Healthcare reform was on the

minds of people at the Bailey

Science Center on Wednesday

night, as a panel discussion at-

tempted to clarify this highly

complicated issue.

The event, which was attended

by approximately 60 members of

the community, discussed how

the Patient Protection and Af-

fordable Care Act, more com-

monly referred to as ObamaCare,

would affect patients, caregivers

and businesses.

The first speaker was Randy

Sauls, chief executive officer of

South Georgia Medical Center.

Sauls spoke about how hospitals

were coping with the recent law.

“We’re going to continue to

operate as we always have,”

Sauls said. “We’re going to con-

tinue to provide services to any-

one, regardless of the bills you

have to pay or any other condi-

tion.”

Sauls explained that SGMC is

a public not-for-profit organiza-

tion “owned by the citizens of

Valdosta and Lowndes County.”

“I should remind you, we’re

not-for-loss,” Sauls also said.

“We have payroll to make and

expenses to pay.”

Sauls also explained that vari-

ous health organizations in the

surrounding areas could consoli-

date.

Dr. Myron Faircloth, an assis-

tant professor at VSU’s College

of Nursing, also spoke regarding

the issue.

“Obviously, one of the prob-

lems from my standpoint is the

shortage of providers, and the

federal healthcare law does give

about 30 to 32 million people

more access to healthcare, and

there’s a problem with that,”

Faircloth said. “Having health-

care does not guarantee access.”

Faircloth also explained that

the shortage of physicians in

2010 was at 13,700, and that

number was projected to in-

crease to 62,900 by 2015, and up

to 91,500 by 2020.

Representing Langdale Indus-

tries were Barbara Barrett and

Ewelina Sparks, who spoke how

businesses would cope with the

new law.

January 24, 2013 W W W . V S U S P E C T A T O R . C O M VOLUME 84 ISSUE 15

Inside This Issue- OPINIONS: “Americans unite in D.C. for freedom”

- FEATURES: “CORE to host campus campout on front lawn”

- SPORTS: “Softball ready to make another run”

On the Webwww.vsuspectator.com

AUDITIONS FOR AFRICAN

NIGHT 2013 -

The African Student Associa-

tion is holding auditons for

its annual event tonight from

6:30-8 p.m.in Odum Library

room 1480.

AED PREMED CLUB - FIRST

SPRING SEMESTER MEETING

Guest Speakers: Jan Shiver

from Albany SOWEGA-

AHEC will be discussing the

Pathway to Medical School

program starting this sum-

mer. Sgt. First Class Rodrick

Hill from the US Army Med-

ical Recruiting Station in Sa-

vannah will be presenting on

military careers.

NPHC CINNABON

FUNDRAISER - Price: 2

Cinnabons for $5. Orders

may be placed with any

NPHC member. For more in-

formation, contact

kdessau@valdosta.edu. Pick-

up will be Feb. 8 at noon in

the Student Union.

MOVIE NIGHT- “TAKEN 2” -

Join Natural High tonight for

a movie night in the Library

Auditorium at 8 p.m. Snacks

will be provided and admis-

sion is free.

DONATE YOUR OLD PROM

DRESS! - Alpha Phi Omega

National Service Fraternity,

Inc. is accepting donations to

help with Valdosta High

School Service Learning Pro-

gram’s “Free Prom Dress

Giveaway.” Dresses, shoes

and accessories will be ac-

cepted throughout the month

of February.

Today at VSU

Check out Veronica Dominicis’ profile on the

Department of Psychologyand Counseling.

Valdosta’s got a new spotValdosta’s got a new spotfor BBQfor BBQ

See page 4 for our review.

Weather

71 H 42 L

Mostly

Sunny

Today

72 H 52 L

Friday

42 L69 H

Partly

Cloudy

Saturday

What will you dowith your refund

check?

A. Pay bills

B. Spring Break fund!

C. I don’t get excess

checks

Vote online at www.vsuspectator.com!

Question ofthe week

Last Week’sPoll Results

Partly

Cloudy

What do you think ofthe gun laws Obamarecently proposed?

HHSSBBAA bbuuii lldd iinngg oonn rr ii sseeRadhika Patel/ THE SPECTATOR

Work continues on the site of VSU’s new Health Sciences and Business Administration Building. The project is slated for completion

early next year. Other construction projects on main campus are nearing a close, leaving only smaller projects like upgrades and

maintenance on the schedule.

Major construction projects on

VSU’s main campus have ceased

for the year.

This year, the majority of the

construction projects will occur

at the Rea and Lillian Steele

North Campus with smaller ren-

ovation projects set for Langdale

Hall and the Fine Arts Building.

The Health Sciences and Busi-

ness Administration building is

being erected in the area that

was formerly the North Campus

overflow parking lot.

The construction fencing has

blocked off the entirety of the lot

rendering it inaccessible to stu-

dents and faculty.

Ground was broken on the

new building on Oct. 14, 2012,

and the frame of the structure

has already risen to form an out-

line of the building to come.

The project, estimated at $32

million, will create a building

with an area of approximately

140,000 square feet.

The HSBA building, which is

expected to be completed in Jan-

uary of 2014, will house several

of the University’s science pro-

grams including nursing, Com-

munication Sciences and Disor-

ders, Athletic Training, Exercise

Physiology, Social Work and

Health Care Administration.

The building will consolidate

the programs, which are current-

ly located in five different build-

ings around campus.

“The goal is to have function-

al academic and administrative

spaces for programs in the Col-

lege of Business, College of

Nursing, Communication Sci-

ence and Disorders and Sports

Medicine and Kinesiology,” Dr.

Victoria Douglass, University ar-

chitect, said.

The administration has big

plans for the future of the build-

ing. Dr. William McKinney,

VSU president, referred to the

building in a University press re-

lease as the future “cornerstone

of Valdosta State’s health profes-

sions programs.”

Langdale Hall is also undergo-

ing some minor work in an on-

going effort to give the 44-year-

old building a facelift.

“We are doing phase III, or

the B-wing of Langdale.” said

Tom Hardy, director of housing

and residence life. “This will

match the previous two renova-

tions: new bathrooms, new fur-

nishings, new flooring, repaint-

ing, and more. This phase will

also enhance existing staff of-

fices and the [Residence Hall Di-

rector’s] apartment.”

Also on the schedule for this

year is maintenance to the Fine

Arts Building, College of Educa-

tion and the Continuing Educa-

tion Building. The maintenance

will include renovations to the

elevators and restrooms.

Renovations are ongoing for

the P.E. Complex on Sustella Av-

enue.

“Starting summer 2012 work

began on replacing the [Heating

Ventilation and Air Condition-

ing] system in the P.E. Com-

plex,” Thressea Boyd, VSU’s di-

rector of communications, said.

“In addition, a new chiller sys-

tem was installed as part of the

HVAC work.

“The former chiller and sys-

tem was original to the building

and more than 30 years old.

Currently, work is being com-

pleted on a two-story addition to

the P.E. Complex that will pro-

vide men and women’s bath-

rooms on the second floor, [and]

extend the concession area. This

work is scheduled to be complet-

ed by mid to late February.”

Douglass declined to comment

on the renovations being done at

the P.E. complex, saying that she

had no knowledge of any con-

struction at the building.

The construction of the HSBA

building is being handled by the

Atlanta and Nashville offices of

KBR building group.

What will theHSBA buildingbring to VSU?

