranormal and Salem and
Other Witch Hunts. His most recent work is
“The Path of the
Devil: Early
Modern Witch
Hunts,” published
in 2007.
The National
Science Foundation
funded the research
leading to that
book. Jensen and
his staff compiled
data on disease,
war, wheat prices
Dr. Gary Jensen
and climatic hardship over a 200year span of time and analyzed the impact of
different crises. Some of those crises inhibited witch trials and others facilitated them. He
has also compiled data to test various theories about the Salem, Mass., witch trials.
“Dr. Jensen is an award-winning sociologist,” Spring said. “He teaches special topics
seminars on the subject to both undergraduate and graduate students. He is arguably the
premier scholar on the topic.”
Additionally, in 2001, Jensen was named
a Fellow of the American Society of
Criminology, the highest honor a sociologist
in the field of criminology can achieve,
Spring said.
The basic premise of his upcoming lecture is that it is only through statistical analysis that theories about witch hunts should be
tested.
Jensen said the following would be his
key points:
• War inhibited witch hunts while disease
epidemics facilitated them.
• Salem can be discussed as "a perfect
storm" in the sense that the basic patterns
found for European witch hunts were operating in New England.
• Theories about Salem that stress proximity to marshlands and related diseases are
not supported by data.
• There are modern parallels, but they differ in important ways from the early modern
witch hunts.
“I honestly think that everyone would be
able to take something away from Dr.
Jensen’s talk,” Spring said. “We are fortunate
Dr. Gary Jensen, Vanderbilt
University sociology professor and
author of “The Path of the Devil:
Early Modern Witch Hunts, will
speak at Belmont at 10 a.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 24. The location
will be added to BIC later this
month. Jensen’s talk is one of four
convos in the Living Sociology
Speaker Series this year.
to be able to have such an esteemed participant in our Living Sociology Series.”
On Nov. 16, Dr. Shelby Pannell of
Belmont’s sociology department will be
another speaker in the Living Sociology
Speaker Series. Pannell will discuss the way
family dynamics and socialization by mothers influence girls' gender development and
ideas about beauty within the world of
Southern child beauty pageants.
MELINDA, from page 1
Keeping up
with Melinda:
Even though Melinda Doolittle
wasn’t crowned the winner of
American Idol, she won’t be out of
the limelight. Past runner-up
contestants have gone on to act
in TV shows, star on Broadway
and achieve No. 1 status with
their albums. Seventh-place finisher Jennifer Hudson even won
an Oscar. Here are some of
Doolittle’s upcoming appearances:
Moments with Melinda
Online radio show where fans can
call in and talk directly with
Melinda
Date: Saturday, October 13
Time: 11 p.m.
Duration: 1 hour
Call-In Number: (646) 716-9978
E-mail questions and comments to:
[email protected]
More Information:
www.MelindaFan.net
The Young People’s Chorus of New
York City Benefit Concert
A Decade of Dreams: Shaping
Lives through Music
October 22 at 7 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
www.CarnegieHall.com
Melinda Doolittle & Friends
A Concert Benefiting the Boiler
Room Theatre
November 9
The Factory at Franklin's Liberty
Hall
www.BoilerRoomTheatre.com
It’s A Wonderful Christmas Tour
With Michael W. Smith and The
Katinas
December 22
Brentwood Baptist Church
www.MichaelWSmith.com
Chicken Soup for the American Idol
Soul: Stories from the Idols and
their Fans that Open Your Heart
and Make Your Soul Sing
By Jack Canfield, Mark Victor
Hansen and Debra Poneman
Includes a contribution by Melinda
www.ChickenSoup.com
Getting There
PHOTO BY CHERYL BAK
American Idol finalist Melinda Doolittle sings a fan favorite at a recent
appearance in Memphis. In an interview that day with the Belmont Vision,
Doolittle said she’s looking forward to returning to Belmont, where she
graduated in 1999, to be part of the popular “Christmas at Belmont.” The
holiday program, to be taped by PBS, will be at the Schermerhorn
Symphony Hall.
"I loved it. I had a lot of fun
being a bear," she said.
She also helped judge the
Commercial Showcase auditions
for seven years. “She knows
Belmont, she knows this program,
she knows what’s involved and
what a really good performer
would be,” said Dr. Cynthia Curtis,
dean of the College of Visual and
Performing Arts.
Curtis described Doolittle as a
“super judge” because her critiques
are “not just a shot in the dark
based on her musical preferences,”
they come from thoughtful, trained
experience.
That experience grew more on
Idol as Doolittle transformed from
professional backup singer to solo
performer. Judge Simon Cowell
himself, known for his scathing
criticism, said Doolittle should
have won the competition.
“She tried the hardest, was consistently the best and had the best
voice,” Cowell told ABC News.
“You don’t know how good
you are, and I don’t think you’re
someone who would change if you
did well,” he told her early in the
competition.
“That quality of humility has
always been there,” Curtis said.
“What you see is what you get.”
When Doolittle visited Belmont
May 11 to tape a segment for Idol,
President Bob Fisher declared it
“Melinda Doolittle Day” and
unveiled a street sign marking
“Melinda Doolittle Way.”
“We believe the Melinda
Doolittle way is the way to live
life,” Fisher stated.
“They haven’t taken it down?”
she asked in Memphis. “Oh my
gosh. That is the biggest street sign
I’ve ever seen in my life!”
Praises for Doolittle never seem
to end.
"She's my favorite in the
world,” said fellow Idol contestant,
Phil Stacey. “I love her. She's the
best singer I ever heard.”
And Jordin Sparks who won the
competition over Doolittle, said,
“Melinda is one of the most amazing people I have ever had the
opportunity to meet in my whole
life.
“I don't know what I would do
without her now … I'm very lucky
to call her one of my best friends,”
Sparks continued. “She is so firm
in her faith and she knows where
she's going, she knows where she
came from … I want to be just like
her when I get older.”
Strong faith is a consistent
theme in her life.
“I love Jesus, eating and sleeping. In that order,” she wrote in a
blog on her MySpace page.
Stacey said he, Sparks and
Doolittle worship, study Bible
verses and encourage each other.
“Once we got out on the road, we
all got together. We're like, we got
to have devotions,” Stacey said.
While on the road, Doolittle
used her MySpace page where she
expressed gratitude to fans and
shared things learned on tour, like:
“When you’re trying to be all
fancy and sophisticated and order
lobster... make sure it’s not one of
those places that puts a plastic bib
on you.”
Now that the tour is over
Doolittle will use much of the time
to work on her upcoming album,
which she has started writing for.
"We're trying to do kind of old
school meets the new school, make
it funky, bluesy soul. I love soul
music, so it's pretty much that and
the lyrics are pretty much life stories,” she told Newsday.com.
No release date is set, but 10
songs she performed on Idol are
available for download on iTunes.
Songs she will sing for
“Christmas at Belmont” include
“Christmas Time is Here” with the
Faculty Jazz Quintet and “Some
Children See Him” with the
Nashville Children’s Choir. As part
of the finale, 300 voices will back
her up for a rendition of “Joy to the
World.”
