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February 27, 2014 W W W . V S U S P e C T A T o r . C o M VoLUMe 86 ISSUe 6
Inside This Issue- oPInIonS: Where is our new atm?
- FeATUreS: VsU Golf heads to lone star state
- SPorTS: Professor’s collection: a fun diversion
On the Webwww.vsuspectator.com
Weather
60 H 31 L
Today
66 H 41 L
Friday
44 L73 H
Partly
Cloudy
Saturday
Check out John Stephen’sarticle about the SGA’s recent
safety proposal!
Check out “Dig in:Check out “Dig in:
new Remertonnew Remerton
buffet offers foodbuffet offers food
and fun”and fun”
Sunny
Mostly
Sunny
Find Us
online
WebSITe:vsuspectator.com
TWITTer:@vsuspectator
FACebook:The Spectator
This Day in
History
bingo!- Natural High will be
hosting a game of BiNGo in
the Powell Hall auditorium at
7 p.m. snacks and prizes will
be provided!
freeze for health- the
VsU american medical
association will be hosting a
fundraiser at the mix from
noon to 9 p.m. 10 percent of all
mix proceeds will go to VsU
ama
guess what?- Phi Beta will
be celebrating Black History
month with a game of Guess
Who at 6:30 p.m. in the
student Union.
get a job! - education career
day will be held in the magno-
lia and cypress rooms in the
U.c. dress professionally and
bring resumes to give to
potential employers.
Today at VSU
Female SuffrageConstitutionalon this day in 1922,
eight members of the
United States Supreme
court unanimously de-
clared the 19th
amendment, which
granted women the right
to vote, constitutional.
The amendment stated
"the right of citizens of
the United States to
vote shall not be denied
or abridged by the
United States or any
State on account of
sex."
Source: History.com
Hill Harper excites VSU crowd
Hundreds of eyes gazed in a hyp-
notic state as Hill Harper captivated
the attention of anyone near the stu-
dent Union ballrooms tuesday during
the VsU event titled “celebrating 50
Years.”
the Harvard law graduate served
as the keynote speaker of the 50 Years
of integration committee’s biggest
event of the school year. students,
faculty and staff collaborated in a
night of child-like expectation to see
the writer, actor and activist speak on
passion, energy and the importance of
courage.
Harper has written five books that
have all been on the New York
times best-seller list. His most recent
work, “letters to an incarcerated
Brother,” talks about the U.s.’s incar-
ceration rates, the effects it has on mi-
norities and the potential solutions on
reversing such.
the night started with a press con-
ference with Harper followed by a
ViP reception that preceded his
speech. attendees were occupied with
videos that highlighted the pioneers
of integration at VsU in various ar-
eas: the first students to integrate the
university and the first african-amer-
ican faculty member, among others.
then came the moment everyone
was itching to see.
Harper ap-
peared on stage
with an unspoken
energy. Before he
uttered a single
word, eyes were
affixed to his tai-
lored, grey pin-
striped suit, and
the level of ex-
citement was ex-
tremely high.
then, he began.
the activist
spoke of passion
and its impor-
tance. He asked
the crowd, “What
makes your heart
beat faster?”
He noted that
anything that pro-
vides such energy
to your life should
be reciprocated
with that much
energy in the form
of effort. energy
like this was evi-
dent not only in his voice and in the
attention he showed to each and every
ticket holder but also in the social
media that trickled out after the event.
“man, @hillharper was amaZiNG
today…im so glad that i was able to
experience his essence of greatness
today #HillHarperVsU,” twitter user
“Jamal_No_cBear” said.
dr. shirley Hardin, director of
african american studies and inte-
gration pioneer, gave a rave review
on Harper’s speech.
“Hill Harper’s interactive message
was so energetic, passionate and in-
spiring,” Hardin said. “He made me
want to become better at whatever i
am encouraged to pursue in my life.”
in terms of the 50 years celebra-
tion, Harper said in the press confer-
ence that we all should expand our
“circle of care,” a concept that he
would expound upon later that
evening and that he alluded to by say-
ing “when folks talk about division, i
want to talk about inclusion.”
Harper ended his speech with a call
to action.
“i will not allow fear to stop me
from making the choices that i know
i should make,” Harper said. “instead,
i shall act from my heart.”
the audience eagerly repeated his
words.
tuesday’s celebration will be noth-
ing short of a fantastic memory for
many attendees. the interviews,
Harper’s speech, his personal interac-
tion with the crowd and the hand-
shakes during the book signing cer-
tainly left a deep impression on the
crowd.
