Scholars Crossing 2007 -- 2008 Liberty University School Newspaper Fall 8-28-2007 08-28-07 (The Liberty Champion, Volume 25, Issue 1) Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/paper_07_08 Recommended Citation "08-28-07 (The Liberty Champion, Volume 25, Issue 1)" (2007). 2007 -- 2008. 3. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/paper_07_08/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Liberty University School Newspaper at Scholars Crossing. It has been accepted for inclusion in 2007 -- 2008 by an authorized administrator of Scholars Crossing. For more information, please contact [email protected]. {BLOCK PARTY '07} <iee page Bl LIBERTY CHAMPIOverjaryN =( TUESDAY, August 28,2007 VOL 25 NO. 1Y Liberty is a debt-free institution for first time in history By Jennifer Schmidt in the Liberty Journal, Dr. Falwell's in­ the debt previously carried by the univer­ ASST. NEWS EDITOR surance policies totaled $34 million. sity has been entirely paid. From that money, $5 million was desig­ Dr. Ron Godwin, Executive Vice Pres­ For the first time in its short, 36-year- nated for Thomas Road Baptist Church ident, said, "We arrived at a debt-free old history, Liberty University is a debt- and $29 million was given to the univer­ status because of two things: the prior free institution. May 2007's passing of sity. Throughout the past 20 years, those management of debt reduction by, the Liberty's founder and Chancellor Dr. managing the financial health of the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor and the Jerry Falwell led to a great return on the university have been working to main­ life insurance received upon Dr. Falwell's life insurance policies he had been buy­ tain Liberty's debt to $20-$25 million death." ing throughout his lifetime. per year. Due to the amount of money According to an article by Ron Brown received from the life insurance policies, Please see DEBT FREE, A5 LU enjoys Memorial garden new dorms, currently under renovated construction facilities By Cbri.iti Corbin NEWS REPORTER By Alydon Bruner NEWS REPORTER A burial garden will soon sur­ round former Chancellor Jerry Fal­ Already the largest evangelical well's gravesite. school in the country, Liberty keeps Construction began a couple on growing. Not only is change evi­ weeks ago for the new addition dent in the increasing student body, behind the Carter Glass mansion. but an enormous amount of change Students can see a rendering of the has happened both internally and burial garden at the construction externally throughout the campus. site. Throughout the changes, Liberty The oval-shaped burial garden, has kept its core focus of keeping a overlooking the Blue Ridge Moun- unified campus atmosphere as its tninR, will hn n plnr-e whoro Q-hirlmits main objective by making drastic can sit and reflect. New Chancellor changes in the dining, dorm and Jerry Falwell Jr. said that the site dean departments. will serve as a haven for students, Every campus typically has a caf­ according to an article run by the eteria that makes "bland" sound ap­ Liberty Journal. pealing. Liberty, however, made a The garden will cover 120 feet by strong breakthrough this summer. 80 feet and will be surrounded by The newly renovated Reber Thomas walls that match the mansion. In­ Dining Hall has students thinking side the garden will be an eternal differently about their food choices. flame and a water fountain directly Roxy Maddah, a senior commu­ in front of the gravesite. nications student at Liberty, said, "Construction should be com­ "The dining hall renovations make pleted in the next 6-8 weeks," said it look like day and night from last Lee Beaumont, Director of Auxil­ year." iary Services. Many students can see the obvi­ Lee Beaumont said Proctor Har­ ous changes in the dining hall reno­ vey, who oversaw the LU mono­ vations from just one visit. Renova­ gram project, is now directly in tions feature track lighting, booths, A NEW ERA: charge of the burial garden and it benches, new flooring and even a largely the reason why construction new atrium that will add 100 extra is progressing so well. Harvey was spaces for seating. Not only is the Falwell Jr. christens fall semester also a personal friend of Dr. Falwell new LU dining hall brand-new in By Jenni Thurnian and wanted the burial garden to be appearance, but it also has a unique EDITOR IN CHIEF a very special place for the friends, creative style that was done with family and students of LU. the help of a contestant featured in Harvey worked closely with the a show on the Home Design Cable Wednesday convocation was almost a routine kick-off to the fall semester. Nearly 10,000 family on the decisions for the buri­ Network. al garden. Most importantly, the goal of students came out of the woodwork to cram