Page 4
ideas
The Belmont Vision, October 10, 2007
Let us know what you think. Send a signed letter, 400
words maximum, with your local telephone number, to
The Editor, Belmont Vision, 1900 Belmont Blvd., Nashville,
TN 37212. E-mail submissions are also accepted; send
them to [email protected].
E
Spiders and Good morning, good day
things …
It’s still early in October, but I recently experienced
my first haunted houses of the season – of my adult life
for that matter. In middle school about 10 years ago, my
experience involved fake spider webs, lots of plastic spiders and schoolmates with scary-at-the-time masks. I
knew professional haunted houses had to be more terrifying than that, but I had no idea just how extravagant
haunted houses are these days.
Of course, there’s the grim music as you walk into the
haunted house, signaling you’re moving toward certain
doom. And zombies, ax murderers and monsters are
around every corner, drooling over the chance to jump out
and make you squeal. Those things are to be expected.
But people left
on operating
COURTNEY DRAKE
room tables
moaning and
seizing while
they bleed to
death? The
doctor gripping the mutilated baby he
just stole the
life from? The
torture devices
used for those
alien experiments? Are
these horrifying portrayals really necessary just for people
to get a good scare?
Why must our worst dreams be put into a three-dimensional interpretation so people can get a quick rush of
adrenaline? I’m not condemning haunted houses by any
means. In fact, the experience was kind of exhilarating –
as soon as I made it safely out the back door without having to worry about clowns chasing me. But why does it
take the most gruesome, terrifying scenes to make the
haunted house worth the money?
Granted, I’m a media studies major. But I think the
media has to take much of the blame for our addiction to
gore. We see images of death on TV or hear about people
killed in the most brutal ways to the point that it no longer
fazes us when it flashes on the screen. It takes much more
to get a rise out of us because we are so desensitized by
what the media is showing us.
One of my favorite songs on radio right now is Trace
Adkins’ “I Wanna Feel Something.” He sings about the
exact same predicament. “Last night I watched the
evening news/It was the same ole’ nothin’ new,” he belts.
“It should have cut me right in two but it didn’t/I don’t
know why it didn’t.”
And I don’t know the solution to desensitization either.
The media should not stop reporting deaths or stop showing scenes from war just because it doesn’t emotionally
affect the public anymore, nor should the public stop caring about deaths just because they’ve seen it thousands of
times before. If anything, we need to make sure we do
understand just how horrible and violent the world is
becoming. We need to put ourselves in the shoes of those
who experience this hostility to even begin to comprehend
how bad it truly is. If we don’t, who’s to say it won’t get
worse?
Haunted houses aren’t the only proof that we’re
becoming a society that is no longer emotionally attached
to a great deal of the world around us. But, during this
time of year, the haunting season, they do exemplify the
idea best. Get your annual fix from costumed ghosts and
goblins if you must, but remember that there’s horror
upon horror in the real world every day.
Courtney Drake is a junior journalism major. Email:
[email protected].
By some strange twist of scheduling
fate, I have no classes before 11 o’clock
this semester. Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday: 11
o’clock. While I’ve always been active
in avoiding the 8 o’clock hour of classes, none of my four semesters previous
to this one began later than 9. At the
end of registration and the add/drop
phenomenon that followed, I was
amazed to see the masterpiece I had
created. Not only has this late start
robbed me of a valid excuse for going
to bed early: “I have an early class; I’ve
got to get to sleep,” but it has reunited
me with an old friend: the morning.
For me, high school was all about
mornings. The tardy bell rang at 8:10, I
lived a grand total of five minutes from
the school, but I was up and at ‘em by 6
o’clock every day of the week. Now, as
I habitually snooze through an hour’s
worth of perky alarms, I wonder how
this was possible. I guess I’ve always
preferred a relaxed routine to the rush
an extra half-hour of sleep would bring.
My high school routine included a long
shower, breakfast accompanied by the
daily comics, at least one episode of
Saved By The Bell on TBS while I did
my hair and make-up, and time enough
to try on anywhere from three to five
different outfits for the day.
Occasionally, I also needed to pack my
ABBY HOLLINGSWORTH
lunch or soccer bag, although I tried to
take care of those trivialities the night
before. While I’ve cut down on any
superfluous primping and replaced the
Bayside gang with the Today Show and
a little Regis and Kelly, I once again
enjoy the blessings of long mornings all
to myself.
Sleeping in, of course, has its immediate benefits – primarily a need for less
caffeine and less noticeable bags under
the eyes. I’m discovering, however,
how wonderful it is to get up before the
world is fully lit, and take my time
starting the day. Time to exercise, time
to read, time to write, time alone, time
with God, time to think, time to talk,
time before the rush of Monday,
Talk back:
Opinions from other
college newspapers
From the Arizona Daily Wildcat:
“Up for a big promotion at work? Don't bother perfecting your
resume or preparing for the high stakes interview - if you want to
succeed in business, go for a haircut and a manicure instead.
According to a study recently published by a pair of economists
... extra time spent preening before work pays off. For men, an
extra ten minutes of grooming time in the morning results in a 6
percent higher weekly wage ... for women, a little over a one percent pay increase for an extra ten minutes in the powder room. ...
What does the finding mean for modern society? As the
researchers ... conclude, "perhaps the recent 'metrosexual' phenomenon is a rational response to market forces." So go to class
with disheveled hair and week-old stubble while you still can before it starts taking a toll on your wallet in the workforce.”
University of Arizona, Tucson
From the Daily Tar Heel
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
“The House took an important step toward correcting a huge
foreign policy blunder when it passed a bill that would make private contractors in Iraq subject to prosecution by U.S. courts.
The bill ... approved by an overwhelming bipartisan majority,
came in the wake of a report that the N.C.-based security company, Blackwater USA, acted with reckless disregard for Iraqi life.
The report, based on 437 internal Blackwater ... and State
Department [reports], stated that in at least two cases Blackwater
paid victims' family members to cover up incidents.
With blunders such as the Abu Ghraib prison scandal on its
record, the United States cannot afford to further jeopardize its
standing in the international community.
The Senate should approve this bill and serve the president
with legislation giving U.S. courts jurisdiction over Blackwater
employees.”
Tuesday, or even Friday takes over,
time to call home, time to take my time.
These are the things a morning affords
me. I would willingly trade classes that
seep into the afternoon for these sweet
hours to myself. I’ll even admit to
indulging in pre-7 a.m. walks some
Saturday mornings, just to savor in the
quietness and peace of a city just waking up.
I hope this is not the last chunk of
my life in which I can cherish the
morning. Sometimes I think we are
rushing through school just to get to
jobs that will most likely start way too
early in the day. Although it’s probably
uncouth to ask future employers if I can
start work at 11, I do plan on retaining
some morning in my life, even if I have
to schedule it in the afternoon. It’s
important to take the time. Have a
morning this week. Get up early. Skip a
class if you absolutely must. There is
something about the morning I don’t
want you to miss. Plus, a cup of Joe
always tastes better at the start of the
day. It’s true; coffee and the college
student were both made to experience a
long and rejuvenating morning.
