Mental Health | 7
Sports | 7
Opinion | 8
Religion | 8
How hydration boosts mental wellness
Stars shine at NBA All-Star Weekend
An open letter to SAU Confessions
Surrender is a place: Welcome home
February 21, 2024 Collegedale, Tennessee
Southern Accent
Vol. 79 Issue 18
The student voice since 1926
Southern Village policy changes University’s partnership spark backlash and compromise with Papa
Johns yields over $32,000 for student scholarships Eliana Morales Staff Writer
Students currently applying to live in Southern Village, which includes Upper Stateside apartments (above), Southern Village Proper and Spalding Cove, face new application and residential policies. Friday, September 29, 2023. (Photo by Mila Bales)
Marian Polanco Reporter On the first of the month, John Willis, associate dean of men, announced via email a series of Southern Village policy changes that sparked backlash from students. Two weeks later, students received an email from the Southern Village dean and housing team announcing adjustments to the initial changes, which the team called a “fair compromise between your concerns and the efficiency of our program.” One of the changes listed in Willis’ initial email was a new applica-
tion process based on class standing. Willis wrote that housing groups could not combine students with different class standings; they should either consist of all seniors or all juniors. Another change was that all-senior groups would enjoy new incentives, such as the elimination of traditional nightly checks. Instead, wellness checks would occur at varying times three nights a week. Moreover, seniors could host mixed company in their apartments until midnight, as opposed to the previous curfew of 11 p.m., and are no longer required to obtain weekend or overnight leaves.
A third change eliminates the eligibility of students 23 years or older to live in Southern Village. Instead, they can live off campus or in 23+ campus housing, if there is availability. In response to student concerns regarding the class standing application policy, which was altered slightly to place mixed groups as lowest-priority applicants, the Southern Village dean and housing team introduced a compromise, allowing more flexibility in group composition. The new placement structure now prioritizes groups in the following order:
(1) all seniors, (2) three seniors and one junior, (3) two juniors and two seniors, (4) one senior and three juniors and (5) all juniors. In addition, the application deadline was extended to Feb. 26. When the Accent attempted to contact the deans in charge of housing to gain more insight into these changes, they were unavailable. One student who took action due to her frustration with the new application process was junior English literature major MadiSee VILLAGE on page 2
Southern Adventist University’s partnership with Papa Johns gives students discounted pizza and has resulted in over $32,000 in contributions toward an endowed scholarship. According to Lucas Patterson, associate director of strategic partnerships at Southern, the conversation about collaborating with a local business See PAPA JOHNS on page 2
Collegedale News on page 5 Collegedale Commission denies rezoning Bell Farms
Black History Month article on page 9 Underrated Black cultural and historical figures
Student entrepreneurs to compete for Graduate program enrollment takes a dip $10,000 at Hyve Creators conference Amy Mejias Reporter Statistics show that while Southern Adventist University’s undergraduate programs have seen a steady increase in recent years, Southern’s graduate programs have experienced a decline in enrollment. Chris Hansen, director of Institutional Research and Planning at Southern, said this downward trend in total graduate student enrollment appears to have bottomed out in Fall 2021 and remained flat for the past couple of years. Total graduate student enrollment was 435 during the Fall 2017 semester, but by Fall 2023, it had decreased to 328. “While COVID-19 may have played some role in the trends, it appears that enrollment growth in three academic areas has been a factor as well,” Hansen said. “Graduate programs in the School of Education, Psychology, and Counseling [as well as] the School of Religion and the School of Computing have experienced enrollment growth that has offset declines in other areas. This has resulted in a more balanced distribution of graduate enrollment across campus.” Furthermore, graduate programs saw a noteworthy spike in numbers this winter, according to Laurie Gauthier, director of
Graduate Marketing and Enrollment Management. This semester’s graduate enrollment has increased “not only above our Winter 2023 enrollment, but over the Fall 2023 enrollment,” Gauthier said. “That’s huge, as historically, enrollments drop between fall and winter semesters, and we’re thanking God for the increase.”
"During the pandemic, all in-person recruiting opportunities disappeared, and some are just now returning to in-person events." As for the more widespread decrease, however, Gauthier also cited the pandemic as a cause. “During the pandemic, all in-person recruiting opportunities disappeared, and some are just now returning to in-person events,” Gauthier stated. She believes the nursing program in particular suffered as a result of the health crisis. “As everyone saw in real time, nurses experienced incredible stress and burn-out, and the field hasn’t fully recovered,” Gauthier stated. “Also, due to the See ENROLLENT on page 2
Nyah Jackson Staff Writer
On Thursday, Feb. 29, 10 student entrepreneurs from various Seventh-day Adventist universities will compete on campus for $10,000. BringIT, a student-led project under Southern Adventist University’s Enactus chapter, is co-organizing with Hyve International to host the BringIT National Student Pitch Competition in Thatcher Chapel at 7:30 p.m. The four other universities participating in the competition are Andrews University, Walla Walla University, Southwestern Adventist University and Middle East University, which is located in Lebanon. Two entrepreneurs from each university will pitch their business ideas in an attempt to win grants for first place ($10,000), second place ($5,000) and third place ($2,500). Glenn Grakov, junior finance major and project manager for BringIT, said, “BringIT exists to provide networking opportunities and financing for student entrepreneurs.” BringIT and Hyve have been partners for about one and a half years, and last year was the first Hyve Creators conference. This year, Colette Williams, junior marketing major, who owns Collete’s Creations, a small bakery business, and Giovanni Leonor, senior business administration
major, who owns First Class Travel and Financial Consulting Group, are the two participating entrepreneurs from Southern. “I am really happy that Colette and Gio will be representing our university,” Grakov said. “They both have a lot of drive and passion for what they do, and that is going to be visible during the competition. They beat out five other SAU student entrepreneurs in November for the opportunity to represent Southern through the ‘Shoot Your Shot’ pitch competition.” Williams won first place in the competition and Leonor placed in second; they won a combined total of $3,500.
Williams is excited to be participating in the pitch competition. She competed in last year’s BringIT “Shoot Your Shot” pitch competition and took first place, winning $2,500 for Colette’s Creations. When asked about what people should expect to see at Hyve Creators 2024, Williams said, “I will be competing against other student entrepreneurs all with the goal of winning $10,000. At the competition, I will be sharing about my business, what I would use the prize money for and the dream and goals I have for my small business. I’m so See HYVE on page 3
Colette Williams wins $2,500 for her business, Colette's Creations, at the 2023 BringIt "Shoot Your Shot" pitch competition. (Photo courtesy of source)