into every possible seat in the Vines Center. In a Liberty Journal article by the LU Dining project was to cre­ Ron Brown, Falwell Jr. said, "The ate a campus bond. According to Charles Billingsley, worship minister at Thomas Road Baptist Church, led a hand-raising family is honored that it's going to Ray Riddle, director of operations be such a beautiful and lasting trib­ for LU Dining, "(Liberty) wants to round of praise and worship. Campus Pastor Johnnie Moore made the usual announce­ ute." give students a restaurant feel that Beaumont said that after Dr. Fal­ is remembered as LU Dining, rather ments to the student body. But the similarities ended there. well's death the family met and de­ than Reber Thomas Dining Hall." cided to go ahead with the plans for Seeking to implement a unified a memorial on campus. "Dr. Falwell campus brand, the waffle makers loved LU and the students," Beau­ feature an LU vintage logo and LU What would have been the moment for Dr. Jerry camper and run my laptop on a generator in order mont said. "The family felt the most Dining is sponsoring a Mustang Falwell, the late chancellor and founder of Liberty to write my speech that night." appropriate place for the memorial giveaway. Interested students can University, to deliver his customary Wednesday Although some may think Falwell Jr. must tackle would be at the mansion where he register through April to win the convocation message arrived. the challenge of filling his late father's shoes, the was buried." Mustang at various events held on Instead, Dr. Ron Godwin, executive vice presi­ new chancellor knows such a task is impossible. No campus. Other promotions being dent of Liberty, introduced Jerry Falwell Jr., the one can replace the creator of the Moral Majority, Contact Christi Corbin at sccorbin@ run by LU Dining include a contest new chancellor of Liberty, as a Liberty alumnus, a the pastor of one of the most influential churches in liberty.edu. to rename the North campus cafe graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law America and the founder of the largest evangelical (students can apply online at lib- and the "creator and builder of the LU mountain university in the world. [email protected]). Liz Van- monogram." "Today, Liberty embarks into a new area of un­ Wingerden, the marketing manager Whereas his father was renowned for his con­ charted territory, one that does not include our of LU Dining, said they are looking stant presence in the public limelight, Falwell Jr. has founder, but the mission remains the same — edu­ forward to seeing the promotions been known as the man "behind the scenes," having cating tomorrow's leaders within a distinctively ""•J*"»v»" • .vfvywurwi' play out and also to starting new worked as in-house counsel at Liberty since 1988. Christian environment," Falwell Jr. said. ones in the future. "I'm sure there's laughter in heaven today at the Although Dr. Falwell passed away on May 15 and . Externally, the Liberty campus is fact that I'm standing here," said Falwell Jr. "Over Liberty is now facing a year unlike any other, Falwell growing as well. A total of six dorms the last 20 years I have avoided public speaking like Jr. was adamant that the university would hold fast were built this summer and more the plague." to its vision — a theme many students will recognize are in the works. Three new wom­ He had not spoken in convocation since 2001 as prevalent among the late Dr. Falwell's sermons en's dorms and three men's dorms when he announced the plans to build what has now and convocation messages. were built on Campus East, totaling become Campus East. In fact, the storm that brought "We will heed the warning of Proverbs 29:18, 504 beds in all. hail and 50 mph winds through the Lynchburg area 'Where there is no vision, the people perish.' And NICK Puoui on Tuesday night almost prevented Falwell Jr. from we'will continue to dream and imagine and plan and REFLECTION — The mansion lawn is set to Please see CONSTRUCTION, A2 speaking at all. work," Falwell Jr. said. accommodate visitors who wish to sit and "The storms that blew through the area Tuesday reflect on Dr. Falwell's life and legacy. night knocked out the power at my house," said Fal­ Please see FALWELL JR., A3 well Jr. in an email message. "I had to go sit in a TUESDAY, August 28, 2007 PAGEA2, Liberty Champion CONSTRUCTION: Campus dining halls receive facelifts Confined from CONSTRUCTION, Al Also new as of July is the establish­ case to a student court of appeals, which ment of the Office of Student Conduct is then judged by court justices who are Adam Szturma, project manager of and Student Care, which acts in place of members of the Student Government new construction, said that "the dorm the offices of the Dean of Men and the Association (SGA).