compassVol. XLVI No. 1 August 18, 2010

t h e r e a s o n t h e g e e s e k n o w w h i c h w a y t o f l y

The top fivequestions for the ‘10-’11 season

PAGE 6

Don’t miss anyimportant datescoming up!

PAGE 4

w w w . g s c C o m p a s s . o r g

Laker’s ready.

Are you?PAGE 5

August 18, 20102

We’re moving!gscCompass.ORG

better design, more updates, all that fun stuff

t h e c o m p a s s x l v i n o . 1a u g u s t 1 6 , 2 0 1 0

G a i n e s v i l l e S t a t e C o l l e g eG a i n e s v i l l e , G e o r g i a

S U M M E R S T A f f

E D I T O R L a u r e n B l a i s 9 2 4 2 0 3 7 5 2 @ g s c . e d u

L A Y O U T E D I T O R B r a n d e n L e f t y 9 2 4 1 9 7 4 8 8 @ g s c . e d u

D a n i e l D o v e 9 2 4 1 5 4 3 4 5 @ g s c . e d u

H a n n a h G a r r a r d 9 2 4 2 1 0 1 9 1 @ g s c . e d u

K a y l a M c G e e 9 2 4 2 0 4 3 5 2 @ g s c . e d u

E m i l y P e r r y 9 2 4 1 1 4 3 8 9 @ g s c . e d u

A u d r e y W i l l i a m s 9 2 4 2 1 1 5 7 8 @ g s c . e d u

M i k e W i l l i a m s 9 2 4 1 9 8 4 3 2 @ g s c . e d u

f A C U L T Y A D V I S E RM e r r i l l M o r r i s m m o r r i s @ g s c . e d u

T h e C o m p a s s r e l e a s e s f o u r p r i n t e d i s s u e s e a c h s e m e s t e r a n d a n o n l i n e e d i t i o n a t w w w . g s c C o m p a s s . o r g

the compass

August 18, 2010 3

n e w s

page layout Branden Lefty

GSC faculty, staff and administrators have struggled with budget cuts over the past two years, as state funding levels have decreased and enrollment has increased.

Branden Lefty

NEWS

CONTENTS

page 3

OPINIONSpage 6

COVER DESIGNBRANDEN LEfTY

PHOTOBRANDEN LEfTY

Laker T. Goose, the school mascot,

greets al l the new students at SOAR.

CAMPUSLIfEpage 4

Emily Perry924114389@gsc.edu

As the new semester begins at GSC, Georgia’s budget woes have created another cut in the school’s funding, but no fac-ulty and staff furloughs have been scheduled so far.

And there is some good budget news: The pool will stay open, and faculty and staff received raises over the summer to begin to put their pay rates in line with those at other state colleges.

As of Aug. 1, GSC is operating with a 4 percent cut in its budget, which had already been cut last spring.

“If we stay at 4 percent, I will be a happy camper,” Martha Nesbitt, GSC’s president, told faculty and staff at the annual breakfast meeting the college has at the beginning of each new year.

In the past, GSC has had to return 12 percent of the money allocated to the school by the state.

This latest budget news gives cause for some optimism, even if temporary.

Nesbitt received a call last week from the Board of Regents (BOR) letting her know that they will be providing funds to offset the cost of operating GSC’s pool.

“The BOR has made a commitment to provide funds for at least two years,” Nesbitt said, “Long-term (funding), I can’t really say.”

The primary reason the pool is such a heavy expense bud-get item is due to its age, Nesbitt said. “It needs major reno-vation.”

In March 2010, the pool had been slated to close indefi-nitely due to budgetary concerns.

Furlough days for faculty and staff possibly might not be an issue this year either.

“There is no plan for furloughs at all, but the feeling is that we probably won’t know about furloughs until the fall, when there’s more information about state revenues,” Nesbitt said.

Faculty and staff also received equity raises for the current fiscal year. The raises went into effect July 1.

GSC’s faculty and staff have the lowest pay rates in the state when compared to other state colleges, such as Dalton State, Georgia Gwinnett and Macon State. Average salaries are still low, however, even with the raise.

Until the state revenue numbers are finalized and GSC knows the resulting affect it will have, a total budget cut per-centage is all but conjecture.

The approval last Tuesday by the federal government to ex-tend $16.1 billion in additional Medicaid assistance will pos-sibly help states avoid some cuts to schools.

While the money will not directly benefit colleges, some believe it will help fill states’ budget gaps and minimize cuts to other areas of state spending, including education.

