Author: Guest Writer

After back and forth student petitions, Southern Adventist University's administration announced its approval for optional pass/fail grading on April 22. According to an email from President David Smith, this temporary policy change for Winter 2020 is meant to help mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent tornado in the Collegedale area. According …

Wellness challenges started by SAU’s counseling center have become a weekly event, with around 200 students already participating. After the chaotic beginning of online classes, some students are using this initiative as a way to express themselves during the quarantine.  Tiffany Bartell, a full-time counselor and outreach coordinator for the counseling center, is one of …

On Tuesday, April 14, Talge Hall Dean Kevin Pride sent out an email to residence hall student workers announcing his departure from Southern. After serving at Southern for 12 years as an associate dean, Pride has accepted an Athletic Director position at Forest Lake Academy (FLA) in Apopka, Florida. According to Pride, who previously worked …

After a proposal that would have given students the option to be graded on a pass/fail scale was rejected by Southern’s academic administration, some students are now campaigning for an adjusted grading scale. Southern acknowledged student feedback on its Instagram story earlier this week and said it hopes to have an update by Friday afternoon.  …

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued a “safer-at-home” order for the state that started on Tuesday, March 31, and will last for at least two weeks. This will effectively close all nonessential businesses and urge residents to stay at home as much as possible.  The order differs from a “shelter-in-place” order that some states have issued, …

María Jóse Morán,  a junior international student who attends Southern Adventist University on student-visa, faced a dilemma as the university began transitioning to online instruction for the remainder of the semester.  On March 12, she received an email ordering students to be completely moved out of the dorms and Southern Village apartments in less than …

On March 12, shortly after Southern Adventist University announced that it would be changing its classes to distant learning for the rest of the semester, the Student Missions office sent out an email advising current student missionaries to return home. The recommendation came as a response to ongoing COVID-19 concerns.“As a student missionary, Southern is …

On March 12, members of the Asian Club staged an impromptu Asian night performance after news that Southern Adventist University was going to switch to distance learning for the rest of the semester.  The show included seven performances that highlighted the cultures of Korea, the Philippines, China, Japan, Indonesia, the Oceanic Islands and India. It …

COVID-19 concerns have prompted Southern Adventist University to cancel all international spring break mission trips, according to a campus-wide email from administrators. They will meet at 9 p.m. tonight with students whose trips were cancelled. The university’s decision came today hours after the World Health Organization (WHO)  classified the disease, better known as coronavirus, as …

Campus Ministries will be hosting a series of online vespers, which will be streamed on southern.edu/streaming, in response to students returning home and classes moving online. The program will also be available on Southern’s Facebook and Instagram pages and will remain online for subsequent viewing by students  in different time zones.  The first worship took …