Johnny Godette sets up to take a foul shot against Southern Wesleyan.

Alex Wells led all scorers with 10 points, but the scoring was spread out as the Flames went to work from beyond the three-point line. Lee shot a staggering 48.1 percent from three-point range, going 13-27 and breaking down the zone left and right.

“You have to pick your poison when you play us,” junior forward Steve Bennett said. “Last time we played, they gave up 18 points to me on the inside. Big Pat [Patrick Shaughnessy] had a good game, and Johnny [Godette] had 10.”

The Flames led by a large margin the entire game, exploiting Wesleyan’s zone defense from the left and right wing.  The Warriors were committed to their zone defense, which proved fatal when Lee guard Tyrone Caldwell found open men. Caldwell finished with six assists on the night. Additionally, freshman forward Chad Lee came off the bench and added eight points, including two open threes.

“[Bennett] is on fire on the inside,” senior guard Ryan Westbrooks said. “Nobody’s really stopping him and the way they are playing me and Alex Wells on the wing, they don’t really have help side, which opens it up for Duran Blue and Tyrone Caldwell. Chad Lee came in, and stepped up.”

Lee’s defense forced 12 turnovers while scoring 10 points off Southern Wesleyan miscues.

“The last time we played them, the point guard couldn’t really handle the ball, so our main objective was to put pressure on him,” junior guard Duran Blue said.

Southern Wesleyan sophomore guard Stefan Julian was the only bright spot for the Warriors. Julian capped an incredible night with a career high 25-point performance on 11-18 shooting. He also added three rebounds and two assists.

The win did not change much for the Flames in the Southern States Athletic Conference standings, as they sit 3.5 games behind Shorter for first place in the east.

The Flames’ next game, an away game against Emmanuel College (Ga.), is set to tip off at 4 p.m.

Each drink price went up roughly 75 cents.

Because Inman Street Coffeehouse is in connection with The Salvation Army, all the proceeds from the coffee shop go to different programs within it. Cheryl Rogers, food service manager for The Salvation Army and co-owner of the coffee shop with her husband Joel, said that she thinks this is why there hasn’t been a decline in business.

“Customers know their money is going to a good place,” Rogers said. “Inman Street Coffeehouse serves as a year-round fundraising project.”

In an effort to balance the price changes, Inman Street Coffeehouse has developed a Frequent Customer Card. For every $20 spent or every 10 visits, the customer will receive $2 off their next purchase.

Even with the raised prices, Rogers said she is confident that Lee students will continue to drink coffee at Inman Street Coffeehouse.

Brandon Rader is one of 18 transfer players looking to make the team better.

This season about 75 percent of the baseball team is brand new to Lee University, with 25 new faces.  Out of those 25, seven are freshmen and 18 are transfer students.

Having such a newly diverse team could be a challenge to establish trust and chemistry between players for head coach Mark Brew. More importantly, however, an absence of this trust and chemistry can lead to loss of games, errors and inconsistency.

To counteract the possibility of a disjointed team, the 36 baseball players have been engaging in team building exercises that include working together at Bristol Motor Speedway, going caving and on trips white-water rafting trips down the Ocoee River.

“We always have a new group of guys, and it’s hard for them to fit in,” Brew said. “We know what they’re like on the field, but I like to know what they’re like off the field to learn their personalities and to see if they possess leadership qualities.”

Second baseman Brandon Rader is one of the 18 transfers that have been working on building team unity. Rader said he figures that the team will be fine despite this being the first season for a lot of players.

“I really feel privileged to come here and play for Lee,” Rader said. “Being a transfer student is a little different, because you are playing with a brand new team, but I think we have all bonded well, and it should be a very fun and exciting season.”

Lee is still highly ranked, despite the significant change in lineup. According to the 2012 NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, Lee is ranked No. 3 overall and No. 1 in the Southern States Athletic Conference.

This season, Lee baseball will meet with some tough competitors along their path towards a successful season. Union University (Tenn.), Southern Polytechnic (Ga.), Faulkner University (Ala.), and Cumberland University (Tenn.) are just a few schools that Lee will go head to head with this season.

