NEWS
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Enrollment Continued from page 1
to evaluate how we will respond
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Tierra Hayes MANAGING EDITOR
Kristen Vonnoh LIFESTYLE EDITOR
Jeanina Mann OPINION EDITOR
Zachary Hagen RELIGION EDITOR
Brittny Desvarieux SPORTS EDITOR
Elisabeth Sewell HUMOR EDITOR
Rachel Beaver COPY EDITORS
Anecia Ascalon Hannah Wambolt ART DIRECTOR
Rachel Brouhard PHOTGRAPHER
Joseph Hyde LAYOUT DESIGNERS
Isary Sanchez Taylor Maddox WEB MANAGER
Jonathan Ziesmer SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
Isa Taveres
LEAD REPORTER
Paola Mora ADVISOR
Natalia Lopez-Thismon
to the effects of lower enrollments on our budgets and budget priorities in the short and long term. We are also looking at how we as a department can be more effectively involved in the process of recruiting students who are interested in degrees and careers in chemistry.” Other departments, such as nursing and physics and engineering, remained stable, despite the overall decline in students. Chris Hansen, dean of the physics and engineering department, said, “Our enrollment is about the same or slightly higher.”
Barbara James, dean of the nursing department, said, “We are full and busy and have numerous inquiries about our program each day (more than 600 from the website alone in the past year).” Southern also released it’s demographic numbers by race during the census: Fourty-six percent of the student population is white (non-Hispanic), 23.5 percent of students are Hispanic, 12.3 percent of students are Asian, 10.97 percent of students are black or African-American, 5.8 percent of students are two or more races, 0.8 percent of students are Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.2 percent of students are American/Alaska Native.
Editor
Continued from page 1 to build stronger relationships with our readers and to become more relevant in the everyday lives of students. Follow us on Instagram (@sauaccent), Twitter (@Southern_Accent) and Facebook (@the.southern. accent). You can also find our content for the school year online at southern.edu/accent, which is currently being reworked to streamline our process of getting out news to the people who need it. So expect to see changes to our website as the year goes on. Diversity Southern Adventist University is full of people from all walks of life. We just don’t all think the same. I believe that our paper should be a reflection of that. In our news section, we strive to cover a wide variety of topics: the unknowns, the familiar the weird. So much is happening on campus, and it is our job as representatives of the student body to inform. In our religion and opinion sections, we want to encourage discussion and debate in a productive manner about the important topics that surround us daily. The Accent is not a liberal paper. The Accent is not a conservative paper. The Accent should merely be a reflection of those who make up our campus, and that means hearing from a diverse range of viewpoints. This diversity should also be
Books
Continued from page 1 last school year. Due to new professors and/or new books, those adoptions were delayed. Beyond that, a larger number of students signed up for specific classes later than normal. Both of these factors meant the Campus Shop was not able to order books on time or gather enough in time for the start of classes. When these factors were finalized and enrollment increased, the Campus Shop “worked overtime to get reorders done,” Payne said. Some students, like Jordan Cherne, senior business and Spanish major, decided not to order books from Southern’s bookstore. “I will never buy my books from the Campus Shop. I prefer to buy my books online,” said Cherne. Others, like Tara Robinson and Seth Edens, junior mass communication major and senior business finance major respectively, buy their books
Grant
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Courtesy of Tierra Hayes
obvious in our lifestyle, sports and humor sections. Dedication More than 40 people work together in many different roles to bring the students this paper every week, for 22 weeks during the school year. That number includes writers, editors, designers and artists alike. It is my goal, as editor-in-chief, to bring all of these ideas, all of these visions, together to create one cohesive publication. I can’t wait to see what this year has in store. We welcome anyone who would like to present commentary on what we print from week to week. Please feel free to submit a 150-250 word Letter to the Editor. These can be submitted to accent@southern. edu. If you are interested in being a regular contributor to the paper, email me personally at tierrahayes@southern.edu.
