the spectator print edition, 3-14-13
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The print edition of The Spectator, March 14, 2013.TRANSCRIPT
March 14, 2013 W W W . V S U S P E C T A T O R . C O M VOLUME 84 ISSUE 22
Inside This Issue- OPINIONS: “SGA not the VSU money machine”
- FEATURES: “Greeks to ‘stomp the yard’ in Student Union”
- SPORTS: “Blazer baseball torches Saints”
On the Webwww.vsuspectator.com
Greekdom Step/Stroll
Competition - Student
Union Ballrooms, 7-10 p.m.
VSU Greeks will battle for
three rounds to win the cash
prize. tickets may be
reserved by emailing your
name and the number of
tickets needed to
Hosted by kappa Alpha psi
SAlAt Al-dHUHr -
Student Union Conference
room 1, 1:45 p.m.
Afternoon prayer will be
held Monday through
thursday throughout this
semester.this event is open
to the community.
Hosted by the muslim
Students Association.
SCreeninG: “mooz-lUm” -
Student Union theater,
7-8:30 p.m.
this screening of the 2011
film “Mooz-Lum” is open to
the public.
Hosted by the muslim
Students Association.
CAriBBeAn FeSt portrAitS
- Student Union Ballroom
A, 6-10 p.m.
free tropical themed photo
opportunity with giveaways
for VSU students.
Hosted by CAB.
Today at VSU
Check out Dowling Payne’s
coverage of VSU H.E.R.O.’s “Rock
Your Red” event!
New pope New pope
chosenchosen
See pg. 2 to learn more
about Argentinian Pope
Francis.
Weather
62 H 38 LSunny
Today
74 H 48 L
Friday
51 L79 H
Saturday
The Ga. House of representatives is considering new
legislation regardingguns on campus.
What are your thoughton the issue?
A. I would feel much safer
carrying my gun.
B. Guns have no place on
our campus.
C. Open carry should be
allowed, but not concealed
weapons.
D. No one should be
allowed to carry guns
anywhere.
Vote online at www.vsuspectator.com!
Question ofthe week
Last Week’sPoll Results
Sunny
Are you ready formidterms?
17%
I’ve already taken all
of my midterms.
13%
13%My classes don’t
have midterms
57%
No! I think I’m
gonna fail.
Yep. I’ve been
preparing for weeks
Sunny
Public ring sale angers players
A business partnership be-
tween the VSU athletic depart-
ment and Jostens inc. has left
many members of the recently
crowned national champion foot-
ball team feeling bitter.
VSU Athletics and Jostens
inc. are offering the public the
opportunity to purchase several
different memorabilia jewelry
items, including an authentic di-
vision ii national championship
ring.
the ring, priced at $500, is
identical to the ring the players
earned for their successful sea-
son.
the majority of the team is
less than pleased with the newly
offered merchandise.
“people are going to have
rings on that we earned and the
whole football team [doesn’t] re-
ally think that it’s fair,” safety
Chris Caspari said. “You got
some people walking around
who don’t even come to a foot
ball game and just buy a ring
just showing it off when really
they didn’t earn that.
“Honestly, i don’t think they
should be for sale but i think
they should raise the price so no
one wants to buy one. You can
take away a ring but you can
never take away the satisfaction
of winning it.”
though this isn’t the first time
individuals outside of cheerlead-
ers and band members have been
be able to acquire championship
team rings, no other VSU cham-
pionship winning team has ever
had their prized jewelry so publi-
cized.
Advertisements for the nation-
al championship jewelry includ-
ed a mass email sent to students
and faculty last week from event
services.
numerous former and current
players voiced their opinions on
twitter.
one player tweeted “its a slap
in the face if you ask me,” while
another tweeted “yall didn’t earn
that shit.”
Athletic director Herb rein-
hard assumes that the disgruntled
players aren’t aware of the finan-
cial realities of the situation.
Eric JacksonS p o r t S E d i t o r
The above photo was sent in an advertisement to the VSU
Students Distribution Group via Valdosta State email. All
students receive messages sent to this group.See RING , Page 5
VSU’s department of land-
scaping and grounds plans to re-
place the two trees that formerly
stood in front of West Hall.
the two trees were mortally
damaged earlier last month after
framing the university building
for over 20 years.
“they were split right down
the middle,” Brett Ganas, assis-
tant director of landscape and
grounds, said.
the split developed as a result
of both trees lacking a central
leader.
“A central leader tree is char-
acterized by one main, upright
trunk, referred to as the leader,”
according to the north Carolina
State University College of Agri-
culture and Life Sciences.
the lack of a central leader
was not a problem until, as the
trees grew, they slowly began to
pull themselves apart at an
“acute angle.”
“our intention at first was to
save them,” Ganas said. the
University bound the trees with
straps in the hope that they
would mend and could continue
to grow.
After consulting with arborists
duane Cunningham, of Cun-
ningham tree Service, and Mark
McCellan the decision was made
to cut down the trees and replace
them with saplings with central
leaders.
the trees are expected to be
replaced by May of this year
during the planting of over 90
trees around campus.
VSU Landscape and Grounds
plans to plant 73 dogwood and
redbud trees as well as 20 lon-
gleaf pines.
ten of these trees have al-
ready been planted on north
Campus next to pound Hall.
the rest are expected to be
distributed among the longleaf
pine forest already in place be-
hind Langdale Hall, and along
the creek in between Lowndes
Hall and the fine Arts Building.
the sapling planting, a joint
effort between the biology de-
partment and the department of
landscape and grounds, is sched-
uled to continue on throughout
the year.
Will LewisA S S t. M A n A G i n G
E d i t o r
Will Lewis / The SPecTaTor
Two trees were removed from the front lawn last week due
to the lack of a “central leader” to stabilize their trunks.
Two trees removed
from front lawn
Dowling Payne / The SPecTaTor
Blazer football players take a knee during practice. The team prepares to defend their national championship in the fall.
on tuesday, VSU president
William McKinney announced
his opposition to Georgia House
Bill 29, called Georgia Campus
Carry Act, a bill that would per-
mit firearms on colleges and uni-
versities.
in the email, which was sent
to all VSU faculty, staff and stu-
dents, dr. McKinney, along with
the Board of regents, pledged
his support for the existing law,
which does not permit firearm
activity on campuses and univer-
sities.
