Blog

This semester was one of our favorites we’ve ever had. With the addition of new events like Battle of the Bands and Jazz Night, as well as artists like Tenth Avenue North and Rend Collective performing here, it seems like it’ll be hard to top! Other highlights of the semester were our student concerts, Christmas in Lights, Fall Festival, and of course, 25 Days of Coffeehouse. We put together a compilation video to give you a taste of the semester from our perspective – take a look, and come out to our spring events!

Traveling is always a huge part of the holiday season, whether it’s to visit family, go on vacation, or become a tourist in an unfamiliar city. My family usually stays in my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, for the holiday season, but this year we decided to shake it up a bit. With Christmas right around the corner, I’m going to share a little bit about my family’s upcoming trip to New York City.

We plan to fly out of Atlanta on Christmas morning around 5 AM, which will put us in New York City at approximately 8 AM. Our first stop on the itinerary is tea time at The Plaza Hotel. Located inside The Plaza is The Palm Court, which offers a variety of gourmet sandwiches and hot teas. I ordered ahead and chose the Eloise Holiday Tea, with an English Cucumber Sandwich. After we finish tea time at The Plaza, we plan to take a trip to the Empire State Building. I’ve been to New York several times in the last few years, however, I have yet to visit the Empire State Building. In the evening, we plan to go ice skating at The Rink at Rockefeller Center around 8:30 PM. We will likely be exhausted after walking around the city all day, so naturally, we plan to grab a New York slice from Marinara Pizza Place—supposedly the “best pie in New York City”.

On the second day, our first stop on the list is window shopping at Fifth Avenue. There’s something about being in New York City during Christmas time that will make shopping with my family so special. After shopping, we plan to do something more relaxed, which means we will be heading to the American Museum of Natural History to see the iconic skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus rex. Next, we will make our journey to The Boat House in Central Park. We plan to conclude the second day with frozen hot chocolate from Serendipity’s.

The last day is not planned, which means we will have a bit of freedom to fit in anything that we missed. I am extremely excited to experience New York City during the holiday season, and I can’t wait to eat some of the best food in New York. I hope to make new memories with my family, and just enjoy the time we have in the city together. I wish to everyone traveling during the Christmas season; safety, blessings, and a Merry Christmas!

Sources

https://www.opentable.com/the-palm-court-at-the-plaza-hotel

https://therinkatrockcenter.com

https://www.amnh.org

https://www.marinarapizza.com

https://www.thecentralparkboathouse.com/

https://serendipity3.com/menu/

“Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God.” The opening of Psalm 100 cannot be clearer to believers that worship is a command from the Lord. But what is worship and is there a correct way to do it? Does the Lord prefer one way to all others? If you are like me, I have been exposed to many different “worship traditions” in my life. Worship traditions can include a myriad of things, but the two that are most differing in style is the choice of raising hands or not during worship, and for the sake of this article I will be focusing solely on these. Personally, I do not raise hands when I worship and unfortunately have dealt with uncomfortable situations where I have been called out in my worship style because according to that person it was “not the right way.” I hope that this article will encourage all believers that worship is not how you do it, but Who you are doing it for, regardless of personal choice of style.

The idea of raising hands during worship has been reflected in both in Scripture and through the lives of Christian writers. In Psalm 134:2 it says, “Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord.” Multiple other passages affirm this form of worship throughout Scripture. Additionally, John Piper wrote an article on this very idea of raising hands during worship. Piper states, “Either it comes from the heart and is valuable as an expression of the heart, or it is a performance and has no worship value at all.” Authenticity is the core of hand-raising worship because without having the intent to worship God through it, all the person is doing is simply raising hands for attention. The focus should never be on yourself, or what people’s opinions are on your worship style, but Who you are worshipping. God created worship to bring praise and thanksgiving for the wonderful things He does in everyone’s lives. It is not a time to show off yourself, but to show off God. Raising hands in worship is an awesome way to express praise and worship to the Lord, but Christians should make sure that their heart intent is right.

