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December 4, 2014 Volume 87 Issue 14
Inside This Issue - OPINIONS: Students deserve academic forgiveness
- FEATURES: Smoothies make great on- the-go meals
- SPORTS: Organization helps football recruit
Fundraiser at The Mix- Help support the K-5 students in the community by stopping by The Mix today. Ten percent of the proceeds go to the Sullivan Learning Center, where students can go and get tutoring. The fundraser is from 5- 9 p.m.On Tap Magazine- On Tap will be having a general interest meeting today. Come by Room 204 in West Hall at 6:30 p.m. It will also be celebrating the the completion of Issue 10. If you are interested contact Josh Abbott or Deborah Hall.
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Lia ArmisteadSTAFF WRITER
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Check out Tierra Francois’ article, “Christmas is too commercialized,”
on the web!
Ferguson issue comes to VSU
Like much of the nation, the VSU community reacted to the most recent events in Ferguson, Missouri in a way that expressed its discomfort and frustration.
Several demonstrations, held by various organizations, have occurred on campus since students returned from Thanksgiving break, and more protests are expected to happen in the near future. Stu-dents are demonstrating their feelings toward the shooting of Michael Brown and the fallout from that event.
The fatal shooting of an 18-year-old teen on a domes-tic street in Ferguson ignited months of turmoil and has propelled a national debate that is powered by activists who express their anger for what they consider to be a repetitive display of police brutality toward black men.
The issue became more tense after a grand jury failed to indict Darren Wilson, the police offi cer who shot Brown.
“We were just angry with the Ferguson decision,” Maya Newsome, a VSU student protester, said.
According to Newsome, she and her peers discussed ways to demonstrate their feelings toward the grand jury decision.
Newsome and fellow protesters felt like the student body wasn’t doing anything proactive, so they are taking matters into their own hands.
They decided to hold a demonstration out of respect for Brown during Saturday’s Blazer football game against West Georgia at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
There are about 250 people who support the effort on social media, according to Newsome.
Protesters are also col-laborating with other groups on campus and off, including the Red Hots, NAACP and West Georgia among others.
“We feel like we can’t keep reacting to it at this point,” New-some said. “It has to be a proactive effort to make sure stuff like this doesn’t
happen anymore.”On Monday, the Black
Student League organized a silent protest in front of the Pedestrian Mall.
Students stood for over an hour with tape over their mouths.
Tuesday morning, a group of several protesters gathered in front of the Student Union to demonstrate their emotions toward the fatal shooting.
The conversation on police brutality and racial inequality has been ongoing.
The holiday season is upon us, and VSU is hosting many events in the next week to help students, faculty and staff get in the holiday spirit while fi nishing the semester.
VSU community members have an opportunity to help a child in need this holiday sea-son by becoming a Holiday Helper.
“For a child who faces poverty, they shouldn’t be ig-nored simply because they are without,” Chandler Makuta, art major said. “This is the time of year to show everyone they matter.”
Patricipants will choose an ornament from the Holiday Helper Tree located in the Student Life offi ce located on the third fl oor of the Student Union.
The ornament will have the name of a child and the helper will purchase a gift for that specifi c child.
“I think [Holiday Helper] is important because the holidays [are] about happi-ness,” senior Joe Risby said. “This provides kids with the gift of happiness that they wouldn’t have been able to have before.”
Participants will receive a discount card for the Book-store. Students, faculty and staff can become a helper until 3 p.m. on Dec. 12, when the gifts are due.
The VSU Women’s Choir, Men’s Choir, Chambers Singers and Spotlighters will conduct their annual holiday candlelight concert in the
West Hall Rotunda on Sunday at 3 p.m., with shows at 5 p.m., and 7 p.m as well.
The concert will feature traditional German, Austrian, French, English and Welsh carols as well as the seasonal classics.
“Finals are stressful, so seeing people sing carols or participate in the Holiday Helper reminds us what this time of the year is all about,” senior Katie Alligood said.
Tickets cost $20 for adults and $10 for students with the proceeds going to an inter-national tour planned for the Chambers Singers in 2017.
The bookstore will host an “11 Days of Christmas Holi-day Sale,” which began on Dec. 1. The VSU Bookstore Facebook page will post deals for each separate day.
