Southern Accent Vol. 78, Issue 6

Southern Accent

Southern's diversity advisor position targeted by Fulcrum7, raising concerns about facts and fairness

Alana Crosby Editor-in-Chief

Kathy Purnell, a British-born inclusion specialist, educator and learning/development strategist with more than two decades worth of experience in her field, was recently hired by Southern Adventist University to serve as senior advisor to the president on diversity and strategic planning.

In an Aug. 1 press release announcing her hiring, the univer

Social work students meet lawmakers on trip to nation's capital

A group of 14 senior social work students enrolled in the Social Welfare Issues and Pol icy (SWIP) course at Southern Adventist University visited Washington D.C. from Sept. 25 to 29 to discuss bills with leg islators and learn about the nation’s capital.

On the morning of Oct. 6, the group met in Daniells Hall and excitedly recounted their expe riences over waffles. The Accent was invited to join the unique class session.

The course’s instructor, Kristie Wilder, professor in the School of Social Work, began the debrief by explaining that the trip has been a part of the SWIP course for several years; how ever, this is the first year since the COVID-19 pandemic that it has taken place.

“The idea [of the trip] is that

we take our policy and advo cacy skills to see policy in the making and demystify the pro cess of being able to access our lawmakers at the congressional level,” Wilder said. “Sometimes we meet with the actual law makers, and sometimes we just meet with professional staff ers. Either is very effective. This year, [the students] got quite fortunate.”

That statement was made in reference to the students’ meet ing with Representative Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee’s third congressional district, where Southern Adventist University is located. He spoke with the stu dents for about half an hour in his office, which Wilder said is uncommon. Fleischmann even posted about the experience on his social media.

The students spoke with the

Comparing area churches

Amanda Blake Managing Editor Charlene Arnold Reporter

Editor's Note: This article is part one of a two-part series.

In the Sept. 28 issue, the Accent published an article on the dangers of church-hopping and importance of engaging with a single church family based on the opinions of Pas tor David Ferguson, senior pastor of the Collegedale Church of Sev enth-day Adventists. In an effort to keep Southern Adventist University students informed on this topic, the Accent contacted multiple local Sev enth-day Adventist (SDA) churches and asked about their missions, services and opportunities for stu dents. These are the details pro vided by those who responded:

Collegedale Church of Sev enth-day Adventists 4829 College Dr. E., Collegedale, Tennessee, 37315

According to Ferguson, Col legedale Church offers various ser vices to accommodate the different interests and worship languages of students. He listed and described each Saturday service:

The 9 a.m. Adoration service is the “most classical” service. For example, participants sing hymns to a “majestic” pipe organ.

The 9 a.m. Connect service was originally student-centric but has shifted in attendance to more young families and post-colle giates. It is a “dress-down” service, and church goers will meet at the Goliath Wall through the end of October.

The 11:45 a.m. Renewal service is student-led and includes acous tic praise. The various instruments used change periodically. One week, the service might use an elec tric guitar and bass, another week a

djembe or cajon and another week a full trap set.

The 11:45 a.m. Merge service is led by Pastor Reginald Horton but still heavily student-driven. It draws a highly mixed ethnic crowd with a worship style inspired by Black gospel music and cultural heritage combined with a “universal appeal.”

Ferguson said the church board is unanimously in favor of pouring more energy into Merge, and he has recently entered into an

sity — ranked by U.S. News and World Report as the second most diverse university in the South — described Purnell, PhD, as “a gifted communicator and leader, bringing decades of relevant experience to the Collegedale campus.”

Though the announcement was published by the North American Division of Sev enth-day Adventist’s communi cation department, The Cleve land Banner and other news outlets, lauding Purnell’s cre

dentials, not everyone is pleased with her new position.

On Sept. 5, Fulcrum7, an ultra-conservative Seventh-day Adventist digital publication, pub lished an article titled, “Southern University Caves to Political Correct ness, Hires Diversity and Inclusion Advisor.” Regarding Purnell and her role at Southern, the article states the following:

“Goodbye white robe of righ teousness, hello rainbow tunic of the LGBTQ woke mob. Goodbye

biblical distinctions, hello social jus tice inclusion. Goodbye Acts 17:31 and Psalm 96:13; hello Romans 3:8 and 1:27.”

The article condemns Southern for hiring a senior advisor on diver sity and strategic planning and tar gets Purnell and what Fulcrum7 assumes she plans to do.

In an interview with the Accent, Purnell noted that she was intrigued by what appeared to be

agreement to secure more space for the service.

Merge Student Worship Coor dinator Lizbeth Rodriguez-Diep, junior public relations major, said there are multiple things that make Merge stand out, including its gos pel choir being open to all, and intercessory prayer during which students stand in corners of the room and offer one-on-one prayer for their fellow students.

Collegedale Spanish-American SDA Church (SuCasa) 4855 Colcord Dr., Collegedale, Tennessee, 37315

In an email to the Accent, Senior Pastor Gamaliel Feliciano wrote that SuCasa is considered vibrant and friendly. It intentionally seeks to be relevant to community mem bers and students by offering min istry opportunities in various areas, including music, audio-visual and small groups. The church also pro

congressman about bills they’d been tracking that he does not support.

“It was a conversation that I think doesn’t happen often in pol itics,” Wilder said. “It was good. It was differing ideologies and view points but very respectful and engaging. That was a tremendous experience that they had.”

vides social opportunities, such as group sports every last Sabbath of the month and going to Six Flags.

The congregation holds two Spanish services on Saturday mornings. The first begins at 9:15, and the second, which offers an English translation, begins at 11:30. Youth Sabbath School begins at 10:20. Each Saturday, there is free lunch with Latino flavor, “just like it’s done by Abuela,” according to Feli ciano. Also offered is a weekly Sat urday youth program at 6:30 p.m. with food afterward.

SuCasa has what Feliciano

Fleischmann’s staffers took the group on a tour of the Cap itol. The class was also intro duced to Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn. They visited the Library of Congress, toured memorials and museums and met with lobbyists.