“He delivered a great message,
gave excellent advice, and engaged
the entire room,” selenseia Holmes,
administrative coordinator of the of-
fice of social equity, said. “i couldn’t
be more pleased with the way the
event turned out.”
Isaiah Smart / The SPecTaTor
Hill Harper addresses the crowd during his speech on
Tuesday, Feb. 25. Harper came to VSU as part of the 50
Years of Integration celebrations.
VSU students identify
what a Blazer really is
When you think about Har-
vard, you think about arro-
gant, intellectual, trust-fund-
spending, future corporate
lawyers. When you think
about University of arizona,
you think of “Girls Gone
Wild.”
But what comes to mind
when people think about
VsU?
the VsU administration is
in the process of trying to an-
swer that question.
VsU has joined the atlanta
firm of t.G. madison to
launch an institutional identi-
ty study. according to the of-
fice of communications, the
study will identify the atti-
tudes, perceptions and experi-
ences of current and prospec-
tive students, parents of cur-
rent and prospective students,
high school guidance coun-
selors, alumni, faculty, and
staff.
“VsU’s identity is as
strong as the sum of the parts
that define it,” michael orr,
with t.G. madison, said.
“Buildings, curriculum, acad-
emic standing, athletics and
the city of Valdosta all con-
tribute to your identity, but
the most powerful factors are
the thoughts, feelings and
conversations that happen
about VsU. Brands are living
things. You are the brand, and
the brand is you.”
in order to contribute to
this idea of branding, a hand-
ful of students and alumni
were asked to finish a couple
sentences: “You might be a
VsU student if ...” and
“When i think of VsU i
think ...”
many of the current stu-
dents who were interviewed
seemed to be thinking about
the same thing−parking.
“When i think of VsU i
think of the struggle to park,”
Jessie Brooks, senior ac-
counting major, said.
Kati Keefe, senior exercise
physiology major, shared the
sentiment.
“You might be a VsU stu-
dent if you can never find a
parking spot,” Keefe said.
another hot topic for VsU
students was fees.
“When i think of VsU i
think of fees, fees, and more
fees,” Keefe said.
aside from parking and
fees, there were some re-
sponses that were more posi-
tive and some that only make
sense if you spend time on
campus.
“You might be a VsU stu-
dent if you know ‘club
odum’ isn’t really a club,”
lacey miller, junior educa-
tion major, said.
Jessica Johnston, a busi-
ness administration graduate
student, described an activity
that many students participate
in during the warmer months.
“You might be a VsU stu-
dent if you lay on the front
lawn after class,” Johnston
said.
B.J. Guest, senior educa-
tion major, referenced the
emails that students receive
to keep them updated on
campus events.
“You might be a VsU stu-
dent if you get at least five
emails from trisha lynn tay-
lor,” Guest said.
interestingly, VsU alumni
had a much different perspec-
tive compared to current stu-
dents.
“When i think of VsU i
think of football on satur-
days,” Jonathan Jones, 2001
exercise physiology graduate,
said.
Jones also expressed one of
the university’s main selling
points.
“You may be a VsU stu-
dent if you don’t want to be
lost in a big university,” said.
another alumnus, lee
ricketson, 1998 biology
graduate, said that three foot-
ball national championships
is what comes to his mind
when he thinks of VsU.
the difference in perspec-
tives between current stu-
dents and alumni is quite
drastic. current students
know of the struggles that are
fresh in their mind; however,
past students remember the
positive experiences they had
and the things they hear
about often.
Isaiah Smarts ta F F W r i t e r
Jessica Ingrams ta F F W r i t e r
SGA postpones
the addition of
new senators
For the first time in several
years, a hopeful sGa senator
was rejected by the legisla-
tive body−and it happened
twice.
this occurred during a
monday night meeting that
saw two other hopefuls elect-
ed with relative ease.
the two candidates voted
down were Kimberly taylor
and Brianna marshall. the
sGa’s legislative body cited
a lack of preparation from
both taylor and marshall as
red flags that indicated the
potential for apathetic sena-
tors.
taylor and marshall failed
to show up with a Power-
Point presentation, which for
almost every sGa hopeful is
a given requirement in their
presentation to the legislative
body.
taylor was voted down
with 15 “yea” votes, 17
“nay” votes and 3 absten-
tions. marshall was voted
down with three “yeas,” 28
“nays,” and four abstentions.
taylor cited being forced
out of her residence as the
reason for not getting a Pow-
erPoint ready.