Abby Hollingsworth is a junior
English writing major. Email:
[email protected]
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Why most people hate
talking about politics
To the editor:
“Sometimes it is hard to find the truth. If truth is gold,
it’s scattered in with fool’s gold. And what is hard to find
isn’t worth my time.”
Today in Entrepreneurship class we watched a documentary about how less government control is better. It
was pretty cool, but I can’t imagine that everyone in my
class agreed with all its conclusions. It was pretty conservative. I could definitely list 10 politicians who would
hate the video.
Walking back to the Commons after class, I had a
discussion with my friend about how a lot of people have
opposite opinions about politics. It’s confusing sometimes because everybody uses data to support their
claims, and everybody insists they are right. Who should
we believe: Michael Moore’s activists or Ronald
Reagan’s friends? More importantly, does it matter what
we believe?
I think that these are the reasons most people my age
hate politics. Most of the issues are hard to for us
to understand, let alone form an educated opinion on. We
feel we can never be sure about such controversial things.
We don’t even see how having an opinion would help us.
Most of the time we try not to think about it too much.
I realized today that the same is true about areas like
philosophy and religion too. For example, many people
believe many things about God. Is there a true God who
is beyond our opinions? I think so. I think in every area,
some things are right and true while other things are just
lies. Thus, it does matter what you believe. The truth may
be hard to find, but most of the time it is worth finding.
Truth— real livable truth— is worth more than gold.
Stephen Valenta
[email protected]
The Belmont Vision, October 10, 2007
Page 5
No conditions set to merit Jesus’ love
It seems like someone on Belmont’s campus is thinking… or trying to get people to
think. Recently, there has been some chalk
graffiti on the ground around campus.
Initially, there was just the word, “THINK.”
Then other words joined the verb. So almost
everywhere I went on campus there were the
confronting words, “THINK LOVE” and
“THINK PEACE,” and so on.
At first glance I thought, “Someone needs
to take the chalk away from these hippie
kids, whoever they are. And what does
“THINK LOVE” even mean?”
And then one day on my way to my
apartment from a grueling day of classes,
walking up the stairs between Wright Hall
and the parking garage, there were the words
written in pink chalk on the stairs, “THINK
JESUS.” A couple of days later, more words
in bright blue chalk were added to the phrase
to make it read, “I THINK JESUS LOVES
GAY PEOPLE.”
Going farther upstairs, written in the same
blue chalk, “THINK SCRIPTURE” was initially written, but “SCRIPTURE” was
crossed out and “HINDUSIM,” “ISLAM,”
and “BUDHISM,” surrounded “THINK.”
The next day, “GAY” was erased from
the stairs, leaving “I THINK JESUS LOVES
PEOPLE.” By Sunday, both statements
were completely erased.
I was taken aback when “GAY” was
erased. I can’t help but ask questions about
who we are as a Christian community. We
are trying to be more diverse as a campus,
but diversity doesn’t only mean embracing
various races or even religions. It may also
mean embracing people of different sexual
preferences.
I’m not knocking Belmont’s attempt to
reach out, but I do worry about the fact that
people on campus would find something so
You’re
up late?
Library
is too
Midway through the
semester, there’s the
sinking feeling that the
paper that loomed far in
the distance is due in a
week. Belmont’s Library
wants to help.
“Starting after we
return from fall break,
the library will be open
until 1 a.m. – two extra
hours,” director Ernest
Heard said.
The specifics for the
extended hours Bunch
Library and McWhorter
Lab for the remainder of
the fall semester are:
Extended hours will
be 11 p.m.-1 a.m.,
Sunday-Thursday, from
Monday, Oct. 15,
through Monday, Nov.
19 (the week of
Thanksgiving).
When students return
Monday, Nov. 26, the
extended hours begin
again and last through
Dec. 10, the end of the
final exam period.
ADAEZE ELECHI
offensive and so taboo about Jesus actually
loving gay people that they would take their
time to scrub out the word. For those who
call themselves Christians, is it inaccurate,
wrong, or disgraceful to say that the same
Jesus who died for everyone (and remember,
everyone is a sinner) cannot or should not
love gay people? Remember also that Jesus
was a guest of Zaccheus, who was a tax collector for the Romans; he showed unconditional love to Mary Magdalene, who was a
prostitute; and he touched the sickest of the
sick to heal them. So if we as a Christian
campus believe he could love all those people of that society and love them so recklessly and so fully as to die for them, what stops
him from loving gay today?
If there’s anything I have learned from
my pastor, David Spring, it’s that if
Christians could stop trying to tell the world
what is right and what is wrong and start loving as unconditionally as the God we claim
to serve does, perhaps when people think
“Christian” they won’t synonymously think
“hypocrite.”
I am not Jesus and I’m not in his head,
but one thing I do know that is repeated time
without number in the Bible is that not only
does Jesus love, he is love. And not only is
he love, he loves all people wholly, unconditionally and recklessly – so recklessly that he
sacrificed himself. I also know that the word
Christian means to be like Jesus Christ, and
being like Jesus means above all, loving like
Jesus.
The relatively public clash of notions and
ideas displayed on the staircase for everyone
who passed to see was surprising: Belmont
students aren’t too keen on voicing their
opinions very much about things that are
remotely controversial. But someone on this
campus has gotten us thinking and/or talking.
Someone is tired of the silence on issues that
should really matter.
I don’t support graffiti that damages property (but after all, this is chalk and it’s sup-
posed to rain tomorrow!) Still, to juniors
Wes Messamore and Ben Bryan, the no
longer anonymous thought-provokers (and
also to the few or the many who are canceling, erasing and adding words), I commend
you for getting people to think and to talk
about thinking about things that matter. In
my opinion, I think it’s better to know where
you stand on issues and be able to support
that than to be completely blasé about it all.
So, everyone, I encourage you: THINK!
To get more information on Messamore’s
and Bryan’s quest to jumpstart students’
minds, visit their blog at
www.thinkbelmont.com (which someone has
begun chalking on campus grounds.)
Adaeze Elechi is a junior journalism
major. Email: [email protected]
PHOTO BY SARAH MITCHELL
This message written in chalk on the Belmont campus shows several alterations
over several days. Finally, however, the entire message was removed.
No decision yet on ‘08 debate sites
By Joseph Shelby
There’s no word yet on the sites chosen for the
2008 debates – three presidential and one vicepresidential – so Belmont could still be in the running.
Belmont is one of 16 applicants vying for the
opportunity to host the 2008 presidential debates,
but that announcement was made in April. The
Presidential Debate Commission earlier said final
decisions would be made in October – this month.
If Belmont were chosen to host one of the
events, would be an unprecedented opportunity for
the university and its students, and a chance for
the university to gain increased national recognition. The debate would be held in the Curb Event
Center, with the Beaman and Inman centers acting
in supporting roles.
Historically, debates have been an integral part
of the democratic process.
“They have become such an important part of
the political cycle that to not have a debate is
impossible,” said Vaughn May, chair of the
department of political science.
By participating and hosting this event,
Belmont would have a very real shot at becoming
a vital part of history. “I think certainly it is a very
prestigious honor that the university is participating in the great quadrennial celebration of
American democracy,” Belmont provost Dan
McAlexander said.
