Mental Health | 5 Mindfulness: Living in the here and now
October 26, 2022 Collegedale, Tennessee
Opinion | 6
Religion | 6
Zoos: An ethical dilemma or indispensable resource
Letter to the editor: What to do with resentment?
Lifestyle | 7 The connection between science fiction and religion
Southern Accent
Vol. 78 Issue 7
The student voice since 1926
'Our goal is to serve': Southern students help Fort Myers locals recover from Hurricane Ian disaster
Carl Bernstein to visit campus Staff Report WiRE magazine
were deployed within a group of 22 individuals. In response to Ian, 15 students and two sponsors were deployed on the first trip, and 24 students, two sponsors and one staff driver were deployed on the second, Racovita specified in a later email. The driver was Christina Donesky, international student services coordinator, who drove 14 hours straight, both ways. The Accent interviewed Donesky during the trip. “I am glad to help and be a part of it so that students can have the opportunity to serve,” she said. “I think it’s really important that staff show a good model of why service is important.” Donesky added that she enjoyed connecting with stu-
Fifty years have passed since former Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein uncovered the Watergate scandal along with his colleague Bob Woodward, setting the standard for investigative journalism. Yet, he remains a powerful voice in the American political arena, as a renowned author, cable news commentator and public speaker. On Dec. 1, the legendary journalist will bring his wealth of experience to Southern Adventist University as the inaugural speaker for a new lecture series launched by the School of Journalism and Communication (SJC). He will speak on the topic: “Why Truth Still Matters.” Alison Lebovitz, host of the local PBS show, “The A-List with Alison Lebovitz,” will serve as moderator. The SJC created the R. Lynn Sauls Lecture Series in honor of former SJC dean Lynn Sauls, who guided the school through unprecedented expansion and development from 1989 to the mid-1990s. Under Sauls’ leadership, the SJC established a permanent home in Brock Hall, prioritized the importance of writing in the curriculum and developed a network connecting students with journalism and communication professionals. SJC Dean Rachel Williams-Smith said the lecture series will be an annual event featuring prominent speakers in the fields of journalism and communication. This year, she is excited about bringing Bernstein to campus. “I am thrilled that Mr. Bernstein accepted our invitation to come,” she said. “We can learn much from history. And, on Dec. 1, we will have history standing before us. Furthermore, his topic is very timely and
See DISASTER RELIEF on page 2
See CARL BERNSTEIN on page 3
(Left) Students Heather Morris, Tristan Deschamps, Joshua Kim and Natalie Marden stand atop a fallen tree. (Right) Part of the group takes a selfie with one of the hurricane victims they assisted. (Photos courtesy of Elsie Pak)
Amanda Blake Managing Editor Southern Adventist University dispatched two disaster relief teams to Fort Myers, Florida, after Hurricane Ian struck the Gulf Coast on Wednesday, Sept. 28. The teams, consisting of students and staff, were sent in two trips: the first taking place Oct. 9 to 12 and the second Oct. 12 to 16. According to an NBC News article, Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa, an island just west of Fort Myers. The article described Ian, which hit Florida as a category 4 storm, as one of the most powerful hurricanes to touch down in the United States in decades. More than two million buildings lost power. The first Southern service group ran points of distribution (POD) for locals, and the second group worked on debris removal, or “muck-outs,”
according to information provided by Laura Racovita, dean of the School of Social Work, and Cheryl Craven, director of Humanitarian Engagement and Christian Service, in an email to the Accent. PODs are places where hurricane victims can get food and water. In the email, Racovita and Craven explained that the teams’ mission also included social and spiritual goals. “We [helped out] out wherever needed, whether [it was] debris removal, helping distribute essentials at Points of Distribution, [or] talking and praying with and for those who are hurting in these difficult moments,” the email stated. “Our goal is to serve, provide a helping hand, lend an ear, pray and then invite people to learn more about our Savior.” Racovita, who helps lead Southern’s disaster response
team, began the process of preparing the trips by submitting a proposal to the university’s administration, the email said. The school’s deans and chairs followed administration’s approval by giving their unanimous support. After setting academic qualifications for interested students, such as one completed semester at Southern, the team began processing applications. Nearly 80 individuals expressed interest, and 55 applied, which was more than could be accommodated, according to the email. Craven and Racovita wrote that more students were interested in and applied for the Hurricane Ian relief trips than for the trips aiding victims of hurricanes Harvey (2017), Florence (2018) and Michael (2018). In response to Michael, 52 students applied and 13
An animator's journey from Disney to Southern Southern theology students Jorge Pontarelli Staff Writer
encouraged to marry for ministry