“2012 looks promising,” Justin Dedman, assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, said. “We’re excited for this group, but they know the best team never wins. It’s always the team that plays the best.”

The Flames will kick off their season on Friday, Jan. 3 against Talladega College (Ala.). First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.

Harris aimed to maintain the audience’s attention with a rope trick dedicated to his grandmother and Harry Houdini’s “Metamorphosis” illusion.

Audience participation was heavily integrated into the entire performance. Harris picked child and college student volunteers from the crowd to assist with various illusions and try to convince the audience that he wasn’t pulling any cheap tricks.

Junior Alexis Kaisharis, one of the many Lee students in attendance, said that she would definitely attend if Lee brought in another illusionist.

“It blew my mind,” Kaisharis said. “Our eyes and minds play tricks on us constantly.”

Harris said he uses his craft to reveal just how easily people can be deceived.

“You and I see things with our own eyes, and we assume that they are real,” Harris said. “The problem is that seeing is not always believing; things are not always what they seem.”

Throughout the one-and-a-half hour block, Harris highlighted the weaknesses in people’s senses. Harris demonstrated how illusions work, explained the art of misdirection, and showed how both play out in our walk of faith.

Harris also made it explicitly clear that he is an illusionist only, and that his tricks simply fool people’s senses.

“Everything that you are experiencing tonight … is just an illusion. Of course it’s not real; it was just a trick on your eyes, a trick on your mind and nothing more,” Harris said. “You cannot live your life by your senses, because your senses can always be failed.”

The night featured a worship service led by Far Flung Tin Can, a group of Lee University students and alumni who partner with and serve as missionaries, as well as a message from Campus Pastor Jimmy Harper, and a testimonial from Lee senior Isaac Lutz.

“This event is to call out those who are called to do missions,” Missions Alive President Stephanie Shull said. “There are so many people on campus who feel this calling, but they don’t know where to go.”

Shull said the club is currently in a rebuilding stage, seeking to make themselves known to students on campus who feel the call to missions and are not sure how to act on their calling.

“We’re a club that loves each other, and offers the tools on how to go from being a college student called to do missions to being that missionary on the field,” Shull said.

After the Night of Worship, the club will be busy planning events for the rest of the semester, Shull said. They are currently working on an event for February with Pioneers for Christ and Students Against American Modern Slavery about combating domestic violence.

Updated projectors were installed in classrooms throughout the building. Through this project, IT Operations aimed to further improve the building’s learning environment by eliminating problems caused by the older machines.

Richard Jones, a professor of anthropology, said he observed the doubled brightness of the devices during his lectures.

“Previously, in several of the rooms in the Humanities Center, sunlight washed out whatever was being projected on the screen, even [when] the blinds in the rooms [were] closed,” Jones said.

With the updated equipment, professors aren’t required to darken the room in order to see what is projected onto the screen.

Jones also said he appreciates spending less class time struggling with the projector, thanks to new control panels.

“We don’t want technology to get in the way of expressing an idea or thought,” Director of IT Operations Chris Golden said. “Instead, we want it to be something to be leveraged to express an idea or thought.”

Lee obtained the projectors with a Title III grant, and Steven Van Falls, manager of Lab and Technology Advanced Classroom, worked on the renovations from the end of the fall 2011 semester until the beginning of the spring 2012 semester.

Some students have noticed the changes. One such student is Fernando Alejandro, a freshman history education major, who took classes in the Humanities Center before and after the installation of the new projectors.

“The lights being turned off made me sleepy,” Alejandro said. “Professors are no longer required to turn off the lights, which keeps my focus on the material that is being taught.”

The innovative projectors even send signals to IT Operations when bulbs need replacing.

“The actual operation and performance of the equipment is all in the background now, as it should be,” Jones said. “The content of the course [being taught] is now in the foreground.”

It was the upset that almost was: The men’s basketball team fell to Shorter University (Ga.) in a climatic overtime loss 77-80.

