Mental Health | 5
Opinion | 6
Religion | 6
Lifestyle | 7
What you need to know about coping with chronic stress
The search for fresh produce: Students need healthier meal plan options
Jesus, come quickly: Longing for hope in the face of loss
How to get back on track: Capitalizing productivity while still prioritizing fun
April 19. 2023 Collegedale, Tennessee
Southern Accent
Vol. 78 Issue 22
The student voice since 1926
Bear mascot officially approved Robert Benge to retire after 25 years at Southern Adventist University Amanda Blake Managing Editor
the mascot being an important decision for the university, it was important to obtain broad input, which was done in meetings such as University Senate, University Assembly, and our Board of Trustees.” The President’s Cabinet reviewed the School of Health and Kinesiology’s letter of concern about the implementation of an official mascot. The letter was discussed in a previous Accent article.
“Lord, if you really want me to get a doctorate, you’ve gotta give me a sign,” Robert Benge prayed as he prepared to cross the border between Texas and New Mexico. His wife, Debbie, and their two sons were back in Collegedale, where Debbie taught at Collegedale Academy Elementary School, known then as Spalding. Benge said he could not ignore the call to pursue a career as a college professor. Yet, he struggled with the thought of 14 months away from his family while studying at the University of New Mexico. He promised himself that when he crossed the state line, when the terrain turned rocky and fell “like dropping off an escarpment,” he’d
See BEAR MASCOT on page 2
See BENGE RETIRING on page 3
The official bear mascot logo (Graphic provided by Kenneth Bautista)
Amanda Blake Managing Editor The President’s Cabinet at Southern Adventist University officially approved Student Association’s (SA) proposed bear mascot on March 27, according to President Ken Shaw. SA President Kenneth Bautista, senior management major, wrote in an email to the Accent that SA plans to soft launch the mascot this semester. Ba u t i s t a also s h a re d an im a g e o f th e o ffic ia l ma sc o t l o g o (shown a b ove ).
Students can vote for the mascot’s name on a Google form survey available now by selecting one of four names: Baker, Gruff, Dave and Berry. SA plans to promote the survey on Instagram. “We have four names with a rich history in Southern culture and need your help in deciding the name of our school mascot,” Bautista wrote, addressing students. The history associated with each name is explained in the survey.
Bautista said the mascot committee, composed of Bautista and SA Senate members Wilson Hannawi, junior biology major, and Anna Mihaescu, junior accounting major, presented the mascot to the Student Development Committee, Faculty Senate and the Board of Trustees after discussing the proposal with more than 300 students through voting forms and focus groups. “This was a student-led effort that was valued,” Shaw wrote to the Accent. “With
Southern holds forum to address students' concerns about perceived censorship of the Accent by administration Amanda Blake Managing Editor Editor’s Note: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this article is a managing editor and writer at the Southern Accent. She wrote this article to update readers on the controversy and has aimed to remain objective. Southern Adventist University President Ken Shaw sent students an email on Wednesday, April 12, informing them that the university would hold a student forum at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 18, in Thatcher Hall Chapel. The forum’s purpose was to address students’ concerns about administration asking the Accent to remove from its website and social media an article about Fight Night, an off-campus boxing event organized by Southern students and not affiliated with the university. In an email to the Accent, Ingrid Skantz, vice president for Marketing and University Relations (MUR), shared a statement on the forum from senior leaders: “Administration asked the Southern Accent staff to remove the April 5 cover story about a community event that is not condoned by Southern Adventist University. That same day the university dis-
tributed an official statement speaking against the event. Since then, administration heard from a number of students expressing concerns regarding the decision to have the story removed. In light of this, campus leaders felt it would be worthwhile to provide Southern students with an opportunity to have a wider dialogue about the topic with administration. Student voices matter and we hope this will provide a forum for students to ask questions and have their concerns heard.”
“Student voices matter and we hope this will provide a forum for students to ask questions and have their concerns heard.” About four hours before Shaw sent the email, information about a protest, described as a “Rally against Administrative Censorship,” began circulating on social media. According to social media posts, the protest was scheduled to occur at Wright Hall at 12 p.m. on Thurs-
day, April 13. That was the same time and location for the university’s Giving Day Finale. The organizers of the protest wrote in a text to the Accent that they called off the protest shortly after Shaw announced the student town hall meeting so they could “re-organize student action for a response” at the forum. The organizers wish to remain anonymous because they did not abide by the Student Handbook’s “Public Assembly and Forum” guidelines. “We were willing to take that risk to start a conversation with administration,” they wrote, “but once a student forum was announced, a protest was no longer necessary.” Accent staff members were not among those who planned the protest, according to editors. The student organizers said they planned the protest because they were concerned about the university censoring the newspaper. They heard that administration did not initially allow the Accent to publish an editorial responding to the criticism they received for publishing the story and believed that was unfair. “The student paper is a major voice for students on Southern’s campus, and we really do not want to lose it,” they
wrote. “ … We understand that free speech in a student paper is not a right at a private university but it is something that is important to us, and something we are dedicated to protecting. We strongly believe it makes us a better school.” The organizers confirmed that they purposefully planned the protest at the same time as the Giving Day Finale. They added that they have no reason to believe that the student forum was created as a response to the planned protest except for the timing. In the midst of the controversy, several former Accent editors also expressed support for the newspaper, writing letters to administration describing how the Accent prepared them for their professional careers and requesting that the newspaper be allowed to operate independently as the student’s voice as it has over decades. On Wednesday evening, administrators met with members of the Student Media Board: Stephen Ruf, chair of the board and professor in the School of Journalism and Communication (SJC); Rachel Williams-Smith, dean of the SJC, and Alva James-Johnson, SJC professor and Accent adviser.
Ruf said the discussion with administrators was off the record, but James-Johnson confirmed that the censorship concerns were addressed and the Accent will continue in the fall with business as usual. Ruf wrote in an email to the Accent that he appreciated that Shaw and several vice presidenwts met with the three Media Board members so each party could express their concerns. “A constructive conversation helped clarify the path forward,” Ruf wrote. “We welcome the opportunity for students to also dialogue with administration about issues that affect SAU’s student media. Our student-generated content goes around the world and is seen by many via social media. And it can have an immediate impact. “My hope is university leaders will continue to see value in allowing students to publish newsworthy stories and commentary relevant to the campus and community,” Ruf continued. “I also encourage student editors and producers to recognize the responsibility they share in reporting and editing stories so they are accurate, fair and reflect multiple points of view, especially the values we embrace as a Seventh-day Adventist University.”