With the recent occurrence of
several mass killings involving
guns, legislators have been more
focused on gun legislation.
ray Jackson, a VSU graduate
student, believes in gun owner-
ship.
“i believe people have the
right to the amendments that are
listed in the constitution,” Jack-
son said. “the second amend-
ment gives citizens the right to
bear arms and as an American
living in America, i should be al-
lowed to carry my weapon wher-
ever i go.”
But not everyone agrees with
Jackson.
ruben Brooks, a senior exer-
cise physiology major, feels that
a law permitting the use of guns
on campuses will lead to an un-
safe environment.
“i feel that people need the
proper training if they are going
to be able to carry guns on cam-
pus,” Brooks said. “if we have
people walking around who
don’t know how to operate a gun
then that could lead to a whole
lot of problems.”
other students believe that
there could be other beneficial
matters that could be taken be-
fore resorting to passing the bill.
tiffany Wynn, a junior mass
media major, feels as if guns
wouldn’t be needed on campuses
if the university had better phys-
ical protection.
“i think that they are not
needed on campus,” Wynn said.
“Maybe if we get gates on cam-
pus that would lead to a safer
environment.”
the Georgia House of repre-
sentatives will meet again at
9:30 a.m. today.
McKinney
speaks out
against HB29Anthony PopeS tA f f W r i t E r
Spring football practice draws to close
the Valdosta State football
team is one step closer to the
fall after the completion of
spring practice.
the Blazers concluded the 14
practice schedule with the
Spring Game this past Saturday.
A trip to the Georgia State
Capitol, to commemorate the na-
tional champions, and making a
team ‘Harlem Shake’ video were
some fun additions to this year’s
spring outings however every-
thing on the gridiron remained
the same as last year.
“Coach dean likes doing it
like he’s done in the past it obvi-
ously works so it was pretty
much the same,” quarterback
Cayden Cochran said. “We had
good intensity. i think there is a
different kind of focus this year
now because we have something
behind us pushing us to go get it
again.”
Spring practice is the time for
players to jump back into the
swing of things giving certain
players chances to standout and
show their worth.
Eric JacksonS p o r t S E d i t o r
See PRACTICE , Page 6
PAge 2 | vsusPeCtAtoR.CoM N e w s MARCH 14, 2013
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The Spectator prints freeclassifieds for stu dents ofVal dos ta State Uni ver si tyonly. these must be no morethan 40 words, or a $8.00charge will apply. Clas si fiedsfor fac ul ty, staff, stu dent or -ga ni za tions,stu dent-ownedbusi ness es and the gen er alpub lic cost $8.00 for up to40 words. ads should be sentto The Spectator or de liv eredto our of fice in 1238 HopperHall. the dead line is Mon dayat 5 p.m. if payment ap plies,it should be sub mit ted in asealed en ve lope at the timethe ad is placed. ads must beac com pa nied by the name
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Services
LOOK: House forLease - Upgraded, likenew – 4 bedrooms/2 full baths, deck & spacious parking. Bicycle or walk to cam-pus. Washer, dryer, disposal $1,460/monthor $365/student for 4 students. suitelivingrentals.comor 770-887-8488.
AVAILABLE NOW!$100.00DEPOSIT @ TREELOFT.3BR/2BA $725-775,1BR/1BA $450-475, 3 blocks from VSU, cathe-dral ceiling, pool & laundryfacilities, water & garbageincluded. 229-561-0776
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March 15
VSU Planetarium presents“the Clouds of Magellan,” thefifth public planetarium showof its 2012-2013 season. Nevins Hall room 3004, third
floor
there will be three showingsthat evening at 7, 8 and 9 p.m.
March 23, 9 a.m. to noon
Science Saturday: “What aWonderful World” for middleschool students and the communityNevins Hall
includes: planetarium shows,sun observing, geocaching, funwith physics and more.
March 26, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Spring Career expoUniversity Center
employers will recruit for bothfull-time and part-time.
March 26, 7 to 11 p.m.
Core hosts a Crate StackingCompetitionPrizes include: hammocks,slacklines and more. Campus Recreation
Contact Core at [email protected] for moreinformation.
March 27, 5 p.m.
Get a free Chick-Fil-a sandwich for participating inVSU dining’s dining advisoryMeetingStudent Union Conference
Room 2
this is an opportunity for thecampus community to say whatdoes and doesn’t need improvement!Contact VSU dining at [email protected] toreserve a seat.
March 30, 9 a.m.
relay for life hosts a disc golftournamentFreedom Park
registration begins at 8 a.m.,shotgun starts at 9 a.m. entry fee is $25 per personwhich includes a disc of yourchoice. Contact Kris ([email protected]) at 300-9148 for more informa-tion.
Upcoming Events
March 12
Student reported her head-phones were stolen from thefront desk of lowndes Hall.the headphones were later leftat the front desk for the studentto pick up.
March 11
a car was egged whileparked in the oak parking lot.
a bicycle was reported stolento VSUPd.
March 9
a bicycle was stolen while itwas parked in front of langdaleHall.
a suspect with outstandingwarrants was found loiteringoutside Hopper circle.
March 6
Shoes were reported stolenfrom Campus recreation.
Student reported their bookwas stolen by someone theyknow, and the suspect sold theirbook to lee’s Bookstore. thereis videotaped evidence of theact.
Police Briefs
Student Union
March 15: Closes at 3 p.m.March 16-17: Closed
March 18-22: open 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.March 23: Closed
March 24: open 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
All University offices will remain open during regular hours.
University Spring Break Hours
a new pope has been named,and representatives from theNewman Center are cautiouslyoptimistic about what this popewill do for the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Jorge MarioBergoglio, 76, was elected popeon Wednesday, and took on thetitle Pope Francis. Francis is thefirst Pope not from europe, hail-ing from Buenos aires, argenti-na.
“it’s interesting that he’s notitalian or German or Polish,”Gary Moulliet, resident at theNewman Center (VSU’sCatholic center), said.
Moulliet expressed hope thatFrancis’s run as pope wouldequal that of John Paul ii’s, whowas pope from 1978 until his
death in 2005.“i liked how John Paul ii was
doing more youth events,”Moulliet said. “i hope that thenew pope continues that anddoes a little bit more with theyouth, because i feel like there’sa generation gap in the Catholicchurch.”
