The “Queen of Christian Pop,” Amy Grant, spoke at the Massey Performing Arts Center on her faith and life experiences Monday morning. “When you lean into faith, you approach life with a kind of trust. Not that everything in life is going to go perfectly, but there is a purpose for everything,” Grant said. During her mid-20s, Grant’s career was booming. Work was both a dream and a huge responsibility. Throughout her career, Grant was balancing her field, family and faith. “I a

The Rev. Dr. Victor Aloyo Jr. spoke passionately on how universities must tackle the challenge of diversity at a convocation Monday morning. Aloyo is the Chief Diversity Administrator and Director of Multicultural Relations at the Princeton Theological Seminary. He is also the father of Alyssa Aloyo, who serves as president of the Hispanic Student Association at Belmont, which hosted the convocation. In the last several years, universities have a seen a rise in incidents wher

Breaking from the tradition of giving a state of the university address at the opening convocation, President Bob Fisher celebrated 125 of Belmont’s unique aspects at the Curb Event Center Wednesday morning. “If this was a work of art,” Fisher said at the start of his remarks. “Belmont would be called a mosaic.” The bulk of Fisher’s speech centered on a slideshow celebrating Belmont’s past, present and future in accordance with its 125th anniversary. The slideshow featured  i

Editorial cartoonist and satirist Daryl Cagle spoke to a packed room Wednesday morning on the importance of expression through cartooning and on the inner workings of the cartooning business. Cagle originally did art for “The Muppets” before eventually founding his own cartoon syndicate, Cagle Cartoons. As his works appeared on the room’s projector screen, Cagle said it is a difficult time for cartoonists, especially after the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine in

Editor’s note: The following is a piece submitted by a group of Belmont students who are Muslim. The views and opinions expressed in this letter do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Belmont Vision. Letters to the editor help us accomplish our mission of expressing “student news, student views.” The Vision welcomes readers to submit letters to the editors through our email at belmontvisionnews@gmail.com. As Belmont University continues to diversify its stud

The Baptist Collegiate Ministry sponsored a human and sex trafficking awareness convocation Monday night for Sex and the Soul Week. The two speakers were Sgt. Billy Morris from the Nashville Metro Police Department and Michael Watson, a presentation volunteer from the non-profit organization End Slavery Tennessee. Morris oversees cases in the Investigative Services Bureau and is specialized in dealing with human and sex trafficking. “Sex trafficking is basically a form of mod

A day before her convocation Wednesday detailing her experiences in Ferguson, Mo., the Rev. Dr. Pamela Lightsey presented a talk in the Massey Boardroom on a different subject entirely. As a black woman who identifies both as queer and as a Christian, Lightsey is imminently familiar with binaries which seem to be opposed, yet still somehow intersect. Binaries, in this case, is a word used to describe absolute, opposite categories, such as male/female, gay/straight, rich/poor,

Christianity and Islam in the Middle East may seem inherently at odds, but a Catholic bishop Wednesday morning dispelled this notion and pleaded for peace and unity in a region desperately lacking both. “Peace is possible, but it takes hard work,” said Bishop Gregory Mansour. “It takes a little bit of defiance, and it takes young people like you to get old people like me to move forward.” Mansour and the organization he leads, Christian Arab and Middle East Churches Together,

President Bob Fisher addressed students and faculty at his annual state of the school Opening Convocation on Wednesday, looking back at how far the university has come, but also planning for the future. Fisher started his remarks by showing a series of then and now photos of different spots at the university. He stressed the radical change made possible through the building of new residents halls, new academic facilities, Rose Park complex and the new Chik-fil-A, which receiv

The Rev. Canon Andrew White, who is known as the vicar of Baghdad, paid a special visit to Belmont when he spoke at Friday’s morning chapel. White opened the convocation with a special blessing in Aramaic, the language spoken by Christ. He then gave the audience an intimate, albeit dry testimony about his life and faith experiences. White was originally raised in the Pentecostal tradition and said that as a child he wanted to be both an anesthesiologist and a priest, but his

