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Southern Accent
Vol. 78 Issue 15
The student voice since 1926
Southern addresses student concerns about Students environmental consciousness on campus charged with crime after entering students’ dorm room Amanda Blake Managing Editor
"The university is committed to recycling and protectinig the enviroment; however, this can clash with their commitment to keeping costs as low as possible for students." (Photo sourced from: Google Images)
Alana Crosby Editor-in-Chief During last semester’s Town Hall meeting, students raised questions about recycling practices on campus, specifically expressing concerns about the use of Styrofoam in the cafeteria. This article further explores those questions. According to Tom Verrill, senior vice president for Financial Administration, Food Services uses 15 to 20 cases of Styrofoam products a week. The cafeteria recycles cardboard, plastic bottles, aluminum cans and as much food waste as possible, Verrill wrote in an email to the Accent. He explained that Food Services is always looking for better packaging options.
“Last week Teddy Kyriakidis, the Food Services director, met with the owner of the composting company we use,” Verrill wrote. “He informed him that he is working with some large distributors of compostable products to negotiate lower product pricing so that these alternatives can be more affordable. Teddy assured the distributor that we’d switch over if they could offer them at comparable pricing.” According to Verrill, the university is committed to recycling and protecting the environment; however, such ideals can clash with the organization’s commitment to keeping costs as low as possible for students. “The university is commit-
ted to doing what we can in the way of recycling and protecting the environment,” Verrill wrote in an email to the Accent. “We consider those efforts within the context of their cost, trying to balance the importance of environmental sustainability with the also important goal of keeping the cost of attending college as low as possible for our students.” Student Association (SA) President Kenneth Bautista, senior business major, said SA Senate has headed an Eco Initiative Committee for the past two years. However, this year, Senate has not formed the committee, choosing instead to focus on other things. Bautista said he made an
effort to address some of the recycling needs on campus by speaking to Kyriadikis about the possibility of using recyclable to-go boxes in the cafeteria. His concerns centered around the Styrofoam containers, which he believes are used too excessively. “So, I went to talk to them, and I came up with options of possible things we could do,” Bautista said. “And to be honest with you, I didn't get the energy. … I brought up options of [how] we could do paper instead of Styrofoam, and instead of saying, ‘Okay, what can we do together?’ The reply was more of, ‘no.’ So, I don't know what to do next in that area.”
Two Southern Adventist University students, both 19 years old, were charged with trespassing after climbing through an unlocked window into two other students’ dorm room on the first floor of Talge Hall, according to an incident report filed by the Collegedale Police Department (CPD). The trespass occurred at approximately 4:15 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 29. There were two students sleeping in the room during the incident, according to Campus Safety’s crime log. The trespassers were also Talge Hall residents, and, according to Shawn Haas, associate director of Campus Safety, they were likely trying to avoid disciplinary action related to missing curfew. “This is not regular. I have been at Campus Safety since 2013. I do not recall this ever happening before,” wrote Haas in an email to the Accent. Campus Safety was notified of the crime by a walk-in report at
See RECYCLING on page 2
See TRESPASSING on page 3
Southern removes superscoring from full tuition scholarship criteria Amanda Blake Managing Editor Starting in the Fall 2023 semester, incoming students will no longer be able to qualify for the Full Tuition Scholarship from Southern Adventist University using their ACT or SAT superscore, which is the average of their highest subscores from multiple test attempts. This change was enacted after the school saw an 867% increase in the number of freshmen receiving the scholarship over the last 10 years, said Ryan Herman, director of admissions for Enrollment Management. Herman discussed this trend and Southern’s response in an interview and through email correspondence with the Accent. Southern began accepting superscores in fall 2019. Since then, the number of incoming students qualifying for full tuition has seen a significant increase, with 37 freshmen recipients in fall 2019 to 58 in fall 2022. Of those 58, 32 superscored. Herman added, however, that Southern’s freshman class size has been increasing since fall 2018, with the exception of fall 2020. “It is reasonable to assume that a part of the natural growth we’ve experienced has led to the increase in the Full Tuition Scholarships awarded,” he wrote, “but with the addition of superscoring in fall 2019, the increase became unsustainable from a financial perspective.” Doug Frood, associate vice
president of Financial Administration, explained why he believes this trend is occurring in an email to the Accent. “What I believe is happening is parents and their students have, at some level, learned how to play the game,” he wrote. “One way to lower the cost of higher ed is getting a merit scholarship. So those who can are focusing on how to do that.” He added that Southern’s recent success in placing students
in medical school has drawn more biology students, many with high GPAs and thus more likely to attain a Full Tuition Scholarship, to the university. “This [surge] is beginning to spill over to computing, business and chemistry,” Frood wrote. In the 2021-2022 academic year, Southern spent $3.4 million on Full Tuition Scholarships, said Herman. This year, the amount is closer to $4 million. Southern’s undergraduate
enrollment last fall was 2,571, and 186 (7.2%) of those students are receiving the Full Tuition Scholarship. In addition to removing superscoring from the Full Tuition Scholarship criteria, Southern has introduced a new scholarship: 50% Tuition. Incoming students will be able to qualify for this and lower renewable academic scholarships using their superscore. The other scholarships, renewed each year, are $2,000, $4,000 and $6,000.
Herman said part of the reason Southern has implemented the 50% Tuition Scholarship is because administration recognizes that some students will choose not to come to Southern if they cannot receive full tuition using their superscore. Administrators hope this scholarship will still provide enough incentive; however, the university expects to lose roughly 10 students comSee FULL TUITION on page 3
Graph representing recipients of the Full Tuition Scholarship based off of freshman that superscored or did not superscore.
(Graphic by: Amanda Blake)