• State-of-the-art simulation center

• Clinical space

• Space for community outreach for

each of the health science programs

• Development of doc-toral degrees in nurs-ing, speech and lan-guage pathology and

social work

• Master’s programs: exercise physiology,

health care administration

• Bachelor’s degrees: social work, health care

administration

• Retention and graduatuion of up to1,000 more graduates

per year

Will LewisS TA F F W R I T E R

walewis@valdosta.edu

Source: University press release

City, countyto host Parade ofChampions

Beginning with the 2011

men’s tennis team and followed

by the 2012 softball and football

squads, VSU has seen three na-

tional championships in the past

19 months.

The City of Valdosta and

Lowndes County have an-

nounced that they will honor all

three NCAA Division II national

championship teams by hosting

a Parade of Champions on

Wednesday.

The parade will begin at 4

p.m. in front of Mathis Auditori-

um and head south down Patter-

son Street, ending at Drexel

Park.

Featured speakers will include

Valdosta mayor John Gayle,

VSU President Dr. William J.

McKinney, Lowndes County

Commissioner Bill Slaughter,

and all three championship head

coaches.

This has been the first time

that VSU has seen more than

one national championship team

in a single year.

The 2012 softball team was

the first women’s team in VSU

history to win a national cham-

pionship. The men’s tennis team

has been to five of the last nine,

winning in 2006 and 2011. The

football team capped off a great

late season run defeating Win-

ston-Salem 35-7 on Dec. 15,

earning the program’s third

championship since 2004.

Brookwood Drive will be

closed from 2-6 p.m. Wednes-

day, according to Thressea

Boyd, VSU’s director of com-

munications.

“Cars parked in this area will

be blocked and unable to move

until after 6 p.m.,” she said in an

email.

Ace EspenshiedA S S T. S P O R T S E D I T O R

acespenshied@valdosta.edu

VSU nothit by fluepidemic

Amber Smith/ THE SPECTATOR

Isaiah Smart/ THE SPECTATOR

The flu has reached epidemic

status in the nation, however

much of VSU’s campus commu-

nity said they have not had the

flu.

According to area experts—

Lynette Lewis, assistant director

and administrator at the Student

Health Center, and Dr. Edwin

Hiatt, M.D. Director at the Stu-

dent Health Center—the flu sea-

son started abnormally early and

is now spread across the U.S.

“I have had swine flu in the

past, but I haven’t had the flu

this year and I don’t really know

anyone that has had it,” Lacey

Miller, junior early education

major, said.

The U.S. has seen a rise in the

number or people getting the flu

vaccine. According to Lewis

Jessica IngramS TA F F W R I T E R

jdingram@valdosta.edu

See FLU , Page 2

50%Just what the country

needs

50%

0%

Not the right answer

What proposal?

Panel attempts to clarify issuesThe College of Arts and Sciences hostsa discussion about the complications of healthcare reform.

Attendees at Wednesday night’s panel discussion in Bailey Sci-

ence Center discussed what effects the Affordable Care Act will

have on the nation.

See PANEL , Page 2

Joe AdgieS O C I A L M E D I A

E D I T O R

jmadgie@valdosta.edu

PanelContinued from Page 1

“Employer-sponsored health

insurance is the leading source

of health insurance in the US,

covering approximately 149 mil-

lion,” Barrett said. “It’s the back-

bone of the US health insurance

system.”

Barrett also added that the im-

pact of the Affordable Care Act

was so profound and that the fu-

ture of employer-based health

care was uncertain-- for the first

time in history.

Consequently, Barrett and

Sparks analyzed the health insur-

ance offered by Langdale before

the ACA, and what would need

to change afterwards.

“It’s going to cost us approxi-

mately two million dollars,”

Sparks said at the conclusion of

a PowerPoint presentation put

on by herself and Barrett.

While both Sparks and Barrett

explained that Langdale would

try to not place the costs of this

healthcare change on their em-

ployees, they also explained that

other employers would probably

not do the same.

“That’s generally how em-

ployers control their costs,” Bar-

rett said.

JANUARY 24, 2013PAGE 2 | VSUSPECTATOR.COM N E W S

The Spectator prints free classi-fieds for stu dents of Val dos taState Uni ver si ty only. Thesemust be no more than 40 words,or a $8.00 charge will apply.Clas si fieds 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 $8.00 for up to40 words. Ads should be sent toThe Spectator or de liv ered to ourof fice in 1238 Hopper Hall. Thedead line is Mon day at 5 p.m. Ifpayment ap plies, it should besub mit ted in a sealed en ve lope atthe time the ad is placed. Adsmust be ac com pa nied by the

name and phone num ber of theper son sub mit ting the ad. Adsmust be re sub mit ted each week,as nec es sary. The Spec ta tor ad -dress is: 1500 N. PattersonSt.,Valdosta, GA 31698spec@valdosta.edu.The Spec ta tor re serves the right

to reject any clas si fied ad. Allads are sub ject to stan dard ed it -ing pro ce dures.The Spec ta tor isnot re spon si ble for ads sub mit tedun der false pre tens es or for mis -takes due to a sub mit ted er ror.The cat e go ries for classifieds in -clude: For Sale, Want ed, Room -mates and Help Wanted.

For Sale ServicesMicrosoft Office 2010 for sale:

Illustrated Introductory First

Course by Beskeen and others.

It is a First Edition book used for

ACED 2400. It is used but like

new. Contact Aquilius at 912-

245-6002.

House for Rent -

4/2 319 E. Park Ave. Close to

Main Campus, Good Neighbor-

hood. Call:229-292-4400.

PregnancyWasn’t Part of the Plan

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������������� ������������������� ��������������������� �������������������� �������

ServicesFor Rent

For Rent

Hiring Immediately for

Spring Semester:

~Graphic Designers

~Advertising Salespersons

Email resume to Aimee Napier,Advertising Manager

The Spectator acnapier@valdosta.edu

����������� ����� ������� ���������������� ����� ������� ����� ��������������������������������� �������� ����������� ��������������������������� ����� ������������ ������ � ��������������� ������������������ ��������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������ ������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������ ������������������ ������������������������������

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The ClassifiedsMEA Federal Credit Union

cashes Pell Grant, Financial Aid

and Scholarship Checks for all

VSU Students with ID. 308 East

Ann Street…229-333-5751...

Join MEA online at meafcu.org

Like us on Facebook

Today, 3 p.m.

Alpha Phi Omega Rush Week

Do Service

Heritage Home, 2501 N. AshleyStreet

Today, 6:30 p.m.

Habitat for Humanity Meeting

Odum Library, room 1480Contact Ashley Hill at

ashill@valdosta.edu for more

information.

Today, 7 p.m.

Visual Impact with Richard

Hight

Student Union TheaterFree event that showcases

Hight’s work--paintings with a

story.

Donate Now

Donations for The Haven

Public Relations Student Society

of America is helping The

Haven, an emergency shelter

and services for victims of fami-

ly violence and sexual assault in

Valdosta.

The Haven needs: toiletry items,

personal hygiene items, and oth-

ers.

The Haven is registered at both

WalMart and Target.

Contact

volunteer@valdostahaven.org

for more information.

Now - March 5

Yoga with Jane Zahner

Every Tuesday from 5:45 to

6:45 p.m.

Call for information on location.Bring your own yoga mat/beach

towel.

Please register for this event by

calling the Employee & Organi-

zational Development office at

259-5105.

Jan. 25, 4 p.m.

Alpha Phi Omega Rush Week

Boys’ and Girls’ Club onToombs Street

Jan. 26, Time TBA

Alphi Phi Omega Rush Week

Boys’ and Girls’ Club at LakeLaurie

Jan. 27, 5:25 p.m.

Alphi Phi Omega Rush Week

Karoke

Centennial Hall, room 130

Jan. 29, noon to 1 p.m.