In addition to meeting mem bers of the Tennessee congres

also mentioned the church’s “Din ner with the Doctor” program, a monthly meal accompanied by a presentation on a variety of health and diet-related issues; upcom ing hosting of Messiah’s Mansion, a traveling full-scale model of the Mosaic sanctuary; and partnership with SALT, an evangelism training program on Southern’s campus that worked with South Bay a cou ple years ago for an evangelistsic series. According to Arnall, South Bay is teaming up with SALT again to reach the Chattanooga area.

Arnall said each Saturday service offers reverent, in-depth worship and study with those of all ages.

“The South Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church is your fam ily away from home, and there’s always something exciting going on,” Arnall wrote. “If you want to give [through] the strength of your youth in outreach and evangelism, South Bay is your church.”

Collegedale Community Church 9305 Four Corners Place, Col legedale, Tennessee, 37363

sional delegation, the students met in small groups with rep resentatives of their home dis tricts — and in one case a sen ator — to deliberate on existing bills.

Wilder said the students researched bills of interest to them and determined the bills’

have (and are already expressing) such incredible passions and tal ents,” said Dubs. “Thanks for being the church and bringing your per spectives and wisdom to the global church community. We’d love you to be regularly involved with a local church community and would be happy if Collegedale Community was that community for you.”

Collegedale Korean SDA Church (CKSDA)

4717 Ooltewah Ringgold Road, Ooltewah, Tennessee, 37363

According to Associate Pastor Tony Dennis, a senior theology major at Southern, CKSDA offers both Korean and English Saturday programs, including a Korean Sab bath School at 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., an English Sabbath School at 10 to 11:15 a.m., a Korean worship ser vice at 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. and an English worship service at 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

referred to as a “student adoption program," which enables church families to “adopt” students and become emotional and spiritual supports for them.

“Our families treat our students as their children,” Feliciano wrote. “And [we] feed them very well.

“It doesn’t matter if you are a lib eral or conservative,” wrote Feli ciano. “ … If you believe in God or have your doubts, if you are black, white or brown, if you speak English or just hablas español, SuCasa is your home.”

South Bay SDA Church 4605 Redlands Dr., Chatta nooga, Tennessee, 37416

Pastor Jeremy Arnall shared in an email that what sets South Bay apart is its relentless focus on out reach and evangelism. The church provides many outreach oppor tunities, including door-to-door ministry and Bible studies. Arnall

According to Youth and Young Adult Pastor Nate Dubs, Col legedale Community Church has a growing young adult community, which meets every Saturday at 10 a.m. and conducts other social and service events. The church offers a streamlined contemporary worship service with a strong emphasis on Biblical preaching every Saturday morning at 9 and 11:30 a.m.

In an interview with the Accent, Dubs said he believes the church has a grace-oriented congregation that helps people of all ages grow deeper in their relationships with God.

The church’s website states, “Our Young Adults ministry welcomes ages 18-32 to join them as they grow deeper with one another and with God as they serve those around them.”

“We’re cheering you on. Students

Dennis said the church offers students a variety of opportunities to get involved with church minis tries. Most of the Sabbath School teachers are college students, for example. Students also lead out in song service and provide special music.

“For college students, there is a welcome back party, a banquet and [an] off-campus retreat each semester,” Dennis said, “plus game and gym nights throughout the year.”

He emphasized that one of the church’s main goals is to train col legiate members to be future lead ers.

“Although the sign outside may say ‘Korean Church,’ everyone who wants to experience Christ and have a safe place to grow as a person is always welcome at our church,” he said. “We want to pro vide a spiritual, fun and loving envi ronment that will help make your time at Southern one of the best times of your life.”

Amanda Blake Managing Editor

Southern Adventist University social work students meet with Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) in D.C. Wednesday, September 28, 2022 (Photo courtesy of Kristie Wilder)

See SWIP

Kathy Purnell (Photo courtesy of Kathy Purnell)

See

Railyn Duarte speaks with a congregation of attendees at Merge. Wednesday, August 28, 2022 (Photo by: Elias Zabala)

a calculated effort to detract from collective strategies to build on Southern's inclusive and diverse community of learning. “How ever, we press on,” she added.

“I see no references to any arti cles as to what diversity, equity and inclusion actually does,” she said of the commentary on Ful crum’s website. “I don't see any references to any specialists who could have perhaps helped [Ful crum7].”

Southern’s dress code. Purnell said people who love and know her as a woman of God are troubled by the statements made in the article.

In addition, the picture posted of Purnell on Fulcrum7’s website is from her private Instagram account. Fulcrum7 did not obtain permission to publish it, Purnell said. In light of the inflammatory comments made in the article, she said her family and friends have expressed some con cerns about her safety.

When asked where Fulcrum7 received information about Pur nell, Gerry Wagoner, a founder of the publication, told the Accent that “tips” and “commentary” come from friends in the Adventist church. According to Wagoner, the article was based on trends seen in the church and society.

for creating the diversity position and accepting a $50,000 grant from the Lumina Foundation to address social justice and equity issues on campus, referring to the term “equity” as “a Marxist idea.” The post also included a letter from the parent of a Southern student criti cizing the job description posted in Southern Tidings, which stated that the university was seeking a vice president “to provide leadership for areas of campus life that involve diversity,” including “race, gender, sexual orientation and identity, and international students.” The parent expressed specific concern regard ing the university’s attempt to sup port LGBTQ students.

Diller experiments with screenless classrooms

Génesis Ventura Reporter

Lisa Diller, a professor in the History and Political Studies Department, decided to exper iment with screenless class rooms this semester.

Diller asks her students not to use technology for assigments or presentations in her classes, meaning no laptops or phones. Her classes are discussion-ori ented except for one that is research-based and requires students to use laptops.

engaged in the class, and I also noticed that my students had similar challenges,” she said. “ … I saw that when students took notes on laptops, they often felt they needed to work on other things or answer emails and do research. And I have found that when I have my laptop, and I'm in a meeting with faculty or something like that, I frequently do it as well.”

She said the writer(s) of the arti cle, identified only as NewsHound on the publication’s website, never reached out to her for informa tion about her plans for the posi tion. Instead, she found out about the article from a friend who had watched some of the content pre sented as part of a sermon on You Tube.

In that video, Emmanuel Nou gaisse, speaker and director of Amazing Word Ministries, mocked Purnell’s doctoral degree. He quoted from Fulcrum7’s article and implored the congregation to “run” upon hearing the phrase “higher education.”