However, Gov. Sonny Perdue has asked all University Sys-tem of Georgia schools to submit plans for further cuts, and these cuts may be institued if state revenues don’t go up the next few months.

GSC continues to grow rapidly. The admissions office dealt with 11,500 applicants this year, up from 3,000 in 2000. Thir-ty-four new faculty members were hired for both campuses. And over the summer, the BOR released a study showing that GSC has an economic impact on Northeast Georgia of more than $200 million.

Construction has begun on a theater addition, and the new classroom building is on schedule, slated to open July 28, 2011, according to Vice President for Business and Finance Paul Glaser. The building will nearly double the number of classrooms available at the Oakwood campus.

Budget cuts may be coming, but the pool will stay open

August 18, 20104

c a m p u s l i f e

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31

"Identity" Art Exhibit "Identity" Art Exhibit "Identity" Art Exhibit12 PM in Student Center

GSC Alliance MeetingStudent Center 12 PM in Student Center

SGA Meeting 12 PM in Study Skills Workshop

"Identity" Art Exhibit "Identity" Art Exhibit "Identity" Art Exhibit "Identity" Art Exhibit "Identity" Art Exhibit "Identity" Art Exhibit "Identity" Art Exhibit

Education Building Student Center Student Center12 PM in Student Center 11 AM in Continuing Workshop 12 PM in Workshop 12 PM in

"Identity" Art Exhibit

GSC Alliance Meeting GSC Volunter Fair Time Management Rape Prevention

Weeks of Welcome Tents Weeks of Welcome Tents Weeks of Welcome Tents "Identity" Art Exhibit "Identity" Art ExhibitDrop/Add Drop/Add Drop/Add Drop/Add Last Day of Drop/Add

Center Academic II10:30 AM in Student 7:30-9:00 AM in front of

First Official Day of Class Banner Web Intro Seminar Donuts with the Deans

Campus Closed SOAR Seesion Registration for Fall 2010

Center9:30 AM in Student

New Student Welcome

AUGUST 2010Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday friday Saturday

S M T W Th F Sa1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 12 13 14 15 16 1718 19 20 21 22 23 2425 26 27 28 29 30 31

July 2010S M T W Th F Sa

1 2 3 45 6 7 8 9 10 1112 13 14 15 16 17 1819 20 21 22 23 24 2526 27 28 29 30

September 2010

1 2 3 4

5 6 Labor Day 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 Autumnal equinox 24 25

26 27 28 29 30

Amphitheater8:30 PM at the 5 PM in Student Center

Wild Culture Film Series "Why am I in College?"

Godin-Holocaust Survivor in Student CenterStudent Center Colloquim Series: Nesse Seminar 12 and 5 PM Student Center

Seminar 12 PM in Weeks Problematic Drinking Workshop 11 AM in "Why am I in College?" Midpoint for First 10 Last 10 Weeks Begins Methods to Help Social Justice/Diversity

"Identity" Art Ehibit SGA Open House "Identity" Art Ehibit "Identity" Art Ehibit "Identity" Art Ehibitin Student Center

Seminar 12 and 5 PM Student Center 12 PM in Student CenterCollege Transferring 1PM and 5 PM in Study Abroad

Midpoint for First Session Testing Anxiety Seminar Infromational Meeting for

"Identity" Art Ehibit "Identity" Art Ehibit "Identity" Art Ehibit Student Center "Identity" Art Ehibit "Identity" Art Ehibit "Identity" Art Ehibit1PM and 5 PM in

No Class No Class Testing Anxiety Seminar

"Identity" Art Ehibit"Identity" Art Ehibit "Identity" Art Ehibit "Identity" Art Ehibit

SEPTEMBER 2010Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday friday Saturday

S M T W Th F Sa1 2 3 4 5 6 78 9 10 11 12 13 1415 16 17 18 19 20 2122 23 24 25 26 27 2829 30 31

August 2010S M T W Th F Sa

1 23 4 5 6 7 8 910 11 12 13 14 15 1617 18 19 20 21 22 2324 25 26 27 28 29 3031

October 2010page layout Branden Lefty

Daniel Dove

Daniel Dove

August 18, 2010 5c a m p u s l i f e

Branden LeftyLayout Editor924197488@gsc.edu

I keep having trouble finding any parking out there. What should I do?

