VSU’s Web Content Manager

John Bennett and Computer Sup-

port Specialist Kathy Sundin are

excited about the launch of the

new website and community

feedback.

There were two sessions held

Tuesday night to preview the

new VSU website.

“If you’ve never been to VSU,

you would never know our cam-

pus was so beautiful,” Bennett

said. “That means we weren’t

doing a very good job on the

website.”

The new website features ro-

bust changes of interactivity and

ease of navigation.

One major change is the serv-

er system upgrade from Adobe

Contribute to Hannon Hill Cas-

cade.

Contribute and Cascade are

both content management sys-

tems that help VSU web man-

agers publish departmental web-

pages to the VSU website.

With the addition of Cascade,

VSU’s server will correct typos

and errors for instructors’ pages,

make it easier for professors to

publish and delete information

online for students to see and al-

low File Transfer Protocol, or

FTP, access to instructors on

their own sites.

The renovated homepage fea-

tures the return of the academic

“Valdosta State University” logo

with the West Hall dome in the

background and a video during

the first week of the site as an in-

troduction for students and oth-

ers on how to use the new fea-

tures.

SGA President Ryan Baer-

walde and faculty members are

featured speakers on the intro-

duction.

Bennett said few people come

to the website and are interested

in reading its content, but the

new site will change that.

Four buttons known as “Audi-

ence Segmentation” will bring

the most important links on

campus to prospective and cur-

rent students as well faculty and

alumni in one click.

Campus-wide emergency

alerts will be featured in yellow

at the top of the homepage as

well as being sent to student,

staff and faculty emails and cell

phones.

Any alerts featured on the

homepage will be taken down

the moment the threat has disap-

peared.

The global navigation feature

will display links about VSU,

athletics, admissions and cam-

pus life.

There will be a social media

scoreboard that allows every

VSU organization to have their

site visible in one domain on the

website.

For now, until all are added,

the scoreboard only features of-

ficial VSU social media sites

managed by Bennett.

Organizations can email Ben-

nett at jobennett@valdosta.edu

to have their sites added.

Along with these features, an

A-Z directory will direct you to

every department on campus in-

stantly.

However, department pages

will not look any different until

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October 4, 2012 W W W . V S U S P E C T A T O R . C O M VOLUME 84 ISSUE 7

Inside This Issue- OPINIONS: “Home Tweet Home: What Valdosta has to

say about the debates”

- FEATURES: “The end of the world?”

- SPORTS: “Blazers’ backs against the wall”

On the Webwww.vsuspectator.com

MIDTERM - Today is midterm,

which is also the last day to

drop a class. Remember, each

dropped class counts towards

the five withdrawal limit for

undergraduate students.

NAACPVOTER DRIVE -

From noon to 3 p.m., NAACP

hosts a voter regristration drive

on courtyard between Georgia

Hall and Langdale Hall.

IVOTE, UVOTE, WEVOTE -

V-State Dining hosts a voter reg-

istration drive in from of Palms

Dining Hall from 11 a.m. to 2

p.m. Free Buttons and info

sheets about social and econom-

ic issues on the Nov. 6 ballot are

available.

SCIENCE SEMINAR -

This week’s Science Seminar

will be presented by Dr. Yakov

Y. Woldman (VSU Department

of Chemistry) at 4 p.m. in Pow-

ell Hall. The title of his talk is

“Nitric Oxide: Biochemistry and

Detection.”

For more information visit

http://valdosta.edu/cas/scisem/

Yakov.shtml.

CRACKING THE MAYAN

CODE - The Department of

Modern and Classical Lan-

guages will present “Cracking

the Maya Code,” a PBS Docu-

mentary at 7 in the UC Theater.

EXTREME TACO EATING -

Hosted by V-State Dining at

1:30 pm in Palms Dining. The

first place winner will receive a

$25 gift card to the VSU book-

store, and the second place win-

ner will receive a great VSU t-

shirtSign up at Palms or Hopper,

or email vstatedining@valdos-

ta.edu.

Today at VSU

Weather

83 H 67 L

Scattered

T-Storms

Today

86 H 66 L

Friday

66 L87 H

AM Clouds

/PM Sun

Saturday

Did the presidentialdebate change your

mind?

A. No way, my mind’s

made up.

B. Yes, I learned a lot.

C. I didn’t watch it.

Vote online at www.vsuspectator.com!

Question ofthe week

Last WeekPoll Results

How do you feel

about hookah?

42%I've never tried it

26%

16%

I think it's gross

I enjoy it regularly

Cloudy

Don’t miss your chance!Don’t miss your chance!Linda Mitchell’s “Truth in Animals” art exhibit is

on display in the Fine Arts Gallery through Oct. 5.

New homepage goes liveNew Features:1. VSU Academic Logo –

Returns visitor to home page

2. Header Navigation –My VSU – One stop for popular links (VSU email,Banner, BlazeVIEW) for students, faculty and staffA-Z Index – Replaces department drop down box for quick access to VSU departments and servicesSearch Bar – Two ways tosearch: Entire Site or Campus Directory

3. Global Navigation – Links to: About VSU, Admissions, Academics, Campus Life and Athletics pages

4. Expand Button – Expands global navigation menu

5. Audience Segmentation Pages – categories for main VSU visitors

6. Popular Links – Popular links for each specific audience

7. Audience Segmentation Pages – Pages designed specifically for main VSU visitors

8. News/Events/Featured Sites – Links to popular News, Events and Featured Sites

9. Maps and Directions – Links to VSU maps

10. Quick Links – Popular links available in the page footer

11. Social Media Page – Links to new Social Media landing page

Source: VSU Information Technology

http://valdosta.edu/it/css/wks/documents/VSUHomePageNavigation.pdf

Von KennedyA S S T. F E AT U R E S

E D I T O R

vtkennedy@valdosta.edu

See SITE , Page 2

Smoking areasin near future

Pretty soon, those who want

to smoke may have to do so in a

designated area.

A possible restriction on

smoking was discussed at the

first SGA town hall meeting of

the semester.

The SGA voted to form a sub-

committee to draft legislation for

these new smoking restrictions.

The proposed legislation

would be sent to the Faculty

Senate.

“This smoking policy, if en-

acted, we would have designated

smoking pits,” Reginald Merritt,

SGA senator, said.

Merritt added that the smok-

ing pits would be, at the least,

30-feet away from a window, en-

trance, exit, or air intake system.

While these new restrictions

on smoking may be off-putting

to some, Merritt added that this

policy would still be light com-

pared to other schools around

the state.

“Other schools, like UGA and

West Georgia, have a smoking

policy where [there is] no smok-

ing on campus, even in cars,”

Merritt said. “So this is kind of

lenient and not as radical or ex-

treme as it may come off.”

Enforcement for the smoking

policy would come in the form

of an enhanced police force,

whose ranks would be bolstered

by student patrol officers.

An idea that was mentioned

during last week’s SGA meeting.

These student patrol officers

would help the VSUPD while

the department is in the process

of hiring new officers, according

to Amber Worthy, SGA vice

president.

“We aren’t making many

changes,” Ololade Fagbohun,

SGA senator, said. “The old rule

right now is 25-feet, we just

changed it to [30], and [we’re]

making sure there’s a designated

area at smoking pits.”

Fagbohun explained that the

distance was increased because

once a person was 25-feet away

from one building they were

within 25-feet of another build-

ing—thus making the 25-foot

rule ineffective.

SGA senators, however, have

been quick to point out that this

is not a ban on smoking.

“In the past Spectator, it

talked about how we discussed

smoking bans, and I had students

in my class saying, ‘I’m going to

write a petition against that,’”

Lorraine Dawkins, SGA senator,

said. “We need to be clear that

we’re not trying to ban smoking

entirely from this campus, but

rather designate areas.”

Joe AdgieM U LT I M E D I A E D I T O R

jmadgie@valdosta.edu

Other topics discussed:

• Two senators elected:

Airy Hall and Ja’Marrius

Thomas

• Ryan Baerwalde, SGA

President, was contacted

by a reporter from the

Wall Street Journal who

intends to do a story

on how HOPE cuts are

affecting students.

• Baerwalde and other

Georgia SGA presidents

formed a “Student

Advisory Council” on the

future of HOPE.

• SGA meets every

Monday night at the UC

Cypress Room.

Campus orgs spreadbreast cancer awareness

October is Breast Cancer

Awareness month, and many stu-

dents and organizations are open-

ing up to the cause.

According to the American

Cancer Society, breast cancer is

the most common kind of cancer

affecting women in the United

States.

The women of Zeta Tau Alpha

and the Collegiate Women of

VSU are doing their part in mak-

ing sure that VSU is aware of the

effects of breast cancer and how

early detection is key in breast

cancer awareness.

“We want to stress to the cam-

pus that it's never too early to

start examinations and that breast

cancer can affect anyone,"

Sloane White, member of ZTA,

said.

ZTA has hosted a number of

activities to show support and

make students more aware of

breast cancer and its hazards.

On Saturday, the sorority host-

ed its annual Pink Out Game dur-

ing the Blazer football game

against Edward Waters College.

Tuesday, ZTA also hosted Big

Man on Campus, a male beauty

pageant.

The men compete to look their

best in hopes to winning the title

Big Man on Campus.

"It is probably our most enter-

taining event because the boys

competing put on such a good

show,” White said. “Our chairs

for the event have worked really

hard this year to make it bigger

and to raise more money for the

fight against breast cancer."

The American Cancer Society

said for 2012, there are 226,870

new cases of invasive breast can-

cer is the U.S. alone.

Breast cancer not only affects

one in every eight women in the

U.S. every year, but one in every

1,000 men.