What if you worship without raising hands? Worshipping involves joy. If you’re not worshipping with joy, you’re not worshipping at all. In Psalm 84 it says, “Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. Happy are those whose strength is in you.” God commands us to be happy when coming before Him to worship. The problem that arises with people who do not raise hands is that they can come across as not joyful. That since there is no physical expression, that they are simply just singing the words but not meaning it. According to Christian journalist Chuck Abernathy, “We are encouraged in Galatians 5:25 that if we live in the Spirit that we should also walk in the Spirit… To keep step with Him is to be inconsistent fellowship with Him, and there is no better way to accomplish this than through daily personal worship, whereby we experience the beauty of His holiness and presence.” Personal worship is key in the life of a believer. When one does not show physical expression in worship, the focus should be on personal and internal praise with of course being joyful through and through.

No matter if you worship with arms lifted high, or by your sides, the focus should always be on God. Christians can become used to a certain way to worship, but I would like the key takeaway to be blind to how people worship and just enjoy the presence of God. You are not the focus, and neither are the people around you. Utilizing this idea will be freeing in the sense that you can worship with believers around you in harmony and show the true admiration that God deserves.

Sources

ESV Bible

https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/should-we-raise-our-hands-in-worship

https://www.savedhealed.com/Worship_Fresh_Look.htm

In just a few short weeks I will be going back to, in my opinion, the best city in the United States. Chicago is home to some of the most famous American landmarks, amazing food, talented sports teams, unbeatable entertainment stars, bargain shopping, and one of the most beautiful skylines. I could go on and on about how amazing I think Chicago is, but I think I should just prove it to you. Here is the ultimate guide to the Windy City.

The beautiful sights of Chicago are one of a kind and rich in history. The Chicago Fire in 1871 devastated the city, but it also is the main reason Chicago is as beautiful as it is today. Because of the fire, the city coordinators were able to plan out the city unlike almost all other cities around the world. The fire caused a universal building scheme that allows the city to appear as cohesive. One of the only buildings to survive the Chicago Fire is the Water Tower, which is still standing today. Chicago is known as a business hub, especially after the fire, “After the 1874 fire, the slow and expensive process of rebuilding with fireproof materials began. Big banks and businesses, which handled millions of dollars in revenue every year, dominated Chicago’s new business district” (Schons, 2011). In addition to all the business buildings and banks, we have the Willis Tower, the John Hancock Center, the Trump Tower & Hotel, and the Water Tower Place. The Willis Tower is the tallest building in Chicago and has a beautiful view of the city from the 103rd floor. The best view of the skyline is by the Adler Planetarium and no matter the time of year, it is always breathtaking.

Deep dish pizza, Portillos, Garrett’s popcorn, Chicago style hot dogs, and Chicago Italian beef are only a few examples of the amazing variety of food that the Windy City has to offer. In Chicago, you will lose money and gain calories because of how good the food is. No one can master deep dish pizza like Giordano’s (and I guess Lou Malnati’s depending on who you talk to). For those of you who do not know what deep dish pizza is, it is pizza that is inches deep and has sauce on the top instead of cheese. It is one of a kind and Chicago is known as THE place to get it. You will never go with a grumble in your stomach when you are in the city because of the countless, delicious options.

Chicago houses some of the best music artists, sports teams, and movies of our generation. Our generation’s most recently talked about artist was raised in Chicago. Can you guess who it is? None other but Kanye West! Kanye’s song “Homecoming” is all about Chicago and all of the things he loves about it. In addition to Kanye, some other artists that are from Chicago are: Chance the Rapper, Chicago, Earth, Wind, & Fire, Fall Out Boy, and Jennifer Hudson. In the 1990s to early 2000s a lot of classic movies were filmed here in Chicago. A few of the movies include Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Sixteen Candles, Home Alone, The Dark Knight, Transformers, Divergent, The Fugitive, and Spider-Man 2. Chicago sports teams have won numerous Stanley Cup, World Series, NBA Championship, and Superbowl titles over many years. The most recent win for Chicago was when the 2016 Cubs won the World Series title after 108 years without it. “Officials estimate that 5 million people showed up to the Chicago Cubs parade and rally Friday, making it the 7th largest gathering in human history” (Fox32, 2016). Chicagoans are filled with pride for their city, especially when it comes to sports.

It is so easy to shop till you drop in a city with thousands of cute and trendy shopping options. Magnificent Mile is the epicenter of shopping in the city, “The Magnificent Mile boasts more than 460 retailers, including popular brands; major department stores; international luxury labels and designers; and three vertical shopping centers, each with incentives and premier savings”. Another hidden hotspot for shopping is Nordstrom Last Chance, which is a little bit outside the city. There are only two of those stores in the entire United States and it is a “final-clearance store for returned and overstocked merchandise from Nordstrom stores, Nordstrom Rack, and Nordstrom.com”. They have designer brand clothing at thrift store prices. Shopping never gets old in this city and neither does my wallet because of the countless great deals!

