Volume 75 Issue 7

Page 1

Sports | 5

Opinion | 6

Religion | 6

Lifestyle | 7

The NBA is back

Should Southern enforce the dress code?

The season of spiritual dryness

Stress relief for the busy student

October 31, 2019 Collegedale, Tennessee

Southern Accent

Vol. 75 Issue 7

The student voice since 1926

Southern students, alumni share experiences with Hong Kong protests

Thatcher Gym closes until winter semester María José Morán Hernandez Religion Editor

Protestors fill a Hong Kong street. Photo courtesy of Anne Pondi

Paola Mora Zepeda Editor-in-Chief Anne Pondi, a Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) freshman, lived in Hong Kong before the protests started. She was also there when the Hong Kong government proposed the extradition bill, a law that would allow criminal suspects to be taken to mainland China for trial. Pondi was still a student at Hong Kong Adventist Academy the first day thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to object the now-withdrawn extradition bill. As time went by, she also witnessed how the once-peaceful demonstrations took a more violent turn. “When violence started being introduced, I felt kind of sad because I didn’t think that it would get to that point,” Pondi

said. “The transportation was affected, and the roads were blocked. ...The safety was also affected because usually Hong Kong is seen as a safe city, but now it is less safe I guess.” Seeing how involved the younger generation is, and how some of them even get injured or arrested, that was surprising. Pondi is not the only Southern student who has had a firsthand experience of Hong Kong’s ongoing political situation. Currently, there is one student who is doing an internship at the Chinese Union Mission (AUM) and three others who are working as student ambassadors at Hong Kong Adventist College (HKAC). Financial Man-

Hang Hau MTR station, the closest station to HKAC.

Photo courtesy of Anne Pondi

agement alumnus Mighty De La Bel is one of them. De La Bel arrived at Hong Kong in September; one month before hundreds of flights were cancelled due to a clash between police and protestors at Hong Kong’s international airport. “I didn’t see any demonstrations in the airport, but there were a lot of places that were closed off,” De la Bel said. “So, I had to walk a different route in order to meet the person who was going to pick me up.” De La Bel said since HKAC’s campus is far from the city, he has not encountered any protests but has seen the aftermath of the demonstrations. Business administration sophomore Lorena Alves shares a similar experience. According

Empowering Minds becomes the first mental awareness club

L-R Kye Hache, Marry Bright, Nathan Martin and Brayden Viehmann pose for club photo. Photo courtesy of Empowering Minds

Sarah Klingbeil Lead Reporter Empowering Minds has become Southern’s first mental awareness club. According to Nathan Martin, club president, the goal of the club is not to replace professional help but rather to provide a place of support and awareness. The club was introduced this summer. “Our goal is simply to start a conversation and get people interested or aware of their own mental health. I am not a psychiatrist and we're not a counseling service,” Martin said. “We are like the PSA commercials you see on TV -- a method to spread awareness and get people thinking. With this said, we strongly encourage anyone

facing hard times to go get the help they need by making an appointment with one of the on-campus counselors.” The bimonthly meetings, often in a coffee shop, aim to provide a “community” where people can give advice and develop “courage to speak up,” as explained by Martin. Social representative for the club, Brayden Viehmann, shared his goal for the club. “...we strongly encourage anyone facing hard times to go get the help they need by making an appointment with one of the on-campus counselors. “I want people to know that there's a club here that genuinely cares about each and every student and what they're

going through,” Viehmann said. According to Viehmann, the club has received a positive reaction from various students. Freshman corporate community wellness management major Megan Bentley is one of them. “I think that’s really awesome [to have] a safe place where people can talk to people about different things that they are going through,” Bentley said. “Especially now [in college] because this is [a] hard time for some people’s lives; you know becoming an adult.” Students can follow the club’s Instagram page @empowermind_sau to learn more about the dates, times and service opportunities.

to Alves, much of Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR) has been vandalized. “We went to the MTR closest to the school and you could see that the machines were broken and that glasses were broken and everything like that,” Alves said. “One time there were small papers all over the walls; and though I didn’t understand a word of it because they were Chinese characters, I could tell that it was something political.” According to Time Magazine, about 800 MTR ticket machines, 1,800 turnstiles and 50 escalators have been broken since the protests began. Alves said because most protests take place on the weekend, she no longer goes out on Saturdays or Sundays unless accompanied by a faculty member or someSee HONG KONG on page 2

The Thatcher Hall gym is currently closed due to renovations in the dorm’s ventilation system. The construction was initiated earlier this summer, however it has taken longer than expected for the construction to conclude. The ventilation replacement was originally scheduled to end in mid-September, the same time the gym was supposed to open. However, according to Belinda Fisher, Thatcher Office Manager, the gym will not be ready to use until next semester. These renovations have been inconvenient according to Cindy See GYM on page 3

Thatcher Gym closed. Photo by María José Morán Hernandez

Campus celebrates Bietz Center construction Zailin Peña Lead Reporter On Oct. 25, on the McKee Library patio, there was a construction celebration of the Bietz Center for Student Life. Students, staff, alumni and construction workers were present, as well as President David Smith. After a brief question-and-answer session about the progress and delays of the Bietz Student Center, those present were able to sign a plate that will be attached to a steel beam in the building’s framework. According to Associate Vice President Marty Hamilton, concrete is now up on the third floor and second floor concrete will be put up this week, as well as framing on the second floor.

President David Smith said, “I think it’s important to have milestones that allow you to celebrate it and anticipate it, and I think that [the ceremony] was a great opportunity with the alumni coming in and students here... Hamilton, who was at the event on Friday, said part of the delay in construction has been due to weather. There have been two focus groups from students who See BIETZ on page 3

David Smith and Marty Hamilton celebrate the Bietz Center. Photo by Esterfania Sanchez


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