This is not the first time Belmont has vied for
this honor. “We threw our names in the ring four
years ago,” McAlexander said. “We didn't get
chosen, but we decided we'd try it again.”
The Commission on Presidential Debates for
2008 has toured Belmont twice this year, and
seems positive about the school’s capability to
hold the event, McAlexander said. “They've been
very encouraged and enthusiastic about the
STAFF WRITER
“I think it’s interesting we’re
having the debates considering we’re a private Christian
college. It seems like political debates would be held at
a big state school, not a
small private school.”
Carlie Rhodes
Belmont junior
venue.”
As the only school in the running in Tennessee
and with Fred Thompson, a former Tennessee senator, potentially on the ticket for the 2008 election,
it seems likely Belmont has potential at winning
this honor.
“I think [our chances] are very good for being
awarded this opportunity,” McAlexander said. “It
then comes down to a combination of who the
candidates are and what the agendas are.”
McAlexander was positive about the learning
potential for students at Belmont that are able to
be a part of this.
“I look at it as a great thing for some of our
programs, our political science program, our journalism program,” he said. “I think this has tremendous potential to highlight some of the unique
ways in which we do education.”
Thom Storey, chair of the department of media
studies, said the draw of the New Century
Journalism program is that unlike most other journalism programs that require students to choose a
track, such as print or broadcast, Belmont students
get training in all three areas.
“What we try to teach is story telling on a
multimedia level by using print, broadcast, audio,
video, and online,” Storey said.
For the university itself, it becomes harder to
predict what opportunities the university might
enjoy from hosting this event, McAlexander said.
Certainly nationwide attention would be focused
on Belmont. But any other opportunities of this
caliber would have to be realized as they came
along since predicting them is nearly impossible,
he continued.
McAlexander said many students might not be
aware of the possibility of hosting the debates
because some things on campus are done relatively quietly. The announcement, however, was in
the news in the spring.
“We pursue a lot of opportunities and don’t do
much communicating about them until we’ve got
them.” McAlexander said that once the decision
was made and if Belmont were chosen, the university would then go into “high gear” in terms of
preparation and informing the student body.
“I know we’re having them,” junior Carlie
Rhodes said. “I think it’s interesting we’re having
the debates considering we’re a private Christian
college. It seems like political debates would be
held at a big state school, not a small private
school.”
To date, the only logistical preparation has
been the committee making the university aware
of the necessary adaptations needed for something
of this scale. The most important of these is the
extremely tight security that would be present.
Belmont would be working closely with Secret
Service to ensure that these needs are met.
Belmont’s own campus security division would be
utilized in a support role, lending their assistance
wherever they were needed.
Page 6
The Belmont Vision, October 10, 2007
Chills come a thrills in
Devil’s Dungeon
$10
510 DAVIDSON STREET, NASHVILLE 37206
Devil’s Dungeon, known as Nashville’s most controversial haunted
house, does not disappoint its audience. Outside, it’s your typical haunted
house, with a shirtless half-dead man who looks like he’s been waiting to
die a little too long and a winding line that takes 30 minutes to get
through.
Once inside, the lights go out and you’re on your own to make your
way through what seems like one horror movie after another. Caskets,
torture chambers, mad scientists, crazed clowns and zombies overwhelm
you as you enter the different rooms, each with different terrifying scenes.
From Freddy Kruger to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, there’s no way you
can outrun this haunted house without several high-pitched screams.
Zombies with blood-spilling wounds and monsters do their best to
scare you, jumping out from dark corners and whispering not-so-sweet
nothings in your ear. The more you scream, the more satisfaction they
get. In most rooms, though, there’s enough space to skedaddle your way
around them, though sometimes, they jump in front of you to keep you in
their dark world forever.
Eventually, the horrifying scenes lead you to a pitch-black room where
you can faintly make out several doors. Choose the right door and you’ll
make it safely out of the haunted house, if not, you’re in for more frights.
Devil’s Dungeon certainly will make you paranoid once you leave its
doors. While it only takes about 15 minutes to sneak through, you’ll feel
like you’ll never see the sun again. But some of the open spaces allow
you to creep your way through without being noticed, leaving others to
experience the scare while you watch.
—Courtney Drake
Courtney’s Fear factor:
Death Row
$10
Waiting in line to get in, a shirtless zombie guy
lethargically prowls the queue in the hopes of raising
most of the middle-schoolers’ blood pressures, but
fails. Death metal blares for about a mile and the concessions outside seem a lot sketchier than the actual
haunted house. The house seems to be a lot less scary
than it is.
Going in, your group of about seven people is
prepped in a dark room by a young lady with halfdead makeup on. “Rule number one,” she calls out.
“No running. You will fall and you will die.”
“Rule number two: don’t touch my characters.
They won’t touch you.”
There are about five rules to remember. From
there, a door is opened and you can hear the maniacal
cackle of something demented and doom grips your
heart, but it’s already begun…
They don’t call this the “most controversial
haunted house in Nashville” for nothing. One
of the first scenes you see is a filthy,
bloody abortion display. It’s all dummies, but you still stop and stare in pure
horror at the bloody flesh and impaled
fetus. But you’re prodded to keep moving
when a shrieking woman comes in your
direction looking like she has every intention of
sucking you into her world of torment.
The thing that makes this haunted house so disturbing is that you’re not walking past displays in windows (except the initial scene described above), you
Adaeze’s Fear factor:
walk into scenes. Not just any scenes, but scenes that
look like they came from just about every movie that
has haunted and disturbed you as a child and as an
adult. It is everyone’s (even horror movie buffs’)
worst nightmare: waking up in a scene from a horror
movie. There isn’t the comfort or protection of a television screen between you and the crazed axe murderer (still stained with his last victim’s blood) who
wants nothing more than to hack you to pieces.
There is a room that could have once been a pleasant bedroom, but clearly the demon-possessed girl
screaming and jumping on her bed in a blood soaked
nightgown punched the holes on the walls and spilled
the blood on the sheets and furniture. But she doesn’t
just stay jumping on her bed, she comes after you,
maintaining nothing more than an inch between the
two of you, whispering and screaming for you to
get out and at the same time for you to help her.
Even though you know that she can’t
touch you, it is almost worse that she
stays in your personal space murmuring in
your ear. And the worst part? You can’t run.
There are rooms with carcasses, skeletons, dead, possessed people and clowns
trailing after you and scenes from just about
every disturbing horror movie you’ve ever seen.
If you’re looking for real fear on Halloween pay
this place a visit…
—Adaeze Elechi
418 HARDING INDUSTRIAL DRIVE, NASHVILLE 37211
Courtney’s Fear factor:
When you pull into the gravel parking lot of Death Row
Haunted House, the doom-filled music can already be heard.
Walking to get in line, a chainsaw murderer shows up, revving his
chainsaw, chasing scare-seekers in circles, not afraid to enter their
personal space.
At this haunted house, the aisles are extremely narrow, not letting one get away from any haunts. There’s the prison infirmary
with patients left on the operating room table, cells with crazed
prisoners raring to get you and torturous experiments leaving
many without limbs. Around literally every corner, ghouls, witches and mental patients can’t wait to make you shriek in terror.