"For me personally that is why

I joined Zeta Tau Alpha,” White

said. “My senior year of high

school my aunt was diagnosed

and it really affected our family.

When I came to college and saw

that ZTA helped women like

her—and that by me joining, I

would also be helping—I knew it

was my home. I know a lot of

our sisters feel the same way."

Hannah Smith, a freshman un-

Veronica DominicisS TA F F W R I T E R

vmdominicis@valdosta.edu

See CANCER , Page 2

WGST kicks off DomesticViolence Awareness month

The month of October, for the

Women and Gender’s Studies de-

partment (WGST), is Domestic

Violence Awareness month.

WGST has planned a few

events to help spread awareness

of domestic violence—particular-

ly domestic violence against

women. Some of the faculty and

staff from WGST involved in the

cause are: Dr. Tracy Woodard-

Meyers, Teresa Paliwoda, Helen

Wishart, Dr. Mark George, An-

drea Ramirez, Felicia Hilson and

grad assistants, interns and stu-

dents in the department for work-

study.

Dorothy Sumner, secretary of

WGST, has been working with

the cause for about two years.

“We all work as a group to get

the word out,” Sumner said. “A

lot of times domestic violence is

not something that’s out there

[…] it’s not always deemed as

important of an issue. Some-

times, when a person does not

feel comfortable talking about

[domestic violence issues] they’ll

come [to WGST] about it, and

talk to a female here.”

According to statistics released

by the Domestics Violence Re-

source Center, one in four

women could experience some

form of domestic violence in

their life.

Reportedly, 50 percent of men

who abuse their wives will abuse

their children as well.

WGST is working to put the

focus on domestic abuse and find

healing for those struggling

through it.

“We usually start [planning] at

the end of the month—of Octo-

ber of last year—we were al-

ready looking at this year what

we were going to do, how we

were going to do it,” Sumner

said.

The month will be full of cam-

paigns and events to enlighten

the community. This week began

with their purple ribbon cam-

paign.

See WGST , Page 2

Jennifer GleasonM A N A G I N G E D I T O R

jlgleason@valdosta.edu

16%I partake occasionally

Check out Joe Adgie’sanalysis of the

Presidential Debate!

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un 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.

The Spectator prints free classi-

fieds for stu dents of Val dos ta

State Uni ver si ty only. These

must 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 to

40 words. Ads should be sent to

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of fice in 1238 Hopper Hall. The

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payment ap plies, it should be

sub mit ted in a sealed en ve lope at

the time the ad is placed. Ads

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name and phone num ber of the

per son sub mit ting the ad. Ads

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as nec es sary. The Spec ta tor ad -

dress is: 1500 N. Patterson

St.,Valdosta, GA 31698

spec@valdosta.edu.

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EmploymentThe Spectator islooking for Car-toonists, writers,graphic artists,photographers, &assistant editors.Contact Amber at amsmith@valdos-ta.edu, Aimee @acnapier@valdos-ta.edu

OCTOBER 4, 2012PAGE 2 | VSUSPECTATOR.COM N E W S

For Sale

The Classifieds

STUDENTS: Have clothes or

shoes taking up space, upgraded

your phone, have left over text-

books, hate your lamp?Sell them

here to other students. Run your

ad of up to 40 words for FREE.

PregnancyWasn’t Part of the Plan

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Services For Rent

Oct. 8, noon to 6 p.m.

Office of Health Promotions

is hosting a Texting Simulator on

the Pedestrian Mall in front of

Odum Library. A car will be pro-

vided to simulate the dangers of

texting while driving.

Oct. 10

VSU Men’s Choir will begin

rehearsals in room 226 of the

Fine Arts Building at 1 p.m.

Regulary rehearsals will be

every Mon., Wed. and Fri. from

1-1:50 p.m. No auditions are

necessary, all VSU Men’s Choir

asks is that students be ready to

sing.

“Pops in the Park,” a fundrais-

ing concert for VSU’s Music

Scholarship Alliance, willb e

held in the Fine Arts Building

Ampitheater from 6 to 9 p.m.

General admission is $15 for

adults and $8 for students, senior

citizens and children 12-years

and under. Open seating is first-

come, first-serve. Call 333-2150

to reserve seats and for more in-

formation.

Oct. 16

The last date for an organiza-

tion to offer its sponsorship for

the Blood Drive happening on

Oct. 23. American Red Cross is

hosting a VSU vs West Georgia

Blood Drive in the Student

Union Ballroom. For more infor-

mation, contact Student Life.

Upcoming Events

Oct. 2

A student reported not being

able to find a vehicle that was

last parked in the Sustella Park-

ing Deck on the second floor. It

was later found in the Fine Arts

Building lot.

Oct. 1

A VSU Plant Ops workers’

cell phone was stolen from the

Langdale lot.

Sept. 30

Employee was caught stealing

items from Palms Dining.

A bike was stolen from the

Sustella Parking Deck.

Sept. 28

Bike was stolen from near the

UC.

Sept. 27

Burglary in the UC, a projec-

tor is missing from room 1159.

Police Briefs

Check out theWeb Spectator for

more stories!

October is Lesbian, Gay, Bi-

sexual, Transgender History

Month or LGBT Pride Month,

and VSU Gay Straight Alliance

is gearing up to celebrate with

numerous events – especially

National Coming Out Day on

Oct. 11.

GSA met Monday night to list

upcoming events on the agenda.

Two interns from the Marriage

and Family Therapy Program,

Joshua Waters and Anthony Pot-

ter, spoke briefly to GSA about

the Spectrum program designed

for students to share their per-

sonal experiences about sex,

gender and orientation. There,

the students are able to provide

their perspectives and make so-

cial connections.

“It [the counseling] is not

about curing anyone of their

gay-ness,” Waters said.

The program offers free thera-

py to all VSU students.

Whether straight, gay, or bi-

sexual, students who attended

the GSA had opinions that fully

supported National Coming out

Day. VSU GSA President, Ayan-

na Williams-Whittle is straight

and feels it’s a positive day.

“I think it’s positive because

coming out can be seen as a neg-

ative thing, and it’s a great thing

people come out and show sup-

port to in order to prove it is not

negative,” Williams said. “A lot

of times, people come out and

get the opposite response they

are looking for. To know that

there is a day to share their sto-

ries and experiences is awe-

some.”

Deandre Harris, an openly gay

freshman psychology major,

shared his thoughts.

“I feel like it is a good day be-

cause it lets people know that

most black people do care about

people coming out and they do

support them,” Harris said.

Though she is straight, Bree

Lawver, freshman biology major,

agrees with Deandre.

“I think it’s a really good

thing because I have a lot of

friends who are gay and bisexu-

al,” Lawver said. “People care

and they are not alone.”

When asked whether she was

partial to voting for Obama for

his support of gay marriage,

sophomore PR major, Nikki Ellis

agreed he was the best choice.

“I am voting for President

Barack Obama because the gov-

ernment shouldn’t have a say in

who you love.”

National Coming out Day was

a main topic on the agenda, but

other events were also discussed

such as: The Multicolor March

in the Homecoming Parade, At-

lanta Pride Festival, and Gender

Bender Halloween Event.

Its Monday meeting was pri-

marily about Breast Cancer

Awareness. Students were

quizzed on important statistics

and facts about women and the

severity of breast cancer.

GSA also discussed volunteer

opportunities for Make-A-Differ-

ence Day and Second Harvest

Food Bank, as well as a meeting

for the election and safe space

training.

Valencia WilliamsS TA F F W R I T E R

vwilliams@valdosta.edu

GSA talks National Coming Out Day

SiteContinued from Page 1

completed system updates syn-

chronize within the next 12-18

months.

The VSU news link now has

three categories to make it easier

to search for athletics, campus

events and official news on

campus.

New ad buttons will be added

to allow departments to post up-

coming events and other impor-

tant schedule notes to depart-

ment pages.

A brand new interactive map

in the footer of the homepage

will help students navigate via a

street-view of their destinations.

Sundin navigated the new site

as professors, faculty and stu-

dents watched Tuesday night.

“The site looks beautiful,”

Deborah Davis, director of VSU

archives said. “My only concern

is how they will convert the

7,000 archived videos, text and

presentations we have in the li-

brary to the new server.”

A feedback button will allow

users to directly tell Bennett,

Sundin and the rest of IT any

praises or problems they have

with the site.

“We encourage users to pro-

vide as much feedback as possi-

ble,” Bennett said. “We’re al-

ready getting new and good

ideas from everyone and are

considering them. We’re doing

our best to create something that

is satisfying to the community.”

People care andthey are not alone.- BREE LAWVER, FRESHMAN

BIOLOGY MAJOR

“”

Are you registered to vote?

Today VSU’s chapter of Na-

tional Association for the Ad-

vancement of Colored People is

hosting a voter registration drive

for students, faculty and staff.

The NAACP Voter Registra-

tion Drive starts at noon and

ends at 3 p.m. in the courtyard

between Georgia Hall and Lang-

dale Hall.

NAACP hopes to reach out to

the community and encourage

people to register to vote in this

election.

Chris Hawkins, the political

action chair of the NAACP and

coordinator of the drive, said

NAACP is inspired by the na-

tional scale of the organization.

“Our organization is national-

ly recognized as the top organi-

zation to register people to vote,

and we just wanted to continue

the tradition in such an important

election year,” Hawkins said.

NAACP has had voter regis-

tration drives leading up to to-

day’s larger drive, and members

anticipate large participation.

Other organizations planning

to attend the NAACP Voter Reg-

istration Drive are Black Student

League, Collegiate Men of VSU

and Collegiate Women of VSU,

Sigma Gamma Rho, Phi Beta

Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta, Delta Sig-

ma Theta, Creative Media, Al-

pha Kappa Alpha, Alpha Phi Al-

pha, Chartwells and more.

