Mental Health | 5
Opinion | 6
Religion | 6
Lifestyle | 7
Stigma-free suicide prevention
Know before you go: Are zoos ethical?
Learning to trust in God's mission plan
Two books every college student should read
September 27, 2023 Collegedale, Tennessee
Southern Accent
Vol. 79 Issue 4
The student voice since 1926
Before the bear: Excavating the story Collegedale of Southern's extinct dinosaur mascot church loses four pastors in one year Andrew Boggess Reporter Matthew Orquia Managing Editor
stopped and stared at me, wondering how I knew. I said, ‘It was a lucky guess.’” After Williams learned who one of the people inside the costume was, she started to be the person to carry Dobber’s tail around. “There were two people that were inside Dobber, and, along with the SA social vice, those were the only three people that knew who was in it,” Williams said. “We have not revealed who was in Dobber, even to this day.” In December of 1991, Dobber, Williams and other SA officers were attending Southern’s Christmas party. When it was time to leave, Williams noticed that they were being followed by the other SA officers, curi-
In the past year, four pastors have left their positions at the Collegedale Church of Seventh-day Adventists. David Ferguson, former lead pastor for the Collegedale church, transitioned to the position of campus pastor for Crosswalk, Chattanooga. His last Sabbath at the Collegedale church was May 13. Kris Eckenroth, former associate senior pastor for Connect, resigned, effective December 2, 2022, but continued working as the Connect worship pastor without his other duties until May 3, according to Melody Wallace, pastor of member care. Eckenroth is currently the president/executive director for Retro Ministries, a nonprofit supporting organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, according to the ministry’s website. Jim Moon announced on Sept. 2 that his last Sabbath as pastor of worship will be September 30. A week later, Tim Cross announced that his last Sabbath as pastor of group life will be October 21. “Our conference administration has decided to transfer me. Why? Their answer is longevity. They believe it is not good for the pastor or congregation for a pastor to stay too long at a local church,” Cross said during his announcement. Cross said he has accepted an invitation to pastor the Harrison and Cedar Ridge Seventh-day Adventist churches.
See MASCOT on page 2
See PASTORS on page 3
1991-1992 Strawberry Festival Co-editor Mike Magursky, now deceased, poses with the mascot he helped create. (Photo courtesy of source)
Amy Beckworth, 1991-1992 Memories editor, gives Dobber a hug. (Photo courtesy of source)
Emma Rodriguez Reporter
Dinosaur” by Was (Not Was). He was also featured in publications like the Southern Accent.
Southern Adventist University’s newly-approved bear mascot welcomed students at this semester’s Organization Showcase, and Student Association (SA) officially introduced the bear at Convocation earlier this month. However, more than three decades ago, Southern had another mascot, not a bear or a duck, but a dinosaur named Dobber. The Accent investigated the history of this unique character’s presence on campus. The 1991-1992 SA created Dobber as an unofficial mascot. Its bright green fur costume was made by Lezlee Walters, a local seamstress and now Pathways coordinator for
the School of Business and Management. However, the mascot was the brainchild of Mike Magursky, who was the Strawberry Festival co-editor that school year. He has since passed away. Sherrie Williams, then Strawberry Festival director of photography and current communications director for the Collegedale Church of Seventh-day Adventists, told the Accent about Dobber, whom she described as a popular mascot on campus. The dinosaur appeared at sporting events, parties and other school functions. Dobber made his debut to the student body at the 1991 Welcome Back Party, where his entrance song was “Walk The
The dinosaur appeared at sporting events, parties and other school functions. Williams discovered the identity of Dobber through a stroke of luck, she told the Accent. She found herself in the right place at the right time in a room where she knew Dobber had been. It was a hot day, and a person walked in dripping with sweat, and Williams’ first thought was, “That's Dobber.” “So I said, ‘Do you enjoy being Dobber?’” Williams said. “They
Campus Safety installs
Collegedale Academy breaks ground AI-powered Flock cameras for new elementary school building Lauren Arant Staff Writer Cameras that scan license plates and identify car owners to determine if they have active warrants or are banned from campus have been installed at every entrance at Southern Adventist University to increase safety on campus, according to Shawn Haas, associate director of Campus Safety. Safety has always been a top priority for the university, which is why the equipment – known as Flock cameras – were added, said Southern President Ken Shaw. According to Haas, the camera locations include Colcord Drive, University Drive by the Duck Pond and College Drive East. “We have Flock cameras at all of the entrances to the university, and these Flock cameras actually pick up license plate numbers off of vehicles,” said Shaw. “And they go into a national database, and if there is a warrant out for the arrest of the individual that owns that vehicle, then that national database automatically sends a message to the Collegedale Police Department.” The cameras can also help police track down stolen property, such as bicycles or cars, because they are linked to a national database, according to Shaw.
“Let’s say you have a vehicle on campus, and it was stolen. The license plate is registered at the police department, and so they’re looking for that vehicle,” Shaw said. “So, when someone drives that vehicle back on campus, then the national database would pick that up and say, ‘This is a stolen vehicle.’ Again, it lets the Collegedale Police Department know, [and] they immediately will contact our Campus Safety. Then we can be responsive as well.” Campus Safety was first made aware of the cameras during a training offered by Flock Safety, Haas said. The officers thought they would be a good investment to increase security. Haas said the cameras were installed successfully on Sept. 6, 2023. “I found out that the Collegedale Police Department had a couple … so we just reached out to them to see how they were working, if it was kind of worth the money,” Haas said. “They showed a pretty big spreadsheet of the volume of stolen cars, warrants, things of that nature that lead to a lot of drug busts and things of that nature.” According to Haas, the cameras are not being monitored by a person. Instead, they are See CAMERAS on page 2
Emma Boughman Reporter Collegedale Academy (CA) had a groundbreaking ceremony for its new elementary school building on Sept. 13. The building will be built adjacent to the middle school on College Drive East. Marilee Silverstein, director of Advancement at CA, shared some details about the event in an email to the Accent. The ceremony took place at the CA middle school. As guests arrived, the high school jazz band played. The ceremony began with a welcome by Rick Stern, who chairs the school’s financial
campaign, titled “Inspire Now and for Eternity.” Head of School and CA Principal Brent Baldwin gave guests an overview of the new project and its key features. Lastly, Tennessee General Assembly Representative Greg Vital presented a State of Tennessee Proclamation as a tribute to CA. The tribute honored CA as one of the schools in Tennessee that holds a place of honor in the cultural and educational history of the state. “The Proclamation commended the groundbreaking of Collegedale Academy’s new elementary building, extending the very best wishes for future success,” Silverstein wrote.
In his welcome at the groundbreaking ceremony, Stern referred to Christian education as one of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s greatest evangelism tools. He said it is the “front door” to our entire school and church program. According to Silverstein, the elementary school building is expected to be complete and operating by August of 2025. “The new building will be a shining example of Collegedale Academy’s commitment to providing top-quality Christian education for all students,” Silverstein said, "and will be a source of pride for the community for years to come.”
School officials pose with Tennessee State Representative Greg Vital (middle right) at the groundbreaking ceremony. Wednesday, September 13, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Marilee Silverstein)