On Friday, the astronomy department will host a planetarium show called the “Season of Light” starting at 7 p.m., with shows at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m as well.
The show will explore the reasons why people around the world are so intrigued with lights, decorations and traditions during the Decem-ber holiday season.
While exploring these reasons, the show will also trace the history and develop-ment of the world’s holiday customs, all of which involve lighting up the winter season.
Seating is limited to 47 guests; however, tickets are free for all shows and may be obtained at the planetarium in Nevins Hall beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday.
LaMarcus WilkersonSTAFF WRITER
Sierra King/ THE SPECTATOR A VSU student holds up a sign during the silent protest on Dec 3.
Students unite and take action
VSU to host events to liven holiday spirits
Tyra Mills/ THE SPECTATOR
The fountain and palm trees on VSU’s Front Lawn illuminate the night as part of the Lighting of the Palms event held Dec 2. Several holiday activities have been planned on campus to allow the VSU community to celebrate the season.
It’s slightly more rare than an agreement in Congress: A former U.S. president will be on campus today as part of a visit to a city he once called home.
On Wednesday, former President George W. Bush arrived in Valdosta for a speaking engagement tonight at Georgia Christian School’s annual benefi t dinner, which will be held in the Student Union.
With over 400 tickets sold, the dinner sold out months ago.
“We’re really excited that Georgia Christian School is celebrating its centennial this year, and part of that process has been using our benefi t
dinner to market what the school is to our community,” Brad Lawson, Georgia Chris-tian School president, said to WALB in February when the announcement was made. “We knew that when we got to (100 years), we really wanted to do something really big.”
Bush will visit Moody Air Force Base today for a sign-ing of his new book, “41: A Portrait of My Father.” It’s for active duty and retired military personnel only.
According to the Lowndes County Historical Society, Bush was stationed at Moody AFB for several weeks while training with the Air Na-tional Guard and dated a VSU student.
Organizers for the event alluded to VSU president Dr. William McKinney meet-
ing Bush. However, because VSU isn’t participating in the event, a meeting isn’t sched-uled, according to Thressea Boyd, VSU’s director of com-munications.
GCS is a small, private institution in Dasher, Georgia, that has a couple hundred students from grades pre-kin-dergarten to 12th, according to Private School Review’s website.
Past keynote speakers for GCS have included Laura Bush (2012), Fox News host Mike Huckabee (2011) and actor/former NFL player Terry Bradshaw (2013).
Bush has been paid an aver-age of $100,000-$150,000 for each speech given since leav-ing the White House in 2009, according to iWatch News.
Bush comes to Moody Cole Edwards
MULTIMEDIA [email protected]
Tyra Mills/THE SPECTATOR A crowd of VSU students gather on the Palms Quad Dec 2. to hold a vigil in honor of Michael Brown. This event was one of many held in recent days to protest Brown’s death.
www.vsuspectator.com
PAGE 2 | VSUSPECTATOR.COM
Spectator Classifi edsServices For Rent
DECEMBER 4, 2014
The Spectator prints free classifi eds for current stu dents of Val dos ta State Uni ver si ty only. These must be no more than 40 words, or a $9.30 charge will apply. Clas si fi eds for fac ul ty, staff, stu dent or ga ni za tions, stu dent-owned busi ness es and the gen er al pub lic cost $9.30 for up to 40 words.
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5 p.m. Thursday, a week prior. If payment ap plies, it should be sub mit ted in a sealed en ve lope at the time the ad is placed or paid via Mastercard, Visa, Discover or electronic check on-line through Aimee Na-pier, Advertising Manager. Email Aimee Napier at [email protected] to pay online. Ads must be ac com-pa nied by the name and phone num ber of the per son sub mit ting the ad.
Students must also sub-mit their VSU Student ID number. Ads must be re sub mit ted each week, as nec es sary. The Spectator ad dress is: 1500 N. Patterson St.,Valdosta, GA 31698. Our email address is [email protected].