“When I reached out to other

organizations to collaborate they

quickly responded because of

working with me on prior

events,” Hawkins said. “[Other

organizations] are just as eager

to get people registered […] It

took a lot to bring various orga-

nizations together and making

sure each one could help in some

form, but we got it done and we

are excited about this event.”

Today’s voter registration dri-

ve will have music, food, drinks,

buttons, giveaways, information

on candidates and their views on

big issues and instructions on

updating personal registration in-

formation and what to bring to

vote.

“I think what made our voter

drives special is incorporating

other organizations, this shows

that not only a single organiza-

tion cares, but all students care

about getting to the polls and let-

ting their voice be heard Nov.

6,” Airyagany Hall, president of

the VSU NAACP college chap-

ter, said. “It brought together stu-

dents for a common purpose and

goal.”

NAACP doesn’t want to influ-

ence students’ thinking, but in-

form them and encourage a con-

versation and atmosphere for

politics that is inviting.

“College students are more ea-

ger to vote and interested in

what's happening in our country

a lot more than I thought,”

Hawkins said. “Since The Hap-

pening we have registered about

four hundred students alone.”

NAACP hosts a voterregistration drive today

Jennifer GleasonM A N A G I N G E D I T O R

jlgleason@valdosta.edu

Photo courtesy: http://naacp.org

Organizationscollaborate topromote voting

Calling all writers and photographers!

The Spectator wants you!

Contact Editor-in-Chief Amber Smith amsmith@valdosta.edu,

and Managing Editor Jennifer Gleason at jlgleason@valdosta.edu

for more information!

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octoBer 4, 2o12 vsuspectator.com | page 3N e w s

Love thy neighbor—only if

they’re not annoying.

As midterm comes around,

some students are not only find-

ing out how hard it is to main-

tain grades but also how hard it

is to live with their roommates.

VSU housing and residence

Life is offering roommate work-

shops for students who have

never lived with a roommate pri-

or to the beginning of the semes-

ter. Afterwards, students are en-

couraged to fill out roommate

contract agreements.

roommate contract agreement

is the form that all freshmen are

suggested to fill out before they

move in. it has series of ques-

tions including personal prefer-

ences, sharing personal items,

visitation and communication.

Some freshmen who move in

already know who they want to

room with such as someone

from the same high school or

same hometown, but for the peo-

ple who don’t know anyone,

workshops provide that opportu-

nity.

this form gives students a

way to find out what they should

expect when choosing someone

to room with.

if students do not fill out the

contract, they will not be al-

lowed to have guests in their res-

idence.

there are also roommate

agreement forms for upper level

residence halls as well as “Com-

mon Space Use” agreements for

the areas shared inside the resi-

dence such as the living room

and kitchen.

Some students find that filling

out the form is unnecessary.

"i don't think it is necessary

because we're mature enough to

be aware of these things listed

on forms and we can take care

of ourselves," Ashley rodgers,

freshman psychology major,

said.

VSU officials feel that the

contract is necessary in the long

run to prevent future residence

problems.

"i think the roommate contract

is just a paper to fill out, so that's

why we do a roommate work-

shop to talk about some of the

issues that featured in the con-

tract," Sarah Van Kuiken, assis-

tant director of residential educa-

tion, said. "Some of the typical

things we see are the guest visi-

tation problems and differences

in lifestyles. the roommate con-

flicts usually happen between

midterms and finals.”

in case of roommate conflict,

students have two options.

Students can discuss the situa-

tion with their resident adviser.

From this point, roommate con-

tract violations will be taken into

consideration.

if it does not solve the prob-

lem, the alternative solution is

for students to enroll in the

roommate assistance program,

which is provided by Marriage

and Family, a program that helps

with roommate conflicts.

if the problem persists, a pos-

sible room switch can be re-

quested from the complex direc-

tor.

Ritsuki MiyazakiS tA F F W r i t E r

rmiyazaki@valdosta.edu

Roomies agreements

ease disagreements

Cancer

Continued from Page 1

-decided major, would like to see

more informational pamphlets

being passed around to show the

severity of the issue.

Smith has had multiple mem-

bers of her family struggle with

breast cancer.

the Collegiate Women of

VSU have also joined the fight

against breast cancer by provid-

ing information for students.

"We had a breast cancer infor-

mational table on oct. 2 to raise

awareness of breast cancer in

men and women and to provide

the public with information

about the Susan G. Komen foun-

dation,” Arianna deans, public

relations chair of CWVSU, said.

“We also sold many items to

help fundraise for the cause and

donated our proceeds to Susan

G. Komen."

Philanthropy tables set up by

ZtA will be out during the

month of october.

these tables will include in-

formation about breast cancer as

well as a distribution of pink rib-

bons. Although the ribbons are

handed out, White said that the

ribbons are not everything the

sorority is about.

“We take these opportunities

to stress that it isn’t just about

wearing a pink ribbon,” White

said.

ZtA and CWVSU want the

community to take the informa-

tion provided for them and help

them spread awareness of the

severity of breast cancer.

"i hope the campus takes the

information we hand out

throughout october and run with

it,” deans said. “We want

women and men to do self-ex-

aminations and get checked-out

annually, because it could mean

all the difference in the world if

the cancer is caught early."

the American Cancer Society

summarizes that breast cancer

has no cure as of now, but taking

part in regular physical exercise,

eating healthy and limiting alco-

hol intake can help serve as a

preventative—all of which help

people keep extra weight off and

keep their hearts strong.

A forum will be held oct. 9

with CWVSU and Phi Beta Sig-

ma Fraternity, inc. to spread

awareness of breast cancer.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority,

inc. (AKA) kicked off its think

Pink Week Sept. 30 with a self-

breast exam class and a bake

sale. the organization will finish

out the week with a women’s

self-defense class thursday and

an informational booth Friday.

Later this month, Sigma Gam-

ma rho Sorority, inc. (SGrho)

will host a Breast Cancer Aware-

ness Walk to benefit the Breast

Cancer Awareness Foundation.

the walk will begin at 6 p.m. at

the Student Union on oct. 24

and end at 8 p.m. Sorority mem-

bers will sell pink balloons, but-

tons and wristbands before the

walk.

WGST

Continued from Page 1

the campaign uses flyers with

information and attached purple

ribbons.

Next week, WGSt plans to

host its annual Clothesline Pro-

ject on the Pedestrian Mall,

where the department will dis-

play a large clothesline full of t-

shirts decorated with encourage-

ment and personal experiences.

the goal to get the community

more involved in the discussion

sparked a need to give students,

faculty and staff a chance to be

more hands-on with the cause.

this year, WGSt will have a

booth set up for people to deco-

rate their own shirts to be hung

up around campus.

oct. 23-25, WGSt will host

the handprint Project on the

Pedestrian Mall. the event is a

way to get males more involved.

Although, the department wants

as many people as possible to

get involved.

For more information on

events and how to help, call

WGSt at 249-4842.

this semester, VSUPd wel-

comes new officers Caleb reid,

Cody Engleman and Artesia

Frederick.

reid was born in Florida and

is brand new to the Valdosta

area. here’s how he’s coping

with the new changes.

Q: have you always wanted to

be a police officer?

A: Yes.

Q: Why did you choose to be-

come a police officer?

A: i just always like interacting

with the public. it’s been in my

family.

Q: What previous experience do

you have in law enforcement?

A: None.

Q: how long have you been

with VSU?

A: three weeks.

Q: how’s it been so far?

A: it’s been good.

Q: What is the most exciting

thing about being an officer?

A: i like interacting with stu-

dents and faculty and helping

them where we can. We can’t fix

the problem, but we can help.

i’ve [also] enjoyed the football

games [and] seeing team spirit.

Q: What is your ultimate goal as

a police officer?

A: i would like to grow with this

department.

Q: Additional info?

A: [Students] feel free to come

to us and talk to us.

Fun Facts:

Q: Favorite Food?

A: Steak and mashed potatoes.

Q: Favorite place to visit?

A: Montana [because] i love the

mountains [and] the temperature.

Q: Favorite movie?

A: Any John Wayne movie.

Q: one word to describe your-

self?

A: honest.

though Engleman is a Valdos-

ta native, he’s new to the campus

community. here’s how he’s be-

coming acquainted with VSU.

Q: have you always wanted to

be a police officer?

A: Yes.

Q: Why did you choose to be-

come a police officer?

A: i just like doing it.

Q: What previous experience do

you have in law enforcement?

A: Lowndes County Jail for 2 ½

years as jail officer.

Q: how was that?

A: [it was] interesting. [i] dealt

with different types of personali-

ties.

Q: how long have you been

with VSU?

A: Around four or five months.

Q: What is the most exciting

thing about being an officer?

A: helping people out.

Q: So far, what has been the

toughest thing to get used to?

A: different forms of paperwork

Q: What are some good things

that you’ve noticed about VSU?

A: i think it’s the cleanest school

around here compared to other

schools.

Q: What is your ultimate goal as

a police officer?

A: Move higher in ranks in Val-

dosta.

Q: Additional info?

A: i enjoy it here. [i] can deal

with people more [compared to

Lowndes County jail].

Fun Facts:

Q: Favorite food?

A: Chicken and BBQ sauce.

Q: Favorite place to visit?

A: the beach.

Q: Favorite t.V. Show?

A: Spartacus.

Q: one word to describe self?

A: honest.

Frederick is currently in the

police academy in tifton and

could not be contacted at press

time.

Amanda UsherP h o t o E d i t o r

amusher@valdosta.edu

New officers join VSUpolice departmentSpectator sits down with VSUPD’s two newest officers

UU

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BLACKOddEven

UU

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Spectator Staff

Page 4  |   vsusPectator.com october 4,   2012OpiniOns

People Poll:How do you feel aboutthe current political climate?