“i had to move out of my
room immediately or i would
have been charged $435,”
taylor said. “i don’t have
$435.”
marshall, meanwhile, ad-
mitted that she was not pre-
pared for the presentation;
however, she said she would
be prepared next week and
that she could contribute to
the sGa.
“i love everything that you
all stand for,” marshall said.
“Just from listening to
them talk, i really believe
they need a little bit more
time to sit and watch our
process to understand what
we do,” senator edgar James
said. “i don’t think they have
a very clear understanding of
what we do. We want people
to come in that really under-
stand and really have a fire
and a passion for what we do
at sGa. it isn’t just child’s
play.”
Following up on James’
statement, secretary Kara
Fountain called the lack of
presentation unacceptable.
“You all know that you are
constantly having to check
your emails, and that’s some-
thing that you check automat-
ically,” Fountain said. “i’m
pretty sure that they’ve
known for a week now to do
a presentation, so that is real-
ly not acceptable.”
senator tamara dunn, in
support of the two hopefuls,
dissented from James and
Fountain.
“How many of us have
made a mistake in here?”
asked dunn. “i think all of
these individuals offer some-
thing a little different to
sGa.”
dunn also stated that these
potential senators could learn
many skills from sGa, and
given that they are under-
classmen, they could lead the
Joe Adgies o c i a l m e d i a e d i t o r
Buildings, curricu-
lum, academic
standing, athletics
and the city of Val-
dosta all contribute
to your identity, but
the most powerful
factors are the
thoughts, feelings
and conversations
that happen about
VSU.- Michael orr
“
”
See SGA , Page 2
The Spectator prints freeclassifieds for stu dents ofVal dos ta State Uni ver si tyonly. These must be nomore than 40 words, or a$8.00 charge will apply.Clas si fieds for fac ul ty,staff, stu dent or ga ni za -tions,stu dent-owned busi -ness es and the gen er alpub lic cost $8.00 for up to40 words. Ads should besent to The Spectator or de -liv ered to our of fice in 1238Hopper Hall. The dead line isMon day at 5 p.m. If paymentap plies, it should be sub mit -ted in a sealed en ve lope atthe time the ad is placed. Adsmust be ac com pa nied by the
name and phone num ber ofthe per son sub mit ting the ad.Ads must be re sub mit tedeach week, as nec es sary.The Spec ta tor ad dress is:1500 N. Patterson St.,Val-dosta, GA 31698. Ouremail address is spec@val-d o s t a . e d u .The Spec ta tor re serves the
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PAgE 2 | vsUsPEctAtoR.com N e w s
Services
FEBRUARY 27, 2014
For RentISO Roommate
Roommate Needed:$375 Rent Includes allutilities. Available:1 bdrmin a 3 bdrm house. LeaseJan through July.Email Ashley: [email protected]
For Rent
For Rent
1404 Iola Dr., 2BR/1BA- $500; 1203 WilliamsSt. 2BR/1BA - $550;1203/2 Williams St.,2BR/1BA - $550; 319 EPark Ave, 4BR/2BA -$750. Contact MingLin--- at 229-292-4400.
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The Classifieds
If the thought of fresh,
doughy specialty pizzas does-
n’t grab your attention, then
take one step inside Remer-
ton’s new buffet restaurant,
and you won’t leave without
a full stomach.
The Mill Pizza Buffet and
Games opened last week in
the Remerton Mill Plaza
across the street from the
decimated construction area
that was once the Strickland
Cotton Mill (hence the
name).
Customers will quickly no-
tice the hundreds of random
items plastering the walls
throughout the restaurant,
helping to bring them the ul-
timate store experience.
Everything from col-
lectible, soap-box derby cars
to sports memorabilia dons
the restaurant.
“We’re open!” owner Dan-
ny Davis said. “It took a long
time to get it decorated.
We’ve been collecting for
years; not just for our person-
al self, but for the ultimate
store. This is what we wanted
to build years ago.”
A temporary wall currently
separates half of the restau-
rant and will do so until the
40-piece arcade arrives,
which will include games like
air hockey and Skee-Ball.
To complement the daily-
made pies, The Mill also of-
fers full pasta and salad bars.
Davis and his staff took
over the 7,000-square-foot lo-
cation, vacated by ChrisMill
Homes, in July and began
renovating in August.
Davis said being in the
same plaza as the popular
bars played a large role in his
decision to open his estab-
lishment there. However, he
is reluctant to open late in the
morning hours, at least for
now.