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� e sudoku grid consists of eighty-one squares in a nine by nine grid. To solve the sudoku, each square in the grid must contain a number between one and nine, with the following conditions: · Each row of nine cells must contain each of the numbers from 1 to 9 once and only once. · Each column of nine cells must contain each of the numbers from 1 to 9 once and only once. · Each of the nine 3 by 3 boxes of nine cells must contain each of the num-bers from 1 to 9 ANSWER ON PAGE 5
Police Briefs
Dec. 2
A caller said a male threat-ened her in the UC, say-ing “if she had his name in her mouth again he would make her see the back of her eyelids.” Police later detained someone matching the man’s description.
Dec. 1
A student parked his car in the Nevins Lot on Sunday night, and when he returned the following morning, the car was missing. � e vehicle was recovered on Dec. 2.
A student’s Mitsubishi Lancer parked in the Farber Hall Lot was reportedly broken into
overnight.
A student’s laptop was reportedly stolen from his unlocked truck in the Fine Arts Lot.
Nov. 30
Over the break, two bikes were reportedly stolen; one was taken from the front of
Brown Hall, but the original location of the second bike is unknown.
A green Tahoe was stopped for going on the curb to get around the gate to the Nevins Lot. � e driver had no insurance and suspended registration. Two citations were issued, and the car was turned over to A1 Towing.
Bookstore Sale
Dec. 59 a.m.-3 p.m.VSU Bookstore
In celebration of the national quarter� nal game against West Georgia, all V-State logo merchandise will be 20 percent o� in the Bookstore.
Planetarium Show:Season of Light
Dec. 57, 8, 9 p.m.VSU Planetarium(Nevins Hall)
� is holiday program will
explore the reasons why humans are so fascinated with lighting up our lives during the December holiday season. Free tickets (limited to seven per guest) for all shows can be obtained at the planetarium beginning at 6 p.m. that evening.
Tailgate Party
Dec. 69 a.m.-12 p.m.Blazergate Field(Next to UC)
Come out and tailgate before the big football game against West Georgia. � ere will be live music by the New Na-
tives as well as free hamburg-ers.
VSU students and student organizations can sign up for free tailgate spots in the Stu-dent Life O� ce (Room 3118 in the Student Union).
All VSU students will be able to attend the game free of charge. Simply bring a cur-rent VSU ID to the stadium.
VSU Choirs Holiday Concert
Dec. 73, 5, 7 p.m.West Hall Rotunda
� e VSU Women’s Choir, Men’s Choir, Chamber Sing-ers, and Spotlighters will conduct their annual holiday candlelight concert. � e con-cert will feature traditional German, Austrian, French, English, and Welsh carols, along with a few seasonal classics.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students. Contact Sarah Alexander at (229) 333-2150 or [email protected] to reserve tickets. Proceeds from the performance will bene� t an international tour planned for the Chamber Singers in 2017.
Upcoming Events
DECEMBER 4, 2014 VSUSPECTATOR.COM | PAGE 3
Spectator StaffEditor-in-Chief:Elan WaiteManaging Editor: John StephenBusiness Manager: Kristen VarneyCirculation Manager: Abbie BaggerlyOpinions Editor: Jordan HillFeatures Editor:John Preer
Sports Editor: Alex TostadoPhoto Editor: Sierra KingMultimedia Editor: Cole EdwardsWeb Editor:Tyra MillsCopy Editor: Tatyana PhelpsSocial Media Editor:Jordan Barela
Advertising Manager: Aimee NapierGraphic Designer:Mike LaGonFaculty Advisers: Dr. Pat Miller, Dr. Ted Geltner, Cindy MontgomeryReporters/Photographers:Lia Armistead, Mayah Cantave, Jessica Cooke, Kenzie Kesselring, Brittney Penland, LaShawn Oglesby, Marquez Slaughter, Kayla Stroud, Taymara Tait, Christopher Webb, Austin Wells, Kristin Whitman, Adrienne Fry
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Letters should be no longer than 300 words in length. Letters are subject to editing for style, length, grammar, and libelous material. Not all letters are published. Letters should be typed and turned in with a disk, or e-mailed as an attachment by Tuesdays before 5 p.m.
Online at www.vsuspectator.com
Opinions expressed in The Spectator other than editorials are the opinions of the writers of signed columns and not neccessarily those of The Spectator and its staff. All rights reserved. Reprints by permission of the editors. Views in this newspaper are not neccessarily those of the Valdosta State University administration, faculty and staff.