Despite the controversy, the uni versity remains committed to its diversity efforts, according to an email sent to the Accent on Mon day. In an official statement, Pres ident Ken Shaw noted his appreci ation for the diversity on campus and his excitement concerning Pur nell’s role in furthering awareness

“It's based on observations that are dependable,” he said of the arti cle. “In other words, there are pat terns that these things follow.”

When asked for more infor mation regarding the author and interviews or research conducted

In the end, the vice presi dent position never materialized. Instead, the university created a senior advisor of diversity position, the responsibilities of which were split between two individuals by the fall of 2019. Social work pro fessor Stephanie Guster became Senior Advisor to the President on Diversity, and theology professor Alan Parker became Advisor to the President on Sexual Integrity, which included LGBTQ issues. Both indi viduals stepped down from their positions at the end of the 2022 winter semester, and the university renamed the position the Senior Advisor to the President of Diversity and Strategic Planning.

Diller chose to try this new classroom method because she noticed she was constantly dis tracted by technology in classes.

“I found myself not fully

Diller said she has used the same teaching style for 21 years, but this new no-technology rule has provided her with a way to alter her methods. She not only tells her students to avoid using online textbooks but now pro vides textbooks for them. She provides physical copies of any content needed for class.

Diller has also changed the structures and locations of her classrooms. For example, she now seats students in a circle format facing each other.

“[I] picked classrooms as much as I could that have win dows and natural light coming in so that it felt more natural,” she said.

Katie Hallock, senior gen

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to write the article, Wagoner responded no comment.

Rachel Williams-Smith, dean of the School of Journalism and Com munication, expressed concern about what she described as “mis leading information” in the arti cle. She said very few facts were quoted, and some were distorted.

For example, Fulcrum7 refers to the senior advisor to the president on diversity and strategic planning as a new position. However, the job

Without that context and the rea sons why students and faculty ini tially called for the diversity position, Fulcrum7 is doing readers a disser vice, according to Williams-Smith, and not telling them the full story.

“What Fulcrum 7 is doing is inflat ing, concluding and putting things together without ever checking to see what the truth is and how it's being lived here,” Williams-Smith said. “... [These are] their own con clusions, conjecture, assumptions

she chronicles her own experience growing up in an environment of constant controversy and condem nation and the harm it caused.

“When you take religion to an unbalanced extreme, not centered in Jesus Christ, not with His Spirit, not for the purposes of the King dom and glory, not in a way that builds the Kingdom of Heaven but actually sitting on a pedestal point ing out the sins of those around you without care, thought or com passion … that is not godly behav ior,” she said.

Williams-Smith added that indi viduals who feel the need to call out the sins and shortcomings of others often feel they are doing the right thing.

Shaw explained in his statement to the Accent that the university plans to “address opportunity gaps to better help each student reach his or her full potential.”

One example he mentioned is the institution’s desire to increase college completion rates for His panic, Black and first-generation students.

“Understanding these opportu nity gaps, doing research on best practices, and then implementing and assessing these practices will increase our students’ chances for success,” he wrote. “... As I think about diversity, I think of God’s sec ond great commandment of lov ing our neighbor as ourselves and

and change at Southern. He also referred to the university’s Num ber 2 diversity ranking among 136 regional universities in the South by U.S. News and World Report, as well as its distinction as the only “Hispanic-serving Institution” rec ognized in the state of Tennessee.

“One of the many things I love about Southern is the diversity that exists on campus,” Shaw wrote in the statement. “We have a diversity of academic programs, a diversity of faculty and staff, and a diversity of students from many backgrounds, all of which provide a rich educational setting for our students to learn and a wonderful environment where employees can work.

“I was very excited when Dr. Kathy Purnell applied for the position of special advisor to the president on diversity and strategic planning as she came highly recommended by two Adventist college presidents,” Shaw continued. “She is highly qual ified in helping Southern improve how we think and work with the wonderful students with whom God has entrusted us.”

The Fulcrum7 Tactics

Along with the controversial arti cle, Fulcrum7 posted a photo of Pur nell wearing earrings and quoted

Southern Accent

The Accent encourages readers to write articles and voice their opinions. However, the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Accent, Southern Adventist University or the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

For any questions, comments and article submission information, email the editor at acrosby@southern.edu

For all advertising inquiries, email studentadmgr@southern.edu.

was actually created four years ago, although by a different name.

The Racial Context

The article also does not mention the circumstances that led to the creation of the diversity position, which, as reported in a previous Accent article, included racist slurs and comments posted on social media platforms Yik Yak and Snap chat in 2016 and 2018 during Black Christian Union (BCU) Weekend at Southern.

At the time, some students and faculty called for the university to create a vice president position to address diversity issues on cam pus. In response, the university released a video with then-Pres ident David Smith apologizing to the Black community for the university’s history of not doing enough to foster racial harmony and the mistreatment of Black students on campus over the years. He also pledged to create the vice president of diversity posi tion.

In 2018, Southern published an ad for the Vice President of Unity and Inclusion position in South ern Tidings. In response, Fulcrum7 posted an article on its website titled “An Open Letter to Southern Adventist University.” In that article, the writer chastised the university

and condemnations based on nothing more than what is in their own view, and their facts aren't even right.

The Righteous Indignation

As someone raised living off the grid with parents indoctrinated by extreme conservative ideology, Williams-Smith said she detects extremism in the harsh and judgemental commentary on Fulcrum’s website.

In her book “Born Yesterday: The True Story of a Girl Born in the 20th Century but Raised in the 19th,”

“But there are times when you see the damage they're doing to someone else,” she said. “It's appro priate then to say, ‘You've gone too far; you need to stop. You hurt someone unnecessarily, and this is not right.’ And that's what gives me the willingness to speak up now.”

The Plans Going Forward

According to the Southern press release announcing Purnell’s hire, Pur nell holds a doctorate in education and professional studies from Capella University. She also has master’s degrees in social work and instruc tional design/online technology.