Chicago is an amazing city filled with beautiful sights and people. I encourage everyone to go and experience all this city has to offer at least once in your lifetime! I hope you can use this as your guide to explore the Windy City!

Sources:

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/chicago-fire-1871-and-great-rebuilding/

https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/cubs-world-series-celebration-ranks-as-7th-largest-gathering-in-human-history

https://www.themagnificentmile.com/shopping/

https://shop.nordstrom.com/store-details/last-chance-clearance-store

The increasing epidemic of human trafficking (child labor, underpaid labor, sex trafficking, debt bondage) is one hard pill to swallow; it can be easy to think it is too large an issue for one person to tackle alone. I think where a lot of people struggle in helping in social justice issues is they personally feel that they are not “big enough” or “important enough.” This could not be further from the truth.

I read a story recently of two women from the article “Understanding Human Trafficking in The United States.” These authors are two women who were someone’s daughters, someone’s friends. Their names are Samriah and Enung, and they were “recruited” from Indonesia to live with a kind, American family. This family would provide them work and a way to make their dream happen here in America. These women were promised much by this American family. Once arrived, these women were excessively beaten, abused, starved, and tortured by the family. There was no explanation as to why these women were treated so poorly; the family was twisted and selfish. This is human trafficking and it is happening in America. These women were seen by various witnesses within the home. A witness even saw one of the women crawling up from the basement, her forehead bleeding. They were seen by outsiders, and yet were not rescued from their terrible reality until one of them ran away to the police after five horrible years. Why did no one ask two clearly abused women what was happening?

Recognize signs, friends. Report suspicious behavior. Ask neglected-looking individuals about their lives. Medical professionals have so much opportunity to recognize trafficking victims, like when children or a “family member” do not resemble the rest of their family, or when sickly patients come in with excessive dental decay, HIV, or pelvic pain. The list goes on. Maybe you aren’t a medical professional so these signs feel irrelevant – don’t feel irrelevant. I have seen human trafficking and not known until further learning the signs of it. I could have done something, but I didn’t do anything, and it genuinely hurts me knowing that I could have done more. I don’t want you to look back and realize you could have helped, but didn’t.

There was one night I was driving back to my hometown, somewhere where prostitution is active and known about. I noticed three BMW’s all sitting, turned off, lined up along the curb of an empty street. Seeing this at 1:00 AM as an 18-year-old-girl didn’t make me feel the safest, so the last thing I thought to do was stop and investigate. Although, looking back, I know for a fact that those three well-dressed men, all sitting in their cars, late at night were there with the same intentions. I learned just a bit later that prostitutes will generally wait outside of sight, while pimps roam the streets searching for waiting cars. As the cars wait, pimps select a victim, put them in the car, and they begin their “work”. It is as disgusting and repulsive as it sounds, and I actually saw this all happen. I 100% did not do the right thing in this. Obviously, everyone, stay safe. Make wise decisions and know your boundaries. BUT, if you see this occur, please by all means call the police and report what you have seen. You can do so anonymously (which is what I would recommend), and leave the situation knowing you did all that you could. Even seeing children out and about with adults who seem crude, aggressive, and genuinely disrespectful to the child can be a sign. Asking children you meet about their life is not a bad idea; in fact, be a little nosey if you believe something more may be happening in their current living situation.

Donation to organizations who are actively training medical professionals, counselors, law enforcement, or providing safe homes helps so greatly. Engaging in challenges such as Dressember makes an impact. People ask questions because they don’t understand, but you can help them understand. Ask questions when you don’t understand. It is okay to not know, but push yourself to learn and educate yourself so you may be the positive change the world needs. This world needs more fighters in Jesus’ name. In knowing Christ, we know then that the same Holy Spirit who lived in Moses, John the Baptist, or Paul lives in each of us. The Holy Spirit is not limited to whether or not you believe you are enough; the Holy Spirit is entirely outside of our own comprehension and will use you if you allow Him to.