Number of times Kim Kardashian has been married: three. Number of people who have died on American soil from Ebola: two.
At this rate, you have a better chance of marrying Kim Kardashian than getting Ebola.
Before Thanksgiving break, students received a bom-bardment of emails from the Office of the President about Ebola.
The emails stated to use caution if traveling to the West Africa region during break, and to exercise caution in coming in contact with people traveling to and from this region.
Ebola is a serious dis-ease, but because of the low number of confirmed cases, it is not something we need to worry about.
There have been eight confirmed cases in the U.S.,
according to Forbes, and two deaths.
According to the CDC, on average, 23,607 people die from the flu every year.
For some reason, Ameri-cans have lost sight of this and are scared of a disease that has killed two people as opposed to nearly 24,000 a year.
Furthermore, the flu is air-borne and can travel through people quickly and easily.
Ebola is contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, feces, etc. and can only be contagious if the patient is already showing symptoms. Have you come in contact with anybody’s blood that is suffering from Ebola? You will be fine then.
As a society we need to focus on diseases that bring more harm, such as cancer or other forms of the flu.
The fragile faith minorities have in the justice system has been left out cold in the streets like Michael Brown’s uncovered, lifeless body.
The nation is in a state of disarray, and a lot of people seem to be confused, mis-informed, or just oblivious to the situation America has found itself in. The Michael Brown shooting that took place in Ferguson, Missouri, back in August has all but po-larized the nation. The recent decision to not indict Darren Wilson, the officer who killed Michael Brown, sparked even more controversy and rage that seized the small town of Ferguson and soon spread across the nation. Without an explicit confession from Darren Wilson, no one can ever truly say his actions were spurred on by race.
His actions do however cor-roborate studies that suggest African-Americans are more likely to be assaulted, arrest-ed, and killed by police more than any other ethnicity in America. If African-Amer-icans are three times more likely to be arrested or killed by police, withholding any racial bias, then that would mean African-Americans are three times more likely to commit crimes. That type of belief harkens back to pre-Jim Crow times where African-Americans were believed to be intellectually inferior and more criminally inclined than their white counterparts.
Since modern science and good old common sense has disproven such claims, to assert that African-Americans commit the majority of crimes in America is a little off base and statistically improbable.
According to 2013 Cen-sus data, African-Americans make up roughly 13.2 percent of the population. If the number of African-Americans being confronted by police
was truly rep-resentative of the amount of crimes com-mitted in this country, it would mean every African-American has to be a repeat criminal. This type of claim is a little far-reach-ing and based on deroga-tory stereotypes, stereotypes that may have played a factor in Wilson’s decision to pull his weapon and fire.
No matter how nondis-criminatory a person claims to be, our brains are hard-wired to generalize and look for patterns in the things we perceive. With this in mind what kind of generaliza-tions or stereotypes are as-sociated with certain ethnici-ties? A typical stereotype for Asians is that they are hard-working, maybe a little pru-dent, but above all else, smart. The stereotype for most white people usually involves them being non-confrontational and enjoying relative financial stability. Now consider the stereotypes associated with African-Americans. They are lazy, criminal, angry, violent, and burdens of the state.
Other races are stigmatized by negative stereotypes, but no other race has been sub-jected to these misconceptions as long as or as voraciously as African-Americans. This derogatory image of African-Americans has been perpetu-ated in the media for centu-ries, ingraining itself into the perceptions most Americans have of blacks. After all, the media is the primary source of insight into African-American
culture for most Americans. So what does all of this
mean for America as a coun-try moving forward? Will we continue to entertain notions of these gross and insulting perceptions about an entire race, or will we address the systemic shortcomings of our flawed justice system?
Instead of arguing over Wilson’s intent, we should be questioning any person’s (law enforcement or not) right to use lethal force in self-defense. Determining a person’s reasonable suspicion of danger is apparently too complex of an issue for our cut-and-paste justice system.
Police have a very danger-ous job and need certain laws in place for their own protec-tion, but these protective laws should never limit the options of the taxpayers that pay the salaries of the police.
America’s police force has become too militarized and there needs to be a shift from enforcing laws back to pro-tecting and serving the people that keep them employed.