Weight Watchers 12-week series

with 14 weeks of free eTools.

UC Dogwood Room

Jan. 29 - Jan. 31,

6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Kappa Alpha Psi and Team

Creative Talent Show Auditions

Kampus Kontender: Talent

Showkase during Kappa Week.

Centenniel Hall, room 130All talents welcome - $150

grand prize.

Contact Jeremiah Wiggins,

jawiggins@valdosta.edu, for

more information.

Upcoming Events

Author and poet Paul Hos-

tovsky will be visiting VSU

Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the UC

Magnolia Room to share his love

of poetry.

Hostovsky has written four

full-length poetry books since

2008 and com-

piled nine

works total in

his collection.

Hostovsky

has been fea-

tured in online

anthologies

such as Poetry

Daily and the

Writer’s Al-

manac.

His works have also been pub-

lished in literary magazines like

the Atlanta Review, Carolina

Quarterly and New Delta Re-

view.

“It is important for the campus

and community to support cul-

tural events like this,” Dr. Marty

Williams, professor of creative

writing, said.

Hostovsky’s poetry is under-

stood by various audiences.

Dr. Williams, and other mem-

bers of the Georgia Poetry Cir-

cuit from Berry College, Brenau

University, Columbus State,

Georgia Southern, Georgia

Perimeter College, Macon State

College, Mercer University,

UGA and VSU chose three writ-

ers in a voting process to tour se-

lect Georgia colleges.

This year’s writers were Dave

Smith, Jacqueline Osherow and

Hostovsky.

Smith and

Osherow came to

VSU last semes-

ter.

Dr. Williams

teaches Hos-

tovsky’s latest

work, “Hurt into

Beauty,” in his In-

troduction to Cre-

ative Writing Class.

Dr. Williams has not reviewed

“Hurt into Beauty,” but feels

great about this book considering

his style in earlier works.

“His poetry style is accessible

and has a lot of humor in his po-

etry,” said Dr. Williams.

On his website, the FutureCy-

cle Press said “Hurt in Beauty,”

“offers up the kind of fare that

his readers keep coming back

for. The humor mixed with

poignancy, the heartbreak lined

with a kind of palliative existen-

tial mischief in poems that ex-

plore the nature of pain, illness,

beauty, childhood, Deaf people

and sign language, the art of

love and the art of poetry."

Outside of writing poetry,

Hostovsky makes a living work-

ing for the Massachusetts Com-

mission for the Deaf and Hard of

Hearing as a sign language inter-

preter.

For more information email

Dr. Williams at

mlwillia@valdosta.edu.

Von KennedyM U LT I M E D I A E D I T O R

vtkennedy@valdosta.edu

Poet coming to campus

His poetry style isaccessible and hasa lot of humor in hispoetry.

- DR. MARTY WILLIAMS

ENGLISH PROFESSOR

“

”

FluContinued from Page 1

there are parts of the U.S. that

are actually running out of the

vaccines.

The vaccines for the current

flu season were available start-

ing in September 2012.

“My mom got a flu shot and

hasn’t gotten sick, but I didn’t

get one and I haven’t had the flu

either,” Jessie Brooks, junior ac-

counting major, said. “I think a

lot of people our age don’t think

they need them because they

don’t think they will get sick.”

According to Dr. Hiatt, those

most susceptible to the flu are

“children, the elderly, pregnant

women, and people with chronic

illnesses or weakened immune

systems.”

The vaccine, made from the

killed flu virus, takes a couple

weeks to become effective in the

body.

Lewis and Hiatt said that

some of the people who have

contracted the flu this season

have been extremely sick and

that it is best to get vaccinated to

limit the probability of sickness.

“I haven’t been sick this sea-

son, but one of my friends from

home had the flu over Thanks-

giving break and he was really

sick and couldn’t really get out

of bed on Thanksgiving Day,”

BJ Guest, junior early childhood

education major, said.

The flu is a virus, which

means that it is more serious

than a cold, and people with the

flu generally feel very ill.

The symptoms of the flu are

much like the common cold.

However, the symptoms are in-

tensified greatly.

According to the CDC the

symptoms of the flu are fever,

sore throat, runny or stuffy nose,

body or muscle aches,

headaches, fatigue, and dry

cough.

More information on influen-

za and the flu vaccine is avail-

able at CDC’s website solely de-

voted to the flu at

http://cdc.gov/flu/.

Lewis said that students that

want to get vaccinated can call

the Student Health Center to

make an appointment. A VSU

ID is required for the vaccina-

tion and the cost is $10.

Local doctors, health depart-

ments, and pharmacies are also

offering the flu vaccination for

this season.

Photo courtesy paulhostovsky.com.

Creative Writer Series presents Paul Hostovsky

Hostovsky

Dr. Alfred Fuciarelli will be

stepping down from his adminis-

trative duties as Dean of VSU’s

Graduate School, according to

an email that Dr. Karla Hull, act-

ing vice president for Academic

Affairs, sent to faculty shortly

after noon on Wednesday.

“I want to extend my thanks

to Dr. Alfred Fuciarelli for his

administrative service to the

Graduate School and Office of

Sponsored Programs,” Dr. Hull

wrote. “Dr. Fuciarelli will be

stepping down from his adminis-

trative duties and joining the De-

partment of Chemistry as a fac-

ulty member in Fall 2013.”

Dr. Fuciarelli’s biography on

the Graduate school’s website

outlines the duties that Dr. Fu-

ciarelli’s job entails as asst. vice

president for research and gradu-

ate school dean.

“As AVP for Research and

Dean of the Graduate School,

Dr. Fuciarelli is responsible for

providing vision and strategic

leadership for The Graduate

School and for VSU’s research

enterprise,” it reads. “His effort

is centered on helping VSU’s

faculty develop strong graduate

academic programs; helping

VSU expand its external funding

base, reputation for scholarly

and creative excellence, and op-

portunities for engaging under-

graduate and graduate students

in research, creative, and schol-

arly activity; and creating, devel-

oping, and facilitating local, re-

gional, and national partnerships

that enhance quality of life and

economic prosperity in South

Georgia.”

According to Dr. Hull’s email,

Dr. James LaPlant has agreed to

serve as interim graduate dean

and assistant vice president for

research starting Feb. 1.

Dr. Fuciarelli steps down

Photo courtesy Valdosta State.

Dr. Fuciarelli Dr. LaPlant

Photo courtesy Valdosta State.

Calling all writers and

photogaphers!

If you would like tobe part of

The Spectator, contact Amber

(amsmith@valdosta.edu)

and Jennifer (jlgleason@

valdosta.edu) for more

information!

JANUARY 24, 2013 VSUSPECTATOR.COM | PAGE 3OPINIONS

People Poll:People Poll:People Poll:Martin Luther King’sdream was racialequality. What is your dream?

Faisal Shuraym

freshman

english major

“To have a family.”

Simone Register

freshman

athletic training major

“To be able to afford nice things,

have a family and have a job

that I love.”

Sterling Shiver

sophomore

pre-engineering major

“To convert my car into a

drift car.”

Jessica McDonald

junior

middle grade education major

“To encourage students to want

to learn and become successful.”

Demetrice Cunningham

freshman

theater major

“I want to eradicate social injus-

tice through my talents of

singing and acting; like Lady

Gaga.”

Americans unite in D.C. for freedom A

fter President Obama

concluded his second in-

augural speech, Richard

Blanco read the poem he pre-

pared for the occasion, Kelly

Clarkson and Beyoncé sang,

Rev. Luis Leon gave the bene-

diction and CBS resumed its

newsroom coverage of the event

as the Presidential party filed

back into the Capitol for signing

and lunch.