Moulliet also expressed hopethat the new pope would handlethe issue of pedophilia within theCatholic Church “responsibly,”while covering up the issue lessthan his predecessor.
“What a lot of people have torealize is that the CatholicChurch is set up like a governingbody--with any governing body,there is a certain amount of cov-er up, both good and bad,”Moulliet said. “i hope that hetackles it head-on, and dealswith it. [i hope that] he statestruthfully that, yeah, we’re awareof the problem, and we’re deal-ing with it, and we’ll let you
know of our developments as weget them. it’s not something youcan definitely say yes or no, orok, we know all of them, be-cause you never know.”
Moulliet also expressed hopethat the pope could help peopleunderstand that these incidentswere “sins of people that are fal-lible, not infallible, and that itdoes not reflect the message andthe overall religion, as much asit reflects the individual sins thatwe need to conquer within ourown hearts.”
Joe AdgieS o C i a l M e d i a
e d i t o r
First elected ArgentinianPope gains interest at VSU
MCT
Palms
Hopper
Pinkberry
Papa John’s
Moe’s
Starbucks
Chick-Fil-A
Student Union
Nathan’s
Einstein’s
Blazing Brew
Sustella
Langdale
Chick-Fil-A
UC
Chef’s Table
Baja Flats
7 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
7 a.m. - 3 p.m.
7 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Closed
7:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Closed
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Closed
Closed
7:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Closed
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Closed
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Closed
Closed
4:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Closed
Closed
Closed
5 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Closed
Closed
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6 p.m. - 11 p.m.
6 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Closed
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7 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Noon - 10 p.m.
Noon - 10 p.m.
11 a.m. - 11 p.m.
11 a.m. - 11 p.m.
7 a.m. - 10 p.m.
7 a.m. - 10 p.m.
11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
7:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.
8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
9 p.m. - 2 a.m.
9 a.m. - 11 p.m.
9 a.m. - 11 p.m.
11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Friday
3/15
Mon- Thurs
3/18 - 3/21
Sunday
3/24
Monday
3/25
Graphic by: Joe Adgie
Welcome to the United Statesof america, a land based on sup-ply and demand.
it seems, however, that whileconsumer demands are met, thenecessities of the workers areoverlooked.
the prices of services andgoods continue to rise, yet thehands that make these productsare paid in scraps.
in 1968 the minimum wagewas raised to $1.60. Over 50years later, the minimum wagehas only been raised $5.65. infact, after inflation adjustments,the minimum wage of 1968would be close to $10.30 today.
Perhaps we can try to comeclose.During his State of the Unionaddress on feb. 12, PresidentObama proposed raising theminimum wage to $9 an hour.He stated that the governmentshould “tie the minimum wageto the cost of living so that it fi-nally becomes a wage (the peo-ple can) live on.”
today, a full-time employeemaking minimum wage in theUnited States brings home anaverage of $14,500 a year. thisfigure barely puts that employeeover the poverty line of $11,490.
Nearly 53 percent of collegegraduates are either unemployedor working a job that does notrequire a college degree. in oth-er words, after all their hardwork, college graduates are leftwith one of two options. theycan either luck up and find a jobin their field or settle for a jobthat has nothing to do with theirmajor and accept pennies on thedollar in relation to what waspaid to obtain a degree.
this situation poses a prob-lem. according to forbes.com, theaverage college student leaves
their university with over$27,000 in debt. How can a col-lege graduate ever be expectedto pay off student loans workingat McDonald’s? it is not their fault that the work
is not available. Without an in-crease in job availability, an in-crease in minimum wage is theleast that can be done.
Many people choose not to
work and live off the govern-ment. their reasons may neverbe known. What is known,however, is that $7.25 is a slapin the face of hard workers.also, raising minimum wagewould eventually lead to moreamericans being self-sufficient.in other words, there would beless americans on welfare, foodstamps, or in need of other gov-ernment aid.
everyone should be able tosupport themselves. the gov-ernment’s help should be a lastresort. the cost of living is con-stantly rising. Just keep in mindthat $7.25 makes jumping to thatlast resort feel much more plau-sible.
How do you feel when youthink about the proposed in-crease of minimum wage?
as a student, your immediateemotion is probably one of ap-proval, and why wouldn’t it be?
What logic could anyone pos-sibly provide to reject promisedeconomic growth and alleviationfrom poverty, especially whenour president keeps every
promise he makes, right?the State of the Union ad-
dress is a tradition intended tohype up americans, to get themexcited about the president’splans, promising that the bestdays in america are the ones tocome. With that kind of rhetoric,everything sounds positive, butbehind every proposal lies falsehope for the future.
On feb. 12, President Obamaproposed that an increase ofminimum wage to nine dollarsan hour would “build new lad-ders of opportunity into the mid-dle class.” He promised that itwould help businesses across thecountry and increase employ-ment which would, in turn, helpto rescue people from poverty.
in reality a minimum wage in-crease will actually raise unem-ployment, and the proof lies inbasic economics.
the laws of supply and de-mand govern the labor marketwith the intersection of the twodetermining the minimum wage.Government mandates interferewith this. employers will hireless people at a higher wage andmore people at a lower wage,and the former inevitably causesan increase in unemployment.
the reasons for supporting aminimum wage increase are cer-tainly well intentioned, but themethod proposed to achievethose goals has never workedand never will.
it's obvious that the poor aresuffering in a tough economy,but raising the minimum wagewon’t help them because in-creased business costs are eitherpassed on to the consumer or ab-sorbed through cuts in labor.
another dirty little secret isthat many union wages are for-mulated based on a multiplier ofthe minimum wage, so it's nomystery as to why unions voteoverwhelmingly Democrat andwhy Democrats overwhelminglysupport raising the minimumwage.
individuals who support theincrease are typically those moreinterested in rhetoric rather thanresults. it is always easy forpoliticians to support a policythat sounds great in a speech andscores them political pointswhen it will never affect thempersonally.
is it fair to raise minimumwage as a ploy to gain politicalpoints on a popular issue whileemployers, consumers and thenewly unemployed suffer as a re-sult? No. it is a deceitful ap-proach that hides the true dan-gers of the policy while appear-ing to be compassionate.
