the spectator online edition, august 29, 2013
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August 29, 2013 W W W . V S U S P e C T A T O R . C O M VOLUMe 85 iSSUe 2
Inside This Issue- OPiniOnS: “government keeps bees ‘buzzing’”
- FeATUReS: “Blazin’ Brigade ready to ‘rock’ the football
field”
- SPORTS: “Blazers new o-line has big, ugly cleats to fill”
On the Webwww.vsuspectator.com
The happening - Last week
the rain cancelled VSU’s plans,
but the Happening is back!
Come to the Front Lawn from
1 p.m. to 4 p.m. to see what
community businesses and or-
ganizations and clubs on cam-
pus have to offer.
DisTinguisheD Women of
excellence inTeresT
meeTing - to learn about the
distinguished Women of
Excellence, come to the
Student Union Ballroom a at
6:30 p.m. the attire is business
casual. For more information,
follow the organization
@dWE_VSU2012.
make your oWn
cupcakes - VSU dining
Services is hosting a cupcake
deocoration bar in Hopper
dining at noon to 2 p.m.
Black sTuDenT league
inTeresT meeTing - an
interest meeting will be held in
the Student Union theater at 8
p.m.
miss Vsu pageanT - the
Miss VSU georgia Scholarship
Pageant is hosting an
information meeting in the
Student Union Meeting room
2 at 5 p.m. For more details,
contact alisha at
apstabler@valdosta.edu or visit
the Student Life office.
free Zip line anD sWing -
CorE outdoors is reopening
the tech course and zip line.
Come by at 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. for
a chance to check out the
monster swing and zip line for
free. CorE outdoors can be
found behind SrC in the
Sustella Parking deck. For
more information, contact
CorE outdoors at
229-245-2355 or email at
core@valdosta.edu.
Today at VSU
Weather
94 H 73 L
Partly
Cloudy
Today
92 H 72 L
Friday
71 L88 H
Scattered
T-Storms
Saturday
Sunny
Steven Setser’s column“Spec Tech” is all about the
new technology hittingshelves soon.
Volleyball NewcomersVolleyball NewcomersMeet the seven new volleyball members, page 5.
This Day in
History
Hurricane Katrinahits the Gulf
Coast
August 29, 2005
hurricane Katrina hit Neworleans, Louisiana as acategory 4 storm. The
hurricane was marked asthe worst natural disaster
in U.S. history. Katrinaflooded 80-percent of thecity and caused an esti-mated 1,300 deaths and$150 billion in damages.
Source: History.com
VSU president dr. William
McKinney spoke to the Sga
on a night where four justice
nominees were announced
and committees were formed.
dr. McKinney and first
lady dacia Charlesworth
stayed at Monday night’s
meeting for only a brief time
but gave an inspirational
speech for those in atten-
dance during that short time.
“i need you all to know
that you provide such an en-
ergy to this campus,” dr.
McKinney said. “it’s a won-
derful life that you have in
the academic world. the be-
ginning of school brings a
new energy, it brings new
ideas, it brings a new Sga
administration, with whom i
am looking forward to work-
ing very much.
“You go through that
school year, you’re racing
and racing and you finally
get to May and commence-
ment and everybody’s ready
for a break. and you do what
you do over the summer, and
then July rolls around, and
things get way too quiet
around here. Well, it’s not
quiet anymore, and it’s be-
cause you brought all the en-
ergy back,” dr. McKinney
said.
dr. McKinney also said
that all the university needs is
the students on campus, and
without the students, no-
body—least of all him—
would be able to do what
they do.
not long after their depar-
tures, four justice hopefuls
were introduced by tullis
Beasley, Sga chief justice.
“these past two weeks
we’ve been doing interviews
for four of the spots on the
judicial council, which is the
third branch of Sga,”
Beasley said.
Beasley noted that he,
Sga president Will Jimerson,
assistant dean Sherolyn Hop-
kins and an unnamed justice
interviewed ten hopefuls for
these four slots.
the nominees were Mary
Bausch, adrienne Fry,
Chelsey Mcneil, and Lance
Stephens.
Various committees were
also filled up during the
meeting.
Edgar James has been
named the new chair of the
judiciary committee, while
Valencia Warren is the new
Pr chair, Jamaica Hill is the
new Parking and transporta-
tion chair, ololade Fagbohun
is the new Health Services
chair and tamelonie thomas
is the new Student affairs
chair.
Joe AdgieS o C i a L M E d i a
E d i t o r
jmadgie@valdosta.edu
SGA gets a visit
from McKinney
SGA NoteS:
the budget stands at
$21,801.51.
two representatives from
dining Services’ new
dining advisory Board
were present at the Sga
meeting.