The first thing Bob Schieffer

said afterwards was that he

heard no call to action from

President Obama’s speech nor

did he hear him ask the nation

for anything. We must have

been listening to two different

speeches.

We heard the 44th President

of the United States take his

second inaugural oath before ad-

dressing the masses on Capitol

Hill and, thanks to the live news

coverage, the viewers at home.

President Obama invoked the

works of our Declaration of In-

dependence saying these ideals

are what make us American.

“What makes us exceptional

– what makes us American – is

our allegiance to an idea, articu-

lated in a declaration made more

than two centuries ago,” he said.

“‘We hold these truths to be

self-evident, that all men are

created equal, that they are en-

dowed by their Creator with cer-

tain unalienable rights, that

among these are Life, Liberty,

and the pursuit of Happiness.’

“Today we continue a never-

ending journey, to bridge the

meaning of those words with the

realities of our time,” he contin-

ued. “For history tells us that

while these truths may be self-

evident, they have never been

self-executing; that while free-

dom is a gift from God, it must

be secured by His people here

on Earth.”

This was Obama’s call to ac-

tion. This was Obama telling

Congress to act with these prin-

ciples in mind. This was Obama

calling the people to act, and en-

courage their representatives, to

act on our cherished American

values.

Schieffer said he was expect-

ing to hear something like John

F. Kenndy’s “Ask not what your

country can do for you…” line,

but never heard that in Obama’s

speech.

We heard Obama call the

American people to unite--to act

as one towards a common goal

for the greater good of our na-

tion and the world.

“…[W]e have always under-

stood that when times change,

so must we; that fidelity to our

founding principles requires

new responses to new chal-

lenges; that preserving our indi-

vidual freedoms ultimately re-

quires collective action,” he

said. “For the American people

can no more meet the demands

of today’s world by acting alone

than American soldiers could

have met the forces of fascism

or communism with muskets

and militias.”

“No single person can train

all the math and science teach-

ers we’ll need to equip our chil-

dren for the future, or build the

roads and networks and research

labs that will bring new jobs and

businesses to our shores. Now,

more than ever, we must do

these things together, as one na-

tion, and one people.”

Later, the President’s speech

took a turn befitting of a Martin

Luther King Jr. Day inaugura-

tion as Obama began to sound

even more

like a civil

rights leader

with senti-

ments like,

“We do not

believe that

in this coun-

try, freedom

is reserved

for the lucky,

or happiness

for the few.”

Obama

then ad-

dressed some

policy

changes to

address in the

near future.

He said that

we will respond to the threat of

climate change, perpetual war is

not necessary to sustain peace,

women deserve equal pay, love

between gay couples is equal to

that of straight couples and that

children must be cherished

while being kept safe.

President Obama spoke wise-

ly in saying, “Progress does not

compel us to settle centuries-

long debates about the role of

government for all time – but it

does require us to act in our

time” and that the oath he sworn

in his inauguration “was an oath

to God and country, not party or

faction.”

Like the President, we believe

that the time to act is now. As he

said, citizens have the power to

set this country’s course. Let’s

make sure that the course we set

is the right one. Let us work for

the good of our brethren. We all

must work together to ensure

that all people are treated equal-

ly under the law as well as in

our daily interactions. Let us

unite in the spirit of peace for

our world and for the advance-

ment of all people.

In the words of President

Obama, “My fellow Americans,

we are made for this moment,

and we will seize it – so long as

we seize it together.”

This editorial was written by Amber Smith (amsmith@valdosta.edu) and it expresses the general opinion of the editorial staff.

Our point of view...

MCT

Social media has taken off

since the launch of MySpace in

2003. We now have several so-

cial media outlets to cater to our

boredom and curiosity. These

networks include the all too pop-

ular Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,

Tumblr, and tons of others. How

does your Facebook profile look?

Are there pictures of you having

a great night out with friends,

holding that infamous red cup?

According to a study conduct-

ed in February 2012 by the Na-

tional Association of Colleges

and Employers, 37-percent of

employers use social media to re-

search job candidates, and 11-

percent of employers plan to start

using social media to look up po-

tential employees.

Do you know what this

means? It means that our online

activity has to become a bit more

tasteful. It’s easy to forget that

online profiles are just a click

away and they can be a first im-

pression for an employer who

has not had the chance to meet

the potential candidate. When

we’ve had a hard day at work,

we don’t think about the harsh

comments we post on Facebook

or Twitter about how much we

hate our jobs. Once an employer

clicks on your profile and sees

this, it’s possible that you may

no longer be the candidate that

fills the job position.

“We want to be sure employ-

ers know that under federal la-

bor, they have a right to discuss

their wages and working condi-

tions with each other, and to join

together to try to improve them,”

Nancy Cleeland, director of pub-

lic affairs at the National Labor

Relations Board, told ABC

News. “Those rights have existed

since the National Labor Rela-

tions Act was enacted in 1935.”

“Today we are merely extend-

ing those protections to new

forms of communication, such as

Facebook, but not all work-relat-

ed social media posts are protect-

ed, and some behaviors can

cause an employee to lose pro-

tection,” Cleeland said. “We

compiled these cases to give both

employers and employees a bet-

ter idea of what is protected and

permitted.”

An Applebee’s worker faced

possible termination after he re-

fused to sign an agreement bar-

ring employees from making

negative comments about the

workplace on Facebook.

At Cisco, which is a corpora-

tion that has transformed the way

people connect, communicate,

and collaborate online, has also

had run-ins with social media

rants and raves. Cisco withdrew

a job offer presented to a poten-

tial employee, who posted this

on Twitter:

“Cisco just offered me a job!

Now I have to weigh the utility

of a fatty paycheck against the

daily commute to San Jose and

hating the work.”

Tim Levad, a channel partner

advocate for the Cisco Alert, saw

the tweet and assured the tweeter

that he would be contacting the

hiring manager of Cisco and no-

tifying them of the tactless tweet.

A simple tweet can ruin an en-

tire career. Now, that tweeter is

back to square one, filling out

job applications all because of a

personal opinion posted on a so-

cial network.

“I try not to post my personal

opinions and feelings about my

job online,” Traci Williams, a se-

nior Psychology major, said.

“Comments that you post online

can get back to your job or to

certain people, and it can jeopar-

dize your personal life.”

There is one major issue in

many of the social media net-

work discussions. Are we the

same in person as we are online?

Some may argue that we are

completely different online and

employers should not use online

activity to draw conclusions on

who we are as potential job can-

didates.

In opposition to this argument,

research shows that most people

are honest about their online

faces. Studies conducted in the

United States and Germany

found that social networking

sites convey accurate images of

the personality profiles we offer.

Another study found that read-

ers of blogs were able to consis-

tently and accurately judge the

personalities of those who posted

entries without ever meeting

them.

These studies support the idea

that employers can get the gist of

who you are by simply exploring

your profile. So who is it that

you want future employers, in-

laws, or other peers to see? Do

you want them to see you intoxi-

cated? Is your profile filled with

derogatory language? It’s time

that we think before we post. It’s

simple. Before you post anything

online, think about how it will

affect you and the people around

you. Remember that your online

profile can be your first impres-

sion, so from now on make that

impression a great one.

Etiquette for the twenty-first century

Pirates assist big business

With a shift from CD-ROMS

and cassette tapes to digital

downloads that can be bought

and played on a computer, piracy

has become an increasing prob-

lem. File-sharing programs such

as BitTorrent and websites such

as the now-defunct MegaU-

pload.com, have made piracy

easily accessible to the public.