“Don’t be afraid little girl,” one patient said as he followed us
down the hall. “We just want your brain.”
About halfway through, I was ready to get out of there. But the
tight hallways kept turning into more gut-wrenching scenes.
Granted, most scenes were displayed in windows with dummies;
however, when wax figures cause anxiety in you, as they do in
me, those dummies seemed worse than having actors you knew
were “normal” people in the daylight. After passing more windows in which patients had their guts hanging out than I ever
wanted to see, a graveyard in which the grim reaper paid a visit
and passing a monster Santa, I had seen enough. Unfortunately,
there were still clowns and more ghouls aiming to prevent just
that.
The narrowness of the halls made this haunted house a pleaser
for those who want an up-close and personal experience with
characters ready to perform some of the darkest medical experiments.
—Courtney Drake
Adaeze’s Fear factor:
Death Row makes an attempt to
really intimidate you while you
approach the ticket counter. Creepy
music ricochets off the surrounding
buildings, a bloody ambulance sits on a
lawn while the masked villain from
“Saw” rides a tricycle around the
ambulance. As if that isn’t enough, a
grotesque chainsaw butcher comes
after you, chasing you to the ticket
counter.
Here, a skeleton dummy reads you
the rules of the house after you defy
voices from speakers telling you not to
“turn back now.”
This haunted house used to be at a
real prison before it moved to its current location. While it was at the
prison, as some experienced (and fearless) haunted house lovers told
Courtney and I, it was incredibly
frightening. So if you’re looking for
less of a horrific experience, this might
be better for you.
The theme here is more sci-fi and
experiments-gone-terribly-wrong horror. You walk through dark and narrow
hallways where scenes of depraved
gore taking place with chainsaws and
power drills line the walls.
Occasionally someone (who you could
have sworn was a dummy) will jump
out through the
display window
and follow you
saying things like,
“Don’t be afraid,
little girl. I just
want your
brain…”
This house
lasts for longer
(closer to 20 minutes) and has a lot
more dummies. It
feeds off more of
a voyeurism fear
(watching someone being drilled
to bits), while
Devil’s Dungeon
feeds off your
fear of being
stuck in a horror
flick.
—Adaeze Elechi
Actors at Devil’s Dungeon in
Nashville attempt to scare the
pants off those who try to pass
through the creepy corridors. Each
of the rooms in Devil’s Dungeon
has a different theme, from clowns
to caskets with the undead.
PHOTOS BY JOSEPH SHELBY
The Belmont Vision, October 10, 2007
n haunted houses
Page 7
Halloweenies
It’s not a maze if there are no dead ends, and there are many
in the mazes at Rippaville in Spring Hill as well as several
seasonal corn mazes in the Middle Tennessee area.
If blood and gore aren’t your thing, check out these Corn
Mazes pumpkin patches and more around Nashville.
Ring Farm Corn Maze
2628 Greensmill Road, Columbia,
(931) 486-2395, www.ringfarm.com.
Learn some history about Williamson County as
you wind your way through this corn maze in the
shape of a map of Williamson County. Hayrides
are also offered. Groups of 20 or more by
appointment only. Open weekends through Oct.
28. Fridays 3-9 p.m.; Saturdays 10 a.m.-9 p.m.;
Sundays 1-9 p.m.; Halloween: 4-9 p.m. (only to
groups of 20 or more); $7 adults (Ages 13 and
up), $6 ages 3-12, 2 and under free.
Rippavilla Corn Maze
Rippavilla Plantation, 5700 Main St., Spring
Hill, (931) 486-9037,
www.rippavilla.org/cornmaze.asp.
Explore the history of over 30 Tennessee counties and four major cities as you pick your way
around this corn maze while also learning about
Tennessee pop culture. Open through Nov. 4:
Thursdays and Fridays 3-10 p.m.; Saturdays 10
a.m.-10 p.m.; Sundays noon-6 p.m.; $7 adults,
$5 ages 6-12. $1 off admission for groups of 10
or more.
Gentry Farm
1970 Highway 96 West, Franklin, 794-4368,
www.gentryfarm.com.
Enjoy picking your own pumpkins and gourds or
going through the four acre corn maze at a historic farm. Open weekends through Oct. 28:
Saturdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sundays 1-5 p.m. $5
per person, pumpkins and gourds extra.
Honeysuckle Hill Farm
3029 Meadow Court, Springfield, 382-7593,
www.honeysucklefarm.com.
Enjoy a hayride of the Orchard, tour the Haunted
Woods or spend time at the pumpkin patch.
Open through Oct. 31: Fridays 6-10 p.m.;
Saturdays 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sundays noon-5
p.m.; Monday-Friday by reservation only; $6 per
person. Haunted woods open Fridays and
Saturdays through Oct. 27, 6-10 p.m., $8 per
person.
Page 8
sports
The Belmont Vision, October 10, 2007
Belmont junior Lorie Warren was named the A-Sun Conference
female Golfer of the Month for September. She shot a Belmontrecord low score of 69 in the first round of the Great Smokie
Intercollegiate Sept. 29 and helped pace the Bruins to an all-time
team low score of 294 that day. She finished the tournament tied
for second and the team placed fourth.
Not just for kicks
The Belmont
women’s soccer team
improved to 10-1-1
and 4-0 in the
Atlantic Sun on the
season with a 1-0
shutout of visiting
University of South
Carolina Upstate (28, 0-4 A-Sun) on
Sunday, Oct. 7, at
the Whitten Soccer
Complex. The victory
gives the Bruins their
10th win of their first
12 matches for the
first time in program
history.
PHOTOS BY SARAH MITCHELL
Men’s soccer wants to salvage rocky season
By Sharde’ Burkhead
When it comes to Belmont men’s soccer,
a victory doesn’t seem to come easily.
When the third tie of the season came, however, it was in the tough boulevard rivalry
with Lipscomb, and Bruins were cheering.
After that Sept. 28 “Battle of the
Boulevard” – and Atlantic Sun Conference
season opener – against neighboring
Lipscomb, Belmont has an 8-2-1 lifetime
record against the Bisons.
Fans got into the act, too, with a record
crowd of 1,826 in Lipscomb’s Soccer
Complex. Lipscomb had issued a “blackout
rule” – every Lipscomb fan was to wear all
black to the game. Belmont men’s soccer
team fans did just the opposite, wearing all
white.
“Looking out into the crowd and knowing
STAFF WRITER
that we had Belmont fans supporting us, it
was a wonderful feeling,” said Derrick
Henry, one of Belmont’s talented and reliable offensive players. “ It made all of us
feel as if we were at home, although we were
just down the road.”
The draw extended Belmont’s unbeaten
streak to five games, the longest in BU
men’s soccer history.
Belmont freshman T.J. Brown was named
the co-MVP of the match along with
Lipscomb’s Jake Goergen.
With just 10 games remaining in the regular season, the men’s team is still working
out the kinks. So far this season they have
had six losses, three wins and three draws.
What is really holding them back from
achieving their goals for the 2007-08 season?
