Southern Accent
The student voice since 1926
Collegedale, Tennessee
Editorial: #MeToo Natalia Perez Editor-in-Chief
In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Accent staff has decided to dedicate part of this issue for students to share their personal stories about their experiences with domestic violence and sexual assault. Throughout this past week, you may have seen the “#MeToo” statuses and tweets on social media. The #MeToo movement was birthed when actress Alyssa Milano tweeted “Me too. Suggested by a friend. If all women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘Me too’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.” Within 24 hours, the hashtag had been used half a million times, not only on Twitter, but my feed on Facebook was filled with my friends and acquaintances publicly sharing that they, too, have experienced sexual assault or harassment. And
it wasn’t just women; men, too, shared their experiences. Some shared their stories, while others simply posted the hash-tag. Despite the amount of #MeToo messages and stories I’ve seen, I know they’re only the tip of the iceberg. For every person who has chosen to post the hash-tag or share his or her story, there are many others who’ve chosen not to, whether publicly or at all. Unlike many types of social media activism, #MeToo was not meant to be a call to action or the beginning of a campaign; it was meant to foster solidarity. Its power is that it takes something most people have kept silent about and transforms it into a movement. It’s an attempt to get people to understand the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault in society. It’s real for women. It’s real for men. It’s real for the students on this campus. Read their stories on pages 6-7.
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Academic Administration implements new app to replace Degree Audit Danielle Allen Staff Writer
Un i v e r s i t y Academic Administration is set to implement a new app this semester called the Colleague Student Planner. The Colleague Student Planner app will add a number of features not available in the current Degree Audit program. The list of features available on the app include clear on-track and on-time indicators for students to check their progress towards the completion of their degree, a what-if analysis that allows a student to project how long it would take to complete an alternative degree program, and the ability to map out all four years of a bachelor’s degree including loading sample course plans. “Although the [original] degree audit is accurate in determining if a student has completed all degree requirements, it was difficult to use,
and even highly experienced advisors found it hard to use,” Young said. This app will be available for use sometime this year, said Robert Young, senior vice president of academic administration, but will be tested out by different student groups at different times to allow all past degree audits to be moved into the new system. For students who are under the current and previous year’s catalog, the Student Planner app will be available to use by Oct. 27. Students under older catalogs will have access to the Student Planner app at a later, unspecified time in the school year. “This app is part of the suite of Student Information Systems software the university uses to manage its business from records to accounting, accounts payable and so on,” Young said. This project was presented to faculty at Faculty Senate
SVAD, SJC host Roundtable Cinthya Molina Photo Editor
Starting from this Saturday night, Oct. 27, to Oct. 31, Southern will be hosting the Roundtable, an alumni-led seminar event, for the second year in a row.
The Roundtable is run by alumni for the undergraduate students in the School of Visual Art & Design (SVAD) and School of Journalism and Communication (SJC). The event includes keynotes, panel discussions, information sessions, workshops and work critiques.
Vol. 73, Issue 7
This year there are over 50 alumni participating from all corners of the country, spanning over 15 years of graduating classes, said Tom Wentworth, an organizing alumnus of the event and Senior Director of Production for NBCUniversal. The alumni presenting this
year include Emmy Award winner Maranatha Hay along with alumni from animation studios, advertising agencies, movies and TV production crews, news publications, television networks, public service and the Adventist church. Jason Frias, junior media pro-
meeting. “There weren’t any questions, and it seemed faculty were supportive of its implementation,” Young said. This new development evoked positive responses from students. “I transferred here my sophomore year, and it literally took me a full year to actually understand how the Degree Audit works,” said Alexa Smart, senior business and international studies major. “Sometimes I’m still confused on it, and it’s about time they change it and make it user friendly.” Christina Robinson, junior public relations and graphic design major, said, “I’m all about organizing and knowing about my future, especially right now with trying to figure out if I should add on a minor. I would love to be able to see if adding that minor will change my graduation date, and if it does, then by how much.”
duction major, said, “Meeting with the alumni who will do presentations and getting to talk to them about prospective jobs and interning will be a great opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the industry and figuring See ROUNDTABLE, page 2