Many anti-piracy advocates ar-

gue that online piracy is equiva-

lent to theft and online pirates

should be punished to the highest

degree, but could piracy also be

helpful in the long run? Accord-

ing to the Motion Picture Associ-

ation of America website,

MPAA.com, piracy is “theft and

includes the unauthorized copy-

ing, distribution, performance or

other use of copyrighted materi-

als.”

Although the definition of

piracy is pretty clean-cut, the

repercussions may not be. The

MPAA and RIAA (Recording In-

dustry Association of America)

state that the penalties for illegal-

ly recording and sharing copy-

righted movies, TV shows and

music include a federal felony

charge. This is accompanied by a

prison sentence of up to five

years and a fine of up to

$250,000.

Though the consequences are

frightening, I can't help but to

think of the positive results that

come from online piracy. Movie-

watchers are no longer relying on

Roger Ebert to give them a run-

down on the newest movies--

they are now turning to the inter-

net community. I'm sure some

self-proclaimed movie reviewers

watch movies illegally, but in

turn, they create a buzz that,

when positive, makes other peo-

ple go out and pay to see the

movie.

As for the music aspect, ille-

gally downloading audio files

whether it be single songs or

complete albums, is as easy as

using the search engine on a so-

cial media site like Twitter.

Nowadays, it's almost expect-

ed that a highly-anticipated al-

bum be “leaked” before its slated

release date. After that, it's up to

the artist's fans to decide if they

want to illegally download the

music for free or wait and buy it.

People who choose to illegally

download and listen to music be-

fore it reaches the general public

create discussion and interest by

sharing their own thoughts on it.

Why are the MPAA and RIAA

such sticklers for following their

rules when the rule-breakers

have the ability to generate more

sales? Perhaps it's so that people

will think that these big compa-

nies are protecting music artists,

actors, directors and producers.

Perhaps it's to keep power over

the music and film industries.

Whatever the reason, there defi-

nitely needs to be a change.

Olivia McLeanS TA F F W R I T E R

ovmclean@valdosta.edu

Quasha RossS TA F F W R I T E R

qlross@valdosta.edu

Issue of the

Week

Opinions expressed in the Spectator other than editorials are the opinions of the writers of signed columns and not necessarily those

of the Spectator and its staff. All rights reserved. Reprints by permission of the editors. Views in this newspaper are not necessarily

those of the Valdosta State University administration, faculty and staff.

Contacting Us

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priate identification and phone number for verification.Letters should be no longer than 300 words in length. Letters are subject toediting for style, length, grammar, and libelous material. Not all letters arepublished. Letters should be typed and turned in with a disk, or e-mailed as

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Online at www.vsuspectator.com

Spectator StaffEditor-in-Chief: Amber Smith Managing Editor:Jennifer GleasonBusiness Manager: Brandon MainerAdvertising Manager:Aimee NapierCirculation Manager: Sarah TurnerOpinions Editor: Stephen CavallaroFeatures Editor: Amanda Usher

Sports Editor: Eric JacksonPhoto Editor: Cody HicksMultimedia Editor: Von Kennedy Web Designer: Rebecka McAleerCopy Editor: Shambree WartelCartoonist: Garrison MuelhausenSocial Media Editor: Joe Adgie Faculty Advisers: Dr. PatMiller, Dr. Ted Geltner, KeithWarburg

Reporters/Photographers:Derrick Davis, Veronica Dominicis, Allison Ericson, AceEspenshied, Neil Frawley, BrianHickey Jr., Ivey Ingalls-Rubin,Jessica Ingram, Chris Kessler,Will Lewis, Olivia McLean,Ritsuki Miyazaki, Ray Pack Jr.Anthony Pope, John Preer,Quasha Ross, Isaiah Smart,Taylor Stone, Shane ThomasAlex Tostado, Jamal TullSarah Turner, James Washington, Steven Setser

MCT

Before you postanything online,think about how itwill affect you andthe people aroundyou.

PAGE 4 | VSUSPECTATOR.COM JANUARY 24, 2013FEATURES

Welcome to Additive

Noise-- the official

Spectator source for

music reviews and recommenda-

tions.

We’re here to bring you music

you may not have ever heard, to

broaden your horizons, or to

bring you new information about

the music you

already love..

In the fall se-

mester, every-

one’s excited

and ready to get

to work in their

new classes. In

the spring, how-

ever, it’s a bit

harder to get off

the ground.

Feeling some spring semester

jet lag? We’ve got the perfect

song for you. If you saw Mar-

vel’s ‘The Avengers’ when it re-

leased in theaters in May 2012,

we hope you stayed to see the

credits. If so, you may remember

today’s subject: “Live to Rise”,

by Soundgarden.

Wait, Soundgarden? Weren’t

they done in the ‘90s? When did

they release something new? It’s

true! Soundgarden is back. A

Seattle-based grunge band,

Soundgarden originally formed

in 1984, and played a strong ca-

reer until their disbanding in

1997. Most of us remember

them as creators of the entire

grunge-alternative genre, along

with similar bands such as Nir-

vana and Pearl Jam. Unfortu-

nately, it seems that not every

group is designed to spend their

days on tour. After some internal

issues, tour stress and a 12-year-

old hiatus, Soundgarden returned

to the studio. “The Knights of

the Soundtable ride again!” they

wrote on their website.

Like students returning to

school, the band had to really

feel like they were coming back

to life. Their dormant career

needed a kickstart, which came

in the form of “Live to Rise.”

The song is a strong and steady

testament to those rising from

their ashes. This explains why

they chose to use it for ‘The

Avengers’, given that the movie

features some excellent ‘risers’.”

Like the sun we will live to

rise-- like the sun we will

live and die and then ignite

again,” the lyrics read. While

there are two verses and a

bridge to the song, these first

lines from the chorus are the

most important, and thus the

most repeated.

Students, we know it’s cold.

We know getting up in the

morning is a pain. We know

you have that one class you just

didn’t even want to register for.

Do yourself a favor and just live

to rise. If you burn out one night,

ignite yourself again in the

morning. Keep your head up,

and kickstart yourself when you

need to.

For a link to the song or to

read more Additive Noise, fol-

low us online at http://vsuaddi-

tivenoise.blogspot.com/.

The sweet sound of a sympho-

ny could be heard during the

Tunes for Tots performance from

10 a.m. to noon on Saturday in

the Whitehead Auditorium.

The annual event, held by the

Valdosta Symphony Guild, was

designed to introduce the several

instruments played by the child

orchestra.

“Tunes for Tots is the annual

out reach event for the Valdosta

Symphony Orchestra and South

Georgia string project,” Dr. Lau-

ren Burns, director of South

Georgia String Project, said.

“It’s to show children what each

of the instruments in the orches-

tra sounds like and also to adver-

tise for the South Georgia string

project.”

During the performance, the

children of the South Georgia

String Project performed as an

orchestra, and several VSU pro-

fessors demonstrated solos with

each of their instruments.

Among those who attended in-

cluded several VSU undergradu-

ate and graduate music majors

who supported the event as part

of their training.

“It really exposes kids to mu-

sic and different instruments,”

Jenny Zimler, sophomore music

education major, said. “And es-

pecially afterward when they get

a chance to come up really

close--it just gives them some

hands on experience and is a re-

ally cool part about the event.”

After the performances, sever-

al children got hands on experi-

ence with instruments including

the trumpet, violin and tam-

bourine.

Several parents were grateful

for the learning opportunity that

their child received while play-

ing the instruments.

“This is a great opportunity

for children and adults to come

out, enjoy, see the instrument up

close and hear the music,”

Jacqueline Lilly, parent, said.