“I believe it’s just been a slow start for
us this year,” Navarda Heath, ’06 Junior
College Player of the Year, said. “But as this
season continues, we all will come together
when it really counts the most and at the end
of the day, making it to the NCAA tournament is what matters the most to us.”
After that most recernt tie, Belmont
dropped two road games, losing in a 1-0 contest to Gardner-Webb Friday, Oct. 5, and in a
3-2 match Sunday, Oct. 7, at University of
South Carolina-Upstate.
In the USC game, the Bruins scored two
consecutive goals in the second half to take
the lead, 2-1, but wren’t able to hold on to it.
Earlier in the week at Gardner-Webb, “We
were all over them had our chances to
score,” head coach Earle Davidson told belmontbruins.com. “We played more focused
in the second half and almost got the win.”
As the season continues to unfold, the
Bruins still have more than enough time to
Getting there
Belmont’s men’s soccer team continues its season with home games
at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11,
against Campbell and 2 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 13, against Mercer.
The final two home games are at
6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, against
North Florida and 1 p.m. Sunday,
Oct. 28, against Jacksonville. The ASun Tournament is Nov. 15-17.
smooth all the rough ends out. The team
expects to do just that and members urge
fans to come out and support them and the
other athletic teams.
The Belmont Vision, October 10, 2007
fitness
Page 9
This year Outdoor Pursuits launched its equipment rental
program. Items to rent include 2-, 3- and 6-person tents,
sleeping bags, flashlights, stoves, canopy pop-up tents,
rock climbing shoes, and more. The equipment center is
open noon-4 p.m. weekdays in the Beaman. For info on
rates and items: www.belmont.edu/outdoorpursuits/.
Belmont belles are belly dancing
By Rachel Waller
Belly dancing at Belmont.
Yes, belly dancing.
Arms flailing about. Stomachs moving
like the rhythm of the ocean.
Beaman Student Life Center is offering
belly-dancing classes during October.
“We chose it because we wanted something fun and exotic,” said Caroline Cox,
graduate assistant at the Beaman.
It is different and exotic, but not completely out of the ordinary. Belly-dancing
classes are also being offered at the
Nashville YMCA..
The Beaman staff is trying to bring a little
of this Nashville glamour on campus.
SENIOR WRITER
They’ve even hired an outside instructor to
teach the class; Pegah Kadivar is a local
dancer and instructor, specializing in belly
dancing in the Turkish tradition.
The history of belly dancing – the
American term for the dance that has more
exotic names in other countries – cannot be
thoroughly documented, but it is Middle
Eastern in origin.
“Pegah is a great teacher,” Cox said.
A warm reception greeted the inaugural
dancing class.
“I loved it. It was a lot of fun,” said Jenny
Mashburn “We got right into it.”
Cox agrees.
“It’s hard but fun,” she said. “It’s a great
workout.”
The class began with an exacting warmup, similar to one done in a Pilates class,
some leg lifts and arm circles, then Kadivar
led the class in some beginning belly dancing
moves. But belly dancing includes more
than just the stomach; intricate hand movements are also involved. The class consisted
of all female participants.
“Belly dancing is natural to a woman’s
bone and muscle structure with movements
emanating from the torso rather than the legs
and feet,” say the International Academy of
Middle Eastern Dance on their Web site.
Belly dancing classes will be held
October 10, 17, 24 and 31.
Getting There
Belly dancing classes will be offered
every Wednesday in October at 10
a.m. in Beaman Student Life Center.
Cardio, weight training
popular fitness choices
BU team turns out, tunes up
More than 60 Belmont students, faculty and staff participate in warmup
exercises before Walk as One, a 2-mile walk organized by Community
Nashville to promote efforts to combat racism, bigotry and bias in the
area. Belmont’s team joined several hundred walkers from a number of
Nashville schools, businesses and industries. Team Belmont, part of the
B Fit•BU fitness program, will take part in other community and campus
efforts in the coming months. They also meet at 10 a.m. every Saturday
by the fountain in front of Curb Cafe to ride, walk, bike or jog the 1.5mile Bruin Loop. For a map of the loop, see www.belmontvision.com
Microwave Recipe
Halibut Fillets
4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets
1 (14-ounce) can stewed tomatoes (with garlic and herbs)
1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted
Arrange fish in a microwave-safe dish, being careful not
to crowd the dish.
Combine tomatoes and olives in a small bowl. Pour tomato mixture over
fish. Loosely cover dish with plastic wrap if dish does not have a lid.
Microwave on high for 2 minutes. If the microwave oven does not have a
turntable, then turn the dish 180 degrees and microwave on high for
another 3 minutes. Remove from microwave and let stand, covered, for 2
minutes before serving.
Chris Donnell
Susan West
Chris Donnell, junior
music business
What is your favorite type of exercise? i.e. Group
Fitness Cardio or weight training.
Push ups, because you can do them different ways and they never get boring.
Also, they are a great motivator because
each time you do them you try and do
one more than the one you did last time.
Dr. Susan West, vice president
for presidential affairs
What is your favorite type of exercise? i.e. Group
Fitness Cardio or weight training.
I enjoy group fitness classes, cardio
workouts and weight training. I alternate
between the two Monday - Thursday.
For students and staff, for teens and those well beyond the teen years, contemporary life
is a busy time. Scheduling appointments is critical and for many, that extends to time to do
something healthy – whether it’s a walk around the neighborhood or a workout in the gym.
Here are two “B Fit•BU” practitioners, Katie Waters, a freshman in nursing, and Mary
Weber, a horticulturist/landscaper on staff at Belmont, who take this advice to heart.
Have you noticed a difference in yourself?
I have become more disciplined. I use
the 20 second technique before eating
foods I think are not as good for you. So
before I eat a chocolate fudge brownie
with whipped cream I count to 20 to see
if I still want it and if I do I eat it. The
20 second rule helps me avoid impulse
eating.
With such a busy schedule how do you fit healthy
living in?
Make it apart of your routine. Just like
going to class, schedule it in as an
appointment. It’s important to work out
and eat the right foods so your body can
stay healthy.
Have you noticed a difference in yourself?
Most definitely. I have more energy, my
posture is better, I am more agile, I
sleep more soundly, my blood pressure is
controlled, and I have been able to tone
and lose inches.
With such a busy schedule how do you fit healthy
living in?
I have incorporated exercise into my
daily schedule. Exercise at Beaman
completes my work day. On those days
that I have meetings after five I try to
incorporate it into the regular work day
with using the stairs instead of the elevator, parking farther away from my office
building, and taking a walk during lunch.
The Belmont Vision, October 10, 2007
Page 10
Hey, hey, what’s that sound?
It’s Belmont making music
By Hadley Long
Belmont, which puts a good bit of the
music in Music City USA, has events coming
up to showcase almost every genre and every
instrument, from jazz to bluegrass, from
strings to piano to violin – which, in these
parts, becomes a fiddle when the bluegrass
bands tune up.
Among the offerings that you can take
advantage of – including many that give culture and arts convo credit – are:
STAFF WRITER
• Faculty Woodwind Quartet, 7:30-8:30
p.m., Monday, Oct.. 15, Belmont Mansion.
• The Jazz Small Group, along with the Jazz
Band, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Tuesday Oct. 16, at
MPAC; convo credit.
