Mental Health | 7
Opinion | 8
Religion | 8
Lifestyle | 9
Homesickness: Finding A Home Away from Home
Attendance shouldn’t be part of the grade
Navigating Your Fear in the Shadow of Faith
Thoughts on Reaching Out to Others
September 11, 2024 Collegedale, Tennessee
Southern Accent
Vol. 80 Issue 01
The student voice since 1926
Southern combats delays to Mountain Cottages
Workers building the new student housing, the Southern Mountain Cottages, plan to finish in November. Sep 3, 2024. (Photo by Daniel Zhao)
Hayden Kobza Managing Editor Southern Adventist University’s new Mountain Cottages project has had some delays, leading the university to temporarily contract with an off-campus apartment complex to house students. According to Dennis Ngrón, vice president for Student Development, Southern has been housing students at Reflection Pointe, an apartment complex off Old Lee Highway, while construction is being completed. Marty Hamilton, senior vice president for Financial Admin-
istration, said the goal is to finish the project by Nov. 15. The Mountain Cottages have been constructed offsite and then placed by a crane onto their foundations, which Southern prepared. According to Hamilton, all 26 cottages have been built, but only 14 are installed. “We have a crane coming in on Sept. 12 and 13, and we’re going to keep them here to set all 12 of [the remaining cottages],” Hamilton said. “We’re working and hooking up all the utilities, and that’s ongoing now.” According to Negrón, the university’s goal is for
students to move into the cottages the week before Thanksgiving break so they do not have to move during finals. “We're going to help students move, so the onus is not just on the students,” Negrón said. “We'll make it as easy as possible for them to make the move without a lot of stress.” Steven Miller, associate vice president for Financial Administration, stated in an email to the Accent that most of the contracts between Reflection Pointe and Southern end July 31, 2025. “In the coming weeks,
SuCasa church opens its doors to all: A new chapter in community worship Alissa Flores Reporter The Collegedale Spanish-American SDA Church, or SuCasa, has finally opened its doors after years of construction. Services have already been held in the spacious new building perched atop the hill behind Southern Adventist University’s track and field. Throughout 2020, only the groundwork was done. In 2021, the foundation was laid, and over the next three
years, the structure took shape and the moving process was initiated. According to Gamaliel Feliciano, the senior pastor of SuCasa, the congregation has held four services in the new sanctuary since its first service on Aug.10, 2024. “[The church] has been praying for this for more than 15 years,” Feliciano said. “They are excited, as you can imagine. It’s something new. It is a dream that came true.”
Eliezer Graterol, professor in the School of Religion and a regular SuCasa attendee, shared his experience preaching at the church for the first time. “The smell is brand new; everything’s new,” Graterol said. “And seeing the satisfied faces of the members, because it was a church effort, is so good.” Feliciano and Pablo Betancurt, the associate pastor, said See Church on page 2
SuCasa Church Entrance for new building. Thursday September 6, 2024. (Photo by Hannah Johnson)
administration will evaluate the length of the apartment contract to determine if we keep them for the entire 12 months or if we terminate the contract early, as allowed per the contract,” he wrote. Negrón stated in an email to the Accent that Southern is moving students into Mountain Cottages this semester because the university is paying more to house students at Reflection Pointe than the rent Southern receives from students living there. Some students have raised concerns about living in Reflection Pointe and being moved into Southern Moun-
tain Cottages. Houston Beckworth, a junior majoring in archeology and biblical studies, said he has heard by “word of mouth” that the project will be completed by January but adds, “I’m not sure if they’ll actually finish building everything by January.” Beckworth said his group was notified three weeks before school started that they would be living in Reflection Pointe, which caused some frustrations. His roommate doesn’t have a car, “and if we were on camSee Housing on page 2
Collegedale university church welcomes two new pastors Anaya Parker Reporter This summer, two Southern Adventist University alumni joined the pastoral staff of the Collegedale Church of Seventh-day Adventists. Orlando Hernandez, Jr., the new pastor of Group Life & Connect, and Devon Howard, the new director of worship, said they are both excited about the possibilities for growth at the church. Hernandez graduated from Southern in 1998, but he said, over the past 27 years, his hope has been to return to the Collegedale area. He and his wife, Sonia, along with their three children, Orlando III, Isaac and Isabel, moved here from Florida, where Hernandez served as senior pastor at Kress Memorial Church. “It’s a lot of change, but it’s amazing,” said Hernandez. “I love it. People are awesome. They’re great. They’ve embraced us.” Hernandez said he is enthusiastic about how he can help those in the community build genuine relationships with Jesus. He said that a relationship with God doesn’t require a past in the church, but it does need a personal experience.
He said his ultimate goal is to share the love of Jesus and attract people to Christ, whether that’s through Connect, post-collegiate ministry or however God leads. As the new director of worship, Howard expressed a desire to minister to people through his area of expertise. He graduated from Southern in 2003 as a music major with an emphasis in organ performance and a minor in biblical languages. He later earned his doctorate in music arts from Arizona State University. “I was a theology major here at Southern for a while,” Howard said, “but I finally realized music was where my passion, especially for ministry, was.” Before coming to Southern, he worked at Southwestern Adventist University as chair of the music department and director of keyboard and theory studies, as well as the director of worship and arts at Kettering Adventist Church. Howard enjoys the sport of floorball, a Scandinavian version of hockey he learned while at Southwestern. He mainly dedicates his time to music, as he is part of the minority of organists worldwide. He loves the university’s culture See Collegedale Church on page 2