Senator isaiah Smart and
Vice President Hassanat
oshodi were named to be
the representatives to at-
tend the Planning and
Budget Council meetings.
although there are no fly-
ing cars just yet, we may al-
ready be living in the Jetsons-
esque future that we’ve long
awaited.
once costing $20,000, the
MakerBot replicator 1 now
sells online for less than
$1,000. this past January,
VSU purchased two of the
devices for about $2,000 each
and the filament used for the
machines, which ranges from
$30 to $50 a roll. although
they weren’t immediately
available to the student body,
the projected release time for
students to use the printers
was this fall. this, however,
has been pushed back to
spring 2014.
“the reason (we’re) hold-
ing off until spring is (be-
cause) we want to make sure
we have a process for stu-
dents to bring in 3-d printing
material, reserve a time with
the machine, print it out and
have a fee structure for it that
is all going to work and cause
as little headaches as possi-
ble,” Michael Holt, reference
librarian and assistant profes-
sor, said.
as of now there are two
printers on campus. one is
located in Media Services on
the first floor of odum Li-
brary and will be for general
student use. the other printer
will be geared toward group
projects and classes and is on
the third floor of odum Li-
brary in the Library Maker
Space.
With kinks still being
worked out, there is no fee
set in stone, but Holt has a
pretty good idea of how stu-
Brian HickeyS ta F F W r i t E r
bdhickey@valdosta.eduFile Photo
3-D printing
is still not
available for
general use.
See 3-D , Page 2
Student 3-D printingprivileges pushed back
there’s an old saying,
“those who cannot do, teach.”
Clearly, whoever believes
that notion has not been to
the 2013 Faculty art Exhibi-
tion.
this mixed media exhibi-
tion features works from
VSU art department faculty
members and has everything
from sculpture to animation.
the exhibit will be avail-
able for viewers at no cost in
the Fine arts building until
Sept. 6.
“this is the show where
the faculty demonstrates to
students that we practice
what we preach,” Julie Bow-
land, Fine arts gallery direc-
tor and art professor, said.
“the star of the show this
year has been Mark
Stafford,” Bowland said.
Mark Stafford is one of the
three new art department fac-
ulty members.
His featured piece, “Pity,”
is a funky ceramic bust of
Mr. t, from the a-team tele-
vision series. the bust has a
nebulizer in it that causes
steam to come out of the
nose.
Stafford said he selected
Mr. t because of his appear-
ance and his B-list celebrity
status.
“Mr. t is in his later stage
in life and has become a cari-
cature of himself,” Mark
Stafford, art instructor, said.
dr. Cindy Hasio and abi-
gail Heuss are the other new
additions to VSU’s art depart-
ment.
the other featured artists
this year are Hollis Barnett,
Julie Bowland, Clyde Ed-
wards, dominick gheesling,
Craig Hawkins, Jim Hornsby,
Paula Mcneill, Karin Murray,
Selena nawrocki, Kyoung-im
Park, Blake Pearce, richard
Peterman, Michael Schmidt
and Kalina Winska.
Mixed media comesto Fine Arts Gallery
Hillary StrabaS ta F F W r i t E r
hlstraba@valdosta.edu
Ritsuki Miyazaki / The SPecTaToR
Students of Perspectives 2300 gathered in the gallery to
learn more about the art displayed.
Ritsuki Miyazaki / The SPecTaToR
tuesday night roadblocks
were set up on Baytree road
and in Lake Park, following a
meeting of the South region-
al traffic Enforcement net-
work--one of 16 chapters of
an organization that monitors
all 159 counties in georgia.
“[tuesday] night city po-
lice, county police and state
patrol had roadblocks in Lake
Park and, i believe, Baytree
road,” Maj. anne Farmer,
VSU Police dept., said.
the cooperative police
presence is a regular occur-
rence in Lowndes County.
Farmer said it is a “tool” to
help with establishing a pres-
ence in Valdosta.
the roadblocks allow law
enforcement to utilize their
various resources. the City
will usually take the opportu-
nity to use their Mobile Com-
mand Van, Farmer said.
the large police presence
was disconcerting to some
Valdosta residents.
“it looked like it was every
cop in Valdosta,” said aman-
da Stone, public administra-
tion graduate student, said.
“they don’t normally have
public safety vehicles out
there for just a traffic stop.
all of their lights were on; it
looked like a wreck or some-
thing. Fifteen cops all in a
row, all stopping people and
checking id’s.”
the roadblock comes in
advance of a joint push by
georgia and tennessee police
to crack down on driving of-
fenses over the holiday week-
end.
the operation is being set
into motion to combat a holi-
day weekend notorious for
driving accidents and fatali-
ties.
Last year there were 13
deaths recorded on georgia
roads last Labor day.