“Purnell’s extensive expertise includes providing strategic lead ership in shaping and defining an organization’s inclusion, diversity, belonging, and equity values by creating initiatives that advance such values for all members of an organization,” the university’s press release stated. “Most recently she served as chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at Pacific Union College in California. No stranger to Southern Adventist University, she has served as an adjunct instructor in the School of Social Work.”

how Jesus reached out to a variety of people from a variety of back grounds and treated each of them as His children.

“We desire to do the same at Southern, recognizing each stu dent as a beloved child of God,” he added, “helping them be successful in completing college, and encour aging them to have a closer rela tionship with Jesus so their lives will be transformed forever.”

Purnell said she is excited about the inclusion initiatives at South ern and looking forward to cele brating the diversity already on campus. She believes the inflam matory article and sermon about her position only underscore the value and importance of diver sity professionals within organi zations.

“God has always led me," Pur nell said. "He has always ordered my my steps and I am confident that He will continue to lead me in, through and beyond this seea son."

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Some students and faculty called for the university to cre ate a vice president position to address diversity issues on campus.

Despite the contro versy, the university remains commit ted to its diversity efforts.

"You've gone too far; you need to stop. You hurt someone unnec essarily, and this is not right.’ And that's what gives me the willing ness to speak up now."

Elise Deschamps taking notes (Illustration by: Mila Bales)

"As I think about diversity, I think of God's second great commandment."

strengths and limitations as written. In their small groups, the students crafted one to two page policy briefs with sugges tions on how to improve the bills. Some students even can vassed in the D.C. area for about four hours using their policy briefs.

Other students agreed with Wolf and began discussing how surprised they were by how informed and prepared they felt talking with the politicians. Wilder jumped in and said social workers are experts in their area and know more than legis lators on certain topics.

our country,” she said. “But what I found is that our govern ment really is for the people, and they want to listen to you and hear what you have to say, even if we did disagree on cer tain topics.”

“School Social Workers Improv

After her debrief, Wilder asked the students what the experience was like for them.

Isabella Eklund quickly piped up and said, “Probably one of the best trips I’ve gone on with Southern.”

Resounding nods and sounds of agreement circled the room. “Oh, absolutely,” someone added.

“For me, it really made a differ ence because now I feel comfort able meeting with [legislators],” Alyssa Wolf said. “I feel like I can go to my home state and sched ule a meeting with a representa tive or senator and talk to them. [The trip] definitely changed them from being the person that is out there on TV to someone you can actually talk to. You have that right because that’s their job. Repre sentatives aren’t celebrities.”

CLASSROOMS continued from page 2

eral studies major, shared her thoughts on Diller's new approach.

“Diller’s classroom experi ment has been a successful endeavor in creating student presence," Hallock wrote. "The lack of technology, and subse quently lack of multitasking, has created an environment of rich conversation and student engagement.

“I dislike technology as a learning tool, as helpful as it can be," Hallock continued. "Since so much distraction and mul titasking [is] embedded into our modern western culture, this class has provided a muchneeded reprieve from this sort of scattered thinking. ”

Diller said she surveyed her students at midterm and will survey them again at the end of the semester. Thus far, 85% of the surveyed students had a positive attitude and 15% were negative.

Diller expects the experiment to help decrease her use of tech nology and thinks it will benefit the students as well. She hopes to continue this experiment in the future and adjust according to survey results.

“Most lawmakers know about 5% of the 200 bills they’re spon soring,” she explained. “They cannot be a general expert in everything. … The number of people who do not take advan tage of this system that is designed for you to have access to [lawmakers] is mind-blow ing.”

When the Accent asked the students how the trip differed from their expectations, Eklund said she was surprised by the demographic of the staff.

“I was expecting Capitol Hill and that whole realm of D.C. to be filled with, like, slow-paced, older adults,” she said, her classmates laughing around her. “In reality, it was fast-paced 20-year-olds. … They’re like my age.”

Sierra Dunzweiler said she expected to feel intimidated and incompetent despite the class’ hours of preparation, but she felt like she made a differ ence on the trip.

“It’s a lot to think about going in and trying to meet with some body that’s essentially running

Dunzweiler and Wolf stud ied and drafted a brief on bill H.R. 4898, “HALT Campus Sex ual Violence Act of 2021.” They met with some representatives sponsoring the bill with recom mendations to strengthen it but also had a goal of finding more Republicans to sponsor it to make it more bipartisan. During the class’ conversation with Fleischmann, who is a Republi can that does not sponsor the bill, they handed him their brief.

“He looked at it and was like,

ing Student Success Act.” Gibbs explained that an act passed in June addressed some of the concerns the bill focuses on; however, the act did not address schools of social work and how they impact the mental health of students. They met with lob byists and staff to present their recommendations.

“One of my highlights was also being able to talk to Rep resentative Fleischmann. … Get ting to explain how social work, specifically in a school setting, really contributes to the men tal health of students … and that we’re important was really cool,” Gibbs said.

The students responded with a loud “Yes!” after the Accent asked if the trip helped shape their career goals. Many expressed interest in pursuing internships in D.C.

country specifically … kindness isn’t shown to everybody,” said Abigail Segovia-Santos. “ … We want to advocate for kindness and people’s rights, and I feel like those two go very closely together. And if we’re not doing that, what are we doing as Christians?”

Wolf said Jesus wasn’t afraid to shake things up and call out bad practices, so it’s often okay to step on people’s toes within the government. Sarah Kole added that Jesus spoke up for marginalized people.

“I feel like for me, I have some kind of duty [to say], ‘If I see this as a Christian, I can’t just sit back and let something happen if I know that people are being treated unfairly,” Kaitlyn Deaux added.

‘This is a really important topic. Thank you for bringing this to my attention,” Dunzweiler said. “ … He sponsors like 100 differ ent bills and doesn’t know all of the ones that are out there … and so far there has only been one Republican on our bill. So just getting it to another Repub lican and possibly having the opportunity for him to take a look at it and support it meant a lot to me.”

Emily Raimundo and Laura Gibbs studied bill H.R. 7037,

Wilder added that the mem bers of this specific SWIP class have uniquely strong passion, and the group had more meet ings with staff and legislators on this trip than SWIP students normally have.

When Wilder questioned the class on what the government’s representative system means to them from a Christian perspec tive, many students spoke up.

