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September 28, 2022 Collegedale, Tennessee
Opinion | 6
Religion | 6
What even is a Christian nation, anyway?
Hebrews 11: The evidence of things not seen
Lifestyle | 7 Around town: Upcoming music and art events
Southern Accent
Vol. 78 Issue 4
The student voice since 1926
Car crash in Honduras: A near-death experience
When Tristan Deschamps, senior computer information systems major, and Sierra Ureta, senior public relations major, began their drive to a popular Honduras beach last summer, they had no idea they would encounter a life-changing experience. Ureta had traveled to Honduras as a student missionary to work as a public relations intern at VIDA Internacional Mission and an art teacher at the Campos Blancos Educational Center, a school that doubled as an orphanage. She worked in 2022 from June to the beginning of August. Deschamps worked at the same school from January to July as an algebra instructor.
Ureta told the Accent that in the middle of the summer, the students and teachers were given a break from school. She was spontaneously invited to go to the beach with a missionary family and two of her friends, one being Deschamps. As they drove off at around 8 in the morning, there was a carefree atmosphere inside the car, described Ureta. “It was me and the two boys in the back,” she said. “And we were just on our phones watching videos and just trying to pass time while we’re driving to the beach, which we [were] really excited about.” However, the peace and contentment would not last long. Deschamps recounted the
moment he felt something was wrong. “We went on this three-hour car ride to get there. … And I felt a very strong urge to look up before anything happened. Like, I'd say five seconds before anything happened, I felt a pull on my face, and I looked up.” As he lifted his eyes, he
“We rolled three times. And then I thought I was going to die” caught the moment when the mother of the family swerved to avoid a truck coming straight at them, five miles per hour over the highway speed limit, according to Deschamps. In the effort
Cooper Moore gets a new kidney Alana Crosby Editor-in-Chief On June 28, Tami Lloyd received a call from Vanderbilt Hospital and found out her son, Cooper Moore, was getting a kidney. The call came just two days before his 18th birthday. According to a previous Accent article, Moore had been looking for a kidney donor since his junior year at Collegedale Academy. He went on dialysis shortly before finding a donor match. “Back when we started the process of looking, we just didn't know how long it was going to take to find a donor,” said Lloyd. “His kidney function ended up getting bad enough that he had to start dialysis in June because we just didn't
to Moore, whom she had never met. Mabry, 38, is married to Josh Mabry and has four children, according to Lloyd. “She said, ‘I want to be able to help somebody. And if God wants it to be, it’ll be,’” Lloyd said while recalling what Mabry said her reasoning was. Moore underwent surgery on July 14, according to Lloyd. Mabry was able to leave 24 hours after donating her kidney, she said, but the surgery was more complicated for Moore. “The surgery was on a Thursday, and Cooper moved to the regular floor after 24 hours in the ICU,” said Lloyd. “For Cooper, it's a more serious incision and recovery.” Moore experienced a blood
clot two days after the initial operation and was taken back to surgery, she explained. She said the blood clot was pressing on a vessel that was going to the new kidney, making the second surgery urgent. Lloyd said Moore anticipated going home in four days. But, after having two major surgeries in the span of four days, he was in the hospital for about a week. Moore and Mabry were able to meet two weeks ago at church after Moore was fully recovered and cleared to be around crowds. The two exchanged plush kidneys they received at the hospital. “She is very shy and introSee COOPER MOORE on page 2
"She said, ‘I want to be able to help somebody. And if God wants it to be, it’ll be.'" know at that point.” Response from the community over Moore’s search resulted in many donor kits being sent to Vanderbilt, said Lloyd; however, none of the kits produced a match. Lloyd said eventually Vanderbilt told them to stop sending in kits, as they had too many to process. She added that one of Moore’s doctors commented, “Whatever you’re doing to get a kidney — it’s working.” Moore said his donor, Megan Mabry, was scrolling through Facebook and noticed a post about his search. She felt impelled to donate her kidney
Cooper Moore stands with his kidney donor, Megan Mabry, several weeks after the surgery. (Photo by: Jennifer Turk)
church-hopping Amanda Blake Managing Editor