Joshua Rhudy

sophomore

physics major

“rivalries in political parties are

stopping progress.”

Kristen Hall

freshman

music major

“i do not feel for politics.”

Megan Weigle-Eany

freshman

early childhood education

major

“Politics are a good thing if you

keep up with them, but i have

not kept up with them lately.”

Maxwell Swangel

freshman

theatre arts major

“i understand politics, but i most

definitely do not like them.”

Michael Schwartz

junior

english major

“f**k politics!”

Parking on Mount Trashmorei

t’s the mess that won’t clean

itself.

VSU prides itself on main-

taining a clean and beautiful

campus for its students to appre-

ciate on a daily basis, and for

the most part the school has suc-

ceeded. But all bets are off

once students enter the parking

facilities at Oak and Sustella

Street.

Most students who commute

start and end their day on VSU’s

campus in one of the two park-

ing garages, or the large lot that

lies between them. Opening

your door and stepping on a

crushed Big Mac box is not a

great way to start your Monday

morning.

it’s not just commuters that

have to deal with this mess ei-

ther. Students who live on cam-

pus regularly go to the decks to

retrieve their cars and romp

around town for a few hours or

grab a bite to eat. these trips are

actually the main cause of what

one could call “food mountains”

that constantly plague the

Sustella parking deck.

i am a commuter. My first

class each day of the week is in

the UC, and after many fruitless

attempts at finding a decent spot

in the Oak Street lot at 10:30 in

the morning , i have discovered

that parking at Sustella and tak-

ing the bus is in fact much

quicker, but the mess i en-

counter each morning is dis-

heartening.

trash cans that resemble

garbage towers constructed from

Styrofoam containers, stuffed

fast food bags and even empty

alcohol containers sometimes

(which is an entirely different

issue). it’s like students see

these overflowing trash cans as

a game of garbage Jenga where

they win if they can get just one

more cup to stay on top of the

reeking tower.

the results, like Jenga, are al-

ways a disastrous mess that

someone has to clean up, and

judging by the piles of garbage

that slowly accumulate, it’s not

the student’s responsibility. that

is something that i believe needs

to be changed.

We should take pride in our

campus and do our part to help

maintain its beauty. Don’t treat

the parking decks like our own

personal landfill.

Leaving that Burger King bag

in your car for the day while

you attend class is not going to

make your car smell like

cheeseburgers indefinitely. if

you see the trash cans spilling

over onto the ground don’t

make your own contribution, in-

stead keep moving and drop it

into one of the many trash cans

that aren’t erupting with waste.

it’s not going to kill you having

to carry that empty bag or cup

an extra hundred yards or so.

it’s not all on the students ei-

ther. i know that the mainte-

nance staff works very hard to

keep our campus looking as

pristine as possible, but maybe

it wouldn’t hurt to make an ex-

tra stop each week to Sustella to

take care of the mess that seems

to never slow down. if that’s not

possible, then maybe more re-

ceptacles should be readily

available and visible in the park-

ing decks to avoid these stinky

eyesores.

every day i feel a sense of

pride while walking around this

magnificent campus, but that

ends when i enter the decks.

Parking decks are inherently

function over form, but that

function should be limited to

housing our cars and not our

messes.

This editorial was written by Chad Stone (cstone@valdosta.edu) and it expresses the general opinion of the editorial staff.

Our point of view...

Garrison Muelhausen

it’s hard to be a statistic.

i never thought that i would

be bullied as an adult, but it has

happened. Because i had been

bullied throughout my primary

school days, it never occurred to

me that this would happen again,

as an adult.

My neighbor and i had be-

come pretty close after he moved

in at the beginning of the year.

We would hang out every day,

go grab dinner or, as his wife

called it, go on a “man-date” to

the movies. everything was cool

for a while, even though i had

heard him tell how he would

threaten the old man down the

street for drinking in the neigh-

borhood, or how he threatened a

woman for her cat’s using his

yard as a litterbox. it wasn’t until

he turned on me that i realized

the cold hard fact staring at me.

Most of you don’t know me,

so you don’t know that i am a

small guy: short, thin, non-de-

script. i have been small all my

life, but it was throughout mid-

dle and high school that this be-

came a source for others to pick

on me.

that’s what we called it,

“picking” on someone. to the

extent that it occurred then, to-

day, we would call it bullying.

When i would ride the school

bus, the older students would

pick on me, calling me names

that cut deeper than any knife

because those scars stayed with

me. i was teased for being short,

i was teased for being un-athlet-

ic, and i was teased because i

was bookish and nerdy.

Like most of us that were

teased for being a nerd, we

now embrace that ideal.

Nerdy glasses adorn our

faces, heavy book-bags

across our shoulders and the

latest technology comes easy

to us. i say us, because na-

tional statistics show that one

in four to one in three teens

reported being bullied while

in school. Bullying can in-

clude anything from verbal

and physical abuse to spread-

ing rumors or yelling obscen-

ities or other derogatory re-

marks at a person, based on their

race, gender, sexual orientation,

religion, or other factors.

My neighbor was the same

bully that used to torment me in

school. He was the prototype of

those kids who probably didn’t

know any better, but he was a

man, grown, 50-something and

biker-sized large. He called him-

self an “alpha male” but it really

boiled down to the fact that he

was a mean ass. i started seeing

how he treated others and was

thankful that i wasn’t one of

them, until i was one of them.

My neighbor had sent me a

nasty text that i didn’t under-

stand. this was the day that it

all fell into place. His personali-

ty shone through and i was the

victim, once again. He had ac-

cused me of banging on his win-

dows, which was funny consid-

ering i was inside my own

house, playing a video game.

When he continued to insist that

i was banging on his windows, i

said, “Whatever dude” and

walked home.

When he used his phone it be-

came a classic example of a

newer trend in bullying: cyber

bullying. thankfully he’d can-

celled his facebook page and i

never was subjected to his name

calling. Cyber bullying has taken

a national stage after reports

show that cyber bullying affects

80 percent of high school stu-

dents. teens have taken their

lives as a result of having been

cyber bullied.

a new law in florida tightens

the restrictions on cyber bullying

and makes it easier to persecute

perpetrators of cyber bullying,

bullying or even stalking. the

problem with this and other laws

is that they tend to focus on the

school aged students. they

don’t focus on others that are at

the hands of bullies.

i have watched the words fly

on social media between people

and saw how many of the mes-

sages can be construed as bully-

ing. i have even seen members

of my own family participate in

such actions to the point that i

have blocked them, or removed

them from my news feeds.

it’s a pretty sad affair to think

that bullying of any nature is still

going on, even when i have been

out of school for more years than

most VSU students have been

alive. When Shambree Wartel

wrote on the editorial on how

childhood is being lost to the

speed of technology last week,

and how we, as college students

can set an example for our

younger siblings to use technolo-

gy correctly, i realize that we

have another example to set: that

bullying of any nature is unac-

ceptable.

i didn’t speak to my neighbor

for several days because i was so

angry. Day after day, items that

he borrowed would show up on

my doorsteps. He would even

yell things at me, calling me

names, threatening me from the

safety of his own yard. finally,

he moved out this weekend, but

not before he did his last act of

bullying by causing damage to

my home.

i realize that the faces may

change, but the act of bullying

remains constant. You would

think that those childish and

mean-spirited actions would go

away after high school, but i

know that some people will al-

ways be bullies, even if they are

disguising themselves as friends.

J. Daniel YoungO P i N i O N S e D i t O r

jeryoung@valdosta.edu

Bullying is a reality

there’s no secret that fox

News and MSNBC have taken

strong political stances, which

has led to the two networks be-

coming news rivals and political

safe havens for key political fig-

ures.

fox News has long been con-

sidered the spokesperson for re-

publican ideas due to the net-

work’s strong and carefully de-

signed news presentation that

purposely appeals to the conserv-

ative base.

Not to be outdone by their

counterpart, MSNBC has jumped

on ship to creating news that

specifically appeal to liberals--

leaving CNN to be the lone wolf

of the big three in presenting

fair and accurate news.

Unfortunately for CNN, view-

ers tend to like big personality

that they can side with like Han-

nity and Maddow instead of

shows that are anchored by jour-

nalists who will challenge their

beliefs.

and even though i see nothing

wrong with the two networks

stances, the real problem arrives

when both networks deny that

their news presentation is biased,

leaving their viewers to think

that they are actually receiving

fair and balanced news.

this type of bias denial is dan-

gerous to many of americans

who are unknowingly receiving

skewed news, and many of the

networks viewers refuse to be-

lieve that they are being misled.

the two network’s biased cov-

erage has shown up time and

time again through the spin they

have thrown on certain news sto-

ries. this was seen through the

network’s coverage of the

trayvon Martin story, the Occu-

py Wall street movement and the

romney’s 47% gaffe.

During the trayvon Martin

story fox news barley covered

the core of the story and when

they did they found a way to put

the blame on trayvon. But unlike

fox, MSNBC covered the story

in depth but they convicted Zim-

merman as a network-- which

was just as wrong.

if you are one those loyal

diehard fans of either network

who still refuse to believe that

your network of choice is not bi-

ased, just look at the line up of

news presenters for these two

networks.

fox has a show entitled the

“the five” which has four right

leaning commentators and one

left leaning commentator, not to

mention a lineup that once or

still includes fox and friends,

the red eye, Hannity, Beck,

O’reilly and Hucakbee.

MSNBC has done the same by

having a lineup that includes

commentators such as Matthews,

Maddow, Sharpton, O’Donnell,

and Schultz who are all left lean-

ing commentators.