• Live at the Curb will feature Commercial
Strings and Bass Ensembles, 6:30-7:30
p.m., Thursday, Oct. 18, Curb Café.
• Bella Voci, a community choir that features faculty and staff from Belmont, students and other community members, 5:307:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, Belmont
Heights Baptist Church; convo credit.
• Belmont Camerata Musicale, 7:30-8:30
p.m., Monday, Oct. 22, Belmont Mansion.
• Jazzmin and Company, 6:30 p.m.,
Thursday, Oct. 25, Curb Café.
• Urban/Pop Showcase, 7-8:30 p.m.,
Saturday, Oct. 27, Curb Event Center
Arena.
• The Classical Singer Showcase, 2-4 p.m.,
Sunday, Oct. 28, MPAC; convo credit.
• Percussion Ensemble, 7:30-9:30 p.m.,
MPAC; convo credit.
• Fall Choral Institute Concert, 7:30-9:30
p.m., Friday, Nov. 2, MPAC, will include
the Oratorio Chorus, the University
Symphony Orchestra and regional high
school choirs present “An Evening of
Ralph Vaughan Williams”; convo credit.
• Guitar Ensemble, 7:30-8:30 p.m., Saturday,
Nov. 3, Harton Recital Hall in MPAC.
• Classical String Quartet, 2-3 p.m., Sunday,
Nov. 4, Harton Recital Hall in MPAC.
• Piano Ensemble Concert, 7- 8 p.m.,
Sunday, Nov. 4, Harton Recital Hall in
MPAC.
• Pops Concert, 7:30-8:30 p.m., Monday,
Nov. 5, MPAC. Pops is a choir that showcases popular music that you hear on the
radio and various show tunes; convo credit.
• Faculty Brass Concert, 7:30-9:30 p.m.,
Tuesday, Nov. 6, Belmont Heights Church
Sanctuary.
• Jazz Small Group 2 and Rock Ensemble,
7:30-9:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 7,
MPAC; convo credit.
• Faculty Concert Series presents Dr. Kris
Elsberry and Elisabeth Small, Americana:
Music for Violin and Piano Monday, 7:308:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 12, Belmont
Mansion.
• Wind Ensemble, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Thursday,
Nov. 13, MPAC.
PHOTO BY CHRIS SPEED
Being green
By mid-afternoon on the day of Beta Beta Beta Biological Society’s annual plant sale, few
leafy green offerings remain, andmany that do have sold stickers on them. The sale offers a
a variety of indoor and outdoor plants and is the group’s primary fundraiser.
Grammy U may be 4 U
By Valecia Hicks
Students, get your demo CDs in hand
because The Grammys want to hear them.
The Recording Academy’s Nashville
Chapter is hosting an invitation-only listening party for student songwriters at its
Wedgewood Avenue office Oct. 23.
If you’re not invited this time, well, prepare for the future.
The Grammy University network is for
all college students in the network city that
are interested in all aspects of the music
business. With a small membership fee,
they are given access to concert sound
checks, artist interviews and tours of major
record labels.
There will be five industry professionals
present to listen and critique randomly
selected songs written by Grammy
University Network student members.
The panelists are Amy Foster-Gillies,
Marc Beeson, both professional songwriters
with songs recorded by Grammy nominated
Michael Buble, Reba McEntire. Chas
STAFF WRITER
Getting involved
For more information on
becoming a member of GrammyU,
contact Callie Riggs
[email protected]
Sanford, of the band Chicago, also a songwriter. Pat Higdon of Universal Music
Publishing and Mike Sistad of ASCAP will
be giving advice from their publishing experience.
“This experience could be life changing,
the connections that are made at GrammyU
events are incredible,” said Callie Riggs, the
Grammy University Network student representative. “These music row professionals
come in and help the students learn and
grow musically. With the right song and the
right publisher, one song can change a songwriter’s life, and that’s what this event is
striving for.”
CLASSIFIED ADS
BROOKSTONE
NOW HIRING!
Part Time Assistant Managers!
Part Time Sales Associates!
Please Call 615/771-6594
To Get Application And Set Up
Interview Ask For Amanda!
UNDERCOVER SHOPPERS. Earn up to $150
per day. Shoppers needed to judge retail
and dining establishments. No experience
needed. Call 800-722-4791
MOVIE EXTRAS. New opportunities for
upcoming productions. All looks needed. No
experience required for casting calls. Call
877-218-6224
a&e
The Belmont Vision, October 10, 2007
Page 11
iTunes Top Downloaded Songs
1. “Makes Me Wonder” - Maroon 5
2. “I’ll Stand by You” - Carrie Underwood
3. “Because of You” - Ne-Yo
4. “Never Again” - Kelly Clarkson
5. “Icky Thump” - The White Stripes
Afrizo: African music, Christian links
By Samantha J. Adams
African culture will be celebrated with
authentic song and dance performed by
Afrizo, a choir made up of eight students
from a Kenyan college, Daystar University,
at a convocation event Friday, Oct. 19.
The choir is traveling from Nairobi,
Kenya to develop a long-term relationship
between Belmont, the largest Christian university in Tennessee, to Daystar, the largest
Christian university in Africa.
Dr. Todd Lake, vice president of spiritual
development, believes that forming a relationship with Daystar is essential.
“There are under 50 Christian universities
in the world and not many sister institutes.
STAFF WRITER
It’s a good idea to connect with other
Christian universities,” Lake said. “It is also
important for our students to connect with
university students living on the most interesting continent. Christianity is growing
faster in Africa than everywhere else.”
Besides Belmont, Afrizo has traveled to
other parts of the country, forming longstanding relationships with other schools,
including the University of Southern
California, Westmont College in California
and Bethel University in Minnesota.
Afrizo is currently touring the nation, visiting other churches and schools. The tour is
devoted to fundraising for the cause of higher Christian education in Africa. The
Belmont visit is not meant for fundraising,
but instead to educate Belmont and its students about Daystar, what it is like to study
in Africa, intending to provoke Belmont students to consider studying abroad in Africa.
Students at Daystar come from more than
40 countries in Africa and from other countries around the world. Besides Christian
studies, Daystar University offers programs
such as economics, marketing, business
administration, accounting, psychology and
environmental journalism. There is a program dedicated to the education on HIV and
AIDS counseling and management. The university also partners with a child sponsoring
organization called Compassion International
to train their staff in child development.
The relationship between Daystar and
Getting There
Afrizo will perform authentic African
song and dance on Friday, Oct. 19, at
10 a.m. at MPAC. For more info, visit
http://www.daystar.ac.ke/afrizo/index.
htm.
Belmont will help students learn more about
Africa. Lake believes that having an interest
in Africa and what is happening there is
important in understanding any area of study.
“[If there’s] anything that we are more
interested in learning about, we have to pay
more attention to Africa,” he said.
Nathanson
in Nashville
with new
CD, show
By Erin Carson
Singer-songwriter Matt Nathanson
returns to Nashville this month for an
almost sure sell-out fourth performance
at 3rd and Lindsley Bar and Grill.