discover the best way to break down racial barriers on campus. There will also be a lecture series that focuses on how to find racial unity through diversity. Additionally, Williams-Smith will be overseeing research into Southern’s own racial perceptions and how these perceptions change due to this program. Lucas Patterson, Assistant Director, Communications and Foundation Relations, wrote the initial proposal to the Lumina Foundation and has been in close communication with them throughout this process. “This grant will increase the intentionality of the ongoing discussions about race that are already happening on campus. There are genuine questions with difficult answers being asked, which is why these discussions must continue,” Patterson said. The Lumina Foundation is a foundation that works with organizations to help college become available to more people. They fund initiatives to help colleges achieve improved environments. “SAU’s commitment to equity is clear. We are proud to support you in your work and hold it up as an example for
from the Campus Shop prior to the start of classes. Edens said he got his books a week before classes and had no problems. Payne said that one way ordering books from the Campus Shop could be easier would be if students used the textbook reservation, which began July 26 of this year. Payne recommends students go to saucampusshop.com to look up their textbook list, compare prices with other online sources and decide which books to order from Southern’s bookstore. After making their online reservations with the Campus Shop, students can skip the line and pick up their pre– ordered books. This method ensures books are in stock and ready for easy pick-up. When books are preordered, the Campus Shop can easily track their inventory and know when to restock. With an understanding of the multistep process of ordering and receiving textbooks, students and staff can be more prepared for future semesters.
others,” Haley Glover, Lumina Foundation Strategy Director, said. The plans for the grant money are underway and have already funded a guest speaker at an employee in-service session.
“This grant will increase the intentionality of the ongoing discussions about race that are already happening on campus” Students like sophomore nursing major Kelly Quintiana have voiced support for the grant’s plans. “The reason this grant is going to be so impactful is that it gives students the perfect opportunity to use their voice to express their thoughts and ideas. There are practical and unique tools out there for us to use, so that we can tell our story,” Quintiana said. To find out more about SOAR, visit www.southern. edu/soar.
Student center construction to begin after delays Anecia Ascalon Copy Editor Construction for the new Gordon Bietz Center for Student Life is finally underway after experiencing several delays. Project completion is expected to be in June 2020, accounting for weather and no major delays. Two years ago different plans for a student center were created and approved. However the high cost was a huge issue and those plans were dismissed. The process of creating entirely new building plans has been one contributing factor in the lengthy time frame of the construction. Another reason is that the current location next to the library is not easy to build on. Before even laying down a building foundation, tree excavation had to be done and then the removal of a high voltage power line. Government bureaucracy also comes into play. There are requirements and permits at every level. Hamilton County, the State Fire Marshal, and Collegedale all have to sign off. Approval through these different
channels has to be completed before major building can begin. Coordination between departments moving into the new building also had to take place. “When they first started talking about it, I thought that maybe my grandkids would be able to enjoy it, not me,” said Wait, a senior education major. “But now it seems like it might actually get done while I’m young.” As the building construction continues, parking will be compromised because 50 spots will be taken away next to the library. However 50 new parking spots are in the works to be built by Hulsey and another 50 by Brock. Virginia parking lot has 72 spaces that are also going to be opened up to students. The new student center was originally going to be located by the Village Market. However, administration started analyzing the logistics of having a student center that was not at a central location on campus. Foot traffic already exists between the main side of campus and Fleming Plaza. This would be made worse by adding another building.
Courtesy of Marty Hamilton First floor of Bietz Center for Student Life Administrators decided that centralization was key and that it would be more beneficial to have the student center right along the promenade and easily accessible to students. There are five departments that are going to be moving into the new building: the Campus Kitchen, the Campus Shop/ bookstore, the Chaplain’s office, the Student Success Center and Student Development. Coordination had to happen with all five departments and the sub-departments they oversee and this process took several months. The new building has been designed with students in mind.
The first floor is geared towards fun and giving students a place to just relax, hang out with friends and play games in the game room. The second floor has more seating areas, study rooms and the Campus Kitchen, which will be a new food option. The third floor will likely be quieter than the other two, holding offices for the various student services on campus. Marty Hamilton, Southern’s associate vice president for financial administration, has been overseeing the project and is focused on making this building great. “I want a person walking in to say, ‘This is a student center,’” Hamilton said.
The building will have several unique features including a bridge across the second floor, a slide going down to the first floor, bubble chairs that hang from the ceiling and an outdoor patio. “This is going to be a transformative building for campus. There has never been anything this focused,” Hamilton said. “There are no classes taking place in this building. We want it to be open until maybe 11, in order to complement the library. Just a place to meet friends and hang out. Kind of like a living room for students.”
If you would like to be a contributor for our news section contact Tierra Hayes at tierrahayes@southern.edu