Our point of view...
This editorial was written by a member of the editorial staff and expresses the general opinion of The Spectator.
Students deserveacademic forgivenessPlease forgive us.
For many students, college is a big adjustment that comes with
even bigger mistakes. Unfortunately, some of those mistakes
include getting bad grades that will haunt us for the rest of our collegiate careers.
The Academic Forgiveness Policy that SGA passed will allow student records to reflect only the highest grade that a student receives in a course.
If a student receives a C, D or F in a course and takes the class later and receives an A or a B, the grade will be replaced instead of averaged.
We feel that this is a policy that needs to be backed and put into effect as soon as pos-sible. Before that happens, it must be passed at the next faculty senate meeting on Jan. 22, 2015.
Many students will be able to boost their GPA if this policy comes into effect.
If a student takes a course and passes, it doesn’t matter what happened in the past. It doesn’t matter if the student takes the class three, four or 10 times. The point is that the
student completed the course and learned what he or she needed to.
This will help especially in courses that are well outside of a major requirement. For instance, if an English student needs to take a math or science course, something that student is not comfortable with, he or she will get a second chance at the subject.
On the other side of the argument, stu-dents should be able to take a class and pass it the first time.
However, many students are away from home for the first time and are not properly prepared by high school to be in a college course.
Furthermore, once we get into major courses, there is another transition that needs to be made with some professors be-ing more strict than others.
In an institution of higher education such as VSU, the point is to spread knowledge, not focus on how long it takes to learn. Just because we couldn’t learn a subject three years ago doesn’t mean we can’t learn it now.
John PreerFeatures editor
Kayla Stroud/THE SPECTATOR
Systemic shortcomings to blame for Michael Brown case, not race
Calm down about EbolaAlex Tostado
sports [email protected]
Brianna Murray, freshman member of Black Student League, protests with a sign say-ing #blacklivesmatter on campus Dec. 1 after the decision was made not to indict Officer Darren Wilson, who killed Michael Brown.
Sierra King/THE SPECTATOR
Adam RassettSophomore
Political Science
“I support it. To me, the willing-ness to make up for students’
past mistakes should be enough to earn them the chance to.”
People Poll: Do you support the academic
forgiveness bill?
Julie MasonheimerFreshman
Biology
“I do agree with it. It’s really hard being an athlete and being in
school, and at least you’re retry-ing and not giving up.”
Alison Stephen
PAGE 4 | VSUSPECTATOR.COM DECEMBER 20, 2014
Hailey Nelson Staff Writer
During the week, I usually don’t have time to get out of bed, take a shower, get ready, pull together all of my school supplies and make myself breakfast. I’m pretty sure all of us have experienced days like this. For me, on-the-go smoothies have been a life-saver when comes to conserv-ing time in the morning. Learning how to build the perfect nutrient packed smoothie is key when you’re running late and want something quick but healthy. Smoothies are a great way to get the daily recommended amount of fruits and veggies, and is a great choice if you want something that will hold you over until lunch. I like to build my smoothies in 5 parts: base, fruit, filler, extras and sweeteners. The first part of your
smoothie should be the base or any type of liquid such as water, coconut water or dairy free milk. Next, add about a cup of any fruit that you like such as bananas, mangos, ber-ries or oranges. Just remem-ber that fruit contains natural sugars and the more fruit you add the sweeter the smoothie. The filler of your smoothie, such as yogurt, oats and chia seeds, is going to give your smoothie some texture and consistency. The extras that you add into your smoothie are going to be where most of the nutrients and vita-mins come from. Don’t be afraid to add greens, the natural sugars from the fruit will overpower the taste of any veggie you put in there. If the smoothies still isn’t sweet enough for you, try adding a teaspoon of any natural sweetener such as agave, honey or Stevia. One of my favorite and
easiest smoothies to make is a mango and spinach smoothie. First, combine a cup of or-ange juice and whole peaches and mangos diced into cubes. If you want the smoothie to be on the colder side try adding in ice first or freeze the fruit cubes overnight and throw them in the blender in the morning. Next, pour in about 1 cup of regular Greek yogurt. If you don’t want the smooth-ie to have a thick consistency, you can skip the filler. Finally, add in a handful of spinach or any type of green veggie you prefer with a ta-
blespoon of honey and the juice of half a lemon. If you don’t have time in the morning to cut up all the ingredients,
try doing it the night before and placing them in a plastic bag to freeze overnight. In the morning, all you have to do is throw it in the blender and add a little water to break up the ingredients.