“One of the biggest things that Christians are supposed to be is kind, and I feel like in this

Wilder explained that activ ism and advocacy are differ ent, and while activism has its place, Jesus was a true advocate because he built relationships and backed his firm statements with knowledge and kindness.

Most of the students said the trip helped them feel ready to apply policy advocacy in their careers. Eklund described the experience as “empowering.”

“To hear you all say that makes my whole year,” Wilder responded.

'A Celebration of Life' exhibit opens in John C. Williams Gallery

Alana Crosby Editor-in-Chief

On Thursday, Oct. 6, the John C. Williams Gallery, located on the sec ond floor of Brock Hall, opened its doors with a new exhibit by artist Myung Joo Oh Shin. Titled “A Cele bration of Life,” the exhibit includes a number of Shin’s works with cor relating Bible verses. The exhibit is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free of cost.

According to Shin’s artist bio, she was born during the Korean War of 1950. She and her husband moved to the United States to pursue grad uate degrees from Andrews Uni versity; however, her doctoral stud

ies were left uncompleted as she became increasingly busy with the responsibilities of being a pastor’s wife and mother.

“Her unfulfilled personal dreams were replaced with painting,” the bio stated. “Her artistic journey was a product of surrendered expec tations, prayer and wrestling with God.”

Art continued to be a blessing to Shin after her husband lost a bat tle with cancer in 2004, the bio fur ther explained. She used art to cope with her grief and loneliness.

“My art is about celebrating life, the beauty, or interplay, of light, as a means of learning to accept joyous

and painful moments equally,” Shin wrote in her artist statement. “Art is an exercise of expressing the calling that God has for each one of us.”

Anaya Miller, sophomore fine arts major, enjoyed the artist’s use of light and brightness, as well as the prominence of her brush strokes. Miller, who is considering a career in art and teaching, com mented on her appreciation for bringing art onto Southern Adven tist University’s campus.

“In one of my art classes, we're reading about the importance of art in a Christian's life,” Miller said.

“We learned that some Christians think that making any kind of art is

like making an idol. But creation, art and beauty are very important to God. He is a Creator, as we learn in the first verse of the Bible, and He made us to create as well. I think it's great that Southern helps us grow our artistic strengths while keeping a Christian worldview in the picture as well. It's helping me figure out where to go with the content of my art. I'm learning to create artworks that glorify God, the Master Cre ator.”

Shin, who also recognizes the connection between artistry, spir ituality and Christian education, according to her bio, presented a solo exhibition in Seoul, Korea, in 2000 and raised about $28,000 for 10 Seventh-day Adventist elemen tary schools. In addition, Shin uses funds from the sale of her artwork to help worthy theology students through school.

“We are God’s work of art, and we do not belong in the dark,” Shin wrote in her statement. “By hold ing God’s hand, in faith, we can celebrate the good days but also walk through the darkest of valleys. We must allow His light to shine through us that we might become His masterpieces forged in His image.”

Commissioners approve proposed development of Hidden Hills property

Amanda Blake Managing Editor

During a commission meeting Monday night, the Collegedale Board of Commissioners voted to rezone parts of Edgmon Road and approve Empire Communities’ proposed unit development (PUD) overlay for certain properties on the road, including the land cur rently housing Hidden Hills Farm and Saddle Club. The votes were unanimous for both ordinances despite numerous Collegedale res idents who spoke in opposition at the meeting.

Citizens voiced concerns about traffic, flooding, high lot densi ties, fire safety and the chance of endangered species on the prop erty. Some said they felt unheard by city leaders.

Two Southern Adventist Univer sity employees spoke: Zach Gray, professor in the School of Visual Art and Design, and Eve Knight, admin istrative assistant for Academic Administration.

“I would like to highlight the unin tended consequences of dismiss ing the concerns of a large number of citizens,” Gray said.

Gray also expressed concerns about how the proposed land use has been calculated, a worry shared by Knight at the meeting and explained further in a previous Accent article.

“I’ve been listening, and it seems like you guys haven’t been,” Knight said to the commissioners. “You have hundreds of people who voiced concerns, and there has been zero discussion on some

things that you can change, like lowering the number of homes.”

Austin Miller, a Cleveland res ident who presented a petition against the planned development at the Sept. 12 Municipal Planning Commission meeting, brought his petition, consisting of 3,530 signa tures, before the commissioners. He said 1,696 of those who signed live within a 45-minute driving radius of Hidden Hills.

“This is not a community in a tizzy because they are afraid of change,” Miller said. “This is a well-informed and educated community looking

to put a stop to the pillaging of this land.”

Mike Price, MAP Engineers owner and Empire’s representative, rose to speak at the conclusion of the pub lic hearing. First, he responded to an individual’s statements that the PUD violates FEMA regulations and fire code by explaining how, accord ing to his knowledge as a registered engineer in Tennessee, both state ments are wrong. He added that the development plans have been emailed to Collegedale’s fire mar shall and meet his requirements.

In response to residents’ con

cerns about density, he said the PUD’s density rests at 1.25 units per acre and thus corresponds with what he believes Collegedale wants to see. He continued to respond to multiple community concerns, including those about traffic, flood ing and endangered species, stat ing that the developers have taken all these things into account and will continue to do so if relevant infor mation is revealed in the future.

After Lamb closed the public hearing and the commissioners addressed their own questions, she thanked the audience for the messages she received, most of which indicated feelings against the PUD. She said the Chastain family, who owns the land to be rezoned, wishes to change their land from agriculture to business, and the housing addition will provide qual ity housing.

“We live in a changing world, and change cannot be totally avoided even though we would like that at times,” Lamb said. “It may not go the way you want it. It may not go the way I want it. But I’m just asking for your understanding.”

Engineer Mike Price speaks with Collegedale Board of Commissioners, led by Mayor Katie Lamb (pictured middle right). Monday, October 17, 2022 (Photo by: Adam De Lisser)

Myung Joo Oh Shin bows her head for prayer before her art exhibit is opened in Brock Hall. Thursday, October 6, 2022 (Photo by: Preston Waters)

"Probably one of the best trips I’ve gone on with Southern."

"What I found is our government really is for the people."

