Southern Accent
The student voice for 90 years!
Collegedale, Tennessee
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Vol. 72, Issue 12
Service initiative kicks off on MLK Day Sierra emilaire Editor-in-chiEf
A campaign to gather 125,000 hours of community service among Southern Adventist University students, faculty, alumni and affiliates kicked off on Jan. 16 in concurrence with MLK community service day. “When thinking about different ways to celebrate 125 years of Southern’s existence, we thought it would be a great idea,” said Isaac James, director of marketing and university relations. “Service is such a core part of who we are. We wanted to find a way to celebrate through service while including the larger community.” Southern created a website where participants can log their community hours from wherever they are.
To log hours, participants must fill in their name, what they have worked on and how many hours of service they have accumulated. The Christian Ser v ice Department will be involved in this new service initiative in various ways. Dora Desamour, Christian service program director, is in the process of organizing a service project with alumni to encourage involvement in reaching the 125,000 hours. This project is expected to commence in the spring. “It feels great [to be a part of this] because, don’t get me wrong, our staff and faculty volunteer all the time, but now we have a focus,” Desamour said. “It’s a great opportunity to remind us that it’s fun to serve; it’s what God asks of us. People
can certainly go ahead and log what they already do [to serve their communities], but now they’re a part of this process to gather 125,000 hours served among us all.” Students, faculty and volunteers served for nearly 4,000 hours were served on MLK day by students, faculty and volunteers. Students are encouraged to log in their hours for that day toward the collective goal of 125,000 hours. The Christian Ser v ice Department is in the process of sending thank you notes to participants with a direct link to the campaign site. Students who are serving abroad are also encouraged to be a part of reaching this service goal. See SERVICE, page 2
Photo by Heidi Olson Chemistry Club president Olivia Londis prepares a garden for planting at Red Clay Farms on community service day.
Papa John’s increases donation percentage for Southern scholarships PhilliP Warfield contributor
The Papa John’s $6.99 pizza deal has been updated to help finance Southern’s scholarship fund. The half-price discount of a large one-topping pizza remains the same to students and faculty, but the percentage of the profits that go to Southern’s scholar-
ship fund has been upgraded to significantly benefit students. Originally, 10 percent of the money student and faculty spent at Papa John’s went to the fund, but local Papa John’s representative Paul Boccia recently agreed to increase the amount to 15 percent. “I commend the Student Association Senate and SA leadership that initiated the part-
nership with Papa John’s,” said Geovanny Ragsdale, associate vice president for advancement. “This partnership allows students to impact their fellow and future students to benefit from the SA Senate Leadership Endowed Scholarship through the power of their wallet. They get a discount and the corporation makes an additional gift toward the endowment; every-
one wins.” As of December, Papa John’s agreed to retroactively apply the 15 percent increase to purchased items from last semester and give that money to the scholarship fund. The deal assists worthy students financially and provides students with a discount on other select items. The pizza chain has also been gracious to provide side
dishes like breadsticks, garlic knots and cheese sticks for 33 percent off the menu price. “I am excited for the opportunity to work with the community to further empower student education here at Southern,” said Moses Maier, SA president. The meeting was an encouraging moment that allowed for this involvement in the community to grow.”