Smoothies make great on-the-go meal
Mayah Cantave aSSt. Social Miedia [email protected]
School spirit is not some-thing that can be defined eas-ily. It is a feeling of pride, a moment to foster relationships between students and to show support to your school. VSU is attempting to give all students and members of the community that feeling of pride. VSU has begun to kick off many activities to get more
students in the school spirit. Students are encouraged to take part in school pride by wearing red shoes. The Red Shoe Friday cam-paign kicked off on Oct. 24 during VSU’s homecoming week. Every Friday is Red Shoe Friday for VSU. Students are meant to show their Blazer pride by wearing their favorite bright red shoes, flip-flops, pumps or sneakers around campus. School spirit is not only extended to students but to
faculty, alumni, staff and other members of our com-munity as well. The goal of Red Shoe Fri-days is to enhance game day experiences for students. Those participating in events like Red Shoe Fridays are urged to submit pictures of their efforts to show off their Blazer Spirit via social media using the hashtags #valdostastate and #VSshoes. Students have submitted their photos to Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Red shoes for Blazer spirit
VSUSPECTATOR.COM | PAGE 5DECEMBER 4, 2014
Sudoku Answer
Pride of VSU
Football. America’s most loved sport.
But all the tailgating, touch-downs, and tears hinge on one of the most tedious and thought-out processes of the game: recruiting.
What many fans aren’t aware of is how a player chooses a school. Not only do coaches hunt for the best of the best to play for their team, but they must con-vince recruits to choose their program.
One of the marketing strate-gies used at VSU has been a key in its recruiting efforts.
Blazer Pride is a yearlong women-only recruiting club that devotes its Saturdays to the potential VSU players. The women meet once a week to be prepped on visiting recruits so that they may be properly greeted and feel welcome at the university.
“The process as a whole was really stressful and con-fusing sometimes, but when I visited VSU I felt like family right away,” freshman Defen-sive Tackle Chris Bahr said. “Blazer Pride and the coaches acted normal and didn’t make me feel like it was an inter-view like other schools I went to.”
Blazer Pride President Alyssa Riggs goal is to find 30-40 women who are able to offer tours to potential play-ers, and introduce them to the university. She also has to match recruiters with play-ers, get player information, and create player surveys for coaches, as well as host the players’ families.
In the fall, making the play-ers as comfortable as possible means a catered lunch, show-ing highlight videos of past seasons, and front row seats during Blazer football games.
“Blazer Pride fills a role on Saturdays that can be hard for the coaches to fulfill when they are prepping for a game. Defensive Backs Coach Ryan McNamara said. “There is a lot of walk-thrus, pre-game preparation, pre-game meal, travel to stadium etc. that oc-curs where the coaches have
to be with the team on Satur-day. In our absence, Blazer Pride members are able to continue to communicate with recruits and show them around when the coaching staff cannot be there.”
Football recruiting is a whole new world in the spring, where the coaches can focus more on future players. This also means the job of Blazer Pride shifts from 30-40 escorting nearly 200 play-ers and families, to a more personal five or six women focusing on one family at a time.
“Spring visits are official visits, meaning the coaches have asked this player back specifically,” Riggs said. “They are more formal and involve multiple meetings with coaches. This includes breakfast, lunches, and din-ners with the coaches, full tours of all campus facilities,
and spending one on one time with players at the end of the day.”
Riggs has been with the club for over two years and contributed to the recruiting of 35 new players last year alone. She believes that there has been an influx of new commits since the Blazer Pride club picked back up in 2012, from being dormant for quite some time since its start in the early 1980s.
More players signing just means that lipstick and some parent/recruiter bonding has been an effective part of VSU’s overall recruiting strategy.
“Blazer Pride works on a different level,” former Blazer Pride president Dowling Payne said. “Convincing the mom of the player that our school is the best, means the player will more than likely choose our school. Not only
does Blazer Pride chauffeur them around campus, but they have to be polite, make small talk, know their stuff. That is what impresses the families.”