“My daughter played the violin

for a few years but now she

wants to play something differ-

ent because of this event.”

The South Georgia String Pro-

ject will begin classes on Mon-

day for children who are eight

years and older.

CORE to host campuscampout on front lawn

CORE will host Campout on

Campus at 1 p.m. on Friday on

the front lawn to promote free

outdoor activities and events.

The event, which was a col-

laboration with other campus or-

ganizations, will include slack-

line, an inflatable challenge

course, a kickball tourney, ulti-

mate Frisbee, a photo booth and

the showing of “Total Recall” at

7 p.m.

Slackline, an activity where a

rope is tied between two trees

and students are able to walk

across it, is known to provide

great entertainment to both be-

ginners and those that are ad-

vanced.

“The best way to describe it is

a combination of a tight rope and

a trampoline,” Sean Wilkinson, a

graduate assistant, said. “We’re

going to have a beginner’s slack-

line and we’re going to be teach-

ing people how to do it. We want

people to be walking by the time

they leave.”

Another major event CORE is

looking forward to introducing is

the Photo Booth.

Students will be given some

of CORE’s many outdoor equip-

ment such as their big inflatable

white water rafts and placed in

front of a green screen where

they will be simulating the activ-

ity they are portraying. This was

designed in hopes that students

would be able to connect to

friends and CORE via Facebook.

“At that moment we will be

uploading the pictures to the

CORE picture page and students

will be able to go on and like

and tag themselves to the pic-

tures,” Wilkinson said. “There

will also be sunset yoga.”

Several students are anxious

yet excited about Friday’s event.

“I am very interested in

CORE’s new event,” Tremaine

Genias, sophomore political sci-

ence major, said. “I’ve never

been one to like it before but I’m

sure it’ll be fun.”

Wilkinson is thankful for the

help from other organizations.

“Props to CAB, they really

helped us out,” he said. “We

reached out to them not knowing

what would happen and they are

providing a lot of cool stuff.”

Wilkinson encourages stu-

dents to come out for a night of

fun.

“Be sure to come out and

show your support to CORE this

Friday,” he said.

Totsvisit,learnabouttunes

Ritsuki MiyazakiS TA F F W R I T E R

rmiyazaki@valdosta.edu

Shane’s drizzles in with BBQ sauceS

pectator Tasters has made

a comeback. This week,

editors Amber Smith and

Jennifer Gleason visited newly

opened Shane’s Rib Shack.

Amber: I took a right at the

light by the Valdosta Mall en-

trance one day and noticed that

the Moe’s that previously sat at

the end of the strip mall had

been replaced by Shane’s Rib

Shack. I laughed-- my boyfriend

commented that our friend

Shane now had a namesake in

town, and that was the last I

thought of it. Jennifer started

telling me about what a staple

the restaurant was “back home”

and how funny she thought it

was that none of the locals

around here “know what a

Shane’s is.”

Jennifer: Shane’s Rib Shack

is all over the Atlanta area—par-

ticularly in Henry County. After

church, my dad would demand

we go there for lunch weekly.

One would think we would grow

tired of the barbecue, but it’s one

of the few places I have looked

forward to eating. I was excited

to introduce one local to the

restaurant, because for some fair-

ly-priced and fast barbecue,

Shane’s has definitely been a top

choice of mine. Someone going

into a Shane’s and expecting a

Smokin’ Pig atmosphere would

be disappointed, though. Shane’s

is more quaint and small com-

pared to the aforementioned bar-

becue joint—but that’s what I

love about it..

Valdosta’s Shane’s Rib Shack

is just like the ones at home, but

luckily with more seating than

the one I frequented in McDo-

nough. When we walked up to

the register, the staff members

were polite and friendly—our

cashier even held a short conver-

sation with us about shopping

when she spotted a Gap card in

Amber’s hand.

A: The country-themed atmos-

phere was perfect for the down-

home menu of soul food offered.

We walked up to order, and then

sat at a wooden table with wood-

en chairs facing a sepia wall of

what appeared to be family pho-

tos and a quote.

“Shane isn’t about flash—he’s

about family, community and

darn good food,” it read. “So

much so that he quit his highfa-

lutin corporate job, dusted off

Big Dad’s (Shane’s grandfather)

secret recipe and enlisted his

own family to make a dream

come true.”

On the table was an array of

sauces in a holder attached to a

roll of paper towels. I guess they

expected us to get messy.

Another sign

on the wall

gave a dictio-

nary-style defi-

nition of “The

South,” stating

that here “Tea

is sweet and ac-

cents are sweet-

er” and “‘Y’all’

is the only

proper noun.”

J: When the food was brought

out to us, I was excited to dig

into my BBQ chicken plate. I re-

membered how wonderful their

macaroni and cheese could be,

so I was excited to order my fa-

vorite plate with it and some

okra. The portion sizes were per-

fect, and the taste brought me

back to home and going out to

eat with my dad.

I’m a simple kind of gal when

it comes to food. I loved their

original barbecue sauce and

lightly drizzled it over my chick-

en to not detract from the actual

flavor of the meat. The piece of

toast that came with the meal

was a nice addition to the fla-

vors. Later in our conversation

and dining, Amber mentioned

she liked the hot and spicy

sauces. I realized I had never ac-

tually tried the hot barbecue

sauce, for fear it

would be too fiery for

me. I dabbed some on

my finger and was

proven wrong—the

sauce had little heat

compared to what

most might consider

“hot”, yet combined

spicy and sweet fla-

vors in a unique, bal-

anced way. I definitely

will have to try it again some-

time.

Needless to say, I devoured

my meal, and the Valdosta

Shane’s did not disappoint me at

all. I especially enjoyed roaming

the restaurant a little later and

spotting the VSU and Valdosta

school athletic jerseys and pic-

tures—an ode to the town that

welcomed in the business. There

was even a cool picture of Blaze

on the wall. I’m just happy to

know there is a restaurant from

home for me here that is wel-

coming and delicious.

A: When our food came, I

was shocked at the plate that sat

in front of me. This was the

largest potato I had ever seen.

The potato was topped with

cheese and pulled pork. I had

never seen anything that looked

so utterly American and glori-

ously fattening simultaneously.

I tried each of the four sauces

before drizzling three of them

over the top of my meal. My fa-

vorite: the mustard barbeque

sauce. Its flavor was unique, just

the tangy blend of mustard and

barbeque that I should have ex-

pected but did not. The meal

was worth every cent. It may

sound like $9 was a little much

for a baked potato, but this is no

ordinary ‘tater. Factoring in size,

quality and the fact that I could

feed myself for three days on

one meal, I’d do it again in a

heartbeat.SpectatorTasters

Amber Smith

jennifer Gleason

Due to scheduling concerns, features editor Amanda Usher and managing edi-

tor Jennifer Gleason have retired their relationship column “The Love Game.”

We extend our thanks to those who enjoyed reading it every week.

Cody Hicks/THE SPECTATOR

Shane’s Rib Shack is located at 1525 Baytree Rd., which used to be Moe’s. McDonough, Ga. is home of the original Shane’s, which

opened in 2002.

What We HadWhat We Had

Amber:Shack Potato, no jalapeños

Fried OkraSweet Tea + Peach Syrup

& Lemon$8.98 + tax

Jennifer:BBQ Chicken Plate

Mac & CheeseFried Okra

Coke$10.38 + taxTotal: $20.72

with Becka McAleer

Soundgarden rocks again

Ritsuki Miyazaki/THE SPECTATOR

Dr. Steven Taylor, music professor, assists first-timer Jordan

Hargett, 3, in playing the cello, one of the instruments featured at

‘Tunes for Tots.’