Walker Arena was packed with students, faculty, and locals alike. Lee, ranked No. 17 nationally, was undefeated at home and was facing the undefeated and No.1-ranked Shorter Eagles. It could have been a similar outcome to the Mountain State (W.V.) game two years ago, when the then-No.1-ranked Cougars came to Lee and lost at the buzzer, followed by students dramatically rushing the court.

Early on, foul trouble and turnovers haunted the Flames, and it seemed that they could not figure out Shorter’s defensive scheme. Junior forward Steve Bennett and senior guard Ryan Westbrooks were match-up nightmares for Shorter, but both received two early fouls, and were forced to sit on the bench for most of the first half.

So Alex Wells stepped up, scoring 18 points on 7-17 shooting for the Flames.

Lee was down by eight early in the first half, due to turnovers and fouls. After a timeout, the crowd got restless when Shorter made a couple of free throws, putting them up by 10, the largest lead of the game.

Lee guards Duran Blue and Ed Pellot-Rosa made up for the deficit with two quick three-pointers in the waning moments that helped salvage a quick six points in in less than 50 seconds, shortening the scoring gap to four points.

Shorter went to the locker room up by three at halftime, in part to Lee’s eight turnovers, compared to the Eagles’ two. The Flames had also not been to the free throw line at all, compared to Shorter’s 11 free throw attempts.

“[Number] 32 was a game changer, and we didn’t account for him like we should have,” senior forward Josh Henley said of Anthony Banks of Shorter, who finished the game with a staggering six offensive boards.

The second half started off with the trading of baskets, with the lead never going over three for either team. With just under a minute left to play, every possession was vital as Bennett was fed the ball and fouled with just 36 seconds left in the game. Bennett hit one of two free throws to tie the game and eventually sent it into extra minutes.

Overtime shared the same story as the second half, as it was possession versus possession. Even with some bad breaks, Lee was down one possession again as the clock winded down. The Flames had 33 seconds left on the clock, and they were down by one point. They went to Bennett again on an isolation play, but Shorter forced a turnover to end the game with a double team defense on the 6’10” Bennett.

“We grew as a team through this game, we just have to play up to our potential,” Henley said.

At the end of regulation, both Lee and Shorter had almost an identical field goal percentage, but the Flames committed eight more turnovers, giving them 16 for the game. Shorter capitalized on the mistakes, scoring 22 points off turnovers alone. The Eagles are fifth in the nation in scoring margin and had yet to go to an overtime contest thus far.

Lee will look to avenge the hard loss against Southern Wesleyan (S.C.) on Thursday, Feb. 2. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. in Walker Arena.

Video filmed by Max Mospanyuk and edited by Joshua Carlisle. All footage property of Lee University Student Media.

The team is hosting a fundraiser to donate to the Lee University Developmental Inclusion Center to help raise awareness for autism. LUDIC is an on-campus program that works with children diagnosed with autism and other developmental disabilities.

“Helping raise awareness for autism and being able to assist LUDIC here at Lee is important to our program since we’ve been personally touched,” Head Coach Marty Rowe said.

In 2011, the Hoops for Hope game raised approximately $3,000 for LUDIC.

“The Hoops for Hope basketball game is a favorite for LUDIC,” Tammy Johnson, the director of LUDIC, said. “This is the one fundraiser that involves the Lee students and staff for our program, and we love that the Lee community is involved.”

The team sells Hoops for Hope t-shirts and holds a half court shooting contest at the end of each half for $1. This year, the Lady Flames are reaching out more to the community to help this cause.

“We’re very excited about more people in the community embracing this cause” Rowe said. “We’re partnering with all three local high schools this year, and making it a community basketball event.”

The event is part of a double header with the women’s game starting at 5 p.m. and the men’s game starting at 7 p.m.

Discovering the answer might require discussion with an expert.

Fortunately, an expert is coming to Lee University on Monday, Jan. 30, in the Philosophy Club and Humanities Coalition joint event entitled, “What Is Philosophy?”