There is so much I wish I could say in this little post. One blog won’t shake the world; I know that full well, but I hope if anything it is able to give you a glimpse into the life of a human trafficking victim. I think understanding victims starts with allowing ourselves to become uncomfortable for a minute or two. Jesus was fiercely uncomfortable in His most important work, so we should be able to be uncomfortable too if it means bringing forth change. We all have a voice to be used. My greatest hope is that followers of Christ would use their voice, in love, to impact those around them; this is me trying to do that. Please, everyone, know that your voice does 100% matter; YOU matter. Anything you say is heard by those around you, whether you believe they are listening or not.

Human Trafficking Hotline:

Call: 1(888) 373-7888

Text: BeFree to 233733

Human Trafficking Organizations (Donate! It is good for everyone involved!):

Dressember: https://www.dressember.org

International Rescue Committee: https://www.rescue.org

Free the Girls Bras: https://freethegirls.org

Polaris Project: https://polarisproject.org

Shared Hope International: https://sharedhope.org

Sources

https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?v=2.1&it=r&sw=w&id=GALE%7CA330005276&prodId=HRCA&sid=googleScholarFullText&userGroupName=vic_liberty_sp&u=vic_liberty_sp

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1524838008327262

We’ve all seen some form of the Spider-Man movie franchise, whether it was the original Tobey Maguire version, Andrew Garfield’s portrayal, or who seems to be the new crowd favorite—Tom Holland. With Holland making his debut in Captain America: Civil War, fans were bound to take a liking to him since he was introduced immediately into the Marvel world. Shortly after, Spider-Man: Homecoming was released, in which fans were able to see the original backstory that is associated with Tom Holland as Spider-Man. Tom Holland quickly became popular with the Marvel fan-base, as he starred in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. With SA’s movie night just around the corner, I thought I’d give you a little sneak peek into the latest Spider-Man release: Spider-Man: Far From Home.

In this Spider-Man based sequel to Avengers: Endgame, Peter Parker is still dealing with having to hide his secret identity from his classmates as they embark on a school trip to Europe. Peter, wanting to refrain from any sort of super-hero activities, intentionally leaves his suit at home. Thankfully, Aunt May sends it along. What Peter thought would be a relaxing vacation with his classmates turns into a whirlwind of chaos, including a new character–Mysterio, a gift from the late Tony Stark, and the Marvel icon—Nick Fury. With the introduction of Mysterio, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Parker is forced to take on his secret identity as Spider-Man to ensure the safety of his classmates. This film gives fans a more in-depth look at the life of our new favorite superhero by appealing to the grief we all felt when [SPOILER ALERT!!!] Iron Man fought his last battle in Avengers: Endgame. But let’s get real, if you didn’t know Iron Man is no longer with us, you’ve been hiding under a rock.

After Spider-Man: Far From Home was released this past summer, fans were concerned when Sony announced that Spider-Man would no longer be a part of Marvel; however, not long after, it was settled that Spider-Man was officially back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, along with a new release date for Spider-Man’s next movie. I highly recommend stopping by our movie night on November 15 at 8 PM in the Vines Center for some free popcorn and a thrilling look at Peter Parker’s adventure in Europe!

Sources

https://screenrant.com/marvel-studios-spider-man-sony-mcu-deal/

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a29267558/spider-man-sony-marvel-cinematic-universe-kevin-feige-tom-holland/

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4043618/

Did you know 9.2 million people play Candy Crush Saga for three or more hours a day?¹ And this is just 3.4% of those who have downloaded the loveable (and frustrating!) puzzle-matching game. Discover King, the developer, shows there are currently more than 270 million players across the series. In 2018 alone, the Candy Crush series made over $1.5 billion in revenue. Compare this to Pokémon Go which brought in $800 million or Fortnite’s $455 million on iOS, and you see that the game is highly addictive.²

Both Kaitlyn and I consider ourselves avid Candy Crush players; and some days, we might even be part of those 9.2 million (some of you consider this an “addiction,” but we’ll call it a devotion to something we love). For those of you who have played, you can certainly share with us the ups and downs of trying to complete many levels one right after another. From the (sugar) rush you experience when finishing a level to the utter frustration of running out of lives, playing Candy Crush takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions. We are happy to admit that even at our lowest points, neither of us have dropped a dime on the app. Although, we can’t say it hasn’t crossed our minds to spend our life savings just to add another booster to the bunch (just one more color bomb, please!).