It’s not the interaction with the families but the one-on-one interaction with the players that has given other similar female only recruiting organizations a bad reputation and viewed as crossing the line. Riggs makes sure mea-sures are taken to keep the program on the up and up.
“Recruiting here at VSU is solely focused on the ath-letic programs as well as the athletes,” Riggs said. “The women involved in Blazer Pride are here because they are educated on our sports, campus, and academics. We ensure that our interactions with the recruits are profes-sional and represent the school in a positive light.”
Blazer Pride itself gives back to its members. The former Blazer Pride President, Payne, is now a full-time VSU admissions coun-selor and recruiter who travel across the Southeast, con-vincing high school students to choose VSU. Riggs on the other hand plans to use her newly acquired football knowledge to pursue a career into the world of television sports broadcasting.
“It’s awesome to have helped recruit these guys and it makes me proud to be a part of it,” Riggs said. “I definitely feel like we have made a dif-ference in recruiting.”
Allison ThorpeSpectator correSpondent
Organization helps recruit football players
Allison Thorpe/SPECIAL TO THE SPECTATOR
De’Osha Randolph (left), Alyssa Riggs (center), and Ayana Brown are members of Blazer Pride seen here shooting a promotional video for Blazer Pride. The organization helps VSU recruit football players by helping recruits and their families around campus while coaches cannot.
“It’s awesome to have helped recruit these guys and it makes me proud to be a part of it.”
-Alyssa Riggs Blazer Pride
President
Football road so farValdosta State vs. Albany State 38-10, W
Valdosta State vs. Winston-Salem State 22-17, W
Valdosta State vs. Delta State 32-49, L
Valdosta State vs. North Alabama 31-29, L
Valdosta State vs. West Georgia 40-6, W
Valdosta State vs. Mississippi College 62-0, W
Valdosta State vs. Shorter 37-6, W
Valdosta State vs. West Alabama 24-17, W
Valdosta State vs. UNC-Pembroke 36-7, W
Valdosta State vs. Florida Tech 31-29, W
Valdosta State vs. North Alabama 33-31, W
Valdosta State vs. Lenoir-Rhyne 23-21, W
Valdosta State vs. West Georgia, Sat. Noon
PLAYOFFS
DECEMBER 4, 2014 PAGE 6 | VSUSPECTATOR.COM
VSU hoops faces Lions
VSU basketball (5-1) begin Gulf South Conference play on the road tonight against the North Alabama Lions (3-3).
The Lions, led by head coach Bobby Champagne, are the defending GSC cham-pions. The Lions ended the Blazers season last year in the GSC tournament semifinals 88-79.
The Blazers have lost eight straight against the Lions. The last win over UNA came on Jan. 13, 2011, a 102-84 rout.
Blazers’ head coach Mike Helfer stressed to his team in practice the importance of playing well on the road in the GSC.
“Any time you’re going to try to win on the road in this league, you’re just going to have to be solid,” Helfer said.
“You have to be good from the jump, you have to be good in the middle and you have to be good in the end. UNA is a team that traditionally starts really fast at home and we have to mentally be ready for that fast start.”
The Blazers will have to focus their energy on stopping the Lions’ triumvirate of lead-ing scorer Brandon Herman, senior sharpshooter Nathan Spehr, and Croatian forward Jere Vucica, who have com-bined to average 41.3 points per game thus far.
“They have so many guys that can shoot it and score it,” Helfer said. “You can focus on one guy but you better be careful because if you have too much focus on one particular player, that’s when somebody else will come up and beat you. You’ve got to make sure that you take them anyway as a team more so
than as an individual.”The Lions have been slow
out of the gate at just 3-3 and sloppy play has been a big reason for their struggles. They have averaged 19 turnovers per contest and the Blazers, who are turning teams over 17.5 times per game, will look to capitalize on any mistakes by the op-position.
“One of the keys to winning on the road is to be aggressive defensively and make that home team uncomfortable,” Helfer said. “Home teams are naturally very comfortable on their own floor and you have to do something to try to make them uncomfortable and defensive pressure is one of those things.”
The game tips off at 9 p.m.
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Shane ThomasSportS Writer