Brian Hickey, Jr.S TA F F W R I T E R

bdhickey@valdosta.edu

Check out the web Spectator to read Anthony Pope’s “Pop Addict,”

Steven Setser’s “Spec Tech” and Devin Crudup’s “Be Healthy” at vsus-

pectator.com.

While you’re there, check out more web exclusives, including coverage

of the play “Cinderella” performed by the Valdosta School of Ballet.

The Valdosta State Softball

Team will be in a difficult posi-

tion when they take the diamond

to open up this season as the pre-

season No.1 team in the Gulf

South Conference; they will

have to figure out how they can

improve on the school’s best

ever season.

The Blazers went an incredi-

ble 58-5, 26-1 in the Gulf South

Conference, en route to the first

National Championship in

school history.

Valdosta State defeated UC

San Diego 4-1 in Louisville, Ky,

last season to cap off the cham-

pionship season.

Valdosta State appeared in the

championship game in 2010 as

well, losing to Hawaii Pacific, 4-

3.

Head Coach, Thomas Macera,

looks to guide the Blazers to a

repeat as champions in his third

season with the school.

Macera was able to secure a

National Championship after los-

ing in the regional round in his

first season at Valdosta State.

Macera was not worried about

his team being motivated to re-

peat this year.

“I don’t think there’s a prob-

lem with that,” said Macera.

“The type of player you’re re-

cruiting is a kid that already has

that instilled in them, they want

to win; it’s not just a kid going

through the motions. The prac-

tices are too hard, the condition-

ing, and the weights. As much

stuff as they have to put into

this, if you really aren’t devoted

to playing ball you wouldn’t

want to go through this. I guess

the way to keep them motivated

is to keep the pressure on them

and make sure they stay hungry.”

The Blazers will have plenty

of talent coming back to Valdos-

ta this season, six National Fast

Pitch Coach Association All-

American Scholar Athletes re-

turn for another run this season.

Junior pitcher Brianna Hancock,

along with sophomores: Allison

Coulter, Fran Johnson, Abigayle

Kohler, Angela O’Connor, and

possibly most significant of all,

Courtney Albritton.

Albritton both patrols the out-

field and catches the game from

behind home plate for the Blaz-

ers, but it may be her bat that

makes all the difference.

Albritton led the Blazers in

almost every significant offen-

sive category including: runs

scored, hits, homeruns, and runs

batted in.

The Valdosta State pitching

staff will try to repeat the stun-

ning efficiency they had when

closing out games last season.

The Blazers were 43-0 with a

lead. If the Blazers scored first,

the game was effectively over

last season.

Finding a way to replace the

leadership of the eight graduat-

ing seniors from last season

championship team, especially in

the infield with five infielders

graduating, will be critical for

Valdosta State in the postseason

if they are to repeat this season.

“You can never replace any-

body. You can’t replace Mari Lit-

tlefield, a Sam Posey, or

Hutchens, one of the best second

baseman I’ve ever coached in

my career, Alanna Hadely, so

many great players here last

year,” said Macera. “You just

gotta hope you recruited good

kids like you recruited them and

try to develop them like you de-

veloped the older kids and hope

it falls together.”

The Blazers will get their

chance to begin developing that

leadership when they launch

their season with the West Flori-

da Tournament.

Valdosta State will face South

Arkansas and Young Harris in

Pensacola, Fla., on Feb. 2. Then

the Blazers will travel to Albany,

Ga., to take on the Golden Rams

on Feb. 11.

VSU opens at home on Feb. 12

against Georgia Southwestern.

CYAN

MAGENTA

YELLOW

BLACKOddEven

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VSUSPECTATOR.COM | PAGE 5JANUARY 24, 2013 S P O R T S

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Sudoku

Lady Blazers face Christian Bros. tonight

Tonight, Valdosta State Lady

Blazers come home to play in-

side The Complex.

VSU, 10-5 on the year, is

coming off a three game road

trip that ended with a 62-59 road

victory at West Florida last satur-

day.

The team was lifted by Ashley

Johnson's 20 points off the

bench.Coach Kiley Hill believes

his team is starting to turn the

corner and play consistent bas-

ketball.

“We probably played the most

consistent level of play on Satur-

day. Even though it was back

and forth, we responded well to

adverse situations,” Coach Hill

said.

While the team is starting to

improve Coach Hill has yet to

find a consistent set rotation and

will continue to be a game by

game process.

“We've had two or three kids

plays consistent, we try to figure

out pretty quickly who's on and

who's off, and find out which

match-ups work best for us.”

The Lady Bucs enter the game

off a victory of their own against

West Alabama, but sport a miser-

able 4-11 record.

The Lady Blazers are 3-4 in

conference play, and a home win

tonight would be crucial getting

them back to .500.

Coach Hill is focused merely

on the Lady Blazers doing their

job to get a win.

“We don't talk about must-win

games. You got to do your job

and your role, and that's where

the wins and losses will come

from. If we do our job consis-

tently, then we're going to put

ourselves in a position to get a

W. If we don't do those things, it

doesn't matter what (Christian

Brothers) does,” Coach Hill said.

The Lady Blazers are unde-

feated (7-0) at home.

The team has been much

stronger at home, averaging 60.8

points per game, about six more

points per game at home com-

pared to on the road.

VSU has also held opponents

to 53.5 points a game, six less

points a game at home than on

the road.

“You should be playing better

at home. Look across the coun-

try, there's a major disparity be-

tween home wins and home loss-

es. To win a championship, you

must hold serve on all your

home games.”

VSU should be able to take

advantage aginst a struggling

Christian Brothers’ offense,

which is last in the Gulf South

Conference in averaging just

55.1 points per game and shoot

at low rate of 35%, which is sec-

ond to last in the conference.

Despite the Lady Blazers

playing two games in the next

three days (hosting Delta State

on Saturday); Coach Hill is not

worried about saving legs during

tonight's game for Saturday's

game. He and coaching staff are

focused solely on getting a win

tonight against Christian Broth-

ers.

“We're beyond that point. The

only way we adjust is our prac-

tice setting, but once the game's

on you play for that day,” Coach

Hill said.

A win tonight would help

move the Lady Blazers up in the

conference standings, who cur-

rently are tied for seventh, and

continue to build some momen-

tum going into saturday's big na-

tionally televised game versus

Delta State.

The game is scheduled to tip-

off at 6PM tonight inside The

Complex, and will be followed

by the men’s game.

Blazers begin home stand tonight

The Valdosta State Blazers

men’s basketball team is back

home Thursday night to host the

Buccaneers of Christian Brothers

University, tipping off a four-

game home stand.

Having lost four of their last

five games, including a 99-93

loss to West Florida last Satur-

day, Head Coach Mike Helfer

and his Blazers see this game as

an opportunity to turn things

around on their home floor.

“I think it’s very important,”

Helfer said. “I think we have

played well over the last five

games, we’ve just struggled win-

ning a few of them. We just gotta

come out and play and focus on

the fundamentals.”

Christian Brothers comes into

The Complex on a two-game

win streak following an impres-

sive 68-49 victory against West

Alabama.

The Buccaneers are 10-5 over-

all and 5-2 in the Gulf South

Conference. The Blazers also

sport a 10-5 record overall but

are just 2-4 in Gulf South Con-

ference play entering Thursday

night.

“The one thing about the GSC

this year is that there are a lot of

good teams and Christian Broth-

ers is one of those good teams,”

Helfer said. “They have a great

coach, a great system, and we’re

gonna have to come out and play

really well.”

“It’ll be nice being at home

but being at home doesn’t guar-

antee you anything,” Helfer

added. “You’ve gotta come out

and make plays.”