What both of these networks

are lacking is a lineup of journal-

ists who will challenge politi-

cians and present news stories in

the fairest and balanced way as

possible. People are more com-

fortable arguing talking points

instead of talking about the core

problems of actual news stories.

it is clear that fox news and

MSNBC are not going anywhere

anytime soon, so i think it is im-

portant that the networks take re-

sponsibility, put aside their biases

and realize that they can be pas-

sionate and aggressive and still

present news in a fair and bal-

anced way.

and if the networks refuse to

take that route, they can at least

be up front and tell their viewers

that they are being fed biased

news stories.

William GarrettS ta f f W r i t e r

wlgarrett@valdosta.edu

News channels are biased, unbalanced

bullystatistics.org

CYANMAGENTA

YELLOWBLACK

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newnew

vsuspectator.com | page 5october 4, 2012 OpiniOns

Interested in showing off your artistic side?The Spectator is looking for a new editorial

cartoonist who can submit cartoons each week that

illustrate our opinions.

Email Daniel Young at:

jeryoung@valdosta.edu

Shoot first. Ask questions

later.

Almost a year ago, Trayvon

Martin was shot dead for looking

suspicious to the self- appointed

neighborhood watchman, George

Zimmerman.

That night, Martin sported a

black hoodie, which some people

suggested was the main factor

leading to his death. To most log-

ical thinking human beings, that

theory is complete BS, but even

Zimmerman admitted that the

hoodie was not the primary fac-

tor in him stalking and eventually

killing Martin who was heading

home from the store with nothing

more than a bag of skittles and

an Arizona ice tea on him.

Even though most people are

afraid to admit it, race played a

major role in Martin being seen

as suspicious, and race continues

to play a role in young black and

brown skinned men being unfair-

ly judged by their outer appear-

ance. While no man should have

to worry about being judged for

embracing his culture, being

judged is a reality that many of

these men face on an everyday

basis.

It’s important that we let the

younger generation know that

they are not at fault for the preju-

dice views of others.

That is a message that I would

send to the young upcoming 17-

year- old rapper, Chief Keef, who

was said by hip-hop artist, Lupe

Fiasco, to represent everything

that is wrong with the hood—es-

pecially his music, baggy clothes

and dreaded hair.

Lupe needs to understand that

the ghetto existed before Chief

Keef, and Keef does not repre-

sent it—Keef, as a 17- year- old,

is a product of it.

My real issue with Lupe’s

statement is that he sports the

same type of hair do--dreads--

that Keef does, and that puts him

in the same category of looking

just as “suspicious” as the next

black man.

As a matter of fact, if Lupe did

not have the recognition that he

has, he would be one of the many

black men who have been

stopped and frisked in New York

due to the Stop and Frisk Law.

Speaking of injustices--this

leads me to the Stop and Frisk

Law in New York that targets

young African- American and

Hispanic men. The law allows

policemen to stop and frisk any-

one they deem suspicious. To no

surprise, African American and

Hispanic men make up 90 per-

cent of the people stopped, and

88 percent of those who are

stopped are innocent according to

NYCLU.org.

Now, I’ll move on to Hampton

University, which has been en-

forcing a mandate since 2001

stating that students in the busi-

ness program cannot sport corn-

rows or dreadlocks. My problem

with this mandate is that it sends

the message that as a young

black man your hairstyle is more

important in landing a job in cor-

porate America than your job

skills and talents.

It might be the truth-- but that

doesn’t make it right. If young

black and brown -skinned men

are restricted to one type of hair

style, then all men should be held

to that same type of hair require-

ment.

Let’s make everyone in corpo-

rate America lose their individu-

ality and wear the same hair-

style—Yeah right. There is no

one way to be an educated black

man, and believe it or not, they

come in different complexions,

wear different hairstyles and

sport different clothing.

So I ask, if you saw me late at

night wearing an American Eagle

hoodie and sporting a low cut

fade, would I look as suspicious

if I were wearing a black hoodie

and sporting dreads?

Issue of the week:

Ahot topic in this year’s

election is women’s re-

productive rights. On

one side you have most women

and on the other you have people

like Congressman Todd Akin

who say things like “legitimate

rape” doesn't often lead to preg-

nancy and that when a woman is

raped “the female body has ways

to try to shut the whole thing

down.” Akin later apologized for

his comment but the damage was

done.

This is a tough issue and it’s

one that many people believe

that politicians should stay away

from. News-Sentinel.com wrote

an article asking women in their

local area what they think about

the issue. The site received a few

different answers.

Nancy Hansen believes that

politicians should not have a say

in something many of them do

not know about because most of

them are not doctors.

Mary Ann Schieferstein said,

“Its such a painful personal deci-

sion; to make political fodder out

of it is, I think, un-Christian.”

No matter where you fall on the

issue it’s not something to take

lightly.

I believe the government

should not regulate what a

woman does with her body.

Making a law that says that a

woman can’t make choices that

only effect her and her child

should be left to her, and the

man that sired the child if he has

the cojones to stick around and

be a real man.

Here is the thing; I believe

from a political standpoint that

things like this have no real

place in federal government. It’s

either something the state should

handle or it’s something that

should be decided on a personal

level; I lean more towards the

latter. I also think that as far as

religion is concerned, specifical-

ly Christianity, should really

think about what criminalizing

abortion does. If abortion be-

comes illegal do you really think

that it’s going to stop people

from finding a way to get one if

they really want to?

As a Christian, one should be

looking to change the heart

through Christ. It should not be

the law forcing people into

changing their life, that’s called

legalism.

Personally despite my political

views I think life begins at con-

ception. You can argue that its

not really a person and I can ar-

gue right back that it is. You may

come from a scientific view and

I can come from a biblical view

and at the end of the day we will

still have our beliefs on the is-

sue. I want to leave you with a

passage from the Bible those

points to my personal thoughts

on the issue.

“For you formed my inward

parts; you knitted me together in

my mother’s womb. I praise you,

for I am fearfully and wonderful-

ly made. Wonderful are your

works; my soul knows it very

well. My frame was not hidden

from you, when I was being

made in secret, intricately woven

in the depths of the earth. Your

eyes saw my unformed sub-

stance; in your book were writ-

ten, ever one of them, the days

that were formed for me, when

as yet there was none of them”

(Psalms 139: 13-16).

William GarrettS TA F F W R I T E R

wlgarrett@valdosta.edu

Reproductive rights: Who’s to decide?David Lacy

S TA F F W R I T E R

dclacy@valdosta.edu

Rant of the WeekRants of the Week

“The new Chick-fil-A in the student union is a great new addition to

our on-campus eating venues.”

Matthew Gaultney, senior, psychology major

“There are too many good things to name. I love VSU!”

Alycia Vail, senior, political science major

“Since there isn't a stoplight there, the crosswalk in front of the Fine

Arts building seriously needs a caution light like the one on Patter-

son.”

Matthew Gaultney, senior, psychology major

“Current renovations to Langdale are making it difficult to get to class

on time.”

Alycia Vail, senior, political science major

Raves of the week

Do I look like a suspect?

Want to see your Rant and/or Rave in the Spectator?

Send your Rants/Raves to

Opinions Editor, Daniel Young

jeryoung@valdosta.edu

Home Tweet HomeWhat Valdostahas to say aboutthe debates.

Katelyn @chevycrush

@Autumn_Nicole__ i have watched every debate both the republican and democratic meetings Obama has got to go

Sasha Steinman ‏@DrSnozzberry

nether candidate will fully explain their plans. such a bad debate.

Willie Fisterbottom ‏@SPRINGBR3AK98

There is no way you watch this debate and say "Obama is best", also, there is no way you watch and say "Where are the other 3

parties?!?"

Megan Taylor ‏@megtaylorvsu

The ONLY good thing from obamacare was being able to stay on parents insurance til I was 26! #CantAfford4More #Debate

James Lowell Jr ‏@Jetta_Jameson

It would be great if these 2 could stay on topic. Each segment is the same. I'm about to turn it off & just read highlights tomorrow

#Debate

Crystal Lynn Garcia ‏@Juss_Cryss

Watched some of the #debate and shut it off. Gov Romney should really consider shutting up when he is told to. #Politicsisnot-

forme!

James Lowell Jr ‏@Jetta_Jameson

This #Debate is kind of awful. Lots of dancing around topics. No clear, concise answers.

DAY-MON 1@‏DAY98MON6

Dear Mitt, You're there to debate.. Not to enforce rules... Stay in task.

Proverbs 11:2 ‏@BlessedScorpio_

I am watching this debate because my political science teacher is making me write 2 pages on it.

Camille 2@‏thyself_btrue

Romney trying to make his own rules in this debate is foreshadowing what he'd be like in office.

MCT Campus MCT Campus

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Page 6 | vsusPectator.com october 4, 2012

Features

Spoiler alert: the Maya

doomsday prophecy is just a

myth, according to the panel dis-

cussion tuesday.

the arts and Sciences Lec-

tures Series

invited the

VSu com-

munity to a

panel dis-

cussion ti-

tled “de-

bunking

the Maya

Myth: re-

assessing

the

doomsday

Prophecy, 12/21/2012.”

the Bailey Science Center

auditorium was packed with stu-

dents, faculty and staff as the

panel of six professors discussed

the impending apocalyptic theo-

ry sparked in pop culture at the

turn of last year.

the panel included dr. iwan

elstak and dr. arsalan Wares of

the mathematics department, dr.

owen Jones of the History de-

partment, dr. Lavonna Loverne

of the philosophy department

and dr. John Woodruff of the

modern and classical languages

department. dr. amy aronson

from MCL introduced the guests

and led the panel in the discus-

sion.

each professor explored how

the prophecy was merely a myth

and how the Maya culture has

been misrepresented.

dr. Wares, the first speaker,

explained

how to read

the Maya nu-

meral system.

instead of

the Western

base-10 sys-

tem—mean-

ing, we use

10 unique

characters to

symbolize

each num-

ber—the Mayas used a base-20

system.

using a series of lines and

dots to symbolize each numeral,

the Mayas created a system of

grouping and counting not unlike

Western mathematics.