423 Night Market

Tristan Deschamps serves grilled cheese from his booth, known as Francois Fromage.

Saturday, October 8, 2022. (Photo by: Ronnel Cabacungan)

Kyle Salas and Wonderful Tinumgki serve freshly made empandas of different varieties for those who stopped by their table.

Saturday, October 8, 2022. (Photo by: Adam De Lisser)

Katherine Arrowo, Josh Callwood, Rence Arrowo, Danny Oh and Justice Welch perfom "Talking to the Moon" by Bruno Mars.

Saturday, October 8, 2022.

(Photo by: Ronnell Cabacungan)

Katherine Arroyo sings in front of the growing audience of listeners. Saturday, October 8, 2022. (Photo by: Adam De Lisser)

Nestor Amparo is just one of the members of the band who played at 423 Night Market Saturday, October 8, 2022.

by: Adam De Lisser)

Reanna Bautista and Lana Aiko prepare authentic Filipino food for the Kapamilya booth.

2022.

by: Ronnell Cabacungan)

MENTAL

What you need to know about emotional regulation

Kacie Shelton Contributor

Emotional regulation, which is one’s ability to modulate an emotion or set of emotions, is something most of us have heard of but not necessar ily mastered, according to the American Psychological Asso ciation. As we age and mature, emotional regulation may be come easier. We are able to use coping skills and identify emo tional regulation strategies more easily as we gain life ex perience.

Our brains are designed so that when something traumatic or scary happens to us, chemicals are released to trigger responses. These responses are hardwired for survival and protection, and it’s important to understand how our bodies generate them.

When a traumatic event oc curs, the sympathetic nervous system is triggered, releasing epinephrine and norepineph rine, which are responsible for increased heart rate and other responses to stress and fear. About 10 seconds after this ini tial response, the Hypothalam ic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) begins to function. The HPA axis is described as the in teraction between the hypo thalamus (located above the brainstem), pituitary gland (lo cated above the brainstem) and adrenal glands (located on top of the kidneys).

The increased level of nor epinephrine causes the hypo thalamus to activate corticotro pin-releasing hormone (CRH) in the bloodstream, which then activates the sympathetic ner vous system. CHI also begins the release of the adrenocorti cotropic hormone (ACTH) into

the bloodstream, which goes to the adrenal cortex (outer layer of the adrenal glands). ACTH blocks receptors on the top of the adrenal cortices, which trig gers the release of cortisol.

Cortisol is what helps us han dle stressful events that last more than a few minutes by ele vating blood pressure, increas ing cardiac output and giv ing more blood to the skeletal muscles. Physical and psychi atric complications can occur when there is too much HPA axis stimulation. Some physi cal complications include infec tion, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Psychiatric complications in clude depression, other mood disorders and memory issues.

On top of knowing how reac tions in your body work, it’s im portant to understand how to regulate them. You can start by identifying what emotions you

are feeling. If you are having a hard time identifying the emo tion, the six basic emotions are a good place to start. They in clude happy, sad, fear, anger, disgust and surprise. For ex ample, you may be sad you got a grade lower than expected on a test because you felt you studied but still didn’t get the answers correct. Looking at a feelings wheel can help, as there are many words to de scribe some of the underlying emotions. Try to examine the deeper implications of a feel ing and why the event or situa tion led to those feelings.

Another way to regulate your emotions is learning to re spond proactively (ex.: have a conversation) rather than re actively (ex.: yelling). Respond ing proactively means you have put thought into what you will do and have done your best to prepare for responses to spe

cific events or thoughts. Think ing through your options is a great way to regulate your emotions. Once you regulate your body’s response to the stress, you can then move on to problem-solving.

Think through possible re sponses and which one will get you closer to where you want to be, considering the conse quences or rewards of each op tion. Last, push pause when you need to. Sometimes we all need a minute to take a step back from the situation and gather our thoughts or cool down.

Next time your body starts responding to a stressful event, you will know what is happen ing to your body and can use the tips listed above to regulate your emotions and respond in an effective, appropriate way.

Tennessee Volunteers upset Alabama Crimson Tide

Jacob Nevis Sports Editor

Over the weekend, Tennessee college football fans witnessed a huge win. With a final score of 5249, the Tennessee Volunteers, led by Quarterback Hendon Hooker, pulled off a crazy upset over the Alabama Crimson Tide. Tennes see hadn’t won a match against Alabama since 2006.

Hooker put on a show for fans, completing 21 passes for 385 yards. He threw for five touch downs while also throwing only

one interception. All five of those touchdown passes were thrown to wide receiver Jalin Hyatt. Hy att had a monster performance, catching six passes for 207 yards on top of those five receiving touchdowns.

Bryce Young, quarterback for Alabama and last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, was recovering from a shoulder injury that pre vented him from playing in the previous week’s game. Young

had a pretty solid performance against Tennessee, however, completing 35 passes for 455 yards and two touchdown passes. With under a minute left, Ala bama had a chance to take the lead with a 50-yard field goal, but Alabama’s kicker, Will Reichard, missed. Tennessee then drove 45 yards in only 13 seconds to help set up a 40-yard field goal for kicker Chase McGrath.

After a wobbly kick by McGrath

right at the end of regulation, Ten nessee took the victory. Fans imme diately stormed the field to celebrate the remarkable win by their football team. They didn’t stop there.

Fans proceeded to take the goal posts from the stadium and march them around the town of Knoxville. The posts eventually found their way into the Tennessee River.

After the remarkable win, the previously sixth-ranked Tennes see team was able to move up to

the third-ranked school in the na tion. Alabama, previously ranked third, moved down to six.

The win allowed Tennessee to stay undefeated, while the loss was the first for Alabama. Ten nessee will play TN-Martin this weekend followed by Kentucky on Oct. 29. They will then have a matchup with Georgia, last year’s national championship win ner and the current first-ranked school.

Editor’s note: The following article is written in partnership with Counseling Services and the Southern Accent.

(Photo sourced from: UnSplash)

It’s time to move on from your personality crush

Xavier Quiles Opinion Editor

I hate personality tests. At first, they look so nice and in viting, almost as if I’m being offered airplane sprite and a wonderful Biscoff cookie on a flight. I get so excited because finally, I’ll be able to under stand myself!

