Mental Health | 7
Opinion | 8
Religion | 8
Lifestyle | 9
How to face off against life's changes
What students really think about Giving Day
Remember our unshakable worth in God
Five female authors for your reading list
April 2, 2025 Collegedale, Tennessee
Southern Accent
Vol. 80 Issue 18
The student voice since 1926
Construction shifts traffic on Apison Pike
A sign announces the road closure and redirects incoming traffic to the new lane change on the Apison Pike. Monday, March 31, 2025 (Photo by Andrew Boggess)
Hayden Kobza Managing Editor Chloe Smith Reporter With the construction of the bridge on Apison Pike nearing completion, a lane shift took place on Saturday to redirect traffic on the road. According to the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) website, the bridge remains on track to be completed by summer 2025. In a Facebook post published on March 20, the city of Collegedale's government notified residents of the lane changes that would be made. “You may have noticed a significant increase in activ-
ity from TDOT on the Apison widening project,” the post from the city read. “They are tentatively planning to shift lanes through the new traffic signals before the bridge span starting March 31st.” Construction on Apison Pike began in March 2020, and the project aims to improve safety and route operation with better accessibility, according to the TDOT website. The project is divided into four segments, with the first two being completed and the third, being the bridge currently under construction. The bridge's construction on Apison Pike is split into three phases and is currently in its third phase. According to a TDOT press release, this
phase of the project involves a shift in traffic and temporary traffic control. “The modified traffic pattern is necessary to accommodate work on a box culvert near Ooltewah-Ringgold Road and will remain in place until construction of the bridge over the railroad has been completed,” the release states.
Drivers can reference the TDOT SmartWay Map for the most up-to-date traffic information. Drivers can reference the TDOT SmartWay Map for the most up-to-date traffic information, according to the release.
Experience Klatsch for yourself: An interview with the Sitlers Eliana Morales Copy Editor
A faith-driven historical drama about the early Adventist movement is making waves in the film industry. The Hopeful, directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Kyle Portbury, was recently recognized with several award nominations. Winners were announced in February of 2025, placing the film alongside some of the year’s most prominent productions.
Students gather in the basement of the Sitler household after Vespers. (Photo courtesy of source)
matchmaking efforts. They had begun a campaign to “help Cinda” and arranged for her to meet two suitors. One came to church in an outfit that appeared to be taken straight out of the dirty laundry pile. The other arrived in a “really nice suit” smelling of French
cologne. The man in the suit was Pastor David. By their second date at Olive Garden, the couple knew they wanted to marry. “She was what I was looking for, praying for,” he said. They married on Dec. 19,
See Klatsch on page 3
man, majoring in English professional writing, shared a sentiment similar to Castillo's. “Well, when we went through, it was very slow because there's a lot of traffic,” Bartlett said. “I wasn't sure if that was because it was [the] first [time it was open], but it was ample more traffic.” Like Castillo, Bartlett also believes that once the construction is finished, traffic will get better. Two students, Ashauna Simms and Challgney Lin-Ao, both junior nursing, pre-licensure majors agreed that the road change improved traffic. “I kind of feel like it’s a lon-
See Bridge Shift on page 2
Adventist film 'The Hopeful' nominated for prestigious Awards Jehiely Balabarca Reporter
Editor's Note: This article, written for the F24 Mag & Feature Writing class at Southern, is a personal account of the writer's experience at Klatsch. The two people across from me were familiar faces, but the moment I began to ask my first question, I realized just how little I knew about them. She sat closest to me, sandy blonde hair framing her soft, kind expression. He glanced at her occasionally, his mildly stern look disappearing, replaced with a hearty smile. Pastor David and Cinda Sitler met at a Sabbath potluck in their late twenties. “She sat down and said, ‘How many children do you want to have?’” he recalle d, chuckling. “Basically, she says, ‘Look, I'm old, and I'm not messing around no more.’” Both had almost given up on dating at the time and expressed having been “burned” before. However, Cinda’s church family was not about to give up on their
Some students from Southern Adventist University shared their experiences navigating the lane shift. Sarah Castillo, sophomore physical therapist assistant major, said she did not like the traffic flow in the area. “I think the first day [of the lane change] was Saturday, and I was going to church, and then we were there for probably 10 minutes to get up to the light, and it just took a really long time to get out of school,” Castillo said. While she thinks there are traffic problems now, Castillo believes there will be less traffic once the construction is complete. Another student, Nathan Bartlett, second-year fresh-
The film tells the story of William Miller, a farmer-turnedpreacher who predicted Christ's return. Released in April of 2024, the film tells the story of William Miller, a farmer-turnedpreacher who predicted Christ’s return and sought meaning through biblical study in the aftermath of the War of 1812. His prophecy led to what became known as the “Great Disappointment”
in 1844, and the movement eventually led to the formation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. After opening in more than 900 theaters across the United States, The Hopeful ranked among the top 10 at the box office during its debut run.
The film was nominated for three Crown Awards from the ICVM. The film was nominated for three Crown Awards from the International Christian Visual Media Association (ICVM) — Best Evangelistic Film, Best Soundtrack and Best Editor—recognizing its ability to inspire and share the gospel through high-quality storytelling. It also earned a nomination for Best Direction of a Feature Film at the Australian Directors Guild Awards, putting Portbury’s work in the same category as Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. See The Hopeful on page 2