“the Mayas developed the

concept of zero,” dr. Wares said.

dr. Loverne later built on that

idea, with her discussion of the

religion and culture of the Maya.

“We think of it as just, you

know, zero,” dr. Loverne said.

“that’s what it is, it’s just there

[…] and it’s all just mathemati-

cal and great. Consider the fact

that zero represents an interest-

ing religious ideology which

contains both beginnings and

endings.”

to the Maya, everything is a

repeating cycle—every ending

must have a new beginning fol

low it.

dr. elstak discussed the Maya

calendar—a complex system of

several cycles.

the actual act of recording a

date required a sequence of five

numbers that listed the day of

each cycle and each deity repre-

sented by their cycles.

“the system starts over and

keeps on going for an infinite

amount of time,” dr. Jones said.

“So, when we think the calendar

is going to end on dec. 21 or

dec. 23 of 2012, it’s really just

the end. ouch.”

dr. Jones broke down the his-

torical context of most of the cal-

endar and the Maya culture, and

even displayed a picture of the

recovered sculpture with the in-

famous, apocalyptic-telling cal-

endar carved into it.

the calendar is missing a no-

ticeable chunk from the remains,

thus making any sort of conclu-

sive theories about the end of

time premature.

“When we look at how this all

works, from a religious studies

perspective, we want an insider’s

view of the ideology and reli-

gion,” dr. Loverne said.

She asked people who identi-

fied with the Maya culture how

much truth is in what americans

have come to believe as a

doomsday prophecy.

“the first thing that they tell

us is what you’ve already

heard,” dr. Loverne said. “and

that is, that their calendars have

nothing whatsoever to do with a

doomsday or apocalypse. Be-

cause they are considered—in

religious studies—to be an in-

digenous culture, they do not

even think in terms of total anni-

hilation.”

“Just because you have a cal-

endar that goes from January to

december and ends on dec. 31,

doesn’t mean you have a prophe-

cy,” dr. Loverne said.

While specific prophecies did

exist in the Maya culture, one of

impending doom to all mankind

was not on the list.

Historically, there is no evi-

dence of a doomsday prophecy,

neither recorded by hand nor re-

cited orally, according to dr.

Woodruff.

“We’ve had 500 years of peo-

ple not knowing what they were

reading,” dr. Woodruff said con-

clusively.

Jennifer GleasonM a N a G i N G e d i t o r

jlgleason@valdosta.edu

The End of the WVSU professors disprove the popular Mayan Doomsday Prophecy

rld?

We’ve had 500 years

of people not knowing

what they were read-

ing.DR. JoHn WooDRuFF

“

”

eric Nielson, dance program

coordinator, founded the VSu

repertory dancers in 1986, mak-

ing this ensemble the oldest

dance repertory company in

South Georgia.

Since then, the ensemble has

seen many student dancers, guest

artists, part-time and full-time

faculty members.

the dances have been docu-

mented on video to be restaged

for future concerts, lecture

demonstrations and special per-

formances.

VSu’s ensemble now has over

200 recorded dances on file.

“People may ask ‘What do

you do with 200 dances?’” Niel-

son said. “Well, a lot of those

dances are restaged. Some of our

patrons ask for certain dances

and then we decide which ones

to perform.”

this year’s concert, “Fresh

tracks” is composed of six

pieces: ‘time out’, a past piece

from VSu’s repertoire, ‘intimate

echoes’, a reworking of a previ-

ous dance, ‘Habit of Change’, a

dance from another repertory

cast, and three new dances,

‘axis’, ‘Call of the Beat’ and

‘Fluttering awake/Wash over

Me’.

at this point of production,

Nielson is focused on preparing

the dancers to keep up stamina

for the entire show.

“a lot of the students are in

three pieces,” Nielson said.

“that’s the maximum because

they just can’t get through more

than three pieces—although they

all think they can.”

one of Nielsen’s pieces, ‘Call

of the Beat’ is a percussion

piece, choreographed with the

help of the Music analysis for

dancer’s class. Not only are the

students dancing, but they got

the chance to make the music

themselves.

the concert will also serve as

a welcome to new faculty mem-

ber and repertory dancer, Sarah

arnett.

“it’s nice to have some new

blood,” Nielson said. “this is

her first concert with us and she

has really excited the students in

a whole different way—some-

thing you can see in the variety

of genres in concert.”

arnett, a recent graduate from

the university of North Carolina

at Greensboro, not only choreo-

graphed ‘Habit of Change’ and

‘Fluttering awake/Wash over

Me’ but will also be performing

in ‘Call of the Beat.’

according to arnett, dance

has always played an important

role in her life.

“i’ve always danced, but there

wasn’t a dance major at the first

school i went to,” arnett said.

“So i didn’t always know that

something i loved to do was a

viable option for a job.”

Repertory Dancers prepare for annual concertAriel Felton

F e at u r e S e d i t o r

arfelton@valdosta.edu

Courtesy Of: Amanda Stone

The VSU community gathers in Bailey Science Center Tuesday to listen intently as professors dis-

cuss Mayan culture and the Mayan Doomsday Prophecy. A PBS documentary titled “Cracking the

Maya Code” is playing today in the University Center Theater from 7 to 9 p.m.

See FRESH, Page 8

You buy a textbook for $120 and

when selling it back, the book-

store offers you $30. it’s hap-

pened to all of us and now

there’s a way to avoid it all.

Next semester students can

avoid the disappointment and

buy-back hassle completely by

using Jebbles.com.

Owner and creator, Jebidiah

Light, a senior international

Business major at VSU changed

the way students can purchase

textbooks. the website creates

an easier way to buy and sell

textbooks without paying the

cost of shipping or spending a

fortune at the bookstore.

Light created the website for

students like him that were hav-

ing trouble paying for and sell-

ing back books.

“the way it works is it gives

students a chance to trade, sell or

buy books with other students on

their own campus,” Light said.

to sign up students pick their

state, school and give their VSU

email, then they have full access

to trade and sell their textbooks

with other VSU students.

“everything on the website is

completely confidential,” Light

said. “You don’t know their

names or if they’re male or fe-

male.”

Jebbles.com works in the

same way Craigslist does but for

textbooks only, so when trading

them Light stressed that people

meet in public places or on cam-

pus.

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BLACKPagE 7 | vsusPECTaToR.Com oCToBER 4, 2012F e a T u r e S

Let’s get back to the tech

world. these last couple

of weeks have been miss-

ing some tech stories, so let me

catch you up to speed on what

has happened.

apple had record pre-orders

and sales for the iPhone 5.

Within 72 hours they had two

million pre-orders-- double that

of the iPhone 4S.

Barnes & Noble announced

the Nook HD and the Nook

HD+.

the Nook HD is the lightest

7-inch tablet with an HD display

and has about 11 hours of battery

for reading with nine hours of

video time. it has a proprietary

dock connector and a full sized

HDMi port.

the 8GB version will cost

$199 while the 16GB will cost

$229.

it will be released Nov. 1 with

a MicroSD slot for up to 32GB

of expandable memory.

the Nook HD+ is the lightest

9-inch tablet with a full HD

screen.

this is the same as the normal

HD except it has a better and

bigger display. it will release in

16GB and 32GB at $269 and

$299 respectively.

this also has a MicroSD slot

for 32GB of expandable memory

and will also be released Nov. 1

a rumor is being reported that

Microsoft will start making Sur-

face branded smartphones.

it was first rumored when Mi-

crosoft announced the Surface

tablet during the summer, but

Microsoft has not declined the

possibility of them making

smartphones.

Several recent interviews have

questioned Microsoft about this.

Well i guess we’ll see what hap-

pens.

Windows 8 will release on

Oct. 26 with new laptops and

will be available to upgrade for

Windows users.

fortune magazine has started

spreading a rumor that apple

will send out invites to an iPad

Mini event.

they will send the invites

Wednesday and the event will

take place the following week.

this would make a lot of

sense since apple still has yet to

announce when the new iPods

will launch this month.

Could apple want to launch

the new iPod line along with the

iPad Mini for the holiday shop-

ping season?

that’s it for this week. Don’t

forget to check out the Spectech

blog for the video for my #4 fa-

vorite video game of all time!

Watch at

vsuspectech.blogspot.com.

Hello World--anthony

here. it’s time to catch

up on the latest celebrity

news and gossip that us all talk-

ing this past week.

award show season is still in

full effect and this week was no

different with Bet holding their

seventh annual Hip Hop awards.

the ceremony honored some of

the greatest artists in rap and hip

hop from the last year with sev-

eral artists slated to appear and

perform.

What do you get when you

combine a ton of rappers with

way too much money and Bet

in one place? rachetness.

a fight between rick ross

and Young Jeezy took place

backstage with both parties re-

portedly pushing and shoving

each other until authorities had

to separate them.

rapper Gunplay and a mem-

ber of 50 Cent’s entourage also

had an altercation, with the for-

mer having to be pepper sprayed.

Shake my head. Someone tell

these grown men to have a seat.

they make too much money to

go around fighting other grown

men for no apparent reason.

Bet has issued a statement

diffusing both altercations (side

eye) and stated that the show

will still air on tuesday.

in news that is sure to catch

some rappers eye (i’m looking at

you 2 Chainz and Juicy J), pole

dancing could be on its way to

becoming an Olympic sport.