Ultimately, raising the mini-mum wage will make it more ex-pensive for businesses to hirenew employees and retain cur-rent employees at a time whennew jobs are most needed.
But hey, it sounds good, right?
People Poll:
Amber Grant
sophomore
psychology major
“Yes, americas are xenophobicbecause americans just don’t
like other people.”
Pierre Evans
senior
office administration and
technology major
“Yes, most feel that they areopen and tolerant towards for-
eign cultures, however the truthis most are very ignorant about
these cultures and people.”
Caleb Brown
freshman
graphic design major
"i feel that people fear othersdifferent than them no matter
where they are from."
SGA, not the VSU money machine
This editorial was written by Shambree Wartel ([email protected]) and it expresses the general opinion of the editorial staff.
Our point of view...
Opinions expressed in the Spectator other than editorials are the opinions of the writers of signed columns and not necessarily thoseof the Spectator and its staff. all rights reserved. reprints by permission of the editors. Views in this newspaper are not necessarily
those of the Valdosta State University administration, faculty and staff.
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Spectator StaffEditor-in-Chief: amber Smith Managing Editor:Jennifer GleasonBusiness Manager: Brandon MainerAdvertising Manager:aimee NapierCirculation Manager: Sarah turnerOpinions Editor: Stephen CavallaroFeatures Editor: amanda Usher
Sports Editor: eric JacksonPhoto Editor: Cody HicksMultimedia Editor: Von Kennedy Web Designer: rebecka McaleerCopy Editor: Shambree WartelCartoonist: Garrison MuelhausenSocial Media Editor: Joe adgie Faculty Advisers: Dr. PatMiller, Dr. ted Geltner, KeithWarburg
Reporters/Photographers:Derrick Davis, Veronica Dominicis, allison ericson, aceespenshied, Neil frawley, BrianHickey Jr., ivey ingalls-rubin,Jessica ingram, Chris Kessler,Will Lewis, Olivia McLean,ritsuki Miyazaki, ray Pack Jr.anthony Pope, John Preer,Quasha ross, isaiah Smart,taylor Stone, Shane thomasalex tostado, Jamal tullSarah turner, James Washington, Steven Setser
recently the Georgia Houseof representatives passed HB512 which (should the Senateagree) would make it legal foreveryone with a permit to carryconcealed guns on campus. Nowhunting and gun ownership maybe as american as apple pie, butso is gun control and icons likeWyatt earp, the legendary WildWest figure who enforced DodgeCity's ban on gun-carrying with-in town limits. there are goodreasons why USG Chancellor
Huckaby unequivocally stated onMarch 4 that all 31 UniversityPresidents (including their cam-pus security chiefs and coun-selors) are opposed to HB 512.Not one gun-related crime hasbeen committed on our campussince i joined the faculty in thefall of 2000, yet some are tryingto take advantage of a tragedy atan elementary school to advancetheir agenda? Can you spell C-r-a-Z-Y?
i don’t know about you, but i
wholeheartedly support theBoard of regents, the Chancellorof the University System ofGeorgia, and our very own Presi-dent Dr. McKinney in theirMarch 12 statement which reads:"We are deeply concerned aboutproposed legislation in the Geor-gia General assembly that wouldpermit firearms on our campuses- in our classrooms, student cen-ters, and our academic and ad-ministrative buildings. We firmlybelieve the current law promotes
a safe learning environment forout students and working envi-ronment for our faculty and staff.Our unanimous recommendationis to retain the law in its currentform…."
So here is an idea for a belat-ed 50th birthday present for Dr.McKinney. Google “Georgianstell the state no on HB 512” andsign the petition at SignOn.org.
Michael G. NollVSU faculty
Letter to the editor
Guns on Campus?
Taylor StoneS ta f f W r i t e r
Travis Brasington
sophomore
media production major
“Yes, people are scared of for-eign things because they just
don’t understand it.”
Money doesn’t grow ontrees—we all knowthat.
that’s why when the rasfrom Centennial Hall requested$1,000 for food for an upcom-ing carnival, despite the fact thatthey had their own designatedbudget , SGa was right in deny-ing the funding.
the role of SGa is to serveas a liaison between the studentsand VSU, not as a money tree.
it’s true that campus organi-zations have needs, and most ofthose needs require financial as-sistance, but if SGa were togive in to every whim and re-
quest from every organizationon campus, they would not onlynot be able to fund anybody—they’d be in debt themselves.
SGa President ryan Baer-walde felt that the denial forCentennial Hall funding wasnecessary to stop the wide-spread belief that SGa was anopen bank for student organiza-tions.
“for the past three years thati have served in SGa, i havewitnessed dozens of student or-ganizations come to SGa askingfor financial help, and there wasrarely any resistance to obligingthese groups,” Baerwalde said.
“thankfully, this year i haveseen more thought put into ourfunding.”
that being said, it is the dutyof SGa to not only keep the stu-dent’s best interests in mind, butto serve its student’s responsi-bly—especially concerning fi-nancial decisions.
SGa’s current policy on fund-ing events limits the fundingamount to $500, but can beoverridden with a 3/4ths vote.
five hundred dollars shouldbe enough to meet whateverneed the organization has, espe-cially if it’s not purely recre-ational. if not, and their event
is important enough, then theyneed to show enough initiativeto collect the rest of the neededfunds in a fundraiser of somesort.
We’re not saying that SGashould act like the big bad wolfper se, but we agree that SGashould only give funds to orga-nizations that a, plan to use the
funds for more than recreationalpurposes, and b, don’t alreadyhave a budget that includesfunds from student fees.
events are required to beopen to all students and to havea detailed list as to how they arespending the money. Organiza-tions are also required to sendexcess funds back to SGa.
auditors from the UniversitySystem of Georgia enforcethese policies and make surethat money is spent and allocat-ed appropriately.
We feel this is an effectiverule-- this way the money notspent by the organization won’tfall in between the cracks.
“i'm sure we will see moreprogress in our fiscal responsi-bility before the year ends,”Baerwalde said.
receiving funding is a privi-lege, not a right. So organiza-tions need to understand thatSGa is a ruling body, and notdaddy’s open wallet.