The presentation will consist of a lecture by Reginald McLelland, retired emeritus professor of philosophy at Covenant College, along with a conversation that considers various philosophical topics of interest.

McLelland received a doctorate in philosophy, and he once taught at the Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Missouri. He guest lectured several times at Lee for Mary McCampbell, assistant professor of humanities and the sponsor for the Humanities Coalition.

“Dr. McLelland has always been a mentor to me,” McCampbell said. McCampbell received her bachelor’s degree in English, but she minored in history and philosophy, when she met and studied under McLelland.

The Humanities Coalition finds philosophy an intriguing and frequent topic of discussion.

President of the Coalition Melissa Phillips said she considers philosophy to be a common element that the Humanities Coalition shares with the Philosophy Club.

“We are hoping for a good turnout,” Timothy Miller, assistant professor of philosophy and sponsor of the Philosophy Club, said. Miller received his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Oklahoma.

Both the Philosophy Club and the Humanities Coalition meet bi-monthly, and their meetings are designed as open discussions within the student body.

“We are trying to find students who are interested in facilitating intellectual conversations,” Phillips said.

The event will take place in Johnson Lecture Hall at 7 p.m. on Jan. 30.

Buchanan received a call from his father, John Buchanan, at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, saying that Stephen’s sister, Jessica, had been rescued from her three-month captivity in Somalia, and was on her way home.

“As bad as a feeling as it was to hear that she had been taken…it was even better that they had gone in and rescued her– that we would get to see her soon,” Buchanan said.

The family received a call from President Barack Obama immediately following the State of the Union address saying that a special forces group had rescued Jessica.

One of the reasons for the rescue was Jessica’s “deteriorating health,” an article from the Washington Post said.

Jessica Buchanan and her Danish co-worker were kidnapped by Somali pirates on Oct. 25, 2011, according to a report by ABC News.

Buchanan and his family are currently traveling to Europe to see Jessica. Buchanan said he is delighted that this time in his family’s life is over and is thankful for all the support he has received from the Lee community.

“The way that Lee has treated me throughout this has been inspiring,” Buchanan said. “Thanks to everyone for all the prayers and support.”

During an Ask The President chapel, Conn lets loose his more comical side and answers questions that have been written and turned in by members of the student body. Typically, this chapel service consists of all sorts of questions, from serious queries about the campus to Conn assisting in sending male and female students on dates.

Tuesday’s Ask the President brought along with the fun and games several weighty announcements from administration.  The three most important notices were the future building of a home for the Communication Arts department, the completion of fundraising for the chapel and the choice to renew the contract with Coca-Cola as the sole beverage company on campus.

The purpose of Ask the President chapel is threefold: to inform, to entertain, and to give students things.  Originally the service was used to inform the student body about their university, but when some students started asking “whimsical questions” the lightened nature of Ask the President caught on, Conn said.

“The goal really is to imbed in all the fun and foolishness some serious ideas.  There’s always some serious questions,” Conn said.

Ask The President chapel services began shortly after Conn became president and have been occurring for about 20 years.  It has grown to be one of the more popular traditions on campus.

There have been a number of significant and memorable moments throughout Ask The President history, such as the year administration changed Squires Library’s hours on Sundays, due to a student’s request for the extended hours on Sundays.

Other changes that have come from Ask the President include a $300,000 revamp of all the pianos in the School of Music in the summer of 2010 and the construction of a sidewalk over the infamous “Ditch of Death” near Brinsfield Row.

Other memorable moments include the year Conn called all Canadian students to the front to sing “O Canada” after a student asked why the Canadian flag is not displayed during chapel services, and Conn revealing an individual in a SpongeBob Squarepants costume dancing behind the curtain at the back of the Conn Center stage.  Santa Claus took the place of SpongeBob when a new student asked the repeat question this year.

In spite of the fun nature of Ask the President, Conn views the primary reason for the event as a chance for students to talk back to him.

Although students can always send an email to Conn at his email, pconn@leeuniversity.edu, the anonymity allowed by Ask the President and the solicitation of questions drives students who normally would not voice their opinion to ask the questions that have been bugging them, Conn said.