I take the test, as giddy as when I got LEGOs for Christ mas as a kid. And then, when I finally get the result, I end up stuck with an existential crisis for weeks. Sound familiar?

But unlike LEGOs, Biscoff cookies, and airplane Sprite, personality tests can spell doom for someone’s concep tion of self. But why? It’s just a test; shouldn’t we know better? Well, there’s a certain market ing that is used in the majority of these tests that many people don’t realize.

The two most popular per sonality tests are the En neagram test and the Myers Briggs test, specifically the variant called “16 Personal ities.” If you go to different websites that advertise these tests, all you’ll find them say ing is that you’ll get accurate results. There is no acknowl edgement or disclaimer an nouncing the fact that these tests do not account for the full sum of someone’s person ality or how they think. Instead of advertising these tests as a way to assist and augment someone’s understanding of themselves, they advertise these tests as the perfect way to get a complete understand ing of yourself.

But people aren’t dumb (hopefully), and there’s a cer tain level of nuance that is usually assumed when taking

any personality test. So, why is it still emotionally confusing for some people (like me) when they get their results? Well, the answer might lie in human psy chology.

As humans, we tend to want Nuance frustrates people; we want things to be under standable and un der our control.

things to be simple. In an arti cle by NBC News, Pamela Rut ledge, director of the Media Psychology Research Center, states that, “People remain a mystery to themselves as well as others — and they are al ways curious to get a bit of in sight as to what they’re really like.”

Nuance frustrates people; we want things to be understand able and under our control.

So, we go to personality tests, not because we want to know the actual truth but because we want an echo chamber. We want the way we under stand ourselves to be validated by logic or science so that we feel good about ourselves. But when the result comes, and it gives us something different than we were expecting … oh what a sad day indeed.

So, how do we stop getting

our hearts broken when we’re rejected by our personality crush? How can we move on?

The answer is simple; we need to have enough confidence in ourselves to realize that we do know ourselves, even if we don’t. We are complex crea tures. Maybe we are wrong; maybe we are right. Maybe the personality test is somewhat right, or maybe it’s malarkey. But our value doesn’t change.

RELIGION

A personal testimony: taking a leap of faith

Edward Backer Contributor

Neither Adventism nor its ed ucational system meant much to me while I was growing up. Despite being raised by Adven tist parents, I didn’t go to Ad ventist schools, so my only in teractions with other Adventist youth took place in Pathfinders.

But by the time I graduated from high school, my Pathfind er club had dwindled from 30 youths to only a couple.The lack of a spiritual community with others my age led me to feel ings of loneliness.

Nevertheless, God was with me. Near the beginning of quarantine in 2020, I became involved with an online youth group called Amazing Facts Youth. I was ecstatic because I had found a community of youth committed to growing their faith. But while I valued the time I spent with them online, I craved having such a communi ty in person.

I truly began taking my faith seriously in the summer of 2020.

The following August, I started attending Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) with the hope of getting involved in the local church and meeting other Ad ventist youth there. But my hopes were quickly shattered when I encountered a severe lack of young adults at the church.

After spending two years at RIT, I had yet to meet another Adventist student. My desire to have a thriving, local com munity of Adventist youth was still strong, but I felt trapped with my choice of school. I was depressed, earning a degree I didn’t want at a school I no lon ger wanted to attend. Around this time, my long-distance girl friend decided that she would

commit to Southern Adventist University after her year abroad in France at Collonges Campus Adventiste du Saléve.

On a whim, I decided to look up Southern. Since my mother studied there years ago, I was already somewhat familiar with

the name, but what I found was not what I expected. While watching the recorded vespers and reading about cam pus activities and LifeGroups, I heard a soft voice in my lone ly bedroom that said, “This is where you belong.” It was

enough to make me burst into tears. After taking some time to gather myself, I immediately began praying about transfer ring schools.

I knew that my father would be firmly against making such a change, especially as I

would go from studying bio medical engineering at RIT to psychobiology at Southern. Still, I put the situation in the Lord’s hands.

My mother, girlfriend and mentor all helped me pray, but after getting shut down by my father time and time again, I gave up. I was angry at God for seemingly denying what I thought He wanted for me.

To make matters worse, my girlfriend and I broke up a few months later, but she was still planning to attend Southern. I was overwhelmed with depres sion and had a choice between staying at RIT, where I wasn’t happy, or withdrawing and not having the support (financial ly or emotionally) to transfer schools. The only thing I could do was pray and try to believe that God wanted me at South ern.

So, after a month of praying and mulling it over, I took a leap of faith: I withdrew from RIT and committed to South ern, knowing that God would guide and protect me no mat ter what. And, by a miracle, my dad’s negative stance on my decision changed overnight to the point where he became my most prominent supporter as I transferred schools.

Looking back, I can see how everything from the break up to my dad’s opposition al stance all helped prepare me to take that leap of faith. God had to make me uncom fortable for me to fully trust His plan for my life. And after being here since SmartStart, I can firmly say that Southern is where I’m meant to be.

(Image sourced from: UnSplash)

Edward Backer (Photo courtesy of: Edward Backer)

How the Human Performance Lab can benefit your lifestyle

Jacob Nevis Sports Editor

The Human Performance Lab, a room equipped with vari ous machines for students to learn more about their physical well-being, is run by the School of Health and Kinesiology at Southern Adventist University.

The lab, located in the Hulsey Wellness Center, is open to stu dents and the public.

Darin Bissell, Hulsey’s facili ties manager, talked about the lab’s focus in an interview with the Accent.

“Students are able to get the resting metabolic test, a tread mill or bike threshold test and then the bod pod test,” Bissel said. “Students get a pretest, and then eight weeks later

they will get a post test. These three tests help students start to understand their health bet ter and teach them how to stay healthy.”

The lab, which opened in 2008, has been run by Harold Mayer, a now retired professor who taught in the School of Health and Kinesiology, since its exis tence.

In an interview with the Ac cent, Mayer described the tests and their benefits.

The first, the resting metabol ic test, helps show how many calories one burns when they are resting. This is important because it can help people un derstand the calorie outtake of

their bodies, according to May er. This can help people make a diet plan to either help them lose weight, gain weight or stay at a stable weight.