Taylor Grell
freshman
speech pathology major
“No, americans aren’t. i thinkmost americans are open to
viewing other cultures and whatthey have to offer.”
Wage change underway
mARch 14, 2013 vSuSpectAtoR.com | pAGe 3OpiniOns
Are mostAmericansXenophobic?Why?
James WashingtonS ta f f W r i t e r
Spectator staff writers
debate minimum wage
Receiving funding is a
privilege...SGA is a ruling body,
and not daddy’s open wallet
PAGe 4 | vsusPeCtAtoR.CoM MARCH 14, 2013Features
Fine Arts holds
reception for
student competition
VSU biology major MatthewRivera has been awarded theCouncil on international Educa-tional Exchange South Koreascholarship.
The scholarship will pay forhis biology major, religious stud-ies minor and will include aspring break in South Korea.
Rivera, 21, expects to gradu-ate spring 2014. He also current-ly works as a certified pharmacytechnician and maintains a 4.0GPA.
“it is very rare for a sciencemajor to travel abroad,” irinaMcClellan, assistant director ofthe Center for international Pro-grams, said.
McClellan described Rivera asan exemplary student who isn’tafraid to step out of his comfortzone.
Rivera will spend March 17-26 at the Yonsei University inSeoul. Rivera and his fellowscholars will attend academiclectures, tour the city and ex-plore important areas in SouthKorea.
in order to receive the scholar-ship, Rivera had to have little orno previous exposure to Koreanculture. However, Rivera wasstill able to get some inside in-formation on what to expect dur-ing his spring break.
“i actually had supper withseveral students at VSU who arefrom South Korea--at WaffleHouse of all places,” Rivera said. CiEE received hundreds of ap-plications from across the nationincluding nine applicants fromVSU. However, there were only40 spaces available.
Rivera had to send his appli-cation off with a $150 applica-tion fee. While his mother wassupportive of her son applyingfor the scholarship, she was also
very protective. Nonetheless,Rivera knew who he wanted totell first when he heard the newsof his award.
“The first thing i did when igot off work was call my momand say, ‘Mom, guess where i’mgoing for spring break,’” Riverasaid.
Rivera looks up to his mother,who he says is his “biggestcheerleader” as well as his pro-fessors.
“i think that a student is a sum
of all their teachers,” Riverasaid.
While Rivera is solely a sci-ence major, he also enjoys learn-ing about his minor in religiousstudies.
Rivera agrees with his advis-er, Dr. J. Mitchell Lockhart, whobelieves in having a professionas well as a passion.
This summer, Rivera plans toapply to medical school at theMedical College of Georgia.
Student awarded trip to South KoreaSarah TurnerS TA F F W R i T E R
Let’s be honest, we livein a part of the countrythat basically has twoseasons, so wardrobe
transitioning for us is easier thanit is for others.
Lately, the weather in SouthGeorgia has been a little spas-tic—leading to confusion aboutclothing choices.
Some days it feels like springhas arrived with cloudless skiesand near 80- degree temperatures,but it isn’t here yet.
Just because it feels likespring, does not mean it’s time tobring out the flip-flops andshorts! it’s important to dress ap-propriately for the season you’rein.
Here are three essential thingsyou should take heed to in orderto make sure that you transitionin spring the right way.
Transition into
spring smoothlyadd Layers
Layering is the easiest way tostay on top of a wishy-washyweather forecast. No matter howmany times the weather changeswithin a day, you can always addor take off layers. Lightweightscarves and cardigans are perfectfor this time of year.
add spring items gradually
Just because retailers beginputting out their spring merchan-dise early does not mean that youhave to overdo it with wearingyour spring gear when the weath-er gets a little warm. if you must,go ahead and wear that newspring dress and add a cuteleather jacket or tights andbooties.
Use bright accessories
Adding bright accessories isprobably the easiest way to add alittle spring to your fall wardrobe.Try a bright pair of skinny jeansand add a pop of color in a scarfor bright jewelry.
Claire Contevita is notyour average college stu-dent. Within a minute of
conversation, you can see thedrive that keeps her moving for-ward toward her goals anddreams.
Her father was in the AirForce so she quickly grew ac-customed to moving around andfound herself in Georgia.
in high school, Contevita hadone passion-- fashion. She al-ways dreamed of becoming amagazine editor and came tocollege as an English major.
This soon changed when sheentered a radio station with herfriend during her sophomoreyear. As soon as Contevita puton the headphones, she washooked.
“it was a feeling i can’t ex-plain,” Contevita said.
She quickly changed her ma-jor and has been working to-ward a mass media degree eversince.
Growing up, Contevita neverhad a relationship with her bio-
logical father, but after recentlyreconnecting with him, shelearned that he also had a careerin radio.
Coincidentally, her familyconsists of a long list of variousrelatives that are involved in theworld of music.
“We’re all connected throughmusic making,” Contevita said.
Contevita is certainly divingright into her radio dreams. Over the pastyear and a half,she has beenworking atWVVS BlazeFM 90.9 as thepromotions di-rector.
She first began as a formatDJ, but got a promotion within ayear. Her hopes are to one daybecome the station manager asshe loves to direct, produce andhave her hands in all the dailyworkings of the station.
Courtney Bento, a Blaze FMcoworker, has been workingwith Contevita over the pastyear.
“She is not afraid to workhard,” Bento said.
“She finds ways to make allher work fun and successful.”
in the future, Contevitadreams of being a female RyanSeacrest.
“He began in radio,” Contevi-ta said. “Now he does it all, he’sso successful.”Currently Contevita has takenon the task of being responsible
for the return ofBLAZEFEST-- amusic festival thatwill showcase lo-cal bands on thefront lawn.it will feature
seven different bands, mostlyindie, that will each play for ahalf hour.
The bands performing will in-clude Sin, Paper Hawks andmost notably Music World Or-der.
The event will take place onMarch 30 and can be thought of as a dialed down local version of Warped Tour.
Outside of the studio, Conte-vita loves fashion and writing.
She spends her free time withher supportive boyfriend, ianKerstanski.
“She is a go getter,” Kerstans-ki said. “She never gives up onanything.”
Contevita is a hard workingand loyal worker with a drive toaccomplish any task she is giv-en. She is certainly not going tostop until she reaches herdream.