"When dinner is done and
homework is complete are
Will LewisM a n a g i n g E d i t o r
walewis@valdosta.edu
Police roadblock,
though routine,
shocks drivers
See Roadblock ,Page 2
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3-D
Continued from Page 1
dents will be charged for
printer usage.
“Generally, we are going to
do it by the time it takes to
print,” Holt said. “With the
amount of filament it takes to
print, generally, a fee of about
$2 an hour (would work), and
that’s whether or not the print
completes correctly.”
Students, however, will not
be able to use their university
printing allowance to pay for
3-D printing services as Me-
dia Services has the ability to
take cash or checks.
as for how the printer actu-
ally works, the machine starts
off with a 3-D model and
then reproduces the model by
laying down successive layers
of material usually consisting
of plastic.
this allows the printer to
have a very wide range of ca-
pabilities. it has been used to
make molds for sculptures
and jewelry as well as engine
parts.
“a guy last semester print-
ed out components to make a
wind turbine,” Holt said. “We
(also) printed out a case for
an LeD light box that was put
in the art show last year.”
With the positives that have
already come from 3-D print-
ers, there have also been neg-
atives. in May, a 25-year-old
law student at the University
of texas stirred up controver-
sy when he claimed that he
not only simulated a gun us-
ing a 3-D printer for parts but
that it actually worked.
this immediately drew
skepticism and controversy
from some while others felt it
was a breakthrough. also,
some people found it danger-
ous and challenged the true
usage of a 3-D printer and its
access in the future.
“as 3-D printing evolves,
advanced printers can use
metal, composite or even bio-
logical material,” said eric
thomas, journalist and co-an-
chor of the San francisco
aBC7 Morning News, in an
article on abclocal.go.com.
“if and when somebody de-
cides to use those to make a
weapon, government regula-
tion may not be far behind.”
With that being said there
will be restrictions placed on
printing for students such as
copyrighted materials or any
devices that could purposely
be used to harm another indi-
vidual. More restrictions will
be further explained in spring
when the printers are made
available to students.
Holt believes the printers
will be very popular among
students.
“the reason i put (the
printer) here (is because) i
wanted people, regardless of
their major, if they had that
creative spark in them, to
come in and use this technol-
ogy,” Holt said.
As 3-D printing
evolves, advanced
printers can use
metal, composite or
even biological
material.- Eric thomAs
“
”
Aug. 27red Schwinn bike was stolen
from the bike rack in front of
Nevins Hall.
a bike was reported stolen
from Centennial Hall.
a bike was reported stolen
from Brown Hall.
Aug. 26a bike was stolen from out-
side Centennial Hall
a student witnessed an at-
tempted bike theft outside of
Odum library. Police were giv-
en a description of the suspect,
but were unable to make con-
tact.
Aug. 25
Silver Schwinn bike stolen
from outside Georgia Hall.
Aug. 22
Sgt. Blanton, VSU police, re-
ported his dealership decal had
been removed from his car.
a girl reported that her phone
had been taken from the
Brown/Lowndes parking lot.
a pink Panama Jack bicycle
was stolen from outside Geor-
gia Hall.
Aug. 21
a student reported her phone
stolen from the fine arts build-
ing.
Police Briefs
HAPPY
‘TATOR
DAY!
Come find
us at The
Happening.
Roadblocks
Continued from Page 1
prayers are said that moms
and dads can put their chil-
dren to bed, kiss them good-
night and live to see another
day... that's what our goal
is," Captain Gary Mc-
Conathy, ft. Oglethorpe po-
lice captain, said in an inter-
view with WrCB in Chat-
tanooga, tenn.
On august 21, the Peace
Corps held an interest meet-
ing for students interested in
joining.
the informational, held in
Powell Hall, gave students
insight to what the Peace
Corps is about and which
steps they should take to be-
gin their Peace Corps career.
“this is also to help se-
niors get a chance to finally
get signed up and informed
by the deadline for them to
be able to travel in summer
2014,” emily Whitfield, the
regional recruiter and main
presenter for the evening,
said. each volunteer must
sign up nine to 12 months be-
fore his or her desired depar-
ture date, so seniors that want
to be shipped out on an as-
signment next summer are
applying now.
the information session
had a rather large turn out
with about forty student at-
tendees. “(the Peace Corps
is) something that i can use
to gain some experience
while i can also better my
skills at the same time,” Va-
lencia Johnson, senior, said.
founded in the ‘60s, the
Peace Corps is a government
program that sends volunteers
to work in various countries
while giving people a better
outlook of americans.
Volunteers work as educa-
tors, agriculturalists and
health workers by teaching
english to non-english
speakers, assisting farmers in
field work and informing
people about vital health is-
sues such as the importance
of nutrition, respectively.