It may not be the most convenient, but parking far away from your classes is better than not parking at all. Parking lot P by the Continuing Education building and the bot-tom of the level of the parking deck by the gym are your best bets. If those fail, you can always park at the Park and Ride on Thurmon Tanner Parkway and ride the Red Rabbit to campus. With your student ID, it’s free, so you should definitely take advantage of this new bus line.

It’s the official communication at GSC, so how do I access my school e-mail?

On the GSC home page, click the link in the left column called “Current Students.” On the right side of this page, you should see a box that says “GSC Email.” When you click this, enter your 924 number and password into the pop-up box and you can now access your school e-mail account from any computer.

My professor mentioned something called “Shared Class Files.” What is this?

Shared class files are a place for teachers to upload files for their students to use. They usually include the class syllabus, assignments, and class notes. You can access these two dif-ferent ways. If you’re at school, just click the Start, and you should see it about halfway up the menu. If you’re at home, you can find a link on the Current Students page on the GSC website.

This class isn’t for me. Is it too late for me to do anything about it?

If you feel this way and Aug. 20 hasn’t passed yet, you can simply drop the class through Banner Web, accessible through the Current Students page on the GSC website, with no harm done. While you’re there, you can even add a different class that better suits you. This is called “Drop/Add.” If Aug. 20 has passed but Oct. 8 is still in the future, you can withdraw from the class. You cannot replace it, and your grade for the class will be a “W” that doesn’t affect your GPA. After Oct. 9, you can still withdraw, but you will get a “WF” grade which is the equivalent of failing.

What is going on with the big mound of dirt and crane near the gym?

GSC is one of the fastest growing schools in Georgia. All of that stuff near the gym is a construction site for a new building called Academic IV. This building will be a five-story building with 38 classrooms and more than 80 offices. This building should allow GSC to of-fer more four-year degree programs, so look forward to its opening at the beginning of the fall semester of 2011.

New student? This fAQ will help you here at GSCStudents return eager to learn

page layout Branden Lefty

Life at GSC resumes

Branden Lefty

Branden LeftyBranden Lefty

Branden Lefty

(Top) New students and their parents gather together at SOAR to learn about life at GSC.

(Right) GSC students wait in line to register for classes in front of the Academic Advising office.

(Bottom) Laker T. Goose waddles through the Resource Fair at SOAR to welcome new students by giving them his signature hug.

New students learn how to get involved in the many clubs of GSC at their SOAR meeting.

August 18, 20106 o p i n i o n s

Branden LeftyLayout Editor924197488@gsc.edu

As the school year begins again, many first-year students flood the halls of ev-ery college and university across the world. At one point, every single one of these students has asked themselves, “Why am I going to university?” The an-swers are incredibly diverse and different for every person.

For example, I started college to es-cape the dismal world of retail work. I spent a year off between high school and college mostly due to my own laziness. I worked a menial job at a Kroger deli, and it was by no means a bad retail job; how-ever, I still hated it. It was comparatively nice, but still just as degrading. As soon as I could, I told myself, “You cannot al-low yourself to depend on this to live in the future.”

So here I am. I’m here to fulfill my de-sires to live life the way I want to live it. My reasons for being here have definitely changed. At the college level, I found a desire to learn that I did not realize I had before. I’m now planning to spend the rest of adult life in various universities either studying, researching, or teaching. Specifically, I will be studying, research-ing, and teaching on the history of sci-ence.

However, as I go through the begin-nings of my academic career here at GSC, I constantly run into people who answered the original question with, “I

want a career that pays a lot of money.” I, an academic in training, am somewhat confused by this. I am not against the acquisition of wealth, but I don’t think that this is the best answer.

Money is certainly nice. It would be awesome to have lots of it. You know what’s nicer thought? Satis-faction with the way you’ve lived your life.

Now, I am not saying that all people who desire a wealthy career are un-satisfied. I am here only to urge that the answer should have something added to it. I think, if a financially suc-cessful life is one you seek, your answer should be, “I want a career that pays a lot of money doing what I love.”

Over the past century, the entire point behind a university or college has shifted. In days of old, it was to allow those who had the time and money to in-dulge their intellectual cu-riosities. Now, it seems like most people view it as the only way to a successful ca-reer. It seems like most people view it as advanced job training.

I have many issues with this view of higher education. I think the point of

this level of education is to enlighten each one of us in order to figure out which path we would like to take in our life. Further-more, it equips us with the necessary skills to do this. However, it does this in a way that I don’t often hear people talk about.

One of the most com-mon questions in the class-room is, “When am I ever going to use this?” Truth is, unless the class you’re in ties in with your major or career path, you likely won’t be using any of it. Well, you won’t directly use it.