Blazer heats up the radio air waves
Dowling Payne
San Francisco native Claire
Contevita considers herself a
true California girl.
Photo Contributed By Claire
Contevita
An attendee at the reception to view the all-media juried
student competition views an entry at the Fine Arts building
Monday. The gallery will be open to the public until April 5, and
features art from students of all majors.
Veronica Dominicis/THE SPECTATOR
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity,inc. will host their second annualGreekdom step show tonight at7:11 p.m. in the Union Ballroom.
Tickets for the event are $10 atthe door, which will open at 6:30p.m. A percentage of proceedswill be donated to the organiza-tion’s national foundation GuideRight.
The Guide Right Program en-courages and supports gentlemenin low income and high crime ar-eas and leads them on the path tosuccess.
Performances for Greekdomwill feature Alpha Phi Alpha Fra-ternity inc., Alpha Kappa AlphaSorority inc., Phi Beta SigmaFraternity inc. and Zeta Phi BetaSorority inc.
Members of these organiza-tions will battle in rounds ofstepping and strolling to win agrand prize of $1000 to their re-spective organization.
President of Kappa Alpha PsiFraternity, inc.,Jeremiah Wig-gins, hopesthat this year’sevent will topthe previousyear as well asshow that VSUGreek life isstill a promi-nent force oncampus.
“Anyonewho attends Greekdom can ex-pect fast paced, thrilling competi-tion,” Wiggins said.
“At a step show, the perform-ers are on a stage; however atGreekdom the performers aremuch closer and connected with
the crowd making any memberof the audience feel as if they area part of the show.”
Kappa Alpha Phi originallybrought Greekdom to students inefforts to introduce new events
and trends tothe Universi-ty. Wigginsstated that thisstep show willbe differentfrom any oth-er step show.“There are
three themedrounds wherethe partici-pants step and
stroll within a certain time brack-et, back to back,” Wiggins said.
For more information onGreekdom, students can [email protected].
Greeks to ‘stomp theyard’ in Student Union
Anthony PopeS TA F F W R i T E R
Anyone who
attends Greekdom
can expect fast-
paced, thrilling
competition.-Jeremiah Wiggins
“
”
Check out the webWonder which band that columnist Rebecka McAleerfinds totally awesome this week? Go to vsuspectator.comto read “Additive Noise” and see who got her interest.
While you’re there, also read Anthony Drake’s review on“The Next Day,” Allison Ericson’s preview for HilaryLee’s music recital, Neil Frawley’s coverage of bandSam Sniper’s visit and more.
From the backwoods to NewYork, apparently Lil’ Kim does-n’t like it when you talk abouthow her face looks similar towhen you let a 3-year-old usethe blur tool on Photoshop.
The Queen Bee took aim attalk-show host Wendy Williamson Twitter when Wendy tweetedshe would be discussing Kim’sface after pictures surfaced ofher looking a little too fresh offthe surgeon’s table.
Lil Kim tweeted, “@Wendy-Williams Bitch Y didn’t UShow the side by side pic. Thispic is photoshopped and Uknow it. U hating Bitch.”
Kim then continued on atweeting tangent about the talkshow host’s comment.
To read more about the Lil’Kim/Wendy Williams Twitterwar, check out the Web Specta-tor.
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ANSWERS
Sudoku
Juliana Boehm does it all.
The VSU tennis player and
cross country runner was born in
Sochi, Russia, and grew up in
Mannheim, Germany.
Her accomplishments include
being named one of the Gulf
South Conference Runners of
the Week in 2012.
even in the middle of the
season, Boehm continues to
bring a positive attitude to the
Blazers tennis team.
“If you are on the team, how
can you not hustle as much as
she (does)?” coach John Hansen
said.
Hansen also admired Boehm’s
win in the doubles match against
Columbus State on March 5.
Columbus is currently ranked
number six in the country.
“It was a good win for them,”
Hansen said. “finally breaking
through all (of our struggles)
was a positive sign for every-
body.”
Boehm’s doubles partner,
Laura Ubeda, explained that her
aggressive style of play makes
the match easier for her.
Boehm started to play tennis
when she was seven years old.
She was influenced by her fa-
ther, a tennis coach, and her old-
er sister started to play a year
before her.
The junior recalls the time she
was in Germany playing tennis.
“I didn’t play for school when I
was in Germany; I just played in
club tennis,” she said.
Although she is a full-time
student and plays two sports,
Boehm still enjoys spending her
free time with friends and fellow
teammates.
Melissa Powell/THE SPECTATOR
Lefty pitcher Josh Mann pitched two innings of relief in the Blazers 6-3 win over Flager College Wednesday night. Mann recorded
two strikeouts and gave up two earned runs.
The Valdosta State baseball
team (10-10) avenges an early
season loss to flagler College
(9-14) after beating the Saints
6-3 Wednesday night at Billy
Grant field
The Saints beat VSU back on
feb. 6. in St. Augustine but in
the second meeting this season,
the Blazers got the bats going
early scoring four runs in the
bottom of the fourth inning and
the pitching took them to the fin-
ish line.
“We just saw some good
pitches in the fourth inning and
we were fortunate enough to
string some hits together,” third
baseman Michael Gouge said.
“We scored enough early to
throw them off.”
Starting pitcher Jarrod Carlton
went 4.1 innings and struck out
two while walking three and did
not allow any runs.
Relief pitcher Benjamin Weil
came into the game in the fifth
inning and struck out four of the
six batters he faced.
“I actually was just trying to
get ahead of the batters,” Weil
said. “I was trying to not give up
Carlton’s runs (runners on base
when Weil entered the game).”
VSU total batted in four of the
six runs while one came from a
flagler wild pitch and another
from a stolen base.
The Blazers finished with nine
hits and only struck out five
times.
flagler has had problems of
its own, especially on the road
now dropping to 1-8 on the road.
The Blazers have struggled
this season but have an impres-
sive 9-3 record at home this sea-
son.
“Getting back on the winning
track again, hopefully, before we
start with conference play this
weekend is important,” head
coach Greg Guilliams said.
The Blazers will continue
their home stand as they wel-
come Gulf South Conference foe
West Alabama on Saturday for a
double header at 3:30 and 6:30
and again on Sunday at 1 p.m.