Several member of the U.S.

Pole Dancing federation have

started a campaign to push the

Olympic committee to add pole

dancing as an Olympic sport.

this comes in time for the

U.S. national pole dancing com-

petition that will kick off this

weekend in New York.

So it looks like instead of

bands making her dance, we will

soon see if a gold, silver or

bronze medal will make her

dance.

Speaking of strippers, it was

announced that Nicki Minaj

would be getting her own reality

show on the e! Network.

the show will follow the rap-

per/singer as she juggles her mu-

sic career and multiple business

ventures with being a new judge

on american idol.

there is no word on when the

show will premiere, but ryan

Seacrest’s production company,

Seacrest Productions, will pro-

duce it. Seacrest Productions is

also responsible for bringing

everyone’s favorite family to

television-- the Kardashians.

Between all the wigs, colorful

clothes and her split personali-

ties, the show could be an inter-

esting look into Minaj’s world.

We will just have to wait and see

if Minaj will decide to bring Bar-

bie, roman and Martha along

with her.

Let’s just hope she doesn’t go

Sybil on us and keeps all her

personalities in check.

as always be sure to tune into

Pop addict next week to see

what went down in the world of

celebrities. Until next time my

fellow pop culture enthusiasts!

Barnes & Noble débuts new Nook

Spec Techwith Steven Setser

Question

of the Week

Would you rather

purchase a

Kindle Fire

HD/HD 8.9 or a

Nook HD/HD+?

Email answers to

smsetser@valdosta.edu

or post at

vsuspectech.blogspot.com!

BET awards turns into fighting match

Po p

Ad d i c tAnthony Pope

ratchetness (n.)- behavior

that is questionable and

shameful.

Side eye (n.)- a look given

to a person or place that

has did or said something

questionable.

Slang Dictionary

there is nothing better than

pink lemonade, sweet treats and

washing cars with friends on a

hot Saturday afternoon.

all of this could be found at

the rent-a-Wheel on ashley St.

this past Saturday where the

Black Student League (BSL)

conducted a car wash and bake

sale to raise money for upcom-

ing events.

BSL is a community service

based organization on campus

with the goal of promoting a

more fluid transition into and

throughout college life by in-

creasing participations in campus

and community activities.

this year the BSL sponsors a

“Bridging the Gap” theme that

stems from the desire to bring

together all the different organi-

zations on campus.

“We intend to promote diver-

sity, unity and better communi-

cation throughout our organiza-

tion and other organizations on

campus,” Whitney Hilliard, BSL

fundraiser chair said.

Other campus organizations

supported their efforts through

advertising via social networking

sites, such as twitter to help

make the event a success.

the energy of BSL members,

the bright signature colors of

green, yellow, and red, and not

to mention the delicious treats

offered were sure to catch the at-

tention of anyone passing by.

the bake sale consisted of goods

such as candy apples, cookies,

cupcakes, and sweet lemonade.

BSL is a diverse group of stu-

dents who hold memberships

and positions in many other or-

ganizations on campus.

“We have members who are a

part of CMVSU, CWVSU,

NCNW, and members of NPHC

to name a few,” said Hilliard.

in collaborating with many

different organizations on cre-

ative events, they hope to

achieve their goal of “Bridging

the Gap” on campus and in the

community.

One of those events is a com-

munity fall festival scheduled

for Oct. 27 from 11 to 4 p.m. on

the front lawn. the event, which

will feature bounce houses, face

painting and games, is open to

all students and the Valdosta

community.

“the festival will give chil-

dren of the community a safer

alternative to the normal Hal-

loween tradition of door-to-door

trick or treating,” said Hilliard.

Other upcoming events for

BSL are rivers alive, the annual

Hahira Honey Bee festival and a

health fair.

any students interested in be-

coming a part of BSL should at-

tend the next meeting Monday at

8 p.m. in the Library auditori-

um.

Ashley EmanuelS ta f f W r i t e r

alemanuel@valdosta.edu

Black Student League

promotes campus unity

Student eliminates

book buyback hassleAllison EricsonS ta f f W r i t e r

abericson@valdosta.edu

See Jebbles , Page 8

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PagE 8 | vsusPECTaTOR.COm OCTOBER 4, 2012F e a t u r e s

“It’s a free service for stu-

dents,” Light said. “I’m not try-

ing to make money from it. I’m

actually losing money to keep

the website running every

month.”

Jebbles.com is not only free to

join, but students create their

own prices for their books.

The website currently has ap-

proximately six hundred mem-

bers and Light hopes for millions

more. Although the date is not

set, students will get the chance

to sign up and check out the

website sometime this month in

the Student Union.

Light hopes to have two com-

puters available for students to

sign up then and there, as well as

the chance to win a prize.

Not only have Georgia

schools been introduced to the

site but six other states have

signed up.

eventually students can have

quick access to other state’s texts

without having to change their

settings if they cant find it a

book at their own campus.

“The website is real simple to

use,” Jessica Childers, a sopho-

more psychology major said. “It

doesn’t have all of the books I

need for next semester but that’s

because its brand new.”

Light’s website has blossomed

across Valdosta by word of

mouth, local newspapers and

television. Students can help

each other and their wallets by

signing up. For more informa-

tion, visit jebbles.com, sign up

and comment.

Jebbles

Continued from Page 7

The Faculty/Guest Recital will take place Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in the White-

head Auditorium, showcasing flutist Dr. elizabeth Goode and faculty pi-

anist Dr. Joshua Pifer. I was able to interview Dr. Goode and Dr. Pifer, both

of whom are classically trained musicians, playing for over 25 years each.

Q:How do you prepare for a recital?

Q: What sparked your interest in the flute/piano?

Q:What will you all be playing for the recital?

Q:What advice do you have for students with upcoming recitals?

Faculty, guest prepare forcontemporary music recital

Q:What can the audience community expect from the recital?

P: My parents played me a lot of classical mu-

sic LP's as a young child. I fell in love with the

sound and that’s probably the beginning of my

interest with it.

G:When I was 12-years-old, my brother played the

trombone in the band. My parents were chaperoning a

trip to this honor band festival. I heard this girl play

the flute and I just fell in love with it. It really just

sparked my interest in it and I’ve been playing ever

since.

G: We’re playing three pieces together--two short pieces by American composers and one by a Russian

composer. Pifer will be playing two solo pieces by himself. They’re all really nice, beautiful and easy to

listen to pieces.

G: I just have to take advantage of whenever I

can find the time. I try to put it in as part of my

schedule, so I just schedule it around my teach-

ing whether I have 15 minutes or 30 minutes.

P:How an athlete prepares for the Olympics or a big

important meet or tournament, it’s the same approach,

lots and lots of hours of practice. You practice your tail

off. It’s just like preparing for anything. If you’re collab-

orating with someone it’s rehearsing.

G: You have to really be diligent and consistent

or else it doesn’t work. Practice a lot--don’t put it

off. You can’t cram for a recital-- much more like

an athlete than an academic thing.

P: Practice your music both with the instrument and

away from the instrument-- studying the score. It’s

very important to spend time with the score and to

practice very slowly. Before the concert, just spend

your time running through the music.

P:They can expect a really enjoyable evening and

beautiful music that won’t take too much of their

time. We’ll have them out of there in less than an

hour. It’s all fun and easy to listen to music.

G: An enjoyment of the music, we’re doing a lot of

contemporary music stuff that is not often heard and

expansion of their horizon. We're having fun on stage

playing so hopefully they’ll be able to spend an hour

just enjoying and being able to place themselves from

real life and somewhere good for a whole hour.

Erin EllisS TA F F W R I T e R

eellis@valdosta.edu

Arnett’s choreographed “Flut-

tering Awake/Was Over Me’ in

hopes of bringing a different ex-

perience of dance to both the au-

dience and the dancers.

“I was looking to integrate

contemporary dance, not just

within the technique but in the

actual construction of the piece

for both the audience and the

dancers,” Arnett said. “I want

them to see ballet not just as

beautiful dancers with long lines

and perfect bodies, but as a more

expressive way of dancing bal-

let.”

According to Arnett, ‘Habit of

Change’, her second piece, is a

cast- involved dance and the au-

dience should expect to see dif-

ferent types of movement than

they are used to.

“Rather than just bringing in

choreography and saying, ‘Here’s

the movement—do it like this’, it

asks the dancers to intelligently

think about certain prompts I

gave them and create responses

out of that,” Arnett said.

The VSU Repertory dancers

don’t just perform annual con-

certs; they also enjoy a profes-

sional level touring experience to

either New York or Los Angeles,

which prepares students for life

in the real world of dance and

performance following gradua-

tion.

“The goal is to make our

dancers as marketable as possi-

ble,” Nielsen said. “By the time

our dance majors graduate, they

should have all the skills to get

hired at a dance company.”

Students interested in becom-

ing a part of the VSU Repertory

dancers can audition in the first

week of classes. Auditions are

open to all students—not just

dance majors.

“Just don’t be afraid to try it

out,” Arnett said. “A lot of peo-

ple have certain ideas of what it

means to be a dance major, but

not only do our students get

dance related jobs—they also use

that knowledge to do other

things.”

Fresh

Continued from Page 6

The male members of the VSU Repertory dancers practice for the

annual concert that starts today. The ensemble will perform ‘Fresh

Tracks’ Oct 4-7.

Valenica Williams / The Spectator

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BLACKPagE 9 | vsusPECTaToR.Com oCToBER 4, 2012S p o r t S

Streaking Blazers visit Chargers

the VsU women’s soccer

team carry a two game winning

streak into Friday’s game at

home against Alabama-

Huntsville and are coming off

one of their best offensive

games of the year.

the ladies scored the most goals

all season on tuesday against

Anderson stringing together two

goals in the first half and two in

the second half to win 4-2.

the Blazers are 8-1-1 on the

season with only eight games

left in the regular season, all

against conference opponents.

