By: Jehiely Balabarca
Students from Oakwood University joined Southern Adventist University students
for DEEP Sabbath on Saturday, Sept. 12, for a day of worship, music and activities. DEEP
Sabbath, which stands for Diversity Educational Exchange Program, aims to create opportunities
for interaction between the two university communities. Deep Sabbath is organized by
Southern’s Student Association and Oakwoods’ United Student Movement (USM).
Students from Oakwood traveled to Southern for a day of worship and fellowship.
After attending church at Church of Seventh-day Adventists, students from both universities
shared lunch and participated in team building activities. The activities ranged from writing
letters to God to singing all together.
Ryan Williams, a senior theology major and religious vice president at Oakwood,
has participated in DEEP Sabbath at both universities. He described Southern and Oakwood as
different campus environments and said DEEP provides an opportunity for students to worship
together, build relationships and “bridge that gap.”
Williams also noticed a change in this year’s schedule. With fewer activities during part of the
program, he said students had more time for informal conversation.
“It felt like it was unrushed,” Williams said. “I feel like we were able to just really sit there and
be in each other’s presence.”
Pheben Alemayehu, a freshman nursing major at Southern, said she was familiar with Oakwood
before Saturday but was not aware that students were coming to visit until her friends mentioned
DEEP Sabbath.
“I was like, ‘Wow, that is really cool,’” Alemayehu said.
After participating in worship and afternoon activities, Alemayehu said she particularly enjoyed
the portions of the program that encouraged students to talk to one another. She now looks
forward to experiencing Oakwood’s campus when Southern makes its visit.
Cungo Kamau, a freshman business administration major at Southern, also attended DEEP for
the first time. He said having the Oakwood community present changed the atmosphere of
Sabbath for him, describing himself as feeling “more elevated and close to God.”
For some Oakwood students, the visit is also a first look at Southern.
Amani Williams, an Oakwood senior double majoring in public policy and Spanish and
a USM parliamentarian, had never visited Southern before Saturday. She said students were
welcoming throughout the day; at one point, there were six different desserts that had been
offered to her.
“I’ve never had that many dessert options,” Williams said. “Everyone’s really super nice, super
welcoming.”
Still, Williams said she would have liked more opportunities to interact directly with Southern
students. She suggested incorporating additional social activities that place students from both
universities on teams, requiring them to interact rather than simply attend the same events.
“If we were to bond with each other in a different light,” Williams said, “[it could create] a
longer-lasting impression because we would make friends a little faster.”
Some Southern students echoed that desire.
Caleb Runazi, who has attended previous DEEP Sabbaths, said he values the activities because
they allow students to interact beyond the worship service and experience what he described as
Southern’s sister campus.
However, Runazi said that despite spending three years at Southern, he has only visited
Oakwood twice.
“I wish we could have much more frequent visits,” Runazi said.
Matthew DeOliveira, a junior accounting major and Student
Association executive secretary, said he enjoyed reconnecting with friends from Oakwood and
introducing visiting students to Southern’s campus. Looking ahead, however, DeOliveira said he
would like to see greater student participation.
He said increased interaction could allow students to learn “how we’re different, how [we’re]
similar” while strengthening community between the schools.
Alejandro Robles, a junior pre-med biology major and SA executive vice president,
highlighted organization and participation as strengths of this year’s program. Robles said SA
members knew their responsibilities ahead of the event, while Senators helped serve visiting
Oakwood students.
He also pointed to the participation of both student bodies and Oakwood’s musical contributions
as highlights of the Sabbath.
Tony Planells, a junior finance major and SA payroll manager, said he appreciated the
opportunity to interact with students from other schools.
“It was great to see leaders from both schools come together and worship for the
Lord,” Planells said.