We are here to share the benefits of Candy Crush, if played within moderation. Just like anything in your life, the time spent should be balanced and not interfere with your priorities (your spiritual health, family, relationship, academics, job, etc.). So, assuming we’re all playing at a non-addictive level, what mental and social benefits come from swiping a few colored candies each day?

We believe games often have the misconception of being a waste of time, as well as something that rots a person’s brain. Candy Crush is not immune to this stereotype. However, Candy Crush has been said to increase your dopamine levels, which is the neurotransmitter that plays a part in our happiness levels. Dopamine is instrumental to our learning and helps develop both bad and good behavioral responses because it begins to retrain our brain behavior. ³ Women’s Health states that your dopamine levels are raised when you win a level of a game because you are craving the success, and then you hunger to beat more levels. ⁴ The same article goes on to say that when you are playing the game, the “bright colors activate your brain’s reward system”. ⁴    

Candy Crush is also beneficial in increasing cognitive behavior, including memorization. Woman’s Health states, “Thirty daily minutes of mobile gaming can exercise the brain regions responsible for problem-solving, memory, and spatial recognition.” ⁴ People sometimes think that apps like Luminosity or Elevate could develop brain training more than handheld games like Candy Crush. However, The Sun found that those apps are not any better at stimulating your brain than Candy Crush is. ⁵ Another article concluded that active video games that were played for just 12 hours increased the reading levels of players that had dyslexia in the same time as one year of reading development classes. ⁶ Video games have also been known to improve the attention spans of participants, which could then increase their attention span during classes, church, or many other activities.

Discover King’s mission statement states, “Our mission is to provide highly engaging games to our audience to match their mobile lifestyles.”⁷ The goal for this company is not for the average consumer to get addicted to this game, rather for it to “match their mobile lifestyles”. There are a few questions to ask yourself to decide if a game is becoming an addiction for you. First, am I spending money on this addiction? Second, am I playing this game during everyday routine tasks or conversations? Third, is this game interfering with my life on any level?³ Handheld games, such as Candy Crush, can be a help in “escaping the stress of today”, which is conveniently the games’ slogan, however it can also become unhealthy really quick. Limiting your time on games or even on your phone can lead to more intentional relationships. Understanding that things are good in moderation is a good way to go about playing video games because it still gives you the freedom to enjoy games without the addiction to them.

If the facts are true, then is playing games on your handheld device as bad as people make them out to be? We believe Candy Crush has many benefits as long as it is enjoyed in moderation and paired with other passions, priorities, and plans. Candy Crush not only helps increase dopamine levels, but it also helps increase cognitive behavior at the same time. We love Candy Crush and the thrill of beating a level, and we hope that someday you might give it a try too!

Sources

¹ https://gizmodo.com/candy-crush-developer-says-9-2-million-users-play-at-le-1835893580

² https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heres-how-much-money-candy-crush-makes-compared-to/1100-6464305/

³ https://www.pilotonline.com/blogs/article_0e05c407-3eea-5da0-9bfd-b814ce913752.html

⁴  https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a19910448/candy-crush-saga-addiction/

⁵ https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/4000340/candy-crush-could-be-as-good-for-improving-mental-health-as-brain-training-app-lumosity/

⁶ https://www.lifemapco.com/news/health-and-wellness/why-candy-crush-may-be-good-your-health

⁷ https://discover.king.com/about/

After the success of our first ever Binge and Banter (which was on the topic of the fan-favorite Netflix original Stranger Things), we decided to bring the event back this November! For those of you who were unable to attend the first Binge and Banter and are unsure of what this event is we wanted to explain it, because this is an event you are not going to want to miss. The first part of the event, “Binge”, is what you will do on your own time – watching the show. SA does not endorse or promote the shows we use for this event, meaning that we’re not going to be the ones to tell you what to watch. Rather, we choose shows we know a majority of students have seen, that way we can have healthy discussion about it. The “Banter” portion is when we will have a group discussion about the show, fan theories, the characters, and more.

We are excited to announce that this Binge and Banter is going to be on the Netflix Original series, 13 Reasons Why. We decided on 13 Reasons Why for our second Binge and Banter because it has been such a controversial discussion since Netflix first aired the show back in 2017. We want to discuss the content, characters, purpose, and fan theories through a biblical worldview. The series is on their third season and there has been so much that has happened from season one to season three – there is so much that needs to be discussed! Therefore, this Binge and Banter is going to cover all three seasons. We hope that you will join us on November 12 at 7:00pm in the LaHaye Event Space, for some refreshments and conversations about the series. We will see you there!

