Opinion | 6
Religion | 6
Intramurals vs. extramurals: Why can't we have both?
Here's to seeking His rest this semester
Mental Health | 5 Your brain will thank you: Mental health benefits of drinking water
January 18, 2023 Collegedale, Tennessee
Lifestyle | 7 All change is constant: Refections on the passing of time
Southern Accent
Vol. 78 Issue 12
The student voice since 1926
Anonymous Instagram page sparks questions regarding Title IX on campus
Alana Crosby Editor-in-Chief Starting on Jan. 3, sau_confession, an Instagram page featuring anonymous messages submitted by various Instagram users, began receiving and posting a series of messages bringing attention to several incidents of alleged rape, pedophilia and assault at Southern Adventist University. Several posts reference alleged SAU confession instagram logo sexual assaults at locations on cam(Photo courtesy of SAU_confessions) pus. And, on Jan. 5, an anonymous Instagram user revealed a detailed
account of how she was allegedly sexually assaulted by a theology major in the Testing Room located on the third floor of Bietz Center for Student Life. Though the individual who submitted the post, and others who commented, identified the alleged perpetrator by name, the Accent is not publishing the identity since the information could not be verified. Attempts to interview individuals who posted the allegations were unsuccessful. However, as a result of the Insta-
gram account’s influence, at least one case is in the process of being filed with the Southern Title IX office, according to Title IX Deputy and First Year Experience Coordinator Renita Moore. Moore provided no details about that complaint. In an interview with the Accent, the person managing sau_confession said he recently took over the account and began posting the messages on behalf of the people who submitted them. The individual said the previous manager of
the account had been censoring such posts before he took over, and he (the individual now running the account) has received threats of potential lawsuits, bodily harm and even death as a result of his decision to post the allegations. He said he recently transferred schools, due in part to the backlash, and wishes to remain anonymous for his own safety. “I just wanted people to be aware See SAU_confessions on page 2
A ‘larger than life person’: Remembering Professor Ruth Williams Amanda Blake Managing Editor Ruth Williams, former professor in the School of Education and Psychology (SEP) at Southern Adventist University, passed away on Dec. 6, according to an email sent to faculty from the President’s Office on Dec. 9. The email stated that Williams passed following a courageous battle with cancer and described her as a legendary teacher, friend and mentor who developed strong relationships with many people on campus. Williams worked at Southern for 26.5 years and retired last May, according to Astrid Conibear, SEP’s office manager. The email from the President's Office explained that, for many years, Williams was the director of Southern’s psychology
program, and, at some point, taught every course in its curricula. “She challenged her students in ways that fostered incredible growth while she formed lifelong relationships with them,” the email stated, “as evidenced by the plethora of tributes we are seeing and hearing both on campus and on social media.”
Ruth Williams shares a smile with her students. (Photo provided by source)
Four written tributes were included in the email. Two, written by Tron Wilder, psychology professor, and Conibear, described Williams’ substantial impact on Southern’s psychology program and campus. “She's been a wonderful leader in our program and
an extremely supportive colleague,” Wilder said. “ … Ruth has been a trailblazer here at Southern; she has been Southern's longest-serving Black professor and is leaving her mark having crafted a strong psychology program based on science from a biblical foundation.” Conibear, whose tribute was made at Williams’ retirement,
said the former professor’s primary passion was God and service to Him. “She has had her faith tested in many storms, but her life is built on the Rock,” Conibear said. “ … She’s a gifted wordsmith and uses her gift to speak out forcefully to right wrongs, share ideas, and to persuade. … She loves the study of the
brain and the human mind and enjoys using hers!”
ris primarily took photos of his family, travels and work. In his photographs, there are photos of children playing, Americana landscapes, his family enjoying Christmas and ordinary people living their lives. In a time characterized by the Great Depression, World War II and the Dust Bowl, Kobza acknowledges the stark contrast between Morris’ photographs and the typical photographs from that decade. “You have some photographers who were hired by the United States to take photographs of the Depression era. Yet all of his photographs are about family and having fun. It's just showing American life in a small town,” Kobza said. “When I first looked at them all, it seemed like a grand time, just kind of nostalgic.” Although Morris was not a photographer by profession, Kobza
praised his work for its design and composition. The photographs share common design and artistic elements. Morris was able to capture not only moments of his life but also made them an artistic portrayal of the time period. “I have just grown to really appreciate his work and to see he did have an eye for composition. Not every single one of his photographs are amazing, just because he did it more as a hobby, but I started to see that this is somebody who was an artist.” Kobza said about Morris’ talent. “He was thinking about composition. He was thinking about how to model these things, which is really a unique perspective. Morris knew what he was doing.” While uncovering the photographs happened by chance, Kobza’s journey to find the identity of
the photographer did not. Kobza said that he spent months searching through the photographs and internet for the identity of the family in the photos. “The whole point of the case was who the photographer was,” Kobza said. “I wanted to know who this guy was; I didn't want to just end up [with] some cool photographs. I wanted to have a story here.” The envelopes in the wooden box had nicknames of his family members and the name of Morris’ road maintenance company. With only a patent, the name of a road
maintenance company and the internet, Kobza was able to track down a family member of the now deceased Morris. The family member was able to confirm that Allen Morris was the photographer of the photos he had spent hours developing. “I kind of got attached to the project, I guess,” Kobza said. ”Because you're just tapping into somebody's life that maybe never wanted me to find it. It was just something that was amazing, like I could have just missed out on it if I didn't go to that antique store that day.”
Colleagues’ Tributes
Alumni Tributes
A tribute from Ann Lee, alum, detailed how Williams was skilled at teaching and made students feel seen and heard. “She instilled resilience in See RUTH WILLIAMS on page 3
Southern student Hayden Kobza discovers photos from the 1930s-40s Kathy Zelidon Reporter On Oct. 15, Hayden Kobza, a freshman film major, opened a green, wooden box in Dodson Dig Co., an antique store in South Carolina, where he found envelopes filled with hundreds of negatives from the 1930s-40s. On an impulse, Kobza decided to buy them, unaware of the story and photographer he had just discovered. “When I saw that box, I was just like, ‘This is amazing,’” Kobza said. “[There are] thousands of negatives here, and maybe no one's ever seen these before besides the photographer. I thought that maybe this is some discovery that no one knows about.” The envelopes held the negatives of Allen Morris, the owner of a large road maintenance company called Allen Road Maintainers. Mor-
(Left:) A selection from Allen Morris' photographs titled "A farmer and his cow." (Right:) Hayden Kobza develops negatives from Morris' collection. (Photos by: Allen Morris, Matthew Rogers)