“I hope it builds some guys
confidence and hopefully they
look at these wins and it builds
their confidence,” Guilliams
said.
follow Alex on
Twitter:@Alex_Tostado12
Alex TostadoS p o R T S W R I T e R
Blazer baseball torches Saints
VSU softball team to host rivals
UWG and Shorter this weekend
While students hit the road to-
ward their spring break destina-
tions, the Blazers will be tending
to some business against Gulf
South Conference foe West
Georgia and conference new-
comer Shorter this weekend.
No.1 VSU goes into the week-
end with a 7-3 conference
record; with a pair of double
headers with against rivals, the
Blazers are looking to make a
statement.
“It’s not just making a state-
ment, we just got to win some
games,” head softball coach
Thomas Macera said. “We split
last weekend twice. We can’t
keep splitting with everybody,
we got to start sweeping people
or else we’re going be in trouble
when we get to the end.”
UWG and VSU renew the ri-
valry on Saturday after the Blaz-
ers swept them in a season series
last season including a 14-3 vic-
tory in the GSC Tournament.
on Sunday, VSU could get a
preview of a serious threat for
years to come in the GSC.
The Shorter Hawks are in
their inaugural season so they
are still ineligible for post-season
play yet have already played like
championship contenders.
The Hawks are 20-2 heading
into the weekend, including a 7-
1 record in conference.
SU are potential obstacles for
the Blazers team, whom will try
to avoid looking too far toward
spring break.
“We’re pretty focused,” short-
stop Courtney Albritton said.
“We’ve got games all during
spring break so we don’t really
have much of a spring break. We
have other stuff distracting us
this week too with a lot of in-
juries and stuff. We just have to
work around it.”
VSU needs to gain some mo-
mentum heading into the bulk of
its GSC schedule after dropping
conference games against West
Alabama and Alabama-
Huntsville last weekend.
The Blazers have already
matched the five losses from last
season in 38 less games, but
Coach Macera isn’t concerned.
“It’s a different team,” Macera
said. “It’s a new team, it’s a
young team. To only lose five
games in a season isn’t done
very often by anybody. We just
had a magical season last year.
This season we’ve dropped a
few more games, but we’re still
being competitive and we’re still
in the hunt.”
According to Macera, the
Blazers only need to clean up
one aspect of their game to be
contenders once again.
“We just got to get better on
defense,” Macera said. “If we
get better on defense we’ll be
fine.”
Valdosta State will be looking
to do just that against the Wolves
and Hawks at Steel’s Diamond
field at Blazers park this week-
end.
follow D.J. on Twitter:
@dmac21 bucs
D.J. DavisS p o R T S W R I T e R
Men’s tennis looks
ahead to away matches
The VSU men’s tennis team
hit the road for one of the most
important weekends of the regu-
lar reason.
In the last four matches, the
Blazers have squared off against
four of the country’s top 10
teams.
That includes top-ranked Arm-
strong Atlantic State University
and rival Barry University.
The Blazers lost all four of
those matches, but that is not the
only thing John Hansen, head
coach, was focused on.
“I’ve been very proud of this
team because what happened is
exactly what I hoped would hap-
pen, which is that we would get
better with each match,” Hansen
said. “A lot of teams just quit
playing (when they lose a game),
but we aren’t in that mode.”
Meanwhile, the Lady Blazers
also competed against four top
10 schools in their last four
matches, so the same goes for
them.
In a season where a maximum
of eight Gulf South Conference
games are played, three of them
fall on this weekend, which is
crucial.
“We got all of the big guns
out of the way, so we are pretty
confident,” Hansen said. “We
lost to West florida, so the high-
est seed we could be (in the GSC
tournament) is second. our goal
is to be number two now, so that
would put us on the other side
from West florida in the draw.”
In little GSC action this sea-
son, the Lady Blazers are 3-1
and the Blazers are 2-1 as both
lost to UWf as mentioned
above.
Both the men and women
have a shot to finish the rest of
the season strong and set them-
selves up to play their best at the
end of the season.
VSU will begin the trip friday
at Shorter and then head west for
matches at Alabama-Huntsville
and North Alabama.
That means three matches in
three days and in three different
towns.
There is a lot of pressure to
win this weekend, but the travel-
ing shouldn’t add to any of that.
“We are always preparing to
go to national, and national’s
format is four matches in four
days,” Hansen said. “The only
way we can do that is by playing
hard this weekend.”
The Blazers have played hard-
fought matches against elite
teams, but now they need to take
care of business in the confer-
ence and win.
“We could always get our
brains beat out, but we know
we’ve got to win because they
are conference schools,” Hansen
said. “If they get down against
someone, I feel that they can win
the match, and that’s what we
have to do.”
Ace EspenshiedA S S T. S p o R T S e D I T o R
vsuspeCtAtoR.CoM | pAge 5MARCH 14, 2013 S p o r t S
Ritsuki MiyazakiS TA f f W R I T e R
Meet Juliana Boehm
Courtesy of VSU Athletics
Ring: continued from page 1
“There is a misunderstanding
that when the university whens a
national championship that there
are dollars that come with that
national championship in order
to purchase national champi-
onship rings, that is not the
case,” Reinhard said. “Those
monies have to be generated and
we’re very pleased to be able to
provide national championship
rings for the football players,
trainers, equipment managers,
the coaches and everybody on
the list but it’s an extremely ex-
pensive undertaking.”
This substantial needed rev-
enue is tops of the three recent
championship teams (softball,
tennis) simply because they’re
more people involved with the
football team resulting in more
ordered rings.
Despite championship team
rings not being so publicized be-
fore; the athletic department will
probably look to do the same for
future champions.
“I understand what some of our
student-athletes are saying, I
hear what they’re saying,” Rein-
hard said. “At the same time,
they don’t have any reason to
understand the realities around
having to generate revenue to
buy the things we have to buy.”
Head Coach David Dean
grasps the financial aspect of the
situation nonetheless agrees with
his irritated players that the team
ring is a “priceless” item.
“I like the fact that we’re trying
to sell a lot memorabilia but the
actual ring I can understand why
they’re upset about that,” Dean
said. “If they sold another ring
that was different that said na-
tional champions, I think it
would be a little different, they
would understand that. The ac-
complishments and all the
weight room work, the practices
in the heat-in a hundred degree
weather in the summer, they
look back on that and say this is
something we deserve nobody
else should have the same thing
we have.”