“It’s as much about me hearing from the students as students hearing from me. The context of Ask the President empowers,” Conn said. “It lets me hear from students in a way that is a little different from normal.

Whether students are a freshman just beginning to experience Lee traditions or a senior well-familiar with Lee’s rituals, Ask The President chapel is a service to be enjoyed by all.

-Managing Editor Richard Yeakley and Life Editor Meagan Bateman contributed to this report.

Junior Heather Park, the president of Asian Counsel, said she was astounded at the large turnout, and glad that so many students had gathered for the festivities.

“[This is a] continuing tradition,” Park said. “[We are] trying to bring attention to other festivities outside of traditional American lifestyles.”

Students present at the festivities were able to enjoy many different cultural aspects of Asia, such as a calligraphy booth, a zodiac calendar and a create-your-own-sushi table.

“[The sushi table] is kind of a throwback to Japanese culture,” Park said.

Besides these booths, the celebration also included a dragon dance performed by Lee students and a Karaoke show, called KTV.

“KTV really hit big last year, so we’re… doing that again,” Park said.

Members of Asian counsel also decorated the Centenary Room with numerous Asian decorations.

“All the decorations say ‘happy new year’ in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and a bunch of other [languages],” Park said.

Senior Kayleigh Duke, a member of Asian Counsels, said she was excited to participate in this year’s celebrations, as she has worked on numerous other Asian Counsel events during her time at Lee.

“I’ve been involved in Asian counsel since I was a freshman,” Duke said. “[I work] behind the scene with the smaller details.”

Duke said she hoped that students attending the event left with a greater appreciation of Asian culture.

“I hope that they get a newer awareness and learn something about Asian culture,” Duke said.

Harris will be performing on January 29, Wickham on February 26 and Gungor on April 22.

In addition to these artists, a night of worship has also been scheduled for March 25.

Lee’s Director of Facilities Management Josh York is in charge of booking the performances for Lee’s chapel and U-Church services. Thanks to York’s work, Lee is becoming a hot venue for chart-topping artists.

“A lot of artists are becoming more and more aware of Lee because of the concerts we have on a regular basis,” York said. “We’re starting to make a name for ourselves at Lee as a place where artists actually want to come to.”

Beyond establishing Lee as a desirable locale, York also works to keep things interesting.

“I’ve tried specifically the past two years to create a diverse program. I don’t want to have Family Force 5 and then Barlow Girl and Superchick all three in one semester,” York said. “There’s no real change up there; this semester, I think it’s going to appeal to musicians … to some that are probably a little bit more into the arts.”

Phil Wickham is a contemporary Christian singer/songwriter and has recently released a new album, “Response.” ChristianityToday.com described Wickham as “a master at putting equal priority on praise and performance,” with the ability “to strike just the right balance between reverence and resourcefulness.”

Junior Caitlin Stine, fan of Wickham, said that she is thrilled about his upcoming appearance.

“I love his lyrics; he puts a lot of thought into all that he does,” Stine said. “I really hope people grasp a different understanding of what praising or worshipping God can be … It just has to come from your heart. That’s what most of his music is; it’s things he thinks and he portrays them in a way that’s easy to understand.”

Gungor, a worship band well-known for their chart-topping single “Beautiful Things,” also released a new album. “Ghosts Upon the Earth,” a few months ago. A blog post on the band’s website describes the new album as an attempt at staying true to themselves and their creativity.

“[Ghosts Upon the Earth] is indeed music from our hearts, and our hope is that by staying honest with our craft it may help open the hearts of other people as well,” the post read.

Harris III, a Christian illusionist, falls into a category all his own among the artists scheduled. Over the course of his career, Harris has performed in venues and major churches the world over.

Brad Lomenick, the Director for the Catalyst conference, commended Harris’s performance at the 2007 conference.

“Each year at Catalyst, our team does everything in our power to raise the bar and blow people away with creativity. [Harris] took the time to help us creatively illustrate the theme of our conference and then performed an illusion that left us speechless. Our entire staff along with the entire audience of 11,000 people were in awe of his performance,” Lomenick said.