Coach Melissa Heinz is

pleased with how the team has

been playing and hopes her team

can continue their winning

ways.

“record wise i am [happy about

the season]. We have gotten

good wins,” Heinz said. “We are

playing some good soccer and

we are scoring goals.”

the offense has been more

consistent is recent games. to

start the season the Blazers only

scored 8 goals in their first 5

games. in their last 5 games the

team has found the back of the

net 11 times.

in their last two games the

Blazers have gotten out to an

early lead thanks to Blakely Mc-

Clellan who scored first against

palm Beach Atlantic in the 25th

minute and found the net again

against Anderson in the 19th

minute to tie the game. erin Hill

scored her first game of the sea-

son against Anderson breaking

the 2-2 tie early in the second

half.

Alabama-Huntsville enters

Friday’s game at 5-7 on the sea-

son and are trying to recover

from the a 3-game losing streak.

the Chargers are just 1-3 in

GsC games but they have found

success on the road going 4-1

this year. the key to this game

for the Blazers will be to contin-

ue their recent success and take

advantage of their opportunities.

“We just need to play our style

and truly get some great shots

off that become goals and take

the momentum from the very

start,” Heinz said. “that goes for

the shorter game as well.”

the recent offensive scoring

frenzy has come from different

players. six different players

have scored a goal in the last

four games.

this game along with the

shorter game are important as

the Blazers try to build momen-

tum up for the upcoming four

game road trip.

Hopefully the Blazers can

continue what they have been

doing and clearly identify them-

selves as a top team in the Gulf

south Conference.

Ace Espenshieds p o r t s W r i t e r

acespenshied@valdosta.edu

`` David Lacy/ The Spectator

Senior defender Arielle Sabina takes a corner kick during the Blazers 4-3 loss to North Alabama last

week.

At VsU's first ever campus

table tennis tournament, the

VsU team lost to Florida state

University, 3-4, in a fundraising

scrimmage tournament .

With friendly rivals, FsU, the

club thought it would be a great

idea to invite them to campus to

play a friendly tournament.

Like other VsU clubs, the

table tennis club are part of an

organization which helps them

set up tournaments against col-

leges in different divisions. the

club is part of the NCttA(Na-

tional Collegiate table tennis

Association).

As a club in the south region

in the panhandle division, will

play against schools on Nov. 3 in

an upcoming tournament such as

University of south Florida,Uni-

versity of Central Florida,Univer-

sity of North Florida,University

of Florida and Darton College.

Zachary Johnston, president

and #1 spot on the A-team, takes

great pride in his club.

"We're gonna try and build our

way up from this loss, get better,

and get more recruits". in the sin-

gles division last year, himself

and Jacob Miller went to the re-

gional championships. Johnston

was also invited to nationals that

same year.

the club itself is only 2 years

old, and also holds great achieve-

ments such as being VsU's club

of the year in the 2010-2011

campus year.

Last year they upset FsU at

the NCttA Fall tournament, al-

lowing them to place 3rd.

At the scrimmage tournament,

FsU had NCttA president,

Willy Leparulo, to fill a spot for

them since he was an FsU alum-

ni.

"He gave us a good show be-

cause i was able to play him,"

Johnston,club president said.

"He [showed] all our viewers the

difference between ping pong

and table tennis."

Albert Wilson, who won a

match in the tournament to help

the team gain a point, talked

about how close the club was

outside of table tennis.

"the team is pretty cool,” Wilson

said. “We hang out a lot, play

games, different stuff."

Johnston believes that school

comes first, requiring everyone

that joins to have a 2.5 GpA.

the table tennis club practices

on saturday from 3 p.m. to 6

p.m.

"everyone is welcome to join,"

says Johnston. "We're more than

just a team."

Table Tennis club

encourages growthKellan Rhone

s p o r t s W r i t e r

kdrhone@valdosta.edu

West Florida host Blazers tonight

the Valdosta state volleyball

team will face off against the

West Florida Argonauts tonight

in pensacola Fla.

the ladies come in with a (10-

5) record hoping to pick up an-

other Gulf south Conference

win.

Katie onushko and tania

tauiliili will look to follow up

their dazzling West Alabama per-

formance with a victory against

these tough Argonauts.

the Argonauts also had a re-

cent scrap with West Alabama

only squeezing out a win by one

set.

UWF welcomes the Blazers

with a 12-9 record.

the Argos come into the

match leading the Gulf south

Conference in kils and assists.

the Blazers have so far

strgguled on the road.

VsU at home has a 6-1

record while on the road a sub-

par 2-3 record.

VsU had four more games left

on this long roadtrip before the

GsC/ssC regional crossover.

the Argos will travel to Val-

dosta after the crossover for the

first time this year.

the Blazers are however com-

ing off a two match win streak

and have improved to 4-3 in the

conference.

the Argonauts are a young

team but have shown they are

more than ready to handle the

Blazers at home tonight.

UWF open the doors to the

Blazers entering the competition

with a 3 match win streak.

its homecoming week in pen-

sacola and these Argonauts are

expected to have plenty of fan

support in the bleachers.

if Katie and tania can contin-

ue to lead as they’ve have all

season then the blazers will sure-

ly dominate this conference op-

ponent.

if the star seniors slip up how-

ever, it could be a very slippery

slope for VsU and the Argonauts

could run away with this game

just as easily.

Ryan Hendrixs p o r t s W r i t e r

rthendrix@valdosta.edu

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PagE 10 | vsusPECTaTOR.COm OCTOBER 4, 2012S p o r t S

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SESAEL L

Unsuccessful trips to Gulf

South conference rival territories

these upcoming two weeks could

steer the Blazers towards miss-

ing the playoff for the second

consecutive year for the first

time since 1999.

the VSU football team suits

up every season with one goal in

mind which is at seasons end be-

coming national champions.

High expectations are not sur-

prising in title town however the

Blazers are in jeopardy of miss-

ing the playoffs again if they

don’t start a win streak quickly.

the expected 58-10 clobber-

ing over Edward Waters last

week has gotten the Blazers win-

ning mojo back and is now fo-

cused on the tough tasks ahead.

“We got to keep it constant,”

said junior linebacker Chris

pope. “We got the team to do it,

we just got to put all the pieces

together and we’ll be fine.

VSU faces conference rivals

on the road for the next two

weeks starting with West Geor-

gia this Saturday and North Al-

abama next week.

Even though the season open-

er loss against (non-region, non-

conference) Saginaw Valley

State doesn’t hurt VSU’s chances

of making playoffs, suffering

two early losses before the heart

of the schedule, leaves the Blaz-

ers no room to lose any more

games.

Although UWG (2-2) hasn’t

had a great start to their season

either, the historic matchup

against the Wolves Saturday

should be rowdy atmosphere on

homecoming weekend in Car-

rolton.

Nevertheless, VSU last lost

against UWG in Carrolton in

1999.

“We feel like we still have an

oppourtunity to go to the play-

offs,” said head coach David

Dean. “We have to have some

help in the Gulf South Confer-

ence but our goal now is put our-

selves in a position to make the

playoffs.”

it doesn’t get any easier for

the Blazers the following week-

end playing foe UNA.

if the Lions are upset at home,

VSU will surely jump back into

the discussion of possible con-

ference contenders with West Al-

abama and North Alabama.

this game could foreshadow

since UNA beat Delta State last

week; the other conference team

VSU faces the following week

on homecoming weekend.

the Lions, who are currently

on a three game winning streak,

last faced the Blazers in Flo-

rence, Ala. during the 2010 sea-

son. VSU won 5-0.

Not shading the significance

of the season finale against

texas A&M Kingsville or Delta

State but these next two weeks

are crucial.

VSU is still very capable to

finish the season strong with mo-

mentum heading into the play-

offs however they have much to

prove these upcoming weeks.

No.18 ranked West Alabama,

the only GSC team left in the Di-

vision ii top 25, should win the

conference.

this happening will eliminate

another of the Blazers season

goals of winning the GSC but a

shot at a championship is still

alive.

Earning a playoff berth is still

much attainable but the window

won’t be open for long.

Coming off the UWA loss,

VSU has narrowed the rest of the

season to its final six games.

it would dust off the national

champion possibilities if they

can go undefeated to end the reg-

ular season.

“Our backs are against the wall.

We can’t afford another loss this

season.,” coach Dean said.

Eric JacksonS p O r t S E D i t O r

epjackson@valdosta.edu

VSU wide reciever Seantavious Jones caught a 12 yard touchdown late in the second half of the Blazers 58-10 win over Edward Water last Saturday. Austen Hutto/The Spectator

Team Scoring

1.VSU (215 pts)

2.UWG (150) pts)

3.UWA (154 pts)

Scoring Defense

1.UNA (73 pts)

2. UWA (85 pts)

3.VSU (101 pts)

Team Sacks By

1. UWA (14)

2.UWG (10)

3.DSU (7)

Individual Rushing

1.Matt Willis (UWA)

(552yds)

2.Austin Scott (VSU) (414

yds)

3.Cedric O’Neal (323 yds)

Indivdual Scoring

1.Gerald Ford (VSU) (42

pts)

2.Matt Willis (UWA) (30

pts)

3.4 people tied (18 pts)

Final Five Games

10/6 - @ West Ga.

10/13 - @ North Ala.

10/20 - Delta State ^^

10/25 - @ Shorter

11/1 - Texas A&M

Kingsville

^^ Homecoming

Gulf South

Conference

Statistic

Leaders

COMMENTARY

Blazers’ backs against the wall