PAge 6 | vsusPeCtAtoR.Com mARCH 14, 2013S p o r t S
Practice: continued from page 1
VSU will rejoin together dur-
ing the summer for workouts and
conditioning before official prac-
tice begins in august.
the 2013 schedule, which is
not finalized, has already re-
ceived plenty of glances from the
Blazers.
VSU will head to in-region
fort Valley to face the Wildcats
for the season opener (9/7).
following the season’s only
bye-week, the Blazers kick-off
the next three games at Baze-
more-Hyder Stadium.
Shorter University will be the
visitors for week three (9/21), in
its first time at VSU, then non-
conference angelo State (9/28),
who the Blazers defeated last
season in Cowboys Stadium, and
VSU concludes the home-stand
with Gulf South Conference
newcomer florida tech (10/5).
the next four games are cru-
cial for the Blazers competing
against the conferences’ other
top-tier teams.
the first two of those four are
on the road against defending
GSC champs West alabama
(10/12) and the next in Carrolton
for annual ‘Peach Basket’ versus
West Georgia (10/19).
the Blazers settle in back
home the following week against
North alabama (10/26) before
hitting the road again to Cleve-
land, Miss. to face Delta State
(11/2).
Cochran, who is preparing for
his final season, understands the
importance of doing well during
the peak of the schedule.
“i never played at West alaba-
ma before so that’s going to be a
big one and Delta (State) again,”
he said. “that West alabama
trip, that West Georgia trip, and
that Delta (State) trip are huge
and that’s going to make or
break our season.”
a pair of non-conference
games concludes the regular sea-
son.
after the away game against
DSU, the Blazers come back
home against UNC-Pembroke
(11/9), this will be the first ever
meeting between the two
schools.
the finale will take place over
a thousand miles away from Val-
dosta at texas a&M Kingsville
(11/16).
again, dates and times for
these games are still subject to
change.
the Blazers look to become
the first team in school history to
win back-to-back national cham-
pionships.
“We’re coming out with the
bull’s eye on our back, bigger
than always,” Safety Chris Cas-
pari said. “We’re just ready to
prove ourselves again that we’re
number one for a reason. it will
be difficult if we come out with
our heads too big coming think-
ing we’re national champs. We
still got to work harder like
we’re the worst team in the
country trying to get back to the
top so we still got to have that
drive.”follow eric on twitter: @epjackson
Back in red and black
Valdosta State this past season
was an especially exceptional
one as they brought the National
Championship title back home to
titletown.
Not only will the team be
coming back strong to keep the
title, but also will have the addi-
tion of two previous players who
were out last season.
Both stand out players, Griffin
roelle and Will Johnson, will be
making their appearance back on
the field.
Will Johnson, a tight end, will
be coming back after a fractured
tibia from the Dallas game last
season.
He was instructed to stay off it
for ten weeks, counting him out
for the rest of the season.
Johnson attended as many
games as possible but found it
hard to be on the sidelines.
“it was hard to be away from the
team,” Johnson said. “it’s like
you’re a part of the team, but
also apart from the team.”
Johnson has come back
strong is spring practice and is
most looking forward to play-
ing in a home game seeing as
he has never had the chance
to do so.
“i can’t wait to get back to the
feel of Saturdays,”Johnson
said. “i’ve been coming back
to practice and working hard.”
Junior wide receiver Griffin
roelle is sure to make a no-
table comeback after being a
starter both his freshman and
sophomore years.
He was named 1st team all
region, academic all-GSC
honors, and in 2011 he started
nine out of ten games.
During the summer of 2012,
roelle severely pulled his ham-
string and was out for the season.
Last season, roelle still came
out to every practice and made it
to as many games as possible.
“it was hard to watch from the
sidelines,” roelle said. “But i
had to support as best as i could.
When your best friends are out
there, it feels like you are out
there also.”
When it came to the national
championship game, roelle de
cided to watch from his couch.
Knowing he couldn’t be on the
field playing or make a differ
ence in the outcome, he decided
to stay home and spent the day
pacing his living room full of
nerves for his friends and fre-
quently yelling at the tV screen.
When asked about spring prac-
tice and being back in the game,
roelle’s face lit up.
“i love football more than any-
thing, it’s amazing to be back”
roelle said.
He speaks of many improve-
ments to be made but that the
team is on the right track toward
defending the title.
roelle is always one to en-
courage other team mates and
work hard to accomplish every
team and personal goal.
“it’s a whole new season, i
would love for us to go undefeat-
ed,”roelle said. “it would be
great to win the conference title
and the national championship.”
this next season is sure to be
one worth watching with all of
the returning champions and also
players such as Johnson and
roelle who are itching to put on
the jersey and get back on the
field.
follow Dowling on twitter:
@deepayne7
Dowling PayneS ta f f W r i t e r
Dowling Payne/THE SPECTATOR
Wide receiver Griffin Roelle makes a move in spring practice drills.
Spring practice is over;Blazers look toward fall
Dowling Payne/THE SPECTATOR
Head football coach David Dean speaks to his player at the end of a spring practice.
upcoming Blazer
softball team schedule
(3/16) UWG - 1 p.m. (DH) *(3/17) SU - 1 p.m. (DH) *(3/21) Miles - 4 p.m. (DH) *(3/23) @ DSU - 2 p.m. (DH)*(3/24) @CBU - 2 p.m. (DH) *(3/26) ASU - 4 p.m. (DH) (3/29) UNA - 3 p.m. (DH) *(3/30) UU - 2 p.m. (DH) *
DH- double-header
*-GSC game
upcoming Blazer
baseball team schedule
(3/16) UWA- 3:30 p.m. (DH) *
(3/17) UWA- 1 p.m. (DH) *
(3/23) SU- 3 p.m. (DH) *
(3/24) SU- 1 p.m.(DH) *
(3/27) ASU- 5 p.m.
(3/29) UWG- 3 p.m. (DH) *
(3/30) UWG- 1 p.m. *
DH- double-header
*- GSC game
Follow@BlazerSports
on Twitter
Last season’s injured football players return to the field in 2013
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