These artists, however, don’t make it to campus by themselves. York expends a great amount of time and energy networking, taking polls and booking artists to bring the excitement to the Conn Center stage.

A variety of factors come in to play in the decision-making process, York said. He spends time checking the charts to see what’s popular, listening around for artist reputations, and spending time in prayer.

The weight of the decision, however, lies heaviest with one particular group.

“Most of [the decision] really just comes from students, whether that’s through an actual written poll or talking to them,” York said. “Family Force 5 was not my idea; I had a student that came to me, and he said, ‘You should really book these guys’… So I started asking around.”

“We feel like this gives our students an advantage,” Pamela Browning, chair of the Department of Early Childhood, Elementary and Special Education, said. “We have to ensure that our students have an advantage to get a job.”

In the past year, the implementation of a new evaluation tool, the Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model, raised the bar for teachers all across the state.

In view of the increased pressure upon teachers to perform at a level of excellence as well as a growing trend of full-year internships, Browning and Debbie Murray, dean of the Helen DeVos College of Education, are both are eager to improve upon what they already consider a good program, though they said that they are pleased with the success of former students who have already completed the current program.

“We have always received excellent feedback because when they go into student teaching, they have … experience,” Browning said.

During the methods class, students learn how to teach effectively before they dive in to their semesters of student teaching.

In the current program, education students take the methods class the semester before they student teach. The students meet with Lee professors twice a week and spend one weekday, Wednesday, at a local school, called a lab school, where they utilize what they learn from their Lee professors.

In the new program, beginning this fall, students will not spend one day a week at their lab school. They will spend two days,  Tuesday and Thursday, as opposed to only Wednesday. This semester is called the Clinical 1 semester, and the semester of student teaching is called Clinical 2.

“They will be almost immersed in teaching [during the Clinical 1] semester,” Murray said.

Students in the class will be divided into small lab groups and assigned to a specific lab school. Various Lee education professors are assigned to lab groups, and they actually go to the schools with their group to observe and touch base with students and teachers.

Browning said that students are closely supervised and supported during their Clinical 1 semester, so she thinks this will provide a safer and more comfortable environment during the learning process.

Makenzi Foster, an early childhood education major, anticipates the enhanced program with an optimistic attitude even though her methods class will be the first to put it into action in the fall.

“I am looking forward to it,” Foster said. “I think it will be great to be in the classroom to get more experience … and be better teachers in the end.”

Though the changes taking place in the fall do not affect the secondary education majors, Murray said that she hopes to eventually take this trend and apply it to secondary education as well.

The major intertwines a communication and education degree. Students wishing to graduate with a degree in communication education are required to complete 43 hours of communication courses, 27 hours of education courses as well as one full semester of student teaching. This new degree does not require an internship as opposed to a regular communication degree.

The new major will provide a teaching licensure for grades 7-12 in areas such as public speaking, film, journalism and newspaper writing. However, graduates can use this degree in the business world as well as in the classroom.

Rebekah Steigler, a junior education major, is considering switching to the communication education program, saying that the dual nature of the program greatly appeals to her.

“This major allows students to still learn techniques in communication in case they decide to enter the business world,” Steigler said.  ”I am thinking about switching to the major so that I can learn more public speaking skills.”

Megan Moe, associate professor of communications, will advise the students who participate in the new program.

Moe said that she believes employers tend to favor interviewees with degrees in education because it proves they had vigorous work ethic simply to get through their major.

Communication graduate Elle Greely is currently seeking a master’s program that incorporates communication and education elements.

“I really wish Lee had this major when I was there,” Greely said. “I’m very interested in teaching and think this major, at the graduate level, is just what I’m looking for.”

Communication teaching licensures are fairly new to Tennessee public schools, which in years past have simply asked English teachers to fill in for open communication classes.

“We don’t have any licensed Bradley County communication education teachers,” Moe said.

Moe encourages any students interested in pursuing the degree to try out a few education classes to get a feel for teaching before they decide to take it on as a major.