Written by: Htet Myint
Southern Adventist University made additions to its student handbook this school year, threatening possible disciplinary action for fighting and dancing off campus. The handbook section titled, “Do the Standards Apply Off Campus?”, now states: “Off-campus behaviors such as imbibing in alcoholic beverages, using drugs, selling or manufacturing illicit substances, dancing, or fighting (in organized sporting events or otherwise) may result in sanctions for the involved students.”
This clause was not included in previous handbooks.
The student handbook undergoes a review annually, according to Dennis Negrón, vice president for Student Development.
“A couple reviews ago the introduction was added, and what we unintentionally omitted was the statement about what sorts of activities are inconsistent with Southern’s values: dancing, gambling, etc.,” he wrote in an email to the Accent. “However, the statement on organized fighting was included as a result of the last two years’ events that occurred off campus.”
Sophomore business-administration major Cole Gentry and senior marketing major Jake D’Avanzo, the past organizers of Fight Night, a controversial off-campus boxing event that took place in 2022 and earlier this year, said they are aware of the handbook’s new statement. Both said “fighting (in organized sporting events or otherwise)” was included in the new statement solely due to Fight Night based on their interactions with Negrón last semester.
“We were called in [to the Student Development office] multiple times to talk about it and what consequences we would face for hosting the previous Fight Night,” D’Avanzo said, “but Cole kept mentioning how there was a gap between the handbook and what they were trying to sanction us for. Because of that, Negrón did tell me this would be in the handbook in the future.”
“We were called in [to the Student Development office] multiple times to talk about it and what consequences we would face for hosting the previous Fight Night.”
While discussing pushback they have received regarding Fight Night from what they consider conservative Seventh-day Adventist churches and Southern’s Student Development office, Gentry said: “We were told by Negrón that they would put something into the rules that would stop us from doing [Fight Night].”
When asked what types of consequences Negrón told them they might face for organizing the boxing event last school year, Gentry said no specific sanctions were discussed.
Gentry said he has been considering the idea of expanding Fight Night to other local college campuses but is awaiting clarification on what the new handbook sanctions could entail, he said.
Negrón stated that he does not oversee handbook sanctions.
“I don’t issue sanctions as VP,” he wrote. “That is a responsibility of Code of Conduct.”
The student handbook states that violations of Southern’s Code of Conduct are handled by the dean of students and Student Conduct Board. The dean of students is Lisa Hall, according to Southern’s website. Specific sanctions for alcohol and drug use are listed in the handbook, but specific sanctions for fighting and dancing are not included. The word “dancing,” including its variations, appears once in the current handbook, in the new statement.
When asked about the future of Fight Night, Gentry said he might seek sponsors to make Fight Night a free event and is considering trying to incorporate it as an official Southern activity despite the new language in the handbook.
“I’m thinking about running for SA president and making Fight Night an actual event,” he said.
Since the time of this article’s publication, Gentry contacted the Accent to say that he is considering running for Student Association president but made the statement about organizing Fight Night as a Southern event jokingly.
D’Avanzo, a senior who will be graduating in December, said he is passing the baton to Gentry.
“For Cole, it’s up to him,” D’Avanzo said, “but I’ll be watching as I’m graduating.”
David Oh, senior computer science major, expressed surprise and concern when learning about the handbook change in an interview with the Accent. Oh founded @saudancers, an Instagram account he uses to post videos of him and his friends dancing.
When asked what inspired him to start the account, he said, “I wanted to start a club, but it’s forbidden. So I started this account because there’s a lot of people who want to dance, but they are too scared to. It’s one of the best ways to express human emotion, so it’s a really good outlet.”
He questioned the fairness of the new statement in the handbook, particularly its grouping of dancing with more serious offenses like drugs and violence. Oh emphasized his belief in the cultural and personal importance of dancing as a form of self-expression and community building.
“I know we chose to come [to Southern], but I feel like dancing isn’t anything dangerous. There are other forms [of dancing] that aren’t provocative, and it allows me to express myself,” Oh said. “It’s a really good way to connect with people and the community. I’m big on community and creating an atmosphere where you can have fun; we’re not harming anyone.”
“The confusion about cultural dancing that is behind the question on Irish Christmas is that cultural dancing has not been banned; it has been paused for a year during cultural nights.”
Isaiah Lawrence, junior theology major, echoed Oh’s sentiments, finding the dancing aspect of the new clause particularly disappointing, especially considering the positive cultural aspects associated with dance. Lawrence said the handbook’s new addition of dancing as a punishable off-campus behavior does not align with the university hosting a recent Irish Christmas event featuring tap dancing.
“It’s a little bit jarring. In a past Accent article, [Negrón] mentioned how this is a break from dancing and not a ban,” Lawrence said, referring to a new rule Negrón implemented this school year that disallows dancing at cultural nights, “but now it feels as though there is not any hope of dancing coming back to Southern.”
When asked to respond to students’ complaints surrounding the Irish Christmas event in light of recent cultural dancing discussions on campus, Negrón wrote, “The confusion about cultural dancing that is behind the question on Irish Christmas is that cultural dancing has not been banned; it has been paused for a year during culture nights.”
Editor-in-chief Amanda Blake contributed to this article.