With only a month before the end of classes, those seniors on the lookout for their final convocation credits are running out of days to get them. For those last-minute procrastinators and the go-getters who want to complete their requirements before their last semester, here is a list of April lectures and events that include every category students may or may not need. Fri., April 5 Anime and the Green Movement Some things go together like peanut butter and jelly. Others ta

As the spring semester goes into full swing, so do the number of convocation events being planned. If you’re needing to get some quick convo credit this month, here are some events in scheduled in each category: Tues., Jan. 15 Curtain Call Award The School of Music is slated to recognize alumnus Russell Terrell is a ceremony and concert Tuesday at MPAC. He will receive the school’s Curtain Call Award given each year to an alumnus to honor their work in the commercial music

Working on your convo credits this month? Here are some events from each category to get you started: Fri., Nov. 2 The Future of Healthcare with Craig Becker The presidential elections causing some confusion for some about what is on the horizon for healthcare in America. Tennessee Hospital Association president and CEO Craig Becker will come to Belmont about the future of healthcare. He brings over 30 years of experience in hospitals to the table. Location: Frist Lecture Hal

For those who are interested in earning some Convocation Credit this coming month, here is a brief look into what’s going on during the month of October: Mon., Oct. 1 Creating Powerful Resumes – Belmont & Beyond This career-building convo focuses on resume writing and how students can market the skills and experiences they have to employers. Belmont will also show how to utilize these resources through their CareerConnector website. Location: Multimedia Hall- Bunch Library S

Lists, lists and oh some religion on the side in this week’s episode. Katie Greene shows us why convo card scanning is a dangerous sport. And Junior Correspondent Sarah Edwards brings you the top five #BelmontProblems of the week. “It’s the Week at Belmont.” #BelmontProblems #convo #convocation #TheWeekatBelmont

Civil rights activist and Christian Dr. John M. Perkins is bringing the mission he has carried for 50 years to a new generation of Belmont students. “We have an opportunity at this moment in history … to live up to our dreams,” Perkins said Wednesday in a convocation, “Justice for All,” that emphasized the importance of humanitarianism and community within the college-aged generation. The speech, co-sponsored by the Social Entrepreneurship Program and the Inman College of Hea

As September begins, classes go into full gear and the leaves around campus begin to fall, more and more convocation events have scheduled. Here are several opportunities students have to score some credit this month. Faith Development EMERGE is sponsored by University Ministries and goes from September 10-12. This year’s speaker is Margaret Feinberg, a Christian speaker who has named by “Charisma” magazine as one of the “30 Voices”who could lead in the church in the next ten

Graduation is right around the corner, which can only mean one thing – seniors will be scrambling for the convo they need to graduate. Luckily, there are still a few areas that can be completed before these soon-to-be graduates walk across the stage. If Academic Lecture convo is where you’re lacking, the best opportunity for credit is the Belmont Undergraduate Research Symposium on April 19. BURS is “designed especially for students,” said Katie Mulrain. There will be 32 acad

Sexuality and faith. Although they are issues college students continually face, sexuality isn’t always the most common topic for a Sunday sermon. University Ministries has decided to change things. For the past two years, University Ministries has sponsored one of the largest convocation events of the year—the Sex and the Soul series—to provide students with the opportunity to engage in real conversations about sexuality and how it relates to Christian faith. Each year, stud

The Nashville Ballet will bring pirouettes and plies and when they present their new work, which is based on Anne Frank’s “Diary of a Young Girl.” The book, which Girl,” which most of us read in high school, is about a Jewish girl and her family and their struggle to hide from the Nazis in World War II. The special thing about this dance adaptation of the story is that it has original music by Belmont’s very own professor of music, Mark Volker. The event is 7-9:30 p.m. Friday