How do you spend your free time? If we sit back and really look at our lives, it can be interesting to see how you really spend your days. There are so many things that we want to accomplish in our everyday lives, but when it comes down to it, we are almost never as productive as we would like to be in our spare time. Some people choose to try and rest or grow in various areas of their life, while others squander what is given to them and do not use their time wisely. Isn’t that something that we have always heard since we were kids? “Use your time wisely.” We’ve all heard it, but what does that really mean? It is different for each person because we are all heading in different directions and striving for different goals. For some, watching and critiquing movies or plays is the best use of their time, while for others, choosing to analyze and study the stock market is the most productive thing they can do. We each need to find the best way to use our time.

Look around our world – there are so many things that each one of us wants to do, but it seems like we always wind up choosing to fill our time with the things that don’t matter. For example, I want to go to tutoring, counseling, exercise, listen to and write music, grow in my friendships, etc., but I seem to always wind up doing anything besides what I wanted to get done. In life, almost any activity that you are involved with will pressure you and make you feel like it is the most important thing in your life. It seems like everything fights for your time nowadays. Time is the most important and valuable thing that we can give, but we can never receive it back. Unless you are Doctor Strange, no matter where we go, time goes on and never returns. When we leave school, get sick, or go home, time refuses to stand still, and people move on with their lives. This should be motivation to get out there and make the best use of your time.

One of the biggest struggles with using your time well is trying to combat boredom. Boredom can be so draining, and too much of it can make you feel like you are sinking into a pit where you are incapable of doing anything. It is a gateway to laziness, which is the exact opposite of what we should be striving for. But there are healthy doses of boredom that can be good for you. In our day and age, it seems that instant gratification and satisfaction are the only things that people want. This is especially rampant among those surrounded by technology and electronics. Generally, when somebody gets bored, one of the first things that they do is to pull out their phone to “kill time”. This is not the approach that we should be taking when we have extra time lying around. I would argue that a healthy dose of boredom is good for the mind! With the right mentality, it can keep you from relying too much on instant gratification and can help you actually stop to look around and view the details and beauty that exist around us in life and in nature. A little bit of boredom can help somebody think and branch out into a creative outlet that they might never have tried before. I believe that cutting down on the amount of time we spend on electronics is crucial to reclaiming a healthier and more fulfilling lifestyle instead of a life run by technology.

Fight for your time! It is good to relax and rest; we are not able to perform our best without first taking the time to recharge. Do not get complacent with your life. Spend your time wisely! Get out and go rock climbing like you’ve been wanting to, make that playlist you’ve been telling yourself you would make, and go make those friends that you keep desiring. If you are wise with your time, you can accomplish anything that you want to do.

All around Liberty, there are musicians who want nothing more than for their band to be the one that makes it. Students seem to be constantly coming together with their friends to create music that will mean something to someone. Lucky for all the musicians out there, Battle of the Bands gives the opportunity to 10 special bands who have wanted to create meaningful music; it is a time to finally let their band be THE BAND on campus. Each band has to have just three or more students, allowing 75% of the band members to be Liberty students (which should be no biggie considering Liberty is filled with some pretty amazing musicians).

Battle of the Bands is a one-night event on November 16, but who performs is up to Liberty students. From November 4 until November 10, the 10 bands Student Activities chooses who submit themselves as contestants will be voted upon by other students online. Submitted bands can be classified as whatever genre they prefer – from rap, to folk, to rock, all are welcome.

After the online round of voting, the top five bands will then perform on the night of the show. So yes, invite your friends, your family, and your campus crush all to come and see what you can do. After the top five bands perform, another round of text voting will take place to narrow down the top two bands. This is when the night gets juicy. The top two bands will battle it out for the winning spot and only one will be elected to win by a second round of text voting.

“But what happens when I win?” you may ask, and friends, the prizes are good. To the band who battles the hardest, they will receive not only clout, but also a Speakertree recording session, $500 Lynchburg Music gift card, and will be gifted the chance to perform once again as the headliner at a spring student concert.

Now after hearing about one of the best events coming up this fall, gather your musical friends, practice like no other, and submit your band to Student Activities!