Volunteers also work in other
areas such as economics.
today, the Peace Corps
serves more than 70 coun-
tries, spanning from Latin
america, to africa, asia and
others. typically, volunteers
and trainees serve for 27
months, three of which are
devoted to training. anyone
is welcome to apply to join
the Peace Corps as long as
they are 18 years or older.
Over 210,000 americans
have served in the Peace
Corps to date, and it currently
has 8,073 active members.
Shenika row, freshman, said
she attended the information
session to “gain more knowl-
edge and a sense that i have
helped someone with my fu-
ture career.”
Peace Corps opens ranks
Check out more
stories online
at
vsuspectator.com
Khiry ClementsS ta f f W r i t e r
keclements@valdosta.edu
File Photo
As for how the printer actually works, the machine starts
off with a 3-D model and then reproduces the model by
laying down successive layers of material usually consist-
ing of plastic.
This is also to help
seniors get a
chance to finally get
signed up and
informed by the
deadline for them to
be able to travel in
summer 2014.
- Emily WhitfiEld
“
”
auguSt 29, 2013 vSuSpectator.com | page 3
as a baby, some of us
fondly remember our parents
swirling a spoon full of baby
food like an airplane in order
for us to be comfortable
enough to eat it. But what if
they had a
court order to
skip that and
shove it down
your throat if
we protested?
a U.S judge
in California has approved
the right for prison officials
to force-feed inmates that are
protesting in a statewide
hunger strike, a strike that is
entering its eighth week.
the strike began on July 8
as a way for some inmates to
protest the detention of vio-
lent inmates and gang leaders
in solitary confinement for
long periods of time. in its
inception, nearly 29,000 of
California’s 133,000 partici-
pated. Over the weeks, this
number has dwindled to 130
loyal protesters still fighting
the good fight.
i realize that convicted
criminals “fighting the good
fight,” is oxymoronic, but in
this case they are justified
and here are a few reasons
why:
• even if they are outcasts of
society, inmates are still citi-
zens of the country. this
means that they are protected
by their first amendment
right to peacefully assemble
and protest. these California
inmates are not causing
prison riots, fighting or com-
mitting other violent offenses
to show their disapproval.
they are just not eating.
One con that can arise from
their right to peacefully as-
semble is the fact that assem-
bling for a common cause
while in prison is almost im-
possible between prisons, but
their “affiliations” unite them.
Work-
ers
strike
daily
under
the uni-
ty of
their federal unions, so just
because they are not in the
same city, state or under the
same local employer, they are
united and that goes for frus-
trated gang members as well.
• Prison is all about structure
and order; yet in these con-
trolled environments, prison-
ers should have the right to
express their opinion about
the causes that they care
about. for an inmate, choice
on an opinion is limited for
them in life now, so a
statewide hunger strike
should be allowed in order
for inmates to express their
individuality. for people who
can no longer vote in a gov-
ernment election, this hunger
strike shows that they still
have some freedom of choice.
allowing protest in this form
without the consequence of
violence or solitary confine-
ment could possibly lead to a
more socially conscious in-
mates and spark a thirst for
knowledge and peaceful de-
bate rather than killing or
fighting for bars of soap in
the future.
• finally, if health is the cen-
tral concern for corrections
officers to want to break the
hunger strike, i believe be-
cause of their right to peace-
fully assemble and express
their opinion, they should be
able to risk their health for a
cause they believe in. Many
civil rights leaders have par-
ticipated in hunger strikes
and i have not found one ac-
count of a government forc-
ing them to eat. if someone
wants to starve to prove a
point, let them starve and if
corrections officials feel that
their safety is in jeopardy,
that care should be redirect to
the issue they are fighting for
in order to peacefully and not
force a decision on them.
So next time there is a
baby that doesn’t fall for the
airplane trick, just remember,
they have a right to refuse to
be fed by their familial war-
dens.
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.
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Online at www.vsuspectator.com
Spectator StaffEditor-in-Chief: Jennifer gleasonManaging Editor:Will LewisBusiness Manager: Kristen VarneyAdvertising Manager:aimee NapierCirculation Manager: abbie Baggerly Opinions Editor: Stephen CavallaroFeatures Editor: Sarah turner
Sports Editor: eric JacksonPhoto Editor: ritsuki MiyazakiMultimedia Editor: rebecka McaleerWeb Designer: Von Kennedy Copy Editor: Olivia McLeanSocial Media Editor: Joe adgie Faculty Advisers: Dr. PatMiller, Dr. ted geltner, Keith Warburg
Reporters/Photographers:Niamani Carlyle-Hollis, Coleedwards, allison ericson,William garrett, Brian Hickey,eric Holley, ivey ingalls-rubin,ashley Johnson, LaShawnOglesby, Steven Quinn,Lawrence Smith, John Stephen,Shane thomas, alex tostado,elan Waite
Do you enjoy your health
care plan? if so, get ready to
say goodbye to the freedom
to choose your health cover-
age and say hello to Oba-
macare.