“These three tests help students start to understand their health better and teach them how to stay healthy.”

The second test is the treadmill or bike threshold test, which helps reveal a person’s “sweet spot” for exercising. The sweet spot allows a person to exer cise at an ideal rate and for the

exercise to be most effective.

The third and final test of fered by the lab is the bod pod test. This test helps people see their body fat percentage. It also shows the person’s muscle and fat mass.

Mayer has been training a new professor, Heather Neal, how to run the lab. Neal will soon take over the lab and help students use it.

Arlene Leavitt, office manag er for the School of Health and Kinesiology, said in an inter view that a number of classes in the school use the lab. One of those classes is personal conditioning.

Logan Cooper, junior business

administration major, took personal conditioning in the winter of 2022. He described how the lab helped him.

“The lab was really beneficial to me last semester,”Cooper said. “It helped me learn how to exercise more efficiently and helped me understand more about the sweet spot. I think that it’s important for students to use the lab to help them un derstand the sweet spot and help further their knowledge of their own health.”

Students and employees can schedule free testing with Neal by filling out a form at south ern.edu/wellness.

SOCIAL

Dear Kevin

Kevin Southern Accent Mascot

Dear Kevin:

Should I watch the Jeffrey Dahmer series?

Dear Critical Consumer:

As a historian, I cannot deny the appeal of such a show. How ever, it is in your best interest to seriously consider the impact of the show before partaking.

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is based on the true events of the serial killer who took the lives of 17 people (that we know of). But the show is a dramati zation of his life, and in some unavoidable ways, this glorifies the murderer rather than uplift ing the stories of the victims.

Family members of Dahmer’s victims have spoken out against the show and the emotional tur moil it has brought them. The Guardian calls the show almost unwatchable and “queasy” due to the cinematic nuances that dramatize the murders. In the article, a mother of one of the victims even called the portrayal of her son’s experience inaccurate.

History is important. Howev er, there may be more mentally healthy ways to study it. Read ing, for example, may provide

more accurate information without the creative license used in film-making. The im ages from written words may not stay with you as long as the frightening images in the Net flix series.

Before watching the show, do a little research to help you de cide if it is really what you want to fill your mind with. You might also want to take a peak at Phi lippians 4:8…whatever is lovely, think on these things.

Dear Kevin:

If animals could talk, which would be the rudest?

Dear Confuzzled Collegiate:

As a duck I feel very qualified to speak on this subject. The rudest animal by far is the felis catus. Not only are they rude and inconsiderate, they are dan gerous and should be avoided at all costs. However, I know that some people are quite attached to these repugnant beasts.

As I was researching this top ic I happened upon an article that listed ducks as the rudest animal. The ignorance is truly appalling.

Equipment in the Human Performance Lab (Photo by: Mila Bales)

#SAUlife

For

joshpong Cloud 9

isabellewhite feels like fall

Joshua Pongsitiphon

Isabelle WhiteJ I

nyah.ks nature = soul food

bigben_olivier subliminally

Nyah Banks

Benjamin OlivierN B

lesieli_ as my personal photographer Shanthi always says, “trust me, I have a vision.”

jadengibbs_ so excited it’s finally sweater weather

Lesieli Savelio

Jaden GibbsL J

5:00 p.m. 3-on-3 Basketball Captain’s Meeting, Hulsey Wellness Center

Senate, Bietz Center

p.m.

SA Smile Initiative 11:00 a.m. Convocation: GYCSE, Chris Holland, Collegedale Church 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. #PurpleThursday, Bietz Center 7:30 p.m. General Recitals, Wood Hall Ackerman Auditorium

Payday: Hourly/Students Floor Hockey Sign-Ups Begin 6:57 p.m. Sunset 7:30 p.m. Vespers, GYCSE: Chris Holland, Collegedale Church 8:45 p.m. Afterglow, Collegedale Church South Atrium

9:00 a.m. Adoration Worship, Collegedale Church 9:00 a.m. Connect Worship, Student Park Goliath Wall 11:45 a.m. Renewal Worship, Collegedale Church 11:45 a.m. Merge Worship, Lynn Wood Chapel 7:00 p.m. Evensong, Collegedale Church 7:30 p.m. 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, Iles PE Center

Weekly

TODAY |19 Kendall Deaton Dara Domingo Kelsie Fairbanks Sungrae Kim Auriana Toews Andrew Wantz Erika Wiebe

Thursday |20 Ronn Agustin Caleb Asmare Candace A. Brown Rachel Cooper Thomas Copley Tina Duncan Lindsey Howard Ashley Hunte Michelle Johnson Joseph Lim Madi Rodriguez Conner Schell Friday |21 Greta Baraks Conner Fortune Jovana Frans

TJ Harrington-Qahhaar Michelle Herrera Martha Jean Jangdhar rie Lauren Kim Mile Pinero Sherrydon C. Pringle Cindy Simba Cayla Vito Makena Vonbergen Saturday |22 Anish Bachan Olin Blodgett Jenna Comeau Candace Drake Caleb Hoffman Caleb Jackson Hailley Revollo Oswin Shin Sunday |23 Leo Aguilera Marjorie E. Brown Cozette Cassidy Michael Francis Abby Haslam

Cameron Kirstein Evelin Velinova Amelia Zimmerman Monday |24 Nezza Agudelos Jonathan Castro Nathan Chung Kassidi Clark Mark Granados

Luttrell

Miranda Kennedy Eden Sampson Mark Szanto

Tejeda Arturo Vidal-Aquino Tuesday

Burgess Michelle Jayne Dale Ethan Jones Ilianie Maurelus

Rendon

Simamora

Urbin

9:30 a.m. Senior Exit Exams, Bietz Center 3rd Floor Testing Room

SA Spirit Week Senior Exit Exams 7:30 p.m. General Recitals, Wood Hall Acker man Auditorium

SA Announcements

Announcements:

SA Spirit Week is next week Oct. 24 to 28! Show your school spirit and be sure to tag SA on Instagram. Details soon to come! Campus Safety will be teaching all who are interested various self-defense tactics. It will be held in the Grid at Bietz next Thurs day (10/27) at 7 p.m.

Check out our website! www.southern-accent.org

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