The Women’s and Gender Studies program and VSU administrators are airing a different type of dirty laundry this year.

Because of a dispute be-tween WGST and VSU’s top administrators, the program will not hang T-shirts on clotheslines to create aware-ness of sexual assault and domestic violence for the first time in 14 years.

The Clothesline Project began at VSU in 2000 when Dr. Tracy Meyers, director of Women’s and Gender Studies and the Clothesline Project, was a professor in the sociol-ogy department.

Students made T-shirts of their story or someone else’s story of abuse/violence as

a class assignment. When Dr. Meyers became the interim director of the WGST program in 2005, she began displaying them publicly on the Front Lawn and the Pedestrian Mall.

According to Dr. Meyers, VSU President William McK-inney and Provost Hudson Rogers told her in separate meetings that she could not hang the shirts on VSU prop-erty because of a Board of Regents policy.

However, according to Dr. Kimberly Luse, VSU’s Chief of Staff, that directive was never given.

“No one in administration has been involved in any deci-sion related to this important event,” she said.

Dr. Meyers disputes Dr. Luse’s comment.

“I was told in July by Dr. Rogers that I, as the director

of the Women’s and Gender Studies program, could not use state resources for politi-cal purposes,” she said.

Dr. Meyers inferred those state resources to be comput-ers, email accounts, campus structures, etc.

According to Dr. Meyers, Dr. Rogers told her she needs to use her personal email ac-count to participate in social justice actions and to do so as a private citizen because using state resources for such political endeavors is against BOR policy.

The discussion between Dr. Meyers and Dr. Rogers came about after VSU adjunct professor Dr. Mark George sent an email from his VSU account to the governor and general assembly per a social justice action.

October 23, 2014 Volume 87 Issue 9

Inside This Issue - OPINIONS: VSU must be proactive on safety

- FEATURES: Meet the homecoming candidates

- SPORTS: VSU soccer cliches GSC playoff berth

On the Web www.vsuspec ta tor.com

Solar Eclipse - Come to Nevins Hall today to watch the solar eclipse. The VSU Observatory will open up at 6 p.m. if the weather permits. Four Directions Movie Night - Come out today to watch “Longmire and Native Comedians” with the Native American Studies Student Associa-tion. Stop by the Ashley Hall Conference Room at 6 p.m.

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Saturday

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Check out LaMarcus Wilkersons’ story, “Dedicated students deserve

free tuition ” on the web! Your source for all things Homecoming

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Tatyana PhelpsCopy Editor

tnphelps@valdosta.edu

Jordan Hillopinions Editor

jorhill@valdosta.edu

See Football, page 6

Chicago crashes the charts

On this day in 1976, popular rock band

Chicago had its first #1 hit, “If You

Leave Me Now.”The group went on

to produce nine more albums in the next

seven years.

Source: History.com

Source: Weather.com

It’s not even November yet, but the Blazers last home game is already upon us.

This Saturday at 3 p.m., Valdosta State (4-2, 2-2) will be hosting Shorter University (3-3, 1-2).

“It really hasn’t hit me yet,” senior linebacker Justin Wil-liams said.

Williams, who played high school football for Valdosta High School feels that time will come once he runs out of the tunnel Saturday.

“I have played a lot of games in that stadium going way back to high school,” Williams said. “Knowing it’s going to be my last game there, I might get a little emo-tional before kickoff.”

Apart from being “Se-nior Night,” the Gulf South Conference battle with SU is also this year’s Homecoming Game for the Blazers.

This will be the third matchup between the two schools since Shorter joined the GSC only two years ago. VSU has dominated, go-ing 2-0 while outscoring the Hawks 78-6.

VSU is sitting at 2-1 at

home this season with their only loss coming in disap-pointing fashion to No. 20 Delta State University 32-49 back on Sept. 20.

That loss combined with the heartbreaking, last-second defeat to No. 3 North Ala-bama has put the Blazers in early “playoff” mode.

“We know if we expect to be in the playoffs, we are go-ing to have to win from here on out,” head coach David Dean said following their 2-2 start.

The Blazers have taken their coach’s remarks to heart, going 2-0 and outscoring West Georgia and Mississippi College by a combined 102-6 since.

“I am really proud of them;

their backs are against the wall, and they have been play-ing that way,” Dean said. “I couldn’t be happier with how this group has responded.”

Defensively the “Black Swarm” has looked lights out the past couple weeks, only allowing two field goals and 400 total yards to their op-ponents.

VSU’s last conceded touch-down came back on Sept. 27, a span of over eight quarters. This has Dean feeling this group may have finally started to “click.”

“We are starting to play bet-ter,” Dean said.

Chris Webbstaff WritEr

ctwebb@valdosta.edu

Blazers to play final home game

Domestic abuse project hung out to dry

See Clothesline, page 2

Mike LaGon/THE SPECTATOR

Blazers prepare to take on Shorter Unviersity for Homecoming and the last home game of the season on Saturday.

VSU homecoming starts off with a bang, not a fizzle

Homecoming Week is in full swing, and the campus is ablaze with festivities as the VSU community engages in one of the biggest celebrations of the school year.

“Homecoming is a high-light, one of the key high-lights of a fall semester,” SGA President Tyler Barker said. “It’s simply a time to cel-ebrate Blazer pride as a whole through a week of events that are geared toward students, faculty, staff, the community and alumni.”

Homecoming week kicked off with VSU’s first ever “Homecoming Ball,” planned and hosted by the Lambda Phi chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, Inc., on Oct. 19. Students were encouraged to come dressed in their best, including tuxedos and gowns. The ball began at 9 p.m. and ended at 1 a.m.

Several other campus organizations have activi-ties planned for each day of Homecoming week. On Monday, SGA put on the first annual carnival, which included games, food, rock climbing, music, an inflatable slide and more.

On Tuesday, Housing headed up a trike race, in which different organizations competed to see who could go the fastest on tricycles.

Voting for Homecoming Court also took place on Tuesday. Students were able to choose five male candidates for king and five female can-didates for queen on VSU’s Campus Connect. Students can vote for one candidate from the male and female choices on Thursday.

This is the first time in 10 to 15 years that VSU will have a Homecoming King.

“Myself and Isaiah Smart wrote a proposal to President McKinney and the Homecom-ing Committee to get Home-coming king approved for this school year,” Barker said.

“It’s a great honor to be honored as Homecoming queen, but we felt like males should have that same op-portunity,” Barker said. “It seems like that has turned out great as far as this year’s elec-tions, and if I can make a bold prediction, I don’t see it going away; I really do see this be-ing a permanent change as far as Homecoming in years to come.”

See VSU, page 4

Stella Henderson/THE SPECTATOR

TOP LEFT: The pedestrian mall is barren from the annual Clothesline Project on Oct. 21, 2014. BOTTOM RIGHT: A sign of what happened to the t-shirt display now hangs in the annual project’s place.

www.vsuspectator.com

PAGE 2 | VSUSPECTATOR.COM

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OCTOBER 23, 2014

The Spectator prints free classifi eds for current stu dents of Val dos ta State Uni ver si ty only. These must be no more than 40 words, or a $9.30 charge will apply. Clas si fi eds for fac ul ty, staff, stu dent or ga ni za tions, stu dent-owned busi ness es and the gen er al pub lic cost $9.30 for up to 40 words.

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� e sudoku grid consists of eighty-one squares in a nine by nine grid. To solve the sudoku, each square in the grid must contain a number between one and nine, with the following conditions: · Each row of nine cells must contain each of the numbers from 1 to 9 once and only once. · Each column of nine cells must contain each of the numbers from 1 to 9 once and only once. · Each of the nine 3 by 3 boxes of nine cells must contain each of the num-bers from 1 to 9 ANSWER ON PAGE 5

Sexual Assault Awareness/Prevention Workshop

Oct. 235:30-7:30 p.m.Student Union � eater

Members of the Title IX Committee will host a meet-ing to discuss topics such as what Title IX is, why it is needed, the prevalence of sexual violence on campus, how to report sexual assaults, and what awareness/preven-tion resources are available.

Fiction Reading

Oct. 237 p.m.University Center � eater

David Stevenson, director of the Creative Writing and Literary Arts M.F.A. program at the University of Alaska Anchorage, will be read-ing pieces of his � ction to

interested students. He o� en writes about nature and the mountaineering experience.

Turkish Concert

Oct. 237-8:30 p.m.Jennett HallRoom 1111

Latif Bolat, Turkish singer, composer and scholar will perform a concert hosted by VSU’s Philosophy and Reli-gious Studies Club. � e event is free and open to the public and will feature ancient Turkish mystic-devotional music.

Pink Out for Breast Cancer Awareness

Oct. 237:30 p.m.Whitehead Auditorium(Fine Arts Building)

VSU’s College of the Arts will host the Pink Showcase: A Celebration of Breast Cancer Survivors. � e event is free and open to the public and will feature performances by students and faculty of the music and communication arts departments. Attendees are encouraged to wear pink.

� e event will also include two guest speakers: Dr. Van-essa A. Jones, VSU nursing instructor, and Brian Sayre, a chaplain at South Georgia Medical Center. Call 229-333-5832 for more informa-tion.

Halloween Pet Carnival and Contest

Oct. 262 p.m.VSU Front Lawn

� e Pre-Vet Club is sponsor-ing a fall carnival for pets

and pet owners to enjoy an a� ernoon of games, snacks, and a pet contest while rais-ing money for the Lowndes County Humane Society. It costs $3 to enter the pet contest and $1 to eat as much food as you want.

Upcoming Events

Police Briefs

Oct. 21

A student reported that someone tried to use his name on a � nancial aid loan application.

Oct. 19

A student reported that a purple bag, cell phone and other items were stolen.

Oct. 16

A student reported that his bicycle was stolen.

A trailer was reportedly sto-len from Plant Operations.

It’s election time again, and organizations on campus are aiming to encourage college students to vote in the 2014 midterm elections.

Rock the Vote, a large nonprofi t and nonpartisan organization, launched a national campaign strictly for that purpose.

The “Care Like Crazy” campaign uses numerous ads to inspire young people to hit the polls and vote. These ad-vertisements appear on media networks such as Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, Comedy Central and Pandora.

The Young Democrats and College Republicans of VSU are working locally to obtain votes for the upcoming elec-tion.

“Students need to ap-proach this election with

their futures in mind,” Teresa Lawrence, president of the Young Democrats, said. “Do a little research on topics that are important to you and see which candidates have the same views as you do.

“The most important thing to do is to make sure that you know who and what you are voting for at the polls.”

The Young Democrats held a rally on Oct. 9 in support of Jason Carter, gubernato-rial candidate and grandson of former President Jimmy Carter. The event featured

former First Lady Rosalynn Carter as the guest speaker.

“It was an honor to have Ms. Rosalynn Carter come and speak to us,” Lawrence said. “She talked about her love of campaigning and how we all need to exercise our right to vote.

“Many people fought long and hard for this right to be available to all. Please make sure you get to the polls and make your voice heard,” Law-rence said.

The College Republicans have also been trying to

encourage people to exercise their right to vote.

According to the chairman of the College Republicans, Chris Allen, the group has been active every weekend.

“Every weekend in Oc-tober, we’ve been going to locations around the state with the other chapters of the Georgia Association of College Republicans to phone bank and go door-to-door for various local candidates along with Governor Deal and the Republican nominee for US Senate, David Perdue,” Allen said.

The College Republicans just returned from Augusta, Georgia, where they were assisting the Republican Con-gress nominee for the 12th district, Rick Allen.

The College Republicans will host Georgia’s attorney general, Sam Olens, Oct. 31 at 11 a.m in the Student Union Theater.

LaMarcus WilkersonSTAFF WRITER

lkwilkerson@valdosta.edu

MGN Online

Election activities heat up at VSU

ClotheslineContinued from Page 1

VSU received complaints about Dr. George, citing violations of the BOR policy that forbids employees to use state resources for political purposes. Eventually, VSU shut down Dr. George’s email account. Dr. George argued that their decision was politi-cally motivated.

Dr. Meyers then wrote a let-ter to Dr. McKinney on Aug. 25 after her meeting with Dr. Rogers, explaining her disap-pointment in VSU’s decision regarding Dr. George’s politi-cal efforts.

“Dr. Rogers stated I could sign these types of petitions (taking action on behalf of

issues concerning women, etc.), but I should do so using a personal email account and as a private citizen, not the di-rector of WGST,” Dr. Meyers wrote to Dr. McKinney. “If we follow this logic, then that means the WGST program will not be allowed to display the Clothesline Project.

“Social justice is part of the WGST program’s identity, it is part of our mission, and it is now a part of the University’s mission,” she wrote.

Dr. Meyers said that letter prompted a meeting with Dr. McKinney in August.

In the meeting, Dr. McK-inney said he would ask the BOR attorney for the policy that does not allow the Clothesline Project to take place. Dr. Meyers said she

never received that policy.On Tuesday, Dr. Luse

emailed a BOR policy that refers to political processes to Dr. Meyers.

According to Dr. Meyers, the policy that Dr. Luse pro-duced only discusses political campaigning.

“It doesn’t address the policy that the provost and president spoke to me and Dr. George about this summer,” she said.

Dr. Meyers believes the policy that supports the deci-sion is different than what Dr. Luse produced to her. The policy Dr. Luse presented refers to political campaign-ing rather than the use of employees’ email for political activity.

“Everything that the WGST

program does is political,” Dr. Meyers explained. “I am very disappointed that the WGST program and my fellow activist scholars are not allowed to carry out our departmental, university, and professional organizations’ mission of social justice work because of what comes down to a BOR policy that has yet to be produced. I fi nd myself at a loss for words to describe how unfortunate I believe this situation to be.”

Dr. Luse said no one in the administration has been involved in the decision to ban the Clothesline Project at VSU.

“For the record, the ad-ministration has always been and continues to be staunch supporters of the Clothesline

Project,” she said. “The focus should remain on the posi-tive impact it has for raising awareness for these important issues. It would be irrespon-sible not to keep that focus or to erroneously report that the president, provost, or anyone in administration would not support this good work.”

The WGST program tied the clotheslines up and hung signs explaining why the

clotheslines had no T-shirts as usual.

Dr. McKinney and Dr. Rogers were not available for comment on Wednesday. All inquiries were directed to Dr. Luse.

The BOR policy that Dr. Luse refers to can be seen at http://www.usg.edu/hr/manual/confl ict_of_interest or at www.vsuspectator.com.

VSU organizations are gearing up for the Nov. 4 elections.

Both Democrats and Republicans are rallying to increase voter turnout

OCTOBER 23, 2014 VSUSPECTATOR.COM | PAGE 3

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Kristin WhitmanAsst. sports Editor

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Athletes need pay, not punishment

VSU must be proactive on safetyThe concept of safety

has been a hot topic at VSU lately. The

idea that we as students, feel safe on campus is almost nonexistent given the recent happenings.

A string of robberies around Drexel Park and the University Center is only the tip of the iceberg. The tragic death of VSU student Lizzie Lohmar is what changed the majority of students’ minds on the feeling of safety at VSU.

After these tragic events, the student body was told numerous things that are supposed to be instilled to improve safety. Some of the planned safety improvements include the move of the ill-fated ATM at the University Center and safer cross-walks.

These events have yet to take place.

We are aware that the university hired two secu-rity guards. This is great in theory, but what is the point of having security guards if the guards are armed with only a mere flashlight and radio?

How are a flashlight and radio supposed to stop a rob-ber in Drexel Park? How are a flashlight and a radio sup-posed to stop someone from being robbed at the ATM

at night, or even in broad daylight?

The university does have other safety precautions in place. The gargantuan, yel-low emergency call boxes that are around almost every corner on campus are great, but the call boxes are not enough.

The university does have more safety precautions set to be utilized. Among these potential additions to campus safety include partnering with the city of Valdosta about the areas surrounding Drexel Park and the push for “SAM”, the Safety Aware-ness Mascot. According to the minutes of the VSU Safety Committee Meeting that was held at the end of September, there is a push to gain a presence on Twitter for SAM.

While this is great to get the word out to the popula-tion at VSU, the feeling of safety is not measured in Twitter followers.

We at The Spectator urge for the university to have better safety precautions in place. Administration should not tell the entire populous of students that better safety tactics are going to be put in place and not stay true to their word.

Allow patients death with dignity

We like to take life by the horns. We have slogans and witty T-shirts that praise the idea of human agency, but that notion seems to change when it comes to death.

In a recent opinion article on cnn.com, Brittany May-nard told her personal story about her painful journey with cancer and her desperate plea to end her own life on her

own terms.Maynard suffers from brain

cancer and was given six months to live. Like many other people in her situation

she sought out the idea of as-sisted suicide. She went as far as to move to Oregon, one of the five states that allow death with dignity, just so she could have the option.

“I’ve had the medication for weeks,” Maynard said. “I am not suicidal. If I were, I would have consumed that medication long ago. I do not want to die. But I am dying. And I want to die on my own terms.”

Many physicians disagree with the practice and claim it

is unethical. Why is it ethical to allow a human being to en-dure a period of pain with no means of relief besides death?

Regardless of an indi-vidual’s idea about what is right or wrong as far as the situation goes, the person in pain should always have the final say.

Refusing to allow someone to die on their own terms is the immoral act. Death is the final part of life and if it’s prolonged and agonizing, you should be able to take it by the horns.

Alison Stephen

Money, money, money. It’s all about money in the game of life, but what about col-legiate sports?

Are universities doing what is right or being hypocritical by not allowing student ath-letes to make an outside profit from their talents?

Two athletes related to this topic are Todd Gurley, Uni-versity of Georgia’s running back, and Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M’s Heisman-win-ning quarterback.

Both, popular for their impeccable talents on the field, were punished for sign-ing memorabilia for income. Manziel was suspended for the first half of a single game last season and Gurley, miss-ing two games so far, was sus-pended indefinitely, pending the investigation of allegedly breaking NCAA rules.

The amount of money that

the universities and NCAA make off of these athletes is an outrageous number, yet the athletes are forbidden to sign their name to any kind of memorabilia.

The argument could go both ways and continues to do so during the controversy. The athletes’ tuition is paid for through scholarships. They are not paid for their talent and the attention they bring to the schools they play for.

Gurley has been predicted to win the Heisman Trophy award this year. Why would he hurt those chances by sign-ing an autograph for a minor $8 to $25?

Think about it this way: The name is his and his only. Why should the NCAA be able to tell him he can’t sign it for a few dollars?

Not everyone is made of money. What if he was in a situation where he needed a few dollars right then, and the NCAA doesn’t know about that?

These programs pump millions of dollars into the schools, and that money is used for improvements, but are the schools afraid that the profit the players are making will detract from their bank accounts?

It is understood that these players are student athletes, but it is ridiculous how much money the schools are mak-ing, and the players are not

getting rewarded for it. We all know that break-

ing the rules should not be condoned, but this NCAA rule should be looked into and reviewed a little further be-fore anymore of the beloved athletes are suspended from playing again.

It is time to put the student athlete first instead of the money that is being made. It is time to look into where the billions of dollars made by athletic programs are really going.

Universities along with the NCAA are in the money-making business, instead of looking out for the welfare of student-athletes. The athletes should not be owned and profited off of.

When people realize that money is not the main focus behind these games, then headway will start to be made to find a suitable balance for colleges, the NCAA and student athletes.

Todd Gurley, UGA running back, is currently suspended for signing memorabilia for income.

MCT Campus

People Poll: What has been your favorite part of homecoming?

Daniel GriffinSophomore

Vocal performance

“The Wild Adventures night. It’s an absolutely

crazy night.

Taylor MaloneJunior

Political science

“I’m really looking forward to the homecoming parade. It

builds Blazer pride.”

Jasmine BanksSophomore

Psychology and Philosophy

“I really enjoyed the T-shirt exchange because now I have

a really cute shirt to wear.”

Mary Allison HambyFreshman

Music

“My favorite part is hanging out with my

sisters.”

Jamel ShorterSophomoreMarketing

“The chalk drawings. It’s neat to see how artistic people are.”

Tweet us your favorite part of homecoming!

@vsuspectator#Blazerhomecoming

MCT Campus

“I do not want to die. But I am dying. And I want to die on my own terms,” a terminally ill patient said.

MCT Campus

PAGE 4 | VSUSPECTATOR.COM OCTOBER 23, 2014

Cole EdwardsMultiMedia editor

csedwards@valdosta.edu

Diamond Moore Senior,

Psychology major/Sociology minor,

“I’ve traveled to numerous countries such as Spain, Ger

many, Costa Rica, Switzerland, England, Taiwan and Japan.”

Haley Shiver Senior,

Business Management major, “I have a Rottweiler named

Riley.”

Isaiah Smart Senior,

English-Journalism major, “I have studied Spanish, Japa-

nese, and French.”

Justin Woods Senior,

Business Management major, “Delta Chi, leadership in Enac-tus, US Marine Corp veteran.”

Kyle Poe Senior,

Psychology major/African American Studies minor,

“I only get an average of about three to four hours of sleep per

night.”

Micah Howell Senior,

Mass Media major, “I use to weigh 250 pounds during my

high school career and shed 100 before coming to college.”

Quineshia Claiborne Senior,

Mass Media major, “I’m an old soul.”

Rachael Ramirez Senior,

Mass Media major, “I can name all 50 states in

alphabetical order in less than 30 seconds.”

Tevin Williams Senior,

Mass Media major, “I never cheered until I got to

VSU! This is my second year on the team.”

Tristen Jones senior,

Exercise Physiology major, “I’m very corny and I love Laffy

Taffy jokes.”

VSUContinued from page 1

“Terror in the Wild” at Wild Adventures was held on Wednesday night for students to enjoy a night of scares and rollercoaster rides, all pro-vided by VSU’s Student Life. The event was free and open only to VSU students.

The president’s cookout will take place today at 5:30 p.m. at Reams Field.

VSU students, faculty, staff and alumni are invited to a cookout hosted by President McKinney and the First Lady. SGA volunteers will also be helping out at the event. Students had to have already registered online in order to attend the cookout.

The Homecoming black-light pep rally will also be held today at 7 p.m. in the P.E. Complex. There, the Homecoming Court will be announced, along with the

winners from the contest held throughout the week. A lip-sync competition between different organizations will also take place after the pep rally.

Blaze Fest will take place downtown Friday at 6:30 p.m., which is open to the whole community. Buses will be available to take students downtown that evening.

Saturday is the annual Homecoming parade begin-ning at 11 a.m., followed by

tailgating and the Homecom-ing football game at 3 p.m., where the Homecoming King and Queen will be crowned.

“[Homecoming] is re-ally a special experience that every student ‒ every Blazer ‒ deserves to have,” Barker said. “For that to keep going, it simply just relates back to making that pride and tradi-tion just such a grand experi-ence. Reaching the V-State experience is simply what Homecoming means.”

A former social worker has invented a new approach that will allow millions of work-ing adults to walk the walk and talk the talk. Steve Bordley, founder and CEO of the Arizona-based TrekDesk, designed a desk small enough to fit around virtually any treadmill that allows for the user to walk while busy at work, thus not having to take any extra time out of their day. The invention comes at an opportune time with the American Heart Association reporting that an alarming 68 percent of American adults or either overweight or obese. Over 75 percent of Georgia working adults spend at least a third of their day sit-ting behind a desk, which of-ten leads to the development of diabetes, heart disease and even early death. “There are 50 million tread-mills out there in this nation but only a small percentage of all those machines actually get used,” Bordley said. “My idea was to build something affordable and something as simple as attaching a desk to a treadmill so people can start getting healthy again.”

TrekDesk, which currently runs for $499 on Amazon.com, can be easily assembled within 30 minutes and fits tightly over any standard sized treadmill, allowing for a mile of walking to be accom-plished in the time it takes to complete one spreadsheet. The idea for TrekDesk originated in early 2007 when Bordley was involved in a severe accident that placed him in a wheel chair for six

months and

un-able to

walk without the use of a walker or crutches for more than two years. “I had always been very ac-tive and suddenly I no longer could even walk properly,” Bordley said. “Stress began to set in, and the weight piled on seemingly overnight.” Forced to improvise how best to fight off weight gain and apathy, Bordley had the

idea of placing a rubber top across his treadmill to serve as a rudimentary desk while he continued to work from home. Within six weeks, he lost 25 lbs and became deter-mined to begin developing the TrekDesk for others to start getting healthy again. With the recommended set-ting being only two miles per hour, TrekDesk helps users unknowingly walk 25 miles per week, burning 900-1200 calories a day. “We encourage our users

to walk very slow speeds, almost as if they were sim-

ply walking down the hall,” Bordley said. Bordley is quick to point out that his invention is the desk itself, not the treadmill, which is sold separately and simply placed beneath the

desk. In a May 2012 article, Livestrong.

com added the TrekDesk to its comprehensive list of “20 Fitness Gadgets that Actually Work,” calling it “the perfect solution for those who think better on their feet.” According to Livestrong.com, prolonged sitting is just as bad for the body as smok-ing. The treadmill will help workers feel energized rather than fatigued.

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Trekdesk double task work, gymBrittney Penland/ THE SPECTATOR

Students enjoy rides at Wild Adventures for homecoming.

Photos courtesy of VSUKenzie Kesselring/ THE SPECTATOR

VSUSPECTATOR.COM | PAGE 5OCTOBER 23, 2014

Sudoku Answer

Anonymous photo-sharing app comes to VSUstudents

A new anonymous photo-sharing app for college stu-dents, Unseen, was recently released at Valdosta State University, and students are taking notice. “It’s hilarious and enter-taining, but it’s bound to piss someone off,” Camille Pollitt, senior mass media major, said. “(It will make) me ques-tion the next time I Snapchat something.” The app can be downloaded from the Itunes or Google app store. After you down-load the app, it asks for what school you go to. Students put in their school name, and the app shows you all of the anonymous pictures your fel-low students have put up. There is no sign-up, and the app does not ask for any personal information. It is

completely anonymous un-less you choose to give your information. “No, I wouldn’t use Un-seen,” Deborahlea Smith, senior music education major, said. “I’m not into that type of stuff.” The Unseen app has been heavily compared to its com-petitor, Snapchat. Unlike the Snapchat app, there is no time limit on view-ing the images. Users are also able to comment on pictures. The app gives everyone who uses it a different picture avatar, such as a rocket ship, car or star, when commenting and gives you the same avatar

if you comment again. “Unseen provides a new way to find and connect with others facing similar chal-lenges and struggles in a safe, anonymous way,” Michael Schramm, CEO of Unseen, said. “Social media today is inherently inauthentic and a glossy version of who we really are. We are creating a new, social way for students to be themselves and make meaningful connections.” Unseen launched for the first time in May at Texas A & M. Now in mid-October, Unseen has been released at over 150 campuses. Many students at VSU have not yet heard about the app, but the ones who have heard about Unseen are a little skep-tical. “I’ll probably look at this app all the time but be disap-pointed every time,” Nick Thompson, senior music education major, said.

Maya CantaveStaff writer

mcantave@valdosta.eduMarquez Slaughter

Staff writermjslaughter@valdosta.edu

Campus Wellness has followed up on the tobacco ban on VSU’s campus by providing a program for VSU faculty, staff and students who use tobacco products and are willing to quit.

This program is called Freshstart, which is a free smoking cessation program of the American Cancer Society.

The Freshstart program pro-vides two series throughout the Fall 2014 semester. The first series has sessions held on Oct. 6, Oct. 13, Oct. 20, and Oct. 27 from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. on the third floor of the Student Union in Conference Room 2. The second series of sessions is held on Nov. 5, Nov. 12, Nov. 19, and Dec. 3 from 12 to 1 p.m. in Confer-

ence Room 1.The sessions consist of

four one-hour group sessions, which consist of individual attention, strategies and information, review and discussion, and assignments. The objective of the sessions are to understand why one smokes and how it affects that person, as well as his or her surroundings; to go the first few days without cigarettes;

to acquire that one will not go back to cigarettes, and to stay away from cigarettes.

Trained facilitators, Tim Yorkey and Mark Williams, help run the meetings and track the average number of cigarettes each participant smokes prior to each session.

“Unfortunately, we have had very little participation in the program,” said Rebecca Murphy, associate direc-tor of HR for employee and organizational development. “I don’t know how much of it is lack of desire to quit or challenges with promoting the programs existence or timing of classes.”

Campus Wellness encour-ages whether the tobacco user has already attempted to quit before. Anyone who would like to quit smoking to participate.

Campus Wellness brings Freshstart program to VSU communityProgram encourages students to give up smoking

MGN OnlineThe next Freshstart program will be held on Oct. 27.

The Unseen app does not require a login or personal information.

Aries: March 21 — April 19Venus has you wondering if all the fuss is really worth it. Why do you even bother to date people when it never works out? Or why did you try to make a marriage last, when it’s so hard much of the time? Fortunately, this unpleasant episode will soon pass.Taurus: April 20 — May 20You need to take a break from romance and get clear about what you really want out of life and love. The sun will be opposite your sign for several weeks, and this means that you need to take a careful look at what you’re doing and who you are spending time with.Gemini: May 21 — June 21Your artistic side will be on display as the moon boosts your powers of imagination. You’ll compose a saucy limerick and leave it beneath your lover’s pillow. You’ll create a love song for your honey and upload it to YouTube. Go for it.Cancer: June 22-July 22

An overly sensitive sun could turn you into an emotional wreck. Watch a marathon of romantic comedies where the girl gets the guy and get all that crying stuff out of your system. No matter how bad things are now, they will get better.Leo: July 23 — Aug. 22Mars has been inspiring you to extend your social circle, and you’ve

been networking, dating, and chat-ting. Now you need to collect all of those phone numbers and follow up with the few truly cool people you’ve met recently.Virgo: Aug. 23 — Sept. 22Mercury finally goes direct this week, and sanity will return. You’ll no longer think that stalking your ex is a great idea. You’ll start making use of that gym membership you purchased ages ago. Overall, things are looking

up.Libra: Sept. 23 — Oct. 23Things are happening so fast that it’s hard for you to keep up with them. One minute, you’re single. The next, you’re getting engaged—or some-thing like that. Venus is ensuring that your romantic situation is far from boring.Scorpio: Oct. 24 — Nov. 2

You could fall madly in love this week as flirty lady Venus bats her eyelashes at you. Maybe you’ll meet a cutie on the subway during your morning commute. Perhaps you’ll encounter a lovely lass at a business networking event. Have fun.Sagittarius: Nov. 22 — Dec. 21You could find yourself the object of some flattering attention this week as the moon enhances your charisma. Maybe that sexy new neighbor will

ask you out or that cute girl who works out at your gym will compli-ment your killer abs.Capricorn: Dec. 22 — Jan.19You’ve been considering making a major life change, and this week, it will be easier to do so. Maybe you’ve decided to make things exclusive with someone. Or maybe you’re ready to be single again. The moon is

encouraging you to follow your heart.Aquarius: Jan. 20 — Feb. 18Sometimes you’re so darned friendly with people that they mistake your kindness for romantic interest. Try not to break anybody’s heart. Mercury

has you playing guardian angel to someone who is in pain, but don’t act flirty if you don’t really mean it.Pisces: Feb. 19 — March 20The sun is beginning to help you out after several weeks of nervous ten-sion and fear. You’ll feel much better about everything that is happening in your life. Whether you’re single or partnered, you’ll see that everything really does happen for a reason.

OCTOBER 23, 2014 PAGE 6 | VSUSPECTATOR.COM

VSU soccer clinches GSC playoff berth

Blazers soccer heated up Tuesday night against Univer-sity of West Georgia with a 3-0 win.

The Blazers improved to 7-1-1 in the Gulf South Conference and knocked the Wolves to a 2-6-0 record. VSU currently holds the second best record in the conference.

The Blazers scored all three of their goals right off the bat to douse the hopes of the Wolves. All three goals were scored within 25 minutes of the first half.

VSU jumped on top of UWG in the second minute when freshman forward Meagan Doyle scored off of a direct free shot from 33 feet.

Soon after, only 15 min-utes into the first period, the Blazers fired another goal to shoot down the Wolves again. Meagan Doyle took an assist this time around for Leeanne Bishop, senior midfielder, to score 35 feet from the goal with a ball right over goalie Rebecca Harb’s gloves.

Even though the Blazers took a significant lead in the

first period, they were not willing to slack after the first two goals were scored.

The Blazers came in with another goal when Zahimara Fantauzzi, senior forward, at-tested Kim Caitlin Alderman, junior midfielder in her first goal of the season.

“It has always been a hard fought game when we meet West Georgia all the way to the end of play so we knew that a big lead was needed in the first period,” Olivia Mills, senior goalie, said.

Ending the first period on a good note for VSU did not stop UWG from coming back with intensity in the second period. UWG was unable to score against the defense of VSU, however.

“West Georgia came out in the second period with much more composer than the first,” Mills said. “They focused on playing their strengths and did well to keep their heads up and work hard even though they were down by three.”

With this win in their pock-ets, the Blazers look forward to more conference games to come so they can get what they want out of this season.

“We are keeping our full focus on winning conference games and with the encour-

agement of another win under our belts, we are one step closer to our ultimate goal,” Mills said.

The Blazers will continue their conference play at home on Sunday at 1 p.m. against the University of Alabama-Huntsville.

Kristin WhitmanAsst. SportS Editor

krwhitman@valdosta.edu“We are

keeping our full focus on winning conference games and with the encouragement of another win under our belts, we are one step closer to our ultimate goal”

-Olivia MillsVSU goalkeeper

Volleyball rides undefeated home win streak into weekend for GSC matchup

The Valdosta State vol-leyball team has just four more home games left to complete the season with an undefeated home record.After going 1-3 in the South Region Cross-over— a tournament VSU played in Lakeland, Florida—the Blazers bounced back to defeat No. 22 West Florida 3-1 Tuesday night. With the win against UWF, VSU in now tied for second place in the Gulf South Confer-ence standings with the Argonauts, and are two

games behind first-place Shorter.After playing UWF, SU and Tampa, No. 1 in the nation, VSU’s schedule clears up for the last leg of the season. But tests do still remain. VSU must put its unde-feated home record on the line against Univer-sity of North Alabama next Friday. UNA is No. 4 in the conference beat VSU 3-1 on Sept. 26 in Alabama. VSU also plays West Alabama and University and Alabama Huntsville University who both beat VSU 3-2. The volleyball team also had a rare achievement this past week as two

of its players were cho-sen for GSC players of the week. Senior Jenna Kirkwood won offensive player of the week, while senior Ashley Lala won defensive player of the week.Lala recorded a career high 25 digs against Rol-lins College and Eckerd College. Kirkwood had 68 kills last week, 23 against EC, which tied her career high. She was also re-warded by being voted to the all-tournament team.The volleyball team will be on the road this week to play Union Univer-sity and then Christian Brothers University on Friday and Saturday.

Neil FrawleySportS WritEr

ndfrawley@valdosta.edu

Join the World Series conversation, Todd Gurley appeal, homecoming events and more on our Twitter sports page: @BlazerSports

Interested in writing, designing or taking photos for The Spectator? Contact Alex Tostado: ajtostado@valdosta.edu

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VSU has won three straight overall, all nine home matches this season while climbing in GSC standings

FootballContinued from Page 1

“I think a lot of it has to deal with practice. We’ve been practicing a lot better the past two weeks… we are coming out more focused each day and you can tell it’s carrying over to Saturdays.”

The “Black Swarm” will look to shutdown a Hawks attack that is lead by quarter-back Eric Dodson who enters the contest with more rushing attempts (90) than passes thrown (50) this season.

“We are very fortunate with how the scheduling worked out for us these past two weeks,” Dean said. “The offense we face this week is very similar to what we played last week. It should be a great carry over for us.”

On the other side of the ball the Blazers have looked just as deadly bringing with them one of the nation’s best rush-ing attacks.

Lead by running backs Aus-tin Scott, Cedric O’Neal and quarterback Jake Medlock, VSU is averaging over 235 yards a game on the ground, good enough for 18th best in the nation.

Entering Saturday, Scott is the Blazers’ current leading rusher with 422 yards on 67 carries with three touch-downs.

O’Neal’s five touchdowns are good enough for the team lead and his 367 yards is cur-rently third on the squad.

Rounding out the dangerous trio is the 6-foot 3, 226-pound Medlock who has looked very dangerous as a dual threat option behind center in recent weeks.

“I call myself the power back of the group,” Medlock said. “Picking up 10 to 15 yards is what I’m good at.”

Don’t think it’s just running the ball he’s good at though. In last week’s 62-0 whoop-ing of Mississippi College Medlock completed 95 percent of his passes, going 19-20 to set a new GSC single game record for completion percentage.

He went on to finish with 248 yards and three touch-downs before being replaced in the third quarter with the game already in hand.

Medlock has looked much more comfortable and ef-ficient in running the offense since since Dean benched him the second half of the DSU game.

Dean wasn’t happy with some of the reads Medlock was making in the option that day and decided to send his talented senior signal caller a message.

Since Medlock returned behind center against UNA he has gathered 888 combined

yards and eight total touch-downs, his 160.3 passing efficiency also brings him in at 11th in the country.

“I think he has learned from some of his early mistakes,” Dean said. “He now has a lot more confidence in his protection up front, and has also learned our wide receiv-ers tendencies a little better, he’s put all that together and I think you can see him playing with a lot more confidence in the pocket because of it.”

Series history against Shorter University

2012: VSU 37-6 SU

2013: VSU 41-0 SU

Homecoming recent history

2011: VSU 22-21 UNA

2012: VSU 59-41 DSU

2013: VSU 52-14 FT

VSU past two games

10/11: VSU 40-6 UWG

10/18: VSU 62-0 MC