The San Francisco artist is appearing
at 7 p.m., Oct. 21 to promote his current
album Some Mad Hope, released in
August. Doors open at 6 p.m. and all
ages are welcome. Tickets ($12) are only
available online; seating is general
admission.
The venue’s owner, Ron Brice, cited
online presale tickets for his prediction
that this will be another sold-out show.
“I haven't seen him live before,” said
Sarah Mertan, a fan of Nathanson’s who
ranks Beneath These Fireworks (2004)
as the most played album in her collection. His accessibility online has played a
large role in her interest and allowed her
to become familiar with his music on a
greater level through live audio and
video recordings. “He has such great
stage presence, and he plays a mean 12string [guitar],” Mertan added.
Some Mad Hope marks not only his
sixth studio album, but a first with
Vangaurd Records and two and a half
years’ recording.
“It felt like the longest childbirth in
the history of childbirths,” Nathanson
said in an interview on his Web site, “but
by the end, we really got it.”
Performing with Nathanson are Ingrid
Michaelson from Staten Island, N.Y.,
who may best be recognized for “The
Way I Am,” which can be heard on a
current sweater commercial for Old
Navy, and Mêlée.
Michaelson’s “Keep Breathing is on
the “Grey’s Anatomy” third season
soundtrack. Melee, from Orange County,
Calif., is promoting their April 2007
release, Devils and Angels following
2004’s Everyday Behavior.
STAFF WRITER
PHOTOS BY SARAH MITCHELL
Stayin’ alive
The flashing lights of disco
illuminate brothers of ATO
and their guests at the annual “Disco Is Dead” fundraiser
in Curb Cafe. The event, in
its 14th year, was to raise
money for Blood/Water
Mission, the fraternity’s
national philanthropy effort.
Blood/Water is an international effort to provide clean
water for African nations that
are in desperate need. While
the fundraising is important,
the event is always one that
brings out a campus crowd
wearing their favorite finery
reminiscent of Saturday
Night Fever.
The Belmont Vision, October 10, 2007
Page 12
Springsteen tops Storey’s desert island picks
Thom Storey, who began Belmont’s original journalism
and pioneered the New Century Journalism Program, worked
as copy editor and travel editor at The Tennessean,
Nashville’s largest daily newspaper.
He graduated from St. Bonaventure University in upstate
New York, then obtained his master’s degree from Iowa
State University. While at Belmont, he has received the
Chaney Distinguished Professor Award and was named
Journalism Educator of the Year in the Southeast Journalism
Conference.
This media studies professor would take these albums
with him on a deserted island, with three albums tying for
fifth place:
1) Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Live/1975-85
“Originally released as 5 LPs, this captures what Bruce
and the boys were all about...and that is LIVE. After seeing
them at a New York bar in '75 and sweating as much as them
during a two-and-a-half-hour show, it led me to follow them
around the Northeast for four years until I had to consider a
real job.”
2) Get Happy, Elvis Costello, 1980
“I would probably take any Costello album for peace on
my deathbed, but ‘Get Happy’ and its 20 2-3-minute sonnets
covering everything from broken one-night stands (‘Motel
Matches’) to relationships gone bad (‘5 Gears in Reverse’)
all in a form that defy a listener to dance his/her head/butt
off, make this my favorite musical irony.”
:
3) The Best of Marshall Crenshaw: This Is Easy, 2000
“This guy changed my life in 1982 with his self-titled first
album. ‘Cynical Girl’ and ‘Someday Someway’ are forever
etched in my musical mind. His ability to blend pure pop and
harmonies to songs that deal with real life and relationships
can't be topped.”
4) Moondance, Van Morrison, 1970
“He's been around forever, but in my opinion in the '70s
and '80s, he was the ultimate troubadour who was able to
connect to the same folks who embraced folk-rock, an
emerging jazz-fusion movement, and traditional Irish/Scotish
ballads. He never sold out. For the unititiated, check out the
live double disc ‘A Night In San Francisco’ released in
1994.”
5) (Tie) Hearts of Stone, Southside Johnny and the Asbury
Jukes, 1978
“The ‘other’ Jersey band beside Springsteen, this group
replete with a horn section whose base is part of Conan
O'Brian's show now, made Northeasterners like me wag
tongues for the next live
show in our towns. Johnny
and Bruce grew up together
and played the same Asbury
Park bars in the '70s.
‘Hearts of Stone’ combined
members of the E Street
Band and Southside's crew
for an album to rival any in
the guitar/horn genre.”
5) (Tie) The Very Best of
Todd Rundgren, 1997
“As a 16-year-old I
wanted to know who sang
this song called ‘We Gotta
Storey
Get You a Woman.’ It was
Todd Rundgren. I never thought about him until years later
when a song titled ‘Hello It's Me’ topped the charts. I never
bought a Todd record until the mid-'90s. A friend gave me
copy of an obscure pop CD with many Christian-related references titled ‘Almost Human,’ and I discovered it was the
same Todd, so I delved into this artistic genius. His multigender references to the divine and salvation caught me and
have been with me since. This CD covers his breadth and
will make you think about rock in a new way.”
5) (Tie) Kind Of Blue, Miles Davis, 1959
“Originally released in 1959, the six songs on this album
came to my attention in the late '70s when I was living in
Kansas City and immersed in a jazz scene new to me. One
listen took me to a place I had never been. It always sounds
fresh, and it opened my ears to a genre that
Join Dr. Fisher at the A-Sun
Cross Country Championships!
Compete for the First Annual President’s Spirit Award
BU is rockin’ the Cross Country world! Let’s support these incredibly successful
teams as they chase their sixth A-Sun championship trophies. Did you know…
…both BU cross country teams have won the Championship five of the past six years?
…both teams topped the A-Sun pre-season polls this Fall?
…the 2006 men’s A-Sun Runner of the Year was Kipkosgei Magut, a Belmont junior?
…senior Lauren Williams has been a 3-time member of the all-Atlantic Sun team?
…the 2006 men’s A-Sun Freshman of the Year was BU’s Clay Hannah?
…the 2006 women’s A-Sun Freshman of the Year was BU’s Brittany Thune?
To honor Cross Country’s numerous accomplishments, President Fisher is initiating a campus-wide
spirit contest, with this year’s trophy and bragging rights awarded to the student organization
and/or campus group demonstrating the most school spirit at the A-Sun Meet.
WHAT: The A-Sun Cross Country Championship and the kickoff for the First Annual
President’s Spirit Award
WHY: To demonstrate our pride in the Belmont Bruins and to support our student-athletes
WHEN: Saturday, October 27
8 a.m. Student organization sign in and breakfast
9 a.m. Women’s meet
10 a.m. Men’s meet
11 a.m. Cross Country Championship Award Ceremony
WHERE: Percy Warner Park (Corner of Hwy 100 and Old Hickory Blvd.)
HOW TO WIN: Campus groups and organizations’ spirit will be judged on the day of the event
by Dr. Fisher and his Spirit committee based on several criteria, including
1) Belmont Attire
2) Creativity (posters, cheers, etc)
3) Volume
4) Overall Spirit!
PRS-07287
CONTACT: To pre-register your team or request more information,
e-mail [email protected]