Let’s assume that you are an English major. What use does pre-calculus have in your future as a book editor? Directly, there are none. Indirectly, however, there are more than you likely realize. Math is the language of logic. Logic is an invaluable skill for any person in pretty much any career. Math helps you train your mind to think

critically and rationally.On an even broader level, your brain

is a metaphorical muscle. The more you learn the better you become at learning. If you learn a wide variety of knowledge, then your ability to process new knowl-

edge is what you are actually learning. This means that even if you don’t know anything about a topic that you want to learn about in your future, you are trained in learning new and different things.

So, to continue to use the book edi-tor metaphor, when will you ever have to use the sine of any angle in any triangle to edit a book? The answer is probably never unless you happen to edit a math or science textbook. When will you have to demonstrate the ability to learn new things? Every single day of your life.

I think this applies to everyone and not just English majors hoping to be-come book editors. This is why you start out with a broad education in the core curriculum. Once you have demonstrat-ed your ability to comprehend things outside of your direct usage, then you get to move on and attempt to master the finer points of your area of study.

To put it in terms we can all under-stand, you have to work from the bottom up. In this world, the world of academia, the bottom are the core classes. They teach you how to learn new information, and they prove your ability to do so.

Without this critical first step in the education process, there is no founda-tion of knowledge to build upon. Sadly enough, I rarely hear this said or even mentioned off-hand by anyone but pro-fessors.

I urge each of you to think about the true value of a college or university; the true reasons why you’re here.

The true value of a college or university is subtleEducation is misunderstood

Branden Lefty Layout Editor

“On an even broader

level, your brain is a

metaphori-cal muscle.

The more you learn, the better you become at learning.”

continued on next page

page layout Branden Lefty

Comic by Hannah Garrard

August 18, 2010 7

Mike WilliamsSports Columnist924198432@gsc.edu

The air is beginning to get a little bit crisper, and the leaves are ready to begin falling. This can only mean one thing, the college football season is finally upon us, let the debating begin.

It’s the best time of the year. Every team, from defending National Cham-pion Alabama to lowly Wyoming are all undefeated and have a chance at winning the 2010-2011 National Title. But before that can happen, there are five burning questions that need to be answered.

1. Can Alabama repeat? No team has ever repeated as BCS Na-

tional champions. Florida had a chance last year after going undefeated in the regular season, but lost to Alabama in the SEC Championship game. Now it’s Alabama’s turn to try. On offense they are stacked. They return quarterback Greg McElroy and top receiver Julio Jones. They also have arguably the best backfield in the country with Heisman winner Mark Ingram and back-up Trent Richardson, who could start for almost any other team in the country. The only question is on defense. They lost All-American linebacker Rolando McClain to the NFL along with all everything cb and return man Javier Arenas and seven other starters. Coach Nick Saban has never had a problem recruiting, so if his new defense can gel in time, the Crim-son Tide will be holding the crystal ball once again.

2. Can the SEC continue its domi-nance?

No one with a straight face can argue against the SEC as being the dominant

conference in college football. They have won the last four BCS Championship games (Florida, LSU, Florida, and Ala-bama). All of these teams have lost many players to the NFL, but they have also, along with teams like Georgia, South Carolina, Arkansas and Auburn reload-ed. Florida’s recruiting class was ranked #1 by almost all experts. Alabama, LSU and Georgia bring back more talent than almost any other teams in the country to go along with top ten recruiting classes. Biggest difference this year is Florida plays at Alabama, so they will have to meet before the SEC title game. But don’t be surprised if they meet again in that game. Long story short, expect the SEC championship to once again be the de-facto National Title game.

3. Can Florida replace Tim Tebow? There is no more pressure on any

player in the country this year, maybe ever, not just college football, but any sport, than lies on the shoulders of one John Brantley. He has been tasked with replacing maybe the greatest college football player in history, Tim Tebow. All Tebow did in his four years in Gaines-ville was to lead Florida to two National titles, two SEC championships, became the first ever true sophomore to win the Heisman trophy along with countless other awards. He also gave one of the most moving speeches in history, not just sports, after they lost to Ole Miss in the 2008 season, where he said, “I prom-ise you…you will never see any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of this season, and you will never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season; God bless.” They didn’t lose another game after that and won the BCS Championship. A plaque

of that speech has been posted outside the stadium now. So, to sum it up, if Brantley can overcome the pressures, he did already break Tebow’s high school td record, this could be another special sea-son for the Gators. But ex-pect it to be more like the 2006 Gators with Chris Leak, more passing, less running by the qb.