Defunding Obamacare by
withholding taxpayer dollars
from fueling the program is
essential in order to protect
millions of americans from
losing their current employer-
provided health insurance.
thousands of jobs will be
lost in addition to employees’
freedom to choose coverage
through their employer. at
the same time, premiums are
expected to increase by a
projected $2,100 per family.
even if americans are hap-
py with their current cover-
age, an estimated average of
seven million people will
lose their employer-spon-
sored health insurance. even
if subscribers are in good
health, businesses may cut
hours if they cannot afford to
implement the program. it
will destroy the very founda-
tion of the 40-hour work-
week, which has become cru-
cial to the american middle
class. this mandated burden
would force many employers
to drop healthcare coverage
and consequently offload
their employees onto the state
exchanges.
the law is falling apart.
this is primarily because it is
simply unworkable based on
the sheer complexity of its
contents and the enormous
amount of new mandates that
it imposes. the process by
which it was passed through
Congress offered little time
for the bill to be reviewed or
debated. this has already re-
sulted in a very long list of
postponed mandates and a
long list of impending fail-
ures to come.
Nearly everything that
President Obama has
promised about his signature
legislation is untrue, such as
the promise that americans
can “keep their current
healthcare plans if they like
them.” the truth is that many
health care plans do not even
qualify as “government ap-
proved” under Obamacare.
Behind the 2,700 pages of
the law and all of the new
taxation lies the true purpose
of Obamacare. it is intended
to complicate and cripple the
entire private healthcare in-
surance industry so that the
american people have no
other choice except to crawl
back to the government to
save them after everything
they have known has been
destroyed.
Obamacare is an act of po-
litical treachery and is not a
way to “defend americans
from insurance companies.”
rather, it is a way to control
and impede upon americans’
freedom to decide. ameri-
cans need to be defended
from Obamacare, not the in-
surance companies.
the affordable Care act is
simply not the way to jump-
start a lethargic economy; it
is a disturbing and dangerous
attempt by the government to
take over the healthcare in-
dustry. Once a government
controls a society’s health-
care, it basically controls
everything.
This editorial was written by Stephen Cavallaro (sjcavallaro@valdosta.edu) and it expresses the general opinion of the editorial staff.
Our point of view...
Government keeps bees ‘buzzing’
California prohibits prison hunger strike
throughout South geor-
gia, honey production is a vi-
brant industry.
in Lowdnes County and
every year the Honey Bee
festival, promotes apprecia-
tion for local manufacturing
of honey and honey bee re-
lated products.
While consumers are in-
creasingly mislead to pur-
chase and consume “fake
honey,” a pollen-less concoc-
tion of corn syrup and artifi-
cial sweeteners marked as
real honey in laboratories is
sold in grocery stores as an
overpriced alternative to
honey. americans are being
blinded by a mass genocide
occurring across the nation.
the honey bee is quickly
becoming extinct in the
United States. Common
species of honey bees in the
county have declined 96 per-
cent in recent decades. the
cause of the decline is
colony collapse disorder, an
instance where bee colonies
spontaneously vanish. the
cause of the disorder is the
increasing use of neonicoti-
noid insecticides.
these insecticides, typical-
ly used on corn crops, cause
bee populations to dramati-
cally fall causing beekeepers
and farmers to grow con-
cerned. 37 million bees were
found dead this June in elm-
wood, Calif. shortly after
corn was planted near a se-
ries of six hundred hives. in
the same month fifty thou-
sand bees were found dead
in a Wilsonville, Ore. park-
ing lot. the culprit was a
neonicotinoid insecticide
known as “safari,” which
was sprayed over trees in the
area.
Why should the existence
of honey bees be a concern
when the art of fake honey
making has been mastered
and integrated into the di-
ets of many americans?
Without the honey bee, 90
percent of global agricul-
ture will be endangered.
Humanity needs the polli-
nating bees to ensure a
flourishing and stable food
supply.
Congressmen have in-
troduced the Saving amer-
ica's Pollinators act of
2013. this legislation is a
means to save the defense-
less honey bees by sus-
pending the use of the in-
secticides. if passed the
act will call for a 2-year
suspension of the insecti-
cide and the effects will be
analyzed. the european
Union has also strove to
enact legislation that com-
bats neonicotinoid and en-
sures the livelihood of the
bee.
Here at the Spectator we
support legislation that en-
sures the safety of the honey
bee and disprove of the use
of neonicotinoid insecticide.
Humans and bees possess
a vital mutually exclusive re-
lationship. as we grow agri-
cultural crops the bees ac-
quire a food source in the
form of nectar, and in return
they pollinate the crops en-
suring the vitality of the crop
and the development of the
seed, essentially our own ex-
istence.
Von KennedyW e B D e S i g N e r
vtkennedy@valdosta.edu
Defunding Obamacare
recently, Jared Bernstein
wrote an article for the Huff-
ington Post asking the ques-
tion of whether or not the
government was stifling the
innovation of the people of
america.
this was inspired by an ar-
ticle that was written by
robert Shiller in the New
York times. the article is
about capitalism and the role
it plays in innovation and it
speaks the truth. the best
way for true innovation to
happen is for the government
to step back and let those
who have the minds create.
according to Shiller’s arti-
cle, there is a troubling trend
in many countries, including
the United States. it’s called
corporatism, where the gov-
ernment and large interest
groups control a major part
of a country’s economy.
this is unfortunately be-
coming true in the U.S. there
are so many things that large
interest groups and the gov-
ernment have a hold on, that
it stifles the creativity of peo-
ple who, if given the chance,
may be able to perform
amazing things.
there are hundreds of doc-
umentaries that discuss this.
their common message is
that large interest groups and
the government make it al-
most impossible for small
businesses to make it.
Look at the electric car, for
example. it was a great idea
that had backing, but because
of the U.S. government and
interest groups that had a lot
of stake in the oil companies,
the electric car died.
i don’t think that govern-
ment should be a major fac-
tor in innovation, and a trend
that i have noticed recently is
that many people are starting
their own Kickstarter.
these are fundraisers that
raise money for people who
have an idea and don’t want
to deal for corporations or
people who could sabotage
the project.
this is done by asking the
people that want to buy the
product to donate so they can
make their product without
having to go to a company or
producer.
Kickstarter is still a new
concept and for as many peo-
ple that succeed, ten more
fail, but this is good that peo-
ple essentially buy into some-
thing that they want to see
happen and if there are
enough backers the project
will succeed, and if it does-
n’t, the backers get their
money back.
So do we really want the
government to have its hands
in everything that we do? No
way. there is a lot of creativ-
ity in this country. Just look
on the internet. People have
some crazy ideas but there is
no reason that they can’t
work if they have the right
backing.
Allow minds to createTaylor Stone
S ta f f W r i t e r
tnstone@valdosta.edu
People PollWhat are you
planning to do with your excess check?
MCT
OpiniOns
David LacyS ta f f W r i t e r
dclacy@valdosta.edu
So do we really
want the govern-
ment to have its
hands in every-
thing that we do?
PAGe 4 | vSUSPecTATor.com AUGUST 29, 2013
Blazin’ Brigadeready to ‘rock’the football field
all eyes may be on the
Blazers at the start of the new
football season, but the
Blazin’ Brigade marching
band is training to ensure that
it is also ready for the up-
coming football season.
“we want to have the ef-
fect that it would be obvious
if we were not (at the
game),” eric Bradshaw, di-
rector of athletic bands, said.
the 157 members of the
band began practicing during
the summer to prepare for the
season, beginning with the
first football game versus
fort Valley in Macon on
sept. 7. the Blazers’ first
home game is versus shorter
University on sept. 21.
Bradshaw guides the band
in giving the best perfor-
mance possible at each game
to help boost the energy of
both the fans and the football
team, as well as to add to the
overall game experience.
“Our goal is to keep the
crowd engaged during games
so they’ll feel they are more
involved than just watching,”
Bradshaw said.
this year the band is fo-
cusing on more classical se-
lections for the first two
home games but plans to of-
fer a history of american pop
later in the season. the band
will play songs ranging from
the ‘70s disco classic
“stayin’ alive” to fall Out
Boy’s “My songs Know
what You Did in the Dark.”
at last year’s national
championship game, the
marching band was noticed
numerous times on esPN
and hopes to get that chance
again this year.
“it’s helpful (that) we play
for such a good football
team,” Bradshaw said.
Pursuing a degree in music
is not a requirement to be in
the band as long as a student
has had prior experience in
high school. Bradshaw en-
courages any student interest-
ed in joining to register for
the concert band next semes-
ter.
Be sure to check out the
Blazin’ Brigade live on sept.
21 at the Bazemore–Hyder
stadium as VsU’s football
team takes on shorter Uni-
versity.
this week the VMas were
on everybody’s mind, and de-
pending on who you ask, the
ceremony left nothing to be
desired. there was nudity,
twerking, shade-throwing and
just all around ratchetness—
or as i would call it, a normal
MtV event.
Kicking things off, every-
one’s favorite narcissist, Lady
Gaga, opened the show with
her current single “ap-
plause.” a song about—what
else—herself.
and then things took a turn
toward the strange.
Miley Cyrus took the stage
to perform her hit single “we
Can’t stop” wearing a yellow
two-piece that would make
Billy ray Cyrus cry deep-
fried tears.
Later, Justin timberlake
took to the stage to perform a
medley of his hit songs and
accept the MtV Vanguard
award.
the best moment of the
night came when Justin re-
united with his former
*NsYNC band mates.
Po p
Ad d i c tAnthony Pope
Cole Edwardss ta f f w r i t e r
csedwards@valdosta.edu
Miley can’t
stop; NSYNC
won’t stop
Legregis Purnell, senior biology major, and Dylan Sloan, senior
music major, practice playing bass drum for the marching band.
Ritsuki Miyazaki/THE SPECTATOR
Features
Scan QR code to continue
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PAGe 5 | vSUSPecTATor.comAUGUST 29, 2013
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SudokuANSWERS
S p o r t S
with a new regime intact,
the VsU volleyball team wel-
comes seven new players to
its family.
the seven newcomers in-
clude: Natalia Campos (Fr.),
taylor Holder (Fr.), Danyelle
Drummond (Fr.), Marissa
woodworth (Fr.), Kelsey
Hedman (so.), Jessica Codato
(Jr.), and Jenna Kirkwood
(Jr.), making it a total of four
freshmen, one sophomore,
and two juniors.
Aside from filling neces-
sary holes in the team's roster,
the new players have brought
a new energy to the team that
has the entire team playing
with higher intensity.
"i believe that the recruits
who have come in this year
have added to our team in a
physical and mental aspect.
the girls who have come in
this year were in shape,
strong, competitive, fast, and
also mentally they have expe-
rience," Krista Bradford, ju-
nior outside hitter, said.
the recruiting process was
a collaborative effort by both
first year head coach Mike
swan and assistant coach Jor-
dana price.
"the recruiting process can
get pretty complex. there are
a lot of routes to go," price
said.
"Coach swan came know-
ing some players he was re-
cruiting from before. we also
(had) people send us emails
and videos and contact us on
the internet and we look at
them and we recruited a cou-
ple players that way. After we
contact them, we go and
watch them (and) we let them
know we are interested."
there also becomes the
challenge of immersing the
new players with the return-
ing players so that there is an
easy transition, and with so
many changes to the VsU
squad it would appear evident
that there would be some
bumps in the road.
Fortunately according to
price, the process has gone
over extremely smoothly.
"i think they've all transi-
tioned pretty well. we haven't
had any big problems yet that
or that it's been brought our
attention that they are strug-
gling, (but) if there's a prob-
lem, we try to address it in
the best interest of the coach-
ing staff and the players,"
price said.
As far as where the pro-
gram is headed in the future,
the team is extremely confi-
dent that the new players,
along with the experience of
swan will help set the stan-
dard for Blazer volleyball for
many years to come.
"i believe that since Coach
swan has come into the pro-
gram, we have definitely seen
an increase in expectations
and the overall mental part of
the game, the intensity, the
competitiveness and every-
thing," Bradford said.
the excited new look Blaz-
ers begin their season with
the west Georgia tournament
on sept.10 at 7 p.m.
"this is going to be our
breakout year. so, if you want
to see some good volleyball
come out and support," said
Bradford.
Neil Frawleys p o r t s w r i t e r
ndfrawley@valdosta.edu
Seven new players led by new head coach Mike Swan hope to catapult the Blazers to conference contenders this season.
Jamal Tull/THE SPECTATOR
entering his ninth season
as head coach for Valdosta
state basketball, Mike Helfer
once again will take a new-
look Blazers team into this
season.
though the Blazers will
not tip off the 2013-14 cam-
paign until mid-November,
Helfer believes his team is
coming together nicely in the
offseason.
“we have three guys that
played minutes last year that
are coming back,” Helfer
said. “it’ll be a blend of
some returners and some
new guys—it’s going to be
tough. we have some new
teams coming into our league
this year so we’re going to
have to make sure we get
ready here in the preseason.”
Featuring 11 new players,
the Blazers finished 19-10
last season, including an im-
probable run to the Gulf
south Conference champi-
onship game.
the Blazers came within a
made shaquille Harris three-
pointer of sending the game
into overtime, falling 65-62
to Christian Brothers.
“Last season was a good
bounce-back from the year
before,” Helfer said. “it
could’ve been better—we
lost three games right at the
buzzer. But, i like that our
guys brought back the excite-
ment and work ethic that we
were known for.”
Blazer Men’s
Basketball UpdateShane Thomass p o r t s w r i t e r
shanethomas@valdosta.edu
VSU volleyball enters season
with seven lucky newcomers
PAGe 6 | vSUSPecTATor.com S p o r t S AUGUST 29, 2013
2013 Women’s Soccer GSC Preview
Last season was a strong
one all around for women’s
soccer in the Gulf South Con-
ference.
the University of West
Florida took home its fifth
consecutive GSC tournament
title as well as the NCAA Di-
vision ii title by beating Uni-
versity of California San
Diego.
Valdosta State and Univer-
sity of North Alabama also
made an appearance in the
tournament.
West Florida posted a 24-1
record in the 2012-13 season
and come into this season not
only as GSC No. 1 team, but
also the No. 1 team in the na-
tion.
it is going to take a special
team to bring down this con-
ference powerhouse.
VSU comes into this sea-
son with big expectations.
they fell in the first round
of the NCAA tournament last
year after being named a
No.5 seed in the tournament.
UNA finished third in the
GSC for regular season play
and lost in the GSC tourna-
ment finals to UWF.
the Lions are hoping to
leap frog both VSU and UWF
for a GSC crown.
the University of West
Georgia brought in a new
head coach in Chris Davi-
dovicz.
this marks the third head
coach in the 9-year-old pro-
gram for the Wolves.
i still have questions sur-
rounding the new coach,
however.
the Wolves finished the
2012-13 season record of 6-
11-3 (2-5-2) and the first year
coach may not have what it
takes to improve on this
record in a tough conference.
the University of Alaba-
ma-Huntsville struggled in
the conference finishing with
a 4-5 record. in non-confer-
ence play, the Chargers post-
ed a 6-5 record to finish the
season 10-10.
Delta State struggled
mightily last season with an
overall record of 3-12-2, in-
cluding 2-6-1 in GSC play.
the preseason polls have
the Lady Statesmen finishing
last in the GSC.
Christian Brothers finished
last in the GSC last season
with a mark of 1-7-1 in the
conference.
Christian Brothers will be
struggling to keep up with the
other talented teams in the
GSC and they will be out-
done by the Lady Statesmen
by only a few points.
Finally, the University of
West Alabama had an average
season and looks to improve
after winning only once in
their final seven games. UWA
posted a losing overall record
but stayed above .500 in the
GSC with a mark of 5-3-1.
the tigers are my dark
horse to win the conference
but they need to be prepared
to play big every game.
the GSC will line up much
like it did last year with
Christian Brothers and Delta
State fighting to stay out of
the basement.
the top will be decided by
the slimmest of margins and
probably come down to the
final few games on the sched-
ule.
Follow Alex on twitter:
@Alex_tostado12
Alex’s projections to finish
top three in the conference
1. University of West Flori-
da- 14-1-1 (9-0-1)
2. Valdosta State University
12-3-1 (7-1-2)
3. University of North Al-
abama 13-3-4 (7-3-3)
Note: Lee University, Shorter
University and Union Univer-
sity are all ineligible for post-
season play.
Commentary
Alex Tostado
S p o r t S W r i t e r
ajtostado@valdosta.edu
Blazers new o-line has big, ugly cleats to fill
it's always difficult to
come into the season with
five new starting offensive
linemen.
Last season's offensive line
broke numerous school
records, had four players
named first team Gulf South
Conference, three players
earning All-American status,
and two players currently
playing in the NFL. Not to
mention, leading Valdosta
State to a National Champi-
onship.
it's safe to say this season's
offensive line has some big
shoes to fill.
As the opening game inch-
es closer, Head Coach David
Dean still hasn’t cemented
any linemen as definite
starters but has a strong idea.
Colin Glasco, Felei tauave,
Michael Miller, Jeremy
Daniels, and Jesse Yancey are
projected to start week one
against Fort Valley State.
“they're starting to gel, but
they haven't played together,
this was just their 20th prac-
tice they've been together”,
said Dean after the team's
second scrimmage.
the five have zero starts
between them. Glasco,
Miller, and Yancey bring
some experience, having
been in the program for the
last two years, and receiving
some playing time as reserves
last season.
tauave and Daniels will be
in their first year at VSU.
tauave joins VSU as trans-
fer from American river Ju-
nior College, and Daniels is a
freshman who played at
Lanier County in high school.
offensive Line Coach and
offensive Coordinator Andy
richman knows there's pres-
sure for the new linemen but
has high expectations for his
group, “i think there always
is (pressure). When i came in
i set the precendent here to
just be an offensive linemen
and play here, everyone is
counting on us. i think we
put pressure on ourselves no
matter what.”
the coaching staff doesn't
believe their offense will be
limited by the offensive line.
“there's obviously been
some growing pains, but i
don't think there's anything
serious that we've had to hold
back the offense. i know
we've put in all our plays.
they're starting to gel and
come together. it takes time
for five guys to get on the
same page. From week one to
week seven, we'll be better,”
said richman.
read the rest of Chris’s story
at www.vsuspectator.com
Chris Kessler
S p o r t S W r i t e r
ckessler@valdosta.edu
FOLLOW @BLAZE R S P ORTS ON TWITTE R
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