Southern Accent

“The student voice since 1926.” Southern Adventist University's student newspaper. For advertising inquiries, please call or email the Southern Accent.

The Southern Accent is the student newspaper for Southern Adventist University. Published weekly on Thursdays, the Southern Accent strives to print accurate and unbiased news for its campus and community as well as represent the student voices with relevant and diverse editorials. Deadlines for ads or letters to the editor are on the Fridays before the issue in which the ad or letter needs to run

(ex. Friday, Oct. 16 is deadline for the Thursday, Oct. 22 issue). If you cannot make this deadline, please contact the Southern Accent to see if an arrangement can be made.

05/08/2025

Diversity was not something l expected to see when I came to Collegedale. I’m Chinese, raised in Hispanic culture, and for most of my life, I was used to being one of the only people with a multicultural background.
I’m also an only child, so I was stuck hanging out with mostly adults for much of my life. But at Southern, for the first time, I’m surrounded by people from all backgrounds, many of whom are my age, going through similar experiences. Somehow, it’s the most diversity l’ve ever experienced, and I wonder if Collegedale has always looked like this. My research has uncovered more racial diversity and shifts in age, health and religion. It’s subtle in some ways, but if you’re paying attention, you can see how the community evolves.

Read the full story on our website! Link in bio.

05/07/2025

As the city of Collegedale grows rapidly, there has become an increasing need for greater community involvement.
In an interview with the Accent, Commissioner Laura Howse, who serves the library and airport boards, shared her perspective on the importance of community engagement.
According to Howse, the city’s commission meetings have seen relatively low attendance.
“I would say that we have fairly low commission meeting attendance,” Howse said. “Usually we have two, but no more than ten people that come to the meeting, and that looks like low engagement.”

Read the full story on our website. Link in bio!

05/06/2025

The City of Collegedale originated as a farm known as Thatcher Switch, situated along the Norfolk Southern Railway. In 1916, Southern Junior College, now known as Southern Adventist University, purchased the property and renamed it Collegedale.
Several years later, in 1957, McKee Foods Corporation moved to Collegedale from Chattanooga. Eventually, Volkswagen built a plant in Collegedale as well in 2011.
These three companies changed the history of Collegedale and continue to contribute to the local economy to this day.

Read the full story in our website. Link in bio!

05/05/2025

A train horn blaring as it thunders down the tracks, the sweet aroma from the McKee Foods factory’s baked goods, privately owned businesses decorating the streets, and the bustle of community members and college students frequenting the small town are all prominent ideations when we think of Collegedale, Tennessee.
Yet there is much more to Collegedale than what we currently experience. An extensive and important story lies behind today’s modern, growing community.

Read the full story on our website. Link in bio.

05/04/2025

The road to Hidden Hills Farm and Saddle Club leads past a weathered old barn and up to a small creek.
Despite any initial misgivings, even small vehicles have no trouble sloshing across the wet gravel to the other side. From there, the drive is bumpy but serene, with horses grazing in their pastures on either side.
Eventually, the horse barn and riding arena come into sight, where the sounds of riders chattering and taking care of their horses cuts into the stillness of the surrounding fields.
Two years ago, the drive to Hidden Hills would have led to an entirely different property. However, in August of 2023, the farm relocated to a site only 5.5 miles from Southern’s campus, amid plans for a controversial housing development at their original location.

Read the full story on our website. Link in bio.

05/02/2025

Eighty-two new town homes will soon exist on Ooltewah-Ringgold Road, changing the landscape as drivers head toward Main Street.
Dogwood Estates is already under construction, with some slabs poured, and at least seven units sold, according to Lori Combs, sales office manager for the Atlanta-Chattanooga division of Smith Douglas Homes, the company building the development.

Read the full story on our website. Link in bio.

05/01/2025

Sitting at Chestnut Hall on a sunny Friday afternoon, Mayor Morty Lloyd and David Barto, director of the Collegedale Tomorrow Foundation, discussed the city’s uncertain future.
The two men sat on the front porch of the building located at The Commons, a community gathering place tucked between City Hall and Little Debbie Park. Nearby, the sounds of birds chirping and children playing clashed with the buzz of Apison Pike, the main road a few hundred feet away — a symbolic reminder of a growing dilemma.

Read the full story on our website. Link in bio.

04/28/2025

The lights were low at Chattanooga Hispanic Community Seventh-day Adventist Church, better known as La Comunidad. The room filled slowly. Some people slipped into seats near the back, while others made their way up front, where three chairs had been left intentionally empty, a quiet invitation for anyone ready to kneel, raise their hands or simply be still before God. There was no sermon, no children’s story and no offertory. Just music and worship
La Comunidad’s Night of Worship isn’t about filling a program. It’s about making space.

Read the full story on our website. Link in bio.

04/27/2025

There are few times that I felt a greater sense of panic than I did during the final push to get the very first Southern Accent issue of the year ready for publication. As the newly minted editor-in-chief, it was my first time leading “editing night,” when the paper’s editors and layout designers get together to prepare the week’s issue of the Accent.
Editing nights are often long and grueling, but this one was especially arduous, as more questions, decisions and problems were lobbed my way than I thought I could handle. However, with many calls to Alva James-Johnson, faculty sponsor of the paper, and the hard work of many staff members, we successfully published the first issue.

Read the full story on our website. Link in bio.

04/25/2025

Sitting at my desk with pencils and paper scattered everywhere, my middle school English teacher forced me to diagram sentences — it felt like prison. I was the student who hated English the most growing up. I wasn’t a “bad” pupil, but I loathed school. My entire lifestyle was built around the outdoors, skateboarding and a sense of adventure.
However, even at that time, there was another side to me. Art and the idea of expression were things I enjoyed, but I had no clue how to share my voice. I can’t paint, and some of my best drawings have a stick figure as the main subject.

Read the full story on our website. Link in bio.

04/24/2025

Morty Lloyd swayed with the music, hands clasped, as the praise team led worship inside the Chattanooga Church. The voices of singers and the sounds from instruments merged with the response of the congregation. Once the music faded and the members settled, Lloyd walked up to the pulpit and delivered his sermon, “Confronting Conflict,” a speech that spoke of the hardships in life, both
personal and collective.

Read the full story on our website. Link in bio.

04/21/2025

The futsal courts planned for Southern’s sports facilities have been cancelled, according to an announcement in the Feb. 26 Student Association (SA) Senate minutes.

In a meeting held between SA and Dennis Negrón, vice president of Student Development, it was decided that not only would the futsal courts project be shut down, but also the possibility of pickleball courts.

The idea was abandoned after much deliberation and trial through SA, according to Negrón.

Read the full story on our website. Link in bio.

Address

Collegedale, TN

Telephone

+18007688437

Website

https://southern-accent.org/, https://linktr.ee/Southern_Accent

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Southern Accent posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Southern Accent: