the spectator- november 19th, 2015
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“The Spectator and publication date and special issue if applicable”TRANSCRIPT
November 19, 2015
Blazers hold candlelight vigil for victims of Paris and Beirut
Tackling the pages of VSU History; Dean
becomes VSU’s
winngest coach
See Page 11
See Page 3
It’s time to blaze the Playoffs
See Page 10
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November 19, 2015The Spectator | www.vsuspectator.comPage 2
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Upcoming EventsThursday, Nov. 12Dr. Lavonna Lovern’s Talk on Existentialism: Are you interested in Existentialist philosophy? “I am therefore I think.” Dr. Lavon-na Lovern will talk and discuss this topic today in Ashley Hall 1212 (Conference Room) from 5 to 6 p.m. This event is free of charge and open to the public. It is sponsored by the Philosophy and Religious Studies Club.
Have Pizza and Learn About The Civil Rights Movement and Israel: Christians United for Israel on Campus will hold a discus-sion about the parallels of The Civil Rights Movement and Israel featuring Dumisani Washington, director of the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel. This event is today at 7:30 p.m. in the Uni-versity Center Magnolia Room. There will be pizza following the event and Dumisani will be avail-able for questions afterward.
Playoff Pep-Rally: The VSU Blazers made it to the Playoffs! Celebrate the Blazers’ victory by attending the pep rally today at 7 p.m. in the P.E. Compex. The men’s basketball game will follow immediately after the pep rally at 8 p.m.
Science Seminar: The Science Seminar Series is delighted to welcome Dr. Dennis Marks, an as-trophysicist and Professor Emeri-tus of Valdosta State University, and former Department Head of Physics, Astronomy and Geosci-ences. Today, Dr. Marks will share his work with a presentation on “A Century of General Relativity and Prospects for Quantum Grav-
ity.” The event is hosted by the Department of Physics, Astron-omy and Geosciences. Refresh-ments will be provided, courtesy of the Society of Physics Students and the Valdosta State Astronomi-cal Society. This event will be held from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. inPowell Hall Auditorium.
Education Career Day: The Of-fi ce of Career Opportunities at VSU will present its Fall Educa-tion Career Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today in the University Center Magnolia Room. Current students and alumni planning to attend should dress profession-ally, arrive early and bring several copies of their resume. From 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., students and alumni will have an opportunity to walk through the event and talk with the more than 50 employers, professional association repre-sentatives, and graduate school admissions counselors. Some of the employers will be scheduling interviews during this time, and those interviews will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 22VSU Theatre and Dance Hosts Annual Cabaret Fundraiser: VSU’s Theatre and Dance Area’s Rho Epsilon Cast of Alpha Psi Omega and Golden Circle Scholarship and Support Fund Board of Directors will present the 17th annual cabaret fundraiser in the University Center Magnolia Room. The doors will open at 6 p.m. for those who wish to social-ize. Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m.; the performance will follow at 7 p.m. Proceeds will benefi t the Golden Circle Scholarship
and Support Fund and will help the VSU Theatre and Dance Area to attract top quality students to the program by offering scholar-ship support. Tickets are $50 per person.
Friday, Dec. 4Public Planetarium Show: The VSU Planetarium will present Season of Light, its annual holi-day show. The program will begin with a look at the wonders which adorn our December sky: star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. Then, after describing the origin of the seasons, attendees will ex-plore the astronomical origins of some of our most cherished holi-day traditions. Shows will begin at 7, 8 and 9 p.m., and seating for each is limited to 47 guests. Free tickets for all the shows may be obtained at the planetarium begin-ning at 6 p.m. that evening. Come early to get your tickets, then be sure to return to the Planetarium at least 15 minutes prior to show time. If weather permits, the cam-pus observatory will be open from 7 to 10 p.m.
Other Announcements:Do you live on campus? If so, please be advised that Housing and Residence Life will be closing the traditional (Brown, Langdale, Lowndes, Patterson, and Reade) and suite style residence halls (Georgia and Hopper) for select days in November for Thanks-giving break. The apartments (Centennial and Converse) will stay open. The dates for closure include Nov. 24 at 4 p.m. to Nov. 29 at 4 p.m.
November 19, 2015The Spectator | www.vsuspectator.comPage 3
DID
YO
UKNOW?
VSUPD is still investigating an armed robbery that occurred on Tuesday, Nov. 16, in Sustella Market, located on the fi rst fl oor of Centennial Hall East.
As stated by the campus alert email that was sent out, the rob-bery was reported at 10:45 p.m. with the offender being described as a white male, approximately 5-foot-8, wearing a black “hood-ie” sweatshirt and in possession of a handgun.
The robbery was deemed isolated after the individual was seen running away from campus by witnesses. There was no alert sent out to VSU students and employees immediately follow-ing the incident.
“There was no need for an im-mediate alert because, under The Clery Act, there was no immedi-ate threat to the community,” Police Chief Ronald Seacrist said. “The decision was made to not send out an alert that may have caused a false panic.”
The email was sent to Valdosta State email addresses at 9:43 a.m. the following morning of the event.
The call to report was said to have been made 45 minutes after the initial robbery because of alert system issues.
“Apparently, there are prob-lems with the alert system in the store and it did not activate at fi rst. However, this was seen as a onetime event and the robber had already left, and been seen running away from campus.
“We will be reviewing videos from the cameras around campus and conducting a normal investi-gation to fi gure this out,” Seacrist said.
Although this incident did not call for an immediate alert from university police, the VSU police force has hopes to make all text and call alerts mandatory for campus.
“We are pushing to make the text alerts mandatory for all stu-dents, faculty, and staff,” Seacrist said. “As of now they have to be initiated by signing up.”
The other armed robbery reported by VSU email alerts system this semester was near campus at Ann and Williams St. These reports are among a few of the crimes reported through email alert for fall 2015.
Kristin WhitmanSPORTS EDITOR
Armed robbery at Sustella Market under investigation
A HEALTHY TIP from VSU Student Health Center – “It is best to wash
your hands with soap and clean running water for 20 seconds.”
Info taken from cdc.gov
Photos taken by Stella Henderson/THE SPECTATOR
Jyrell WynnSTAFF WRITER
Blazers unite to grieve for victims of Paris and Beirut
Students (pictured above) unite for the victims of both the Paris attacks and Beirut Wednesday night on the front lawn. At least 40 students and faculty gathered for a moment of silence. Dr. Ofelia Nikolova (pictured bottom left), a French professor invited students to come and speak a few sentiments for those affected by the tragic attacks.
VSU students gathered on the front lawn of West Hall Wednes-day night to express their sympa-thies for yet another tragedy.
The event was in response to the deadly terrorist attacks in Par-is on Friday, Nov. 13. More than 120 people were killed in a series of coordinated assaults around the French capital. Attendees also acknowledged a recent attack in Beirut.
Forty students, faculty and community members, including a family with ties to France, gath-ered together around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday evening.
The event began with a mo-ment of silence. Students lit their candles in order to help refl ect on the magnitude of the event. Following that, attendees came forward to discuss their feelings
about the occurrences in Paris.Dr. Ofelia Nikolova, a profes-
sor of French and one of the organizers of the event, was on hand to encourage attendees to come forward and share their thoughts.
According to Susan Jones, administrative secretary for the Department of Modern and Clas-sical Languages at VSU, several faculty members proposed the event on Monday with the goal of showing support and coming together as a community.
Morgan Blough, president of the French Club, felt the incident personally as a French student because of her background in the language and culture.
“We cried, but we’re not afraid,” Blough said. “I think that’s the message that people need to take away from this. This is a sad event. This is tragic, but we have to come away from this stronger.”
November 19, 2015The Spectator | www.vsuspectator.comPage 4
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Department heads oversee overrides
VSU denounces bathroom defamation
There has been a subtle change in the override request process, which may make getting an override into classes easier for students this upcoming semes-ter. Previously, students could e-mail or fi ll out a form to personally give to their professor. It would then be under the professor’s discretion whether or not the student would be added to the class. With new updates to the VSU website, students may now go online to fi ll out the form request. First, they have to go to the department that their major courses are listed under. Each override request must be fi lled out through the appropriate college, and then it will go to that department head for confi r-mation. “Overrides are now sent to the Department head; they have the authority,” Brian Gerber, vice presi-dent of academic affairs, said. In certain classes, there are very limited seats and therefore, these courses have more overrides than
others. When this occurs, there is still a solution. “They’ll speak to the deans, and if they see that there’s a high demand for a course, they will look into opening another section to accommodate the students,” Gerber said. In addition to the new update, students can also access the link to online classes available through their specifi c department, should they need to fi nd other class options. The online courses offered through eCore can be used for credit hours just as you would a normal class. When the 2016-2017 semester rolls around and the faculty layoffs come into effect, this leaves some wondering how many overrides each course will have then. With less professors, less courses and classes will be offered, meaning there will be even less seats in each class, thus more overrides. How-ever, Gerber says that should not present a problem. “With a decline in student enrollment, we don’t anticipate any changes or disruption,” Gerber said. Early registration for Spring 2016 lasts until Jan. 2. Students are encouraged to request overrides into courses before that date.
Every two years, Valdosta State University’s Offi ce of Alcohol and Drug Education conducts the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey to get the pulse of the substance abuse climate on campus. The results are used to identify trends and provide information on how to best channel awareness/prevention efforts. In addition to VSU-specifi c data, the survey cites national usage numbers
to which are typically compare rather closely. The survey asks students about substance use over their lifetime, past twelve months and previous thirty days. Beyond personal use data, the survey asks students about their perception of other student’s use, consequences of use and how their peers view involve-ment with substances. The refer-enced substances include alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, amphet-amines, sedatives, hallucinogens, opiates, inhalants, designer drugs and steroids.
The survey has been adminis-tered in the classrooms of willing faculty; however, participation on the part of students was voluntary and anonymous. Copies of previous Core Alco-hol and Drug Surveys conducted at VSU are available for review at the Offi ce of Alcohol and Other Drug Education located in Powell Hall East. The results of the sur-vey completed this semester are projected to be returned in Janu-ary from Southern Illinois Univer-sity - Carbondale where they are scanned and tabulated.
Graffi ti featuring a swastika and racially offensive language led to a swift response from VSU administration on Tuesday morning. The VSU community received an email on Tuesday afternoon concern-ing what the Offi ce of the President called “an act of intolerance” that occurred on campus. In the email Interim President Dr. Cecil Staton wrote, “The Univer-sity does not condone the behavior exhibited this morning but rather encourages inclusion of all our campus community members and civil discourse.” Initially this email caused confusion among many students. The Valdosta Daily Times was able to pin point the cause of the email. Ac-cording to the Valdosta Daily Time Staton’s email was in response to a swastika drawn on a bathroom in Nevins Hall with “#mizzoustudentsar-ecrybabies” and “#whitelivesmatter” written underneath. Staton also told the Valdosta Daily Times article there are two sepa-rate investigations underway in attempts to uncover more details about the vandalism. Currently the university is not releasing any information about the investigations. Dr. Staton did not respond of an email from The Spectator requesting more information. In attempts to end incidents such as this and prevent future ones, Dr. Staton’s administration has set up a new Diversity Task Force. The task force will coordinate with existing groups on VSU’s campus that promote diversity and unity. The email sent Tuesday quotes the Blazer Creed several times throughout the email to assure student, faculty, and staff that VSU does not support the hate vandalism that was committed. “A Blazer shows courtesy and compassion as well as respect for the dignity of every hu-man being,” said the email quoting The Blazer Creed. Dr. Staton used the email to encourage anyone who witnessed the vandalism to come forward. He also encouraged anyone believing they have witnessed a hate crime on campus to contact the VSU Offi ce of Social Equity to fi le a complaint.
Erin MartinSTAFF WRITER
Kenzie KesselringOPINIONS EDITOR
Carlius WilliamsSTAFF WRITER
Photo courtesy of Mia Rawls
Drugs & Data:Biannual education survey monitors student drug use,
perceptions on VSU campus
This photo was taken in a Nevins Hall bathroom. The hashtag is in response to the protests at the University of Missouri.
November 19, 2015 The Spectator | www.vsuspectator.com Page 5
According to WTF fun fact #4863, according to psychologists, coloring is the best alternative to meditation. It unlocks your creative potential,
helps relieve tension and anxiety and unlocks memories of childhood and simpler times.D
ID Y
OU KNOW?
There is more pressure now than ever to live healthy lifestyle in America. The obesity rates in America are at an all-time high and Georgia in particular is number 20 on that list. Everyone from Beyonce to Michelle Obama has advocated for healthy living and exercise. But as a college student, it’s very hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle and eat the right foods if those things aren’t available to you on campus. There are many people at VSU with different dietary needs, but does VSU do enough to cater to these different groups of people?
One type of diet is the pescatar-ian diet which refers to people who refrain from eating any meat besides fish. Olivia White, a dance major and pescatarian, acknowl-edges that it can be difficult to eat the right things when you live on campus.
“Sometimes it’s really frustrat-ing trying to eat a balanced meal here. I’ve had to become more cautious about eating in the dining halls, because sometimes the em-ployees don’t know if things have meat in them or not or they’ll mix up my order,” said White. “It’s even harder on the weekends, because a lot of the options that offer me a variety aren’t open.”
White says that when she can’t find anything on campus, some-times she has to buy food off campus or sacrifice a healthy meal altogether in order to satisfy her hunger.
Another type of diet is a vegetarian diet which consists of mostly vegetables and may or may not contain animal products like milk or eggs.
“Most places have vegetarian options. If you’re willing to try new things you’ll be fine. The only place on campus that’s not really veggie-friendly is Chick-fil-a and the other restaurants all have meatless options. Even the dining halls have options,” said VSU student Adrienne Seldon.
Seldon said that Barberitos, Mellow Mushroom, Subway, and El Cazador are also good off- campus options for vegetarian’s that aren’t extremely expensive.
There are also vegans who don’t consume or use any type of animal product. Vegan student Shelby Grieshober doesn’t live on campus, and the only time that she comes into contact with on-cam-pus eating establishments is when she is near the nursing building which has Einstein’s, and they do not offer any vegan options.
“I usually pack snacks or bring my lunch. I love going to Farmer Brown’s for fresh fruit and veg-etables, and it’s very affordable. I also shop at Publix,” said Grie-shober.
So does Valdosta provide enough of a variety of diet op-tions? Maybe for vegetarians, but others are a little left out. VSU certainly can’t please everyone, but the campus should be mind-ful of the state that our country is in as far as obesity and healthy living goes. It is important to have a balanced diet regardless of your dietary preferences, and VSU should be more mindful of that also.
While the food options offered on campus are left in the hands of VSU dining, students should re-member that exercise plays a big part in a person’s health as well. So it is important to try to main-tain a regular exercise routine in order to stay fit on campus.
Tresia BowlesStaff Writer
Tattoos are forever, unless of course you decide to go through the expensive and painful process of laser removal. Momentaryink.com allows people to take their tattoo for a test run before making the big commitment. Just because an image looks good on paper, does not mean it will look as good on skin. Our bodies are not a flat canvas and until now, people had to just hope that the tattoo would turn out well.
In order to get one of these temporary tattoos just go to Momentaryink.com and begin the order process. You will need to upload an image of the tattoo you desire, however the image cannot be on someone, it must be flat and in full view. After you upload the image, you need to enter the
desired scale of the tattoo. The scale of the tattoo is based on the longest part of the image. Enter how many inches it is and the price will vary accordingly.
After this you will be asked what part of your body that the tattoo will be placed, this is so they can ensure that the image will fit and will not look distorted. In addition, they ask if you would like more than one because if you make a mistake during the appli-cation process, you probably will not want to wait for another to come in the mail. At the bottom of the page you will find a text box where you can make any addition requests regarding size, color or anything else.
Once you have completed these steps you simply enter your pay-ment and delivery information. A five-inch tattoo is only $25 and shipping is free for United States
residents. Smaller tattoos will be cheaper and bigger ones more expensive. Price can also vary ac-cording to how intricate or simple the image is.
These temporary tattoos are different than the ones you get for a quarter in those grocery store vending machines because they are customizable. In addition, these tattoos are 100% resistant to sweat and water and will last for three to 10 days. If you have sensitive skin and are worried that that this tattoo will harm it, you may find comfort in the fact that the website assures the tattoos are safe for any skin type and will not cause irritation. Reviews can be found on the website of people who have loved the fact that these temporary tattoos really look like the real deal. In fact, if you are not satisfied, you will get your money back.
Try out temporary tattoobefore making commitment
Campus Diet: Does VSU do enough to cater to different groups of people?
Julia RodriguezStaff Writer
Boredom isn’t an excuse in the summer anymore thanks to Kanakuk
Kamps and Kids across America, a Christian Sports camp, which engages minors in fun activities and ministry.
Kanakuk Kamps hosted an event at Bailey Science Center on Nov 12. Brianna Blackshear,
a senior Art major, introduced the seminar about the camp, whose mission is to transform the next generation to reach the world for Christ.
Cassandra McBride, a senior public relations major, got valu-able experience from camp while helping her grow spiritually and build connections.
Jalessa Evans, a senior commu-nications major, served as a cook as well as spreading the gospel to thousands of children.
“When I see the camp, I see generations being restored and quipped to equipping more gener-ations to camp. It’s a life changing experience,” said Evans.
Counseling kids in activities, overseeing meal preparation, and recording videos of active camp-ers are some of the opportunities to get involved.
If you’re interested in hav-ing fun and praising God, apply online at applyatkamp.com by Feb. 1.
Honor your hero. Be a hero. Donate blood. During homecoming, Kappa Alpha Psi hosted a blood drive and several organizations participated in honor of Veterans Day to honor the fallen. The goal was to raise 60 pints of blood; that is enough to save 180 lives.Those who donated were given vouchers for free food while supplies lasted. Twenty lucky people even won tickets to the 25th Annual Alpha Phi Aplha Stepshow. Donating blood is important and should be considered by young adults. One donation could save three lives.
Carlius Williams/THE SPECTATOR
Volunteer at Christian camp Kanakuk KampsJyrell Wynn
Staff [email protected]
Go Blazers!Valdosta State University is a proud sponsor of the VSU Spectator and our student athletes.
Bring this with you to show your spirit at the basketball and football games this week!
November 19, 2015The Spectator | www.vsuspectator.comPage 8
The Spectator StaffEditors-in-Chief: Jordan Barela, John Preer Managing Editor: Tatyana PhelpsOpinions Editor: Kenzie KesselringCollege Life Editor: LaShawn Oglesby Sports Editor:Kristin WhitmanPhoto Editor: Stella HendersonMultimedia Editor: Jefferson LeblancWeb Editor: Kayla Stroud Social Media Editor: Tyra Mills Copy Editor: Zenobia Harris
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Our point of view...
This editorial was written by a member of the editorial staff and expresses the general opinion of The Spectator.
Tragedy is a word that is becoming a part of daily dic-tion.
If you have seen the news the last couple of days, you will notice that the world seems to be overtaken by grief and tragedy.
On Friday, Nov. 13, the world’s clock seemed to stop ticking. Devastating terrorist attacks ravaged areas of Paris. News stations, newspapers, cell phone notifications and the like were painted with the tragic aftermath which killed over 100 people. Over 100 innocent lives were lost.
Social media was flooded with grief, sympathies, con-dolences and profile pictures with the Paris flag overlaid.
Given the nature of social media, negativity almost always follows suit.
A double standard seems to be plaguing social media as more details about the attacks in Paris emerge. This double standard is evident in the recent trend of “Pray for the World.”
This trend brought back or shed more light on the hor-rific attack in Kenya, suicide bombings in both Baghdad and Beirut and earthquakes in both Japan and Mexico.
In fact, according to BBC, social media discussion about the tragedy in Kenya distorted public perception. Because of the resharing of the Kenya coverage, some social media users believed that the Kenya attack happened at the same
time of the Paris attack. In fact, the attack in Kenya oc-curred in April.
Some social media users even believed that the Kenya attack was not covered until the Paris attacks happened.
The attack in Kenya was heavily covered by CNN, BBC, the New York Times and other national media orga-nizations.
This editorial is not meant to say that prayer for one tragic event is not needed for the other. In fact, the more positivity, prayer and support we can do, the better.
Instead of getting caught up in digital bickering about which tragedy deserves our sympathy, we need to focus on understanding why these tragedies keep happening.
Go beyond your Facebook timeline for your news. Go beyond your Twitter feed for your news.
Social media is a good start to find the news, but it shouldn’t end there. To be more informed, you have to go to other sources and the best places to look are the news sources where the trag-edies occur.
Only those who are in-formed can make a change.
We at The Spectator stand with all that are affected by tragedy.
When tragedy uproots and ravages, new seeds of hope and rebirth are planted and the roots that grow are that much stronger.
Politicans trying to play both sides of ‘SNL’ double-edged comedy sword
From Reagan and Clinton, to Bush and Obama, “Saturday Night Live” has never been shy about impersonating our nation’s political leaders. These sketches have been going on for decades, and they certainly won’t be slow-ing down any time soon due to the fact that the audience responds so well to them.
These sketches have proven to have been the most memorable for “SNL” viewers, for example, Will Ferrell’s impersonation of George Bush and Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. The draw is so attractive that politicians such as Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Sarah Palin and Donald Trump have all agreed to make appearances on the show. However, the skits raise a few questions. Are these sketches cre-ating more damage or helping the portrayal of political candidates? Are the skits being taken seri-ously? Is “SNL” trying to show that they are real people? Is it all just fun and games? Or are people really seeing the candidates as the way they are portrayed on this show?
Some of the impressions are spot on, especially Fey’s portrayal of Palin. On the episode where she recreated Palin’s interview with Katie Couric, the aspect that made this spoof so hilarious was how close she got to repli-cating Palin’s demeanor, antics, and speech. Granted these skits are exaggerated, they are based on people’s real perceptions of different politicians. The skit may have added more fuel to the fire, and in return, may have contrib-uted to Palin not becoming Vice President.
Other skits have been a little more far-fetched such as Kate McKinnon skit as Hillary Clinton. Hillary certainly does not have the personality of a robot such as how she is portrayed. They had Kate to pretend as if Hillary’s entire life is conducted around how presidential she must be all of the time. The only thing she can wear is suits, even when she’s working out. And Bill Clinton would not interrupt her video message by playing the saxophone as he did
on Arsenio Hall many years ago. This sketch can be seen as more of a joke than the one on Palin. Hillary is still in the 2016 running for candidacy and has a good chance.
“SNL” recently did a sketch on the 2015 Democratic debate and Larry David’s portrayal of Bernie Sanders was extremely funny. The way Sanders communicates in debates often forces people not to take him seriously, so David made fun of the fact that he often sounds a bit like a bitter grandpa and used that for the basis of the script. If people weren’t taking Sanders seriously already, they certainly may lose their motiva-tion from watching this skit. Even through this, Sanders numbers are still on the rise.
In a skit that included Bill Clinton, played by Phil Hartman, going to McDonald’s can be con-nected to the show displaying the idea that the political candidates are real people who do normal things. This, in a way, made Bill Clinton seem more human and relatable even throughout all of the jokes. Bill Clinton was elected president and is still appreciated despite the big scandal with his relationship.
The audience reaction really doesn’t seem to be consistent enough to say that “SNL” can shape the way we think about candidates, or maybe not shape enough of us to alter who votes. There have been positive and negative effects regardless of how they are shown on “SNL.” US News calls what “SNL” does “blurring the lines between scripted and unscripted,” meaning
that they know how to take real quotes and create satire for their spoofs, causing people to connect these actors and actresses to the real life candidates.
Donald Trump was the most recent political figure to grace the hosting postion of SNL. On Nov. 7 he took on the role.
He gave a teaser on former member of the “SNL” cast Jimmy Fallon’s talk show and though he took the jokes and stabs fairly well, he still wasn’t funny.
The lack of comedy coming from Trump didn’t end on Fal-lon’s show.
“The crowd seemed to check out early, creating an enegry- sucking vicious cycle,”said The New York Times about Trump’s preformance.
This appearance on “SNL” didn’t help or hurt Trump’s run for the Republican candicy, but it was all around boring.
All in all, “SNL” is still a com-edy sketch show. Anything said and done on the show is supposed to be for laughs and not taken se-riously. Although they do pull real life situations for these characters and they often perform sketches with actual messages, “SNL” can-not be blamed for helping or hurt-ing any political candidate’s caree because that’s the politician’s job, not theirs’. Also, if the audiences too closely relate these characters to the politicians that they are based on, then they may need to reevaluate themselves.
“SNL” has no plans to stop these sketches any time soon so brace yourselves politicians and everyone else just enjoy the ride.
Tresia BowlesStaff Writer
NBC.com
Republican presidental candidate Donald Trumps hosted on “Saturday Night Live” on Nov. 7.
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November 19, 2015The Spectator | www.vsuspectator.comPage 9
SociologyAnthropologyGeography /
GeologyHistory
PhilosophyLiLiterature
Political Science
Science v. ReligionThe presidential debates are
evolving, but the candidates are not.
The motivation behind the questions asked at presidential debates is to find out more about the candidates and their views. Voters want to be confident that they know whom they are mak-ing their president. The trending questions in the last few debates have been about evolution.
The theory of evolution has been long examined and is for the most part, widely accepted as the explanation for modern humans in the world of science. In fact, many schools teach evolution, though they are not allowed to say it is the correct theory as it would be a conflict of religion.
This conflict between science, religion and what is right may never be settled, as there is an entire culture and way of life behind each view. This may be why the question in brought up in debates. Depending on a candidates’ answer as to whether or not they believe in evolution tends to indicate how religious they are. Many individuals have a clear idea of what they believe and also tend to have certain
ideas about the people with the opposing view.
Unfortunately, people with opposing views on the same topic do not tend to get along. This would be why a voter would want to know if a can-didate agrees with evolution or religion. Someone who believes in evolution likely believes in other scientific theories and ways of life while someone who believes in creationism, or other explanation for life, is likely to be religious.
It is unfortunate that people assume so much of one another based off of one aspect of their life, however we cannot all get to know the presidential candi-dates on a personal level. This is why gateway questions are used to help give an indication of who they are. However, many candidates are aware of how they will be viewed based on their answer and so to avoid losing voters they try to avoid the question.
I do not think that it should matter what a candidate be-lieves, religiously or non-reli-giously, because religion and politics should not be mixed. I find a candidate’s political views and ideas to be more important than how they live their personal lives.
Julia RodriquezStaff Writer
conflict between science, religion
and what is right
may never be settled, as there is an entire culture
and way of life behind each view.
Keystone Pipeline cut in hopes of helping
environment
On Nov. 6, President Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline proposal as environmentalists celebrated this historic event.
Spanning nearly 1,200 miles across six states, the pipeline would carry more than 800,000 barrels of petroleum from Canada to the Gulf Coast.
Obama’s decision on the Keystone Pipeline means we can continue our focus on making sure we have a sustainable plan-et.
“America is now a global leader when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change, and frankly, approving this project would have undercut that leader-ship,” said Obama.
This decision is part of Obama’s agenda on environmen-tal concerns and fighting climate change through attending the United Nations climate meeting in Paris to propose an agreement in which every country reduces carbon dioxide emissions, among
other policies, and speaking up about the importance of address-ing the issue.
Oil companies and Republicans have been competing against environmentalists and liberal activists in an ongoing seven-year debate over the pipeline
During the 2012 presidential campaign, GOP candidate Mitt Romney and other Republican candidates supported of the project.
Paul Ryan didn’t hesitate in criticizing Obama’s decision by calling it “sickening.”
Donald Trump described the situation as sad because the pipe-line meant “thousands of jobs, good for the environment, no downside!”
Obama believed that claims of creating jobs were exaggerated. Gas prices below $3 and job cre-ation are already in place, he said.
“All of this obscured the fact that this pipeline would neither be the silver bullet to the U.S. econ-omy proclaimed by some, or the death knell to climate proclaimed by others,” Obama said.
Jyrell WynnStaff Writer
Guns on campus would hurt not help
To carry or not to carry—that has been a big part of the controversy surrounding guns on college campuses, and both recent and not-so-re-cent campus shootings have contributed to the debate, and justifiably has left people on both sides of the issue quite concerned for students’ safety. I’m sure both would agree that we have to do what is in the best interest of the students and faculty.
But is the solution to allow them to carry guns on campus? Not necessarily.
The website Concealed Campus argues that because police officers don’t have months of training to carry guns, students who carry don’t need months of training either. They just need to know how to protect themselves from an immediate threat. But shouldn’t this fact be part of the reason why students shouldn’t carry weapons? It should be noted that when a trained officer fires their weapon, they are in a high stress situation which makes it harder to hit their target. According to a study done by RAND Corporation, on average, officers hit their targets only 30 percent of the time. Imagine giving a firearm to a student who has had much less experience and far less training shooting a gun to protect themselves in an area where other students may be present. The chanc-es of the student hitting their intended target is very slim, and could cause harm to other students who may be in the area.
Another argument that is made by gun lobbyists is that allowing students to carry firearms could help prevent many instances of sexual assault that happen on college campuses across the country. Michele Fiore, a Nevada legislator, made the derogatory comment that if “young, hot little girls” carried guns with them on campus, they would no longer be targets for sexual assault.
However, according to CNN article, “Say No to Guns on College Campuses” and Think Progress, campus carry increases the likelihood of a rape victim dying by more than 500 percent. In most cases when sexual assault occurs, victims are taken by surprise and the assaulter is likely to be someone that the victim knows and is close to; both of which could make it 10 times harder for a rape victim to gain access to and fire their weapons.
There are a variety of other ways that students can stay safe without having to wield a firearm, and most importantly, there are campus po-lice officers and staff whose main charge is to protect the students. Add-ing more guns to the mix couldn’t possibly make the campus any safer. The best thing for us to do is to allow these officials to do their jobs and make sure that they are properly trained and prepared to protect the student body in a state of emergency.
Zenobia Harris Copy editor
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November 19, 2015The Spectator | www.vsuspectator.comPage 10
The Lady Blazers put on a show for their home crowd in the fi rst game at The Complex this season. On Sunday, the team had a thrilling comeback victory against Eckerd to remain unbeaten at 2-0 on the season. The comeback is signifi cant especially for a young team coming off a 14-15 record last season.
“The biggest thing for us was a massive amount of resiliency for a club especially on a year that we have eight new kids and eight old ones and majority of the kids are earning the opportunity to play and it’s such a competitive environment which is awesome,” Kiley Hill, head coach, said.
The game was competitive throughout the entire contest with the fi rst half ending in a 26-26 tie at halftime. Eckerd slightly took control in the third quarter of the game after taking a 35-31 lead into the fourth quarter.
“We could not make a shot, we had good looks, got a little confused a couple times and had some crucial turnovers during the middle of the third quarter, but in a young season those are all typical things that are going to occur,” Hill said.
The mistakes by the Blazers continued into the fourth as Eckerd pushed their lead to a ten point defi cit with six minutes left in the game and it seemed as if the momentum and the game was going to be won by Eckerd. But the Lady Blazers soon caught momentum and held Eckerd
scoreless in the last six minutes of the game to cap off an impressive comeback victory that ended with the Lady Blazers on top of a 48-45 victory.
“I think we did a great job for making defensive stands and forcing them into tough challenged shots,” Hill said.
Valdosta State’s young players had a great showing with freshmen Madi Mitchell scoring a team high 15 points, she also lead the team in assists and rebounds. Freshmen Aaliyah Cheatham also put up 14 points while senior forward Maggie Davis played 37 minutes and posted 11 points with two clutch free throws that sealed the game.
The Blazers next contest is Saturday, at 5:30 p.m. in The Complex against Trinity Baptist.
Aldean Starr STAFF WRITER
Courtesy of Valdosta Athletics
The Lady Blazers line up for a team photo. The team is 2-0 thus far and plays its next game on Saturday against Trinity Baptist. The fi rst Gulf South Conference game for the Ladies is at home on Dec. 3 against North Alabama.
Lady Blazers win home opener for a 2-0 season
In the big homecoming showdown on Saturday, the Blazer football team defeated Florida Tech 39-21 for the last regular season game.
It was a back and forth effort from the beginning of the game as the Blazers and the Panthers battled it out. Within the fi rst three minutes of the game, Blazer wide receiver Chris Anderson showed why he is one of the top dog seniors on the fi eld, as he was able to cover 48 yards after just two receptions and put the fi rst six points on the board for the blazers after a 29 yard pass from EJ Hilliard. With a good kick from Andrew Gray the Blazers were up on top 7-0 with a little over 12 minutes to go in the fi rst quarter. Three minutes later it was Florida Tech coming back with an answer of their own. After covering 82 yards in six plays, Panther quarterback Mark Cato evened out the scoreboard with a 3-yard carry into the end zone and with the successful kick from Drake Hillman the score was tied 7-7.
Both defenses tightened up as neither team was able to secure a good possession until around the two minute mark. Hilliard was able to drive the ball 43-yards down the fi eld giving Austin Scott the chance to rush the ball in for a 1-yard touchdown putting the Blazers up 13-7. After a failed fi eld goal attempt the Blazers headed into the second quarter with a six point lead.
The Blazers continued to fi ght to keep the Panther offense at bay, but were unsuccessful after Florida Tech’s Antwaun Haynes ran the ball in for a 38-yard touchdown and a good kick from Hillman the Panthers were back on top 14-13 with 10:59 left to go in the fi rst half.
Not phased, the Blazers stuck to their game plan and continued to fi ght back. The Blazer’s resilience paid off right before the half, when Anthony Ingram received the 18-yard pass from Hilliard, the Blazers were back on top heading into the half 20-14.
The second half succeeded in being just as entertaining as the fi rst, as the Panthers came out and put seven points on the board within the fi rst two minutes of the third quarter putting Florida Tech up 21-20. The Blazers continued to fi ght back and push through every obstacle Florida Tech threw their way. It was not until late in the third with a little over two minutes left to go in the quarter that the Blazers caught their stride and never looked back. After a 99-yard drive over a span of 13 plays, Hilliard was able to run the ball in for a touchdown off of a 6-yard run to put the Blazers up 26-21.
The Black Swarm pounded the Panthers to the ground as Florida Tech was unable to put any more points on the board. The Blazers were not fi nished yet though as late into the fourth quarter, the Blazer offense pushed the ball downfi eld for a total of 74-yards, setting the stage for Austin Scott to score off of a 4-yard run to give VSU the 32-21 lead.
VSU decided to pack Florida Tech up and send them on their way as Raymond Palmer picked off Florida Tech’s last minute effort to make a comeback and ran it back 48 yards. Hilliard and the Blazer offense then drove the ball an additional 12 yards allowing Cedric O’Neal to complete the 4-yard run for the touchdown to seal the deal for the Blaz-ers 39-21.
Niamani Carlyle-Holllis STAFF WRITER
VSU clinches playoff spot with homecoming victory
VSU hosts Carson-
Newman in � rst round of playo� s. � e
two teams met in the
� rst round in 2012 when the Blazers took the National
Championship title.
Two weeks ago, Blazers football head coach David Dean achieved a feat no other coach in Valdosta State history has reached: 77 wins. Becoming the winningest coach in school his-tory is the latest accomplishment for the coach that has been present for all three of VSU’s national championships.
“It’s an honor, but to me, hav-ing an opportunity to coach here as long as I have means more. I say this in a truly sincere way: I share this with a lot of people,” said Dean. “I had an opportunity to coach a lot of great guys and I couldn’t have done this without them. That’s not a line; that’s honesty.”
Coincidently, the milestone came against Delta State, which was the team that handed Dean his first loss as VSU’s head coach. The Blazers followed that win with their fifth straight victory, a 39-21 triumph over Florida Tech on Homecoming day. Not only did that conquest ensure that Dean stayed perfect on Homecoming games (9-0), but it also sent his Blazers to a familiar place: the playoffs.
Since Dean took over the program in 2007, the Blazers have only fallen short of the postseason twice. Valdosta State has become a model of consistency under the record-setting coach.
One player who has served a vi-tal role in the Blazers’ postseason berth is starting quarterback E.J. Hilliard. The Florida International transfer was drawn to VSU by Dean’s reputation as an offensive-mastermind and aptitude for winning.
“He just gave me a chance. He is a great coach and he is a win-ner,” said Hilliard. “That’s what stood out the most, his winning ways. As a player, that’s some-
thing you look forward to and that’s something that drives you. He is an offensive minded coach and that’s something I wanted to be a part of.”
A former walk-on receiver at Georgia Tech, Dean’s coaching career began as a graduate as-sistant for the Yellow Jackets in 1986. After a year as an assistant at Avondale High School, Dean joined the Blazers in 1988-1991 as wide receivers coach. He departed to become an offensive assistant at West Georgia, where he coached from 1992-1999.
The experience at UWG al-lowed Dean to connect with offensive-minded head coach Charlie Fisher, who Dean credits as the most influential coach of his career. In Fisher’s 30 years of college coaching, he has worked with players such as Torry Holt, Koren Robinson, Jay Cutler and Christian Hackenberg. He recently served as the quarterbacks coach at Penn State under current Hous-ton Texans coach Bill O’Brien before becoming the offensive coordinator at Richmond.
“He (Fisher) has had the most influence on me as far as game planning, the approach to games, what to look for, how to film study, those types of things,” said Dean. “He’s had the most influence on me with the X’s and O’s. Obviously, from a motivation standpoint, it’s from being around so many different people. I try to gather information from everyone I’m around.”
Before the 2000 season, Dean was presented the chance to return to the place he said he loves, and that was too good of an opportu-nity to ignore.
Dean came back to Valdosta as offensive coordinator under Chris Hatcher, who previously held VSU’s wins record. His offensive prowess was a crucial part of turn-ing the Blazers into a 10-2 team just a season after finishing 4-7. His quarterback, Dusty Bonner,
November 19, 2015 The Spectator | www.vsuspectator.com Page 11
Gabe Burns Asst. sports Editor
Dean finds place in VSU historyWith 77th win, Dean passes Chris Hatcher as winningest coach
It goes back to all the guys that recruit. We recruit honestly.-David Dean
won the Harlon Hill Trophy (Division II MVP) and later received a tryout with the Atlanta Falcons.
The success did not stop there. Dean guided one of the confer-ence’s top offenses for a school that finished the 2001 and 2002 campaigns with an unblemished regular season record, and eventu-ally won its first national champi-onship in 2004.
Dean accepted the head coach-ing job upon Hatcher’s departure to Georgia Southern prior to the 2007 season. The challenge of filling big shoes did not appear in-timidating to Dean. He would go on to become only the second Di-vision II coach to win a national championship in his debut season. Valdosta State topped Northwest Missouri State, 25-20, to capture its second national title.
Overcoming an up-and-down five-year span that saw an exodus of upper-level talent, Dean once
again delivered a national cham-pionship for the Blazers in 2012, with a 35-7 win over Winston-Salem State. That title completed Dean’s ascension to becoming the most illustrious coach in school history with three rings since his return.
“Dean is a great leader. Anyone with these wins and titles, it speaks for itself,” said assistant wide receivers coach Thomas Re-ese. “He has an open-door policy and we all know we can go to him. He’s a good leader and that’s honestly the top thing that sticks out about him. He’s unselfish and cares about the players. You can tell he loves being here.”
“He’s very humble. He takes everything a game at a time. He’s not flashy and really works hard. He gets the best out of his play-ers and has fun with them. This season is the most fun I’ve had in years at the office. He makes the atmosphere enjoyable to be
around for coaches and players,” Reese said.
While his success has been acknowledged frequently in the community, Dean has put the Blazers on the national map more so than any of his predecessors. That is not just for his offensive expertise, but also for his em-phasis on player development. Just this season alone, over half of the NFL has sent representa-tives to Valdosta to scout players in Dean’s program. A New York Giants scout also attended VSU’s match-up with Mississippi Col-lege.
“It goes back to all the guys that recruit. We recruit honestly,” said Dean. “We tell them the good and the bad. But honestly, this school sells itself. Let these kids see the school, how pretty it is, the nice weather, the location. That’s an easy selling point.”
Continues on page 12
November 19, 2015The Spectator | www.vsuspectator.comPage 12
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Senior tight end Will Johnson catches a pass and carries the ball into the red zone. Cedric O’neal was able to punch the ball into the endzone to cap off VSU’s win. The Blazers will host Carson-Newman in the fi rst round of the playoffs on Nov. 21.
Continued from page 11
The Blazers have made their mark in the NFL under Dean. Ryan Schraeder is currently the starting right tackle for the Fal-cons. Receiver Seantavius Jones and defensive tackle Lawrence Virgil are both currently on the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad. In 2013, guard Edmund Kugbila became the highest Blazer ever drafted when the Carolina Panthers selected him in the fourth round (he is currently a free agent). In total, 10 former Blazers have reached the profes-sional level in some capacity.
As admirable as his coach-ing success is, Dean’s impact has gone deeper than football. Dean and his wife Stacie, a VSU alumna, have three daughters, Caroline, Allison and Natalie. All are fi rmly entrenched in Valdosta culture, and the coach has stressed the importance for caring about the citizens of the community. Dean has been active in helping the local youth and is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He puts special empha-sis on making sure his players and coaches adopt similar values.
“He’s taught us how to treat people,” said Reese. “I’ve learned a lot about being a leader and how he comes across in the community and school. Everyone here likes him. He’s shown me how to be a
coach on and off the fi eld. He has guided our athletes in growing into great players and people. It’s a tribute to coach Dean and how he runs this program.”
“We’re never going to survive unless we have the support of the community,” said Dean. “We, as a football team, want our fans to be able to put faces with names. We want our players out among the community so they can see what good kids these guys are.”
“One of the things I’m most proud of is we just had 23 guys graduate from our program. Of those 23 seniors, not a single one had an arrest or any run-in with the law,” Dean said. “That says a lot about our guys.”
Moving forward, Dean hopes to see more of the same for the Blazers.
“We want to continue to graduate guys,” he said. “That’s the main goal. We want to be competitive every year. Be in the hunt for conference and national championships, and always be in the playoffs. We hope to continue bringing in good quality kids that sell-out for Valdosta State, bleed red and black and do everything they can to help this program help this institution and community be the best that it is.”
“That’s one of the best recruit-ing tools we have: this is Title-town U.S.A.”
Kristin Whitman/The Spectator