to avoid the vehicle in front of them, the mother ended up hitting a car on their left. “And as we went to the left, we hit the car on the side,” Deschamps said. “And the centrifugal force is like pushing me against the back of the car because we turned 180 degrees. … We end up facing against the flow of traffic. And then, we start flipping.” The car containing the five members of the family and the three friends rolled three times down an incline by the side of the highway. According to both Ureta and Deschamps, no one in the car was wearing a seatbelt. Ureta compared the moment
In an interview with the Accent, David Feguson, senior pastor of Collegedale Church of Seventh-day Adventists, said church-hopping is a harmful trend among university students. He further explained that attendance is not enough; students must actively engage in a faith community if they wish to experience profound worship. “Take a couple of weeks [or] a month to explore, but don’t just keep exploring,” he said. “Find a church. Move your membership there. Become involved. Don’t just watch church, be church.” He emphasized the distinction between visiting a church and being an active member of its family. “Worship can be a noun or a verb, and to worship most deeply is to actually involve yourself in that community,” Ferguson said. “Everything is different if you’re involved.” Students who do not become actively involved in a single church now are more likely to continue this habit later in life, according to Ferguson. He referenced “keystone habits,” a data-supported notion used in a book called “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg, which are habits that, when formed, contribute to the formation of other habits. Ferguson believes there is a strong likelihood that attending corporate worship is a keystone habit positively correlated with prayer, generosity, volunteerism and Bible study. “I agree that going to church
See CAR CRASH on page 3
See CHURCH-HOPPING on page 2
(Left) Tristan Deschamps standing with Sierra Ureta. (Right) All the windows of the car were shattered except for the window that was next to the family’s 8-year-old son. (Photos courtesy of: Sierra Ureta and Tristan Deschamps)
Kathy Zelidon Reporter
The dangers of
Exploring 'Humans of Southern' Naomi Linder Staff Writer Making its debut in the spring of 2015, “Humans of Southern” is a student- and faculty-led social media page that focuses on helping people “get to know Southern better through a student’s perspective,” wrote Shana Fairchild, digital engagement manager for Marketing and University Relations, in an email to the Accent. With a social media presence on both Instagram and Facebook, “Humans of Southern” shares the stories of over 200 students and staff from Southern’s campus and has a following of over 1,500 on Instagram. According to Fairchild, the page tries to share a story about once a week. Fairchild wrote that students who are known to have interesting stories to tell are recommended to Amelia Zimmerman, junior communication major and manager of said account, and that gives her a lead on potential interviewees for upcoming posts. “If [Amelia] isn’t interviewing someone with specific questions regarding a story of theirs that we heard about, she might be asking things like: Who inspires you the most? What was the happiest moment of your life so far? What was the saddest moment of your life? What’s something people would be surprised to know about you?” explained Fairchild. When asked what the mission
behind this account is, Fairchild wrote, “The goal of ‘Humans of Southern’ is to showcase the unique and wonderful people of Southern Adventist University, one story at a time.” Blake Tousignant, junior mass communication-advertising major, was featured on the page in the Spring 2022 semester. He shared his experience. “I felt heard by Southern because they actually reached out to me personally and gave me the opportunity to express myself,” he said. Fairchild further explained that the page has also been used in a recruitment sense because it lets prospective students see the people the campus is made up of. “They might read a student’s story and say, ‘That’s someone I could be friends with’ and realize that there are so many great people here on our campus,” she wrote. Another aspect that “Humans of Southern” covers is the cultural diversity present on the university’s campus. For example, the account highlights cultures during specific times of the year, such as Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month, as can be seen on their page. “Southern has such a wonderful and diverse student body, and the university is the second most diverse regional university in the South, according to U.S. News and World Report,” wrote Fairchild. “Because of our rich diversity, we want ‘Humans of Southern’ to honor and represent the different cultures present on our campus.” To find these pages, visit Instagram @thehumansofsouthern or Facebook @HumansOfSouthern.