4. Can Terrelle Pryor lead Ohio State to a na-tional title?

After three straight BCS losses, including two embarrassing National Title game defeats, Ohio St. finally broke through with a convincing Rose Bowl victory over Oregon last year. Not much was expected of the Buckeyes last year in a weak Big 10 conference. The con-ference is even weaker this year and Ohio St. is once again expected to run away with the Big 10 title putting them in yet another BCS game. The difference this year is they should be undefeated and are a favorite to play for the ultimate title. So, now that expectations are high for his team and he is an early Heisman favorite, will Terrelle Pryor come through? He has the running game and defense be-hind him to do it, he has the talent. He has often been said to be a more athletic Tim Tebow. The only question is does he have the Tebow intangibles, the leader-ship. If he has even a third of Tebow’s in-

tangibles, they will be in the title game, but it will take 100% of those intangibles to win it all.

5. Can Jeremiah Masoli make a dif-ference at Ole Miss?

Jeremiah Masoli led Oregon to its first Rose Bowl in well over a de-cade last season and was on the short list of Heisman favorites for this upcoming season. That is, until he ran afoul of the law twice and was kicked off the Oregon team. After finding a tiny loop-hole in which he can transfer to another D-1 football school without having to sit out a year, he now finds himself in the SEC at Ole Miss. While he does have to walk-on and is not guaranteed the starting job, it’s hard to fathom he won’t be the starter considering the Rebels lost two year starter Je-van Snead to the NFL. If he does win the job, and stays out of trou-ble, it will make the SEC that much stron-ger.

Those are my top five burning ques-

tions entering the this season. Be sure to check the online edition of the Compass at www.gsccompass.org each week for the biggest sports stories and NFL and NCAA games of the week and my picks for those games.

Mike Wil l iams Sports Columnist

“E xpect the SEC cham-pionship to once again be the de-

facto national t i t le game.”

five burning questions entering ‘10-’11 college football season

page layout Mike Williams

continued from previous page

o p i n i o n s

August 18, 20108

I t ry to avoid doing things that scare me. That s imple state-ment may seem l ike a given, but to my fr iends I ’m just a wuss. Common sense governs that you won’t do something that puts you in a panic. fear is gen-eral ly considered an unpleasant emo-t ion, which is why i t should be avoided.

So, can someone please tel l me why on earth horror mov-ies are so damn popular? Why do people go to haunt-ed houses? Why do people enjoy being scared shit less? I ’ve always asked these quest ions and I ’ve always gotten the same answer: “ i t ’s the adrenaline rush”.

The one thing I knew about fear, thanks to my psychol-ogy class, was that i t or iginates in the amygdala. Unfor-tunately, this fact didn’t br ing me any closer to my answer so I dug further into some psychological research. The most unreasonable an-

swer I found was that we are s imply “hap-py to be unhappy”. There were dif ferent views f rom dif ferent schools, but the one that made the most sense establ ished that we don’t real ly enjoy the being-scared part . I t ’s the rel ief that we l ike.

The catalyst for this research was “Paranormal Activ-i ty.” Yesterday, I was forced to see this cinematic gem. The movie that was deemed “a hor-ror phenomenon” was what my fr iend wanted to see. The screaming audience in the commercials didn’t help me sub-mit to his request. I t r ied to put up a f ight, but i t was f rui t-less.

I sat in his darkened home theater hold-ing my breath and bracing myself for the worst . Lucki ly for me, the movie wasn’t as disas-trous to my psyche as I thought i t ’d be. I didn’t scream or f l inch once, thank goodness.

o p i n i o n s

page layout Branden Lefty

Interested in takingout an advertisement

in the Compass foryour club or business?

Full Page 10” x 13.5”Black & White: $275

Color: $500

Half Page 10” x 6”Black & White: $100

Color: $230

Quarter Page 5” x 6”Black & White: $80

Eighth Page 5” x 3”Black & White: $45

Clubs pay half-price!

Contact us at compass@gsc.eduadvertisement Kayla McGee

by Audrey Williams

http://blast.viviti.com/

THE fEAR PRINCIPLE

Don’t be out of the loop!Sign up for LakerAlert today!

LakerAlert enables school officials to send instant alerts about emergencies, severe weather and school closings di-rectly to registered email accounts and mobile phones.Sign up at www.gsc.edu/lakeralert.