Christian Brothers enters this

season without their top two

players from a season ago, Scott

Dennis and Zack Warner, both of

which garnered Gulf South Con-

ference First Team honors with

Dennis being named GSC Co-

Player of the Year.

Though those players are

gone, Coach Helfer still under-

stands the threat the Buccaneers

pose this season.

“Christian Brothers had more

players than just those two,”

Helfer said.

“They are a very balanced

team, very well-coached—just

because they lost those guys

doesn’t mean they’re gonna take

any steps backwards.”

One of the biggest concerns

for the Blazers against Christian

Brothers will be defending the

three-point shot.

The Buccaneers made 35-of-

76 from beyond the arc for 46

percent in three games against

the Blazers last season.

Four of the Bucs’ top marks-

men are returning this season.

Pat Graham, Cory McArthy,

Harry Green, and Michael Drake

combined for 24 of those 35

three-pointers made against the

Blazers last season.

“They’ll always be a great three-

point shooting team because of

their offense,” Helfer explained.

“I just think we gotta continue to

pressure them on the three-point

catch and contest them. They’re

a very good shooting team—they

always have been and always

will be.”

While Coach Helfer urges his

team to try to force turnovers

and push the tempo on makes

and misses, he notes that a rea-

son that Christian Brothers has

had so much success is their

ability to make games low-scor-

ing affairs.

The Buccaneers come in aver-

aging 67.0 points per contest

while allowing just 59.7 points

to the opposition.

“Their system defensively is

solid and sound,” Helfer said.

“When you play them, they do

such a great job offensively that

the number of possessions is

smaller than it is in a wide open

game. It will probably be a lower

scoring game so we’ve got to un-

derstand the value of each pos-

session.”

Christian Brothers won all

three meetings with the Blazers

last season, the last of which be-

ing a 31-point blowout in the

Gulf South Conference Tourna-

ment that ended the Blazers’ sea-

son. However, with a roster that

only returns senior forward Josh

Sparks this season, Coach Helfer

denies that revenge will be a fac-

tor in Thursday’s game.

“I wouldn’t say there’s a re-

venge factor because we do have

a lot of new guys,” Helfer said.

“I just view it as our league

being very competitive. You’ve

gotta expect night in, night out

that games are gonna go down to

the wire and you just gotta be

able to make plays at the end of

the game.”

The Blazers tip off against

conference rival Christian Broth-

ers at 8 p.m. on Thursday night

at The Complex, where Valdosta

State will be honoring its 2012

National Championship football

team at halftime.

Softball ready to make another run

Shane ThomasS P O R T S W R I T E R

shanethomas@valdosta.edu

Chris KesslerS P O R T S W R I T E R

ckessler@valdosta.edu

Don’t forget tofollow on Twitter @Blazersports or@epjackson for

VSU sportsupdates

VSU looks to improve to 8-0 at the P.E. Complex

Forward Alan Love defends teammate Evan Ratliff during practice last week. Love added nine points

in the 99-93 loss to West Florida last Saturday.

Senior Brittney Nelson drives down the lane during practice. Nelson currently leads the Gulf South

Conference in rebounds per game (10.9).

Pack the PlexSaturday’s game

against Delta Statewill be nationallytelevised by CBSSports Network

Austen Hutto/THESPECTATOR Austen Hutto/THESPECTATOR

D.J. DavisS P O R T S W R I T E R

ddavis@valdosta.edu

PAGE 6 | VSUSPECTATOR.COM JANUARY 24, 2013S P O R T S

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Sport Registration Captain’s Meeting Start Date

Basketball Jan. 14-16 Jan. 17 - 5:30 Jan. 22

4 V 4 Flag Football Jan. 14-16 Jan. 17 - 5:30 Jan. 24

4-Person Bowling Jan. 14-16 *no meeting Jan. 28

Soccer Feb. 11-13 Feb. 14 - 5:30 Feb. 17

Softball Feb. 11-13 Feb. 14 - 5:30 Feb. 17

Sand Volleyball Feb. 11-13 Feb. 14 - 5:30 Feb. 18

VSU Intramural Sports Schedule 2013

Don't let their name fool you,

this team is no joke.

Moose Attack, a coed flag foot-

ball team at VSU, has a stagger-

ing list of accomplishments that

would make other teams green

with envy.

In their two seasons, they've

been VSU intramural runner-up,

state runner-up, VSU intramural

champions and state champions.

Along with all that, they re-

cently picked up a final four ap-

pearance at Nationals.

Over the winter break, Moose

Attack entered the annual NCCS

National Flag Football Champi-

onships at the campus of Univer-

sity of Central Florida..

The team took on teams all

across the country, and finished

third.

That is the highest finish by a

VSU flag football team.

Moose Attack, unlike

most teams, traveled to Orlando

for Nationals straight out of their

own pockets.

The team hadn't competed sin

in the state tournament at the

University of Georgia, and had

only had four practices since.

But even with a lot of time

off, the team was in sync from

the start.Quarterback, Rachel

Swiley said, “Team chemistry

has a lot to do with it. Everyone

gets along, we have fun, but we

take it serious.”

The team kicked off the tour-

nament with an impressive 26-18

victory over the University of

Missouri, followed by a rout of

Western Carolina 39-9 in pool

play.

It seemed that teams took this

team from Valdosta a little too

lightly.“We look a little goofy,

but we go out there and surprise

them. It teaches you not to judge

a team before you play,”quarter-

back, Kyle Branch said.

Maybe teams didn't expect

Swiley, a girl, to be able to sprint

out and throw the ball 40

yards.“They're pretty surprised at

first, but after a couple plays

they adjust to it.”, said Swiley.

Moose Attack kicked-off

bracket play against a familiar

foe in Georgia Southern and

went on to beat them for the

third time this year, 19-0.

In the second round, Moose

Attack battled Florida Gulf

Coast in a classic.

Down three, with less than 30

seconds left, Moose Attack

scored the winning touchdown

on an incredible play by Steven

Cole that went for over 40

yards, giving them a 18-15 vic-

tory and sent them to the final

four.

Moose Attack would run into

a buzz-saw by the name of An-

gelo State.

The team fought hard, but it

seemed rust, youth and exhaus-

tion caught up to them, as they

lost to the eventual champions

53-27 in the semi-finals.

Along with their team suc-

cess, Moose Attack had a player

named to the All-Tournament

team, Logan Petrey.

The team was very proud to

finish third in the nation, but still

felt some disappointment.

“We could have done better,

considering how much time we

had off. It never hurts to prac-

tice,”Branch said.

Even though the team came

up short, they still took the time

to have some fun.

They stayed at the Disney re

sort for the tournament and were

able to bond and meet team from

all over the country.

“It was fun to watch all the

teams; you learn a lot. It was a

good experience, our team is like

a family. I wouldn't have traded

it for anything.”, said Branch.

With seven combined fresh-

men and sophomores on the

team, expect to see Moose At-

tack continue their success for a

while.

Moose Attack's roster includes

Swiley, Rebekah Swiley, Branch,

Logan Petrey, Paige Petrey, Wes

ley Welch, Teddy Welch, Isaac

Ringer, Brandon Bradwell,

Branch, Jessica Wilt, Steven

Cole, Seth Ennis, Lance Jarriel,

and Jocelyn Zhuno.

Chris KesslerS P O R T S W R I T E R

ckessler@valdosta.edu

Flag football team goes to nationals

VSU Archives

Moose Attack played in the 2012 Intramural-Recreational Sports Association National Championship

Campus Series on Jan. 4-6 at the University of Central Florida.