Southern Accent
The student voice for 90 years!
Collegedale, Tennessee
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Vol. 72, Issue 16
SA candidates give final thoughts on campaign Lindsey CLute Staff Writer
On Tuesday, candidates running for the Student Association (SA) positions of social vice president, executive vice president and president answered students’ questions during the SA press conference held in Thatcher Hall Chapel. Students were handed blank yellow cards to write their questions and received convocation credit for attending. Stephen Ruf, associate professor in the school of journalism and communication, moderated the press conference. Traditional opening statements were waived, but candidates gave closing statements after all questions were answered. Each candidate was allotted thirty seconds to answer questions which had to do with things such as how they plan on promoting and fostering a positive environment of racial unity on campus and how each candidate plans to balance their life if elected, including their
devotional life. Yesenia Sosa, junior theology major and presidential candidate, was asked about how she felt about Studio 4109 in reference to her comments during the Discussion on Race forum held in Talge Hall on Monday night. “I’ve never actually been to a show, but I’ve talked to Mr. Frood, who is their sponsor, and he’s told me great things,” said Sosa. “But I was kind of disappointed in how the Gym Masters people were affected this past Saturday night. I don’t think it’s right to put people down, but I think we can utilize [Studio] in a good way.” Phillip Warfield, presidential candidate and actor for Studio 4109 responded. “Satirical comedy depends on how you view it and that can happen with anything,” said Warfield. “We didn’t think that we were trying to make a certain group of people feel alienated or hurt. I’m a sensitive person and I would’ve made it my duty to catch it. But I don’t
Photo by TIERRA HAYES From left, Jake Strauss, Gavin Finch, Yesenia Sosa, Philip Warfield answer student’s questions during the student association press conference on Tuesday evening.
view it as awful as I have heard.” A SurveyMonkey email has been sent to each student to vote between the two remain-
ing presidential candidates, Warfield and Sosa. Voting will be open until midnight. Jake Strauss, social vice candidate
and Gavin Finch, executive vice candidate are running unopposed, and need 50 percent of the vote in order to win.
ItIsTimeAU video provokes discussion on Andrews and Southern campuses sierra emiLaire editor-in-Chief
Controversial statements about race and politics by a guest speaker at Andrews University sparked dissension by some students, prompting apologies and discussion on other university campuses, including a race relations forum at Southern on Monday. On Feb.
9, Jamie Kowlessar, pastor of the southwest region conference of seventh-day adventists, spoke during chapel for Black History Month at Andrews. Some students departed from the building during his sermon. Kowlessa r spoke on the three Hebrew boys and Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel 3, in relation to recent political events and how they have affect-
ed specific social groups. He encouraged listeners to “stop the music” and to actively change situations they don’t agree with. Social media became the platform for students to share their dissent and eventually complaints were brought up to Andrews administration by various individuals including donors. One week later, during chap-
el, University Provost Christon Arthur apologized to any members of the congregation that may have been offended by the words of Kowlessar. Kowlessar was not contacted in regards to this apology. In response to this apology, a group of Andrews students created a video titled “ItIsTimeAU” and posted it on youtube on Feb. 18. In this three-minute video,
these students demanded an apology “for the systemic racism [Andrews] has perpetuated on its campus”, for past and present grievances with a one-week deadline. On Monday, Andrea Luxton, Andrews president, released an official statement on the school’s website. In her response, she See ANDREWS, page 2