Professor Hendel Butoy realized he wanted to be an animator when he was just 12 years old. “I’ve always liked drawing because I watched animations on television,” he said. “I enjoyed it because I felt like it was taking me to a different place, a different world. I think the reason for that is because growing up in a Christian home, I also was taught and believed the biblical stories I was told, which also took me into different worlds, true worlds.” Butoy believed he could combine those two ideas of spiritual messages and great art forms. Growing up, he would play with his father’s camera and create stick figure films. He drew photos in his school books so that when he flipped through the pages, tiny animations would appear. For a high school project, Butoy made a film that he now describes as “very crude and not much.” Yet, one of his teachers thought otherwise and took it to a film festival where Butoy met a fellow Seventh-day Adventist who was going to California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), a school founded by Walt Disney that teaches animation. “If you are passionate about what you are doing, and you are actively creating and doing things, connections begin to happen,” Butoy said. With the recommendation of the individual who saw his film, Butoy decided to go to CalArts. “One of the prayers I had when I was entering this school was, ‘Lord, I don’t know if this is where you want me to go. However, I have a passion in my heart I believe is coming from you, so I’m going to keep going down this path until You
Hannah Johnson Staff Writer
Professor Hendel Butoy reflects with students in his senior portfolio class. Thursday, October 20, 2022 (Photo by: Adam de Lisser)
close the door,’” he said. At the time, CalArts was one of the few universities teaching animation, Butoy said. He further explained that he enrolled in the school in the late 1970s in the third year of the program’s existence. Butoy said Disney’s vision for the institute was all of the programs — music, theater, film, fine arts and animation — working together to create things. “Disney wished that [the] music school would make music for the animation school, and the fine arts school would do conceptual artwork for the film school, but it never turned out that way,” he said. Even though Butoy enjoyed learning and creating animations, he had a hard time at CalArts. “I struggled with every single thing,” he said. “Every single class that I had was a struggle; nothing came easy. But I sat there, and I did it. I said, ‘The only way I’m going to do this is if I sit here and put in the time and do it.’” Since the animation program at CalArts was being taught by Disney veterans, that was the school where the company would send their scouts looking for the next
generation of animators, according to Butoy. He explained that at the time, CalArts was the only school teaching character-specific animation in Disney’s style, so if a student graduated with a well-done portfolio, they were almost guaranteed a job. Before he could graduate, however, Disney pulled several CalArts students, including Butoy, out of school to begin training at its studio. He began working at the company in 1979, and he took on all the roles that an artist can go through as an animator, he said. He started as an inbetweener; an artist who draws frames between the extremes of an action; followed by an assistant; then an animator; a supervising animator; a directing animator and finally, the director. “I never asked for anything while I was there. I didn’t ask for a promotion; I didn’t ask for how I could have this or that job. I just did the best that I could with what I had because I was just happy to be doing what I was doing,” he said. “Some animators would prefer to have this type of shot or that type of shot, and I didn’t care. I’ll take anything that I’m given because I know See ANIMATOR'S JOURNEY on page 2
Over the years, Southern Adventist University has been called “Southern Matrimonial College,” often by those specifically referring to the School of Religion. In a recent interview with the Accent, Ilcias Vargas said that, as a junior theology major, he has been told that marriage is expected when pursuing a ministerial career. “From time-to-time, professors will bring it up in class: ‘You are here on campus — [with] a lot of Christian women. Might as well take advantage of the opportunity,’” he said. “And I think it is legitimate to have that type of expectation.” Vargas added that theology professors, conference leaders and other students sometimes put pressure on theology majors to pursue marriage. When interviewed by the Accent, numerous theology students said they feel pressure to marry because many believe having a spouse will bring work benefits. Southern Theology Professor Stephan Bauer said it is possible to become ordained without saying “I do.” He added, however, that pastoral jobs in specific locations can be more accessible if the applicant is married. “If there was pressure, the pressure would be more, ‘Go to seminary; we want you to come out married’ as the unwritten preference,” Bauer said. “The joke was you were sent to seminary not so much for your MDV (Master of Divinity) but for your MRS.” This expectation has existed for many years and not just at South-
ern. Peter Flores, an alumnus of Walla Walla University, has also experienced this pressure while studying theology at that university. Flores is now currently attending the seminary program at Andrews University. “The pressure didn’t come from a specific person,” Flores said. “It is just implied that if I were to get married, I would have better job opportunities in the field, and it pressured me to be in a relationship I didn’t want to be in at the time.” Bauer said conferences will often send single pastors to churches that are less prejudiced against the idea of having an unmarried pastor. Vargas said the question of whether or not the applicant is married or seeking a relationship is sometimes brought up during the interviewing process.
"It is just implied that if I were married, I would have better job opportunities." Flores added, “There’s a certain pressure for any guy to get married, but I don’t think that stems from the theology department itself. I think that stems more from the employment possibilities outside.” Bauer said conferences in the Southern Union have adapted to the thought of employing more single pastors and have become more accepting of them, especially in comparison to a few decades ago. Vargas said, “While there are benSee THEOLOGY on page 2