“Financially, I already
know it would be huge,”
Davis said. “But we’ve got so
much money in our decora-
tions and our reputation in
being a family restaurant. I
was in college too once. I
know how it is.”
A stage occupies the center
of the restaurant which is re-
served for future, small-band
performances and karaoke
nights. The Mill also features
a banquet room for parties.
Davis said within a week
The Mill will possibly be of-
fering lunchtime discounts
for VSU students.
“This is a total rebuild,”
Davis said. “We’ve been
working diligently. We still
got a lot of work to do.”
Eric JacksonS P o R T S E D I T o R
Dig in: New Remerton pizza
buffet offers food and fun
Feb. 28
The Blazin’ Beauties will
present “Black Excellence” at
5 p.m. in the Student Union
Ballrooms B and C.
March 1
The Valdosta-Lowndes
County Library needs volun-
teers to help out with games,
refreshments and story times
as the library will be cele-
brating the 110th birthday of
Dr. Seuss. Volunteers are
needed starting at 11 a.m.
Call 229-333-0086 for more
information.
March 8
There will be a NEDA
Walk (National Eating Disor-
der Association) on the Front
Lawn from 9:30 a.m.-11 a.m.
All money raised by partici-
pants and sponsors goes to
the non-profit organization.
Note
It’s still not too late to ob-
tain your flu vaccine. The
Student Health Center has the
flu vaccine (which covers
H1N1) available to students
($10), faculty ($20) and staff
($20).
Call (229) 219-3200 to
schedule your flu shot ap-
pointment. Be sure to bring
your VSU ID with you. Cash
and check are accepted or
you can pay through the on-
line immunization store.
Upcoming Events
Feb. 26
A female near Brown Hall
stepped away from a bench
for a short moment, and her
purse was gone when she re-
turned.
Feb. 25
A student in Brown Resi-
dence Hall named Corey re-
ported his black HTC AT&T
cellphone stolen. The phone
was stolen on Sunday.
Feb. 24
Professor Potter lost her
iPad in the Student Union a
week ago. She was in a con-
ference on the 3rd floor.
Feb. 22
A cell phone was stolen in
Centennial Hall East room
260.
Feb. 18
Johnny Crawford, 22, of
Fairburn, Ga., was arrested
for possession of marijuana
with intent to distribute.
Crawford was also charged
with trespassing and obstruc-
tion of an officer.
February 17
A student named Krista
said her Honda Civic was
broken into while parked at
the PE Complex lot. She was
in class.
A student named Daija had
her set of keys go missing
(stolen or lost) while eating
dinner at Palms Dining Hall.
Police Briefs
organization very strongly in
the future.
Running counter to the oth-
er senators, Tori Baldwin
showed sympathy for Tay-
lor’s problem, but not for
Marshall.
“I’ve been through that,
and moving in one day is not
easy,” Baldwin said. “I did it
last semester, and I missed a
meeting, so it’s understand-
able. I just feel like (Mar-
shall) didn’t really care that
much because I heard her say
‘whatever’ six or seven
times, so I just feel like that’s
a little bit of a warning sign
that she may be someone
who just sits in the back and
never talks.”
The other two hopefuls,
Brittany Stokes and Jarrett
Wilson, were elected easily.
Stokes was voted in unani-
mously, while Wilson was
voted in on a majority vote,
with two voting against and
three abstaining.
Wilson’s election comes in
spite of not being at the
meeting last week when he
was supposed to be voted on
as possible senator.
“I was actually very sick,”
Wilson said. “I was ready to
go, I had my speech ready
and everything, but I couldn’t
make it.”
Wilson is determined to do
his best as an SGA senator.
“I will not miss any more
meetings,” Wilson said.
“Sick. Throwing up. I’ll be in
here.”
SGA
Continued from Page 1
february 27, 2014 vsuspectator.com | page 3
Opinions expressed in the Spectator other than editorials are the opinions of the writers of signed columns and not necessarily those
of the Spectator and its staff. all rights reserved. reprints by permission of the editors. Views in this newspaper are not necessarily
those of the Valdosta State University administration, faculty and staff.
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Editor-in-Chief: Will Lewis Managing Editor:Olivia McLeanBusiness Manager: Kristen VarneyAdvertising Manager:aimee napierCirculation Manager: Sara turnerOpinions Editor: elan WaiteFeatures Editor: Hillary Straba
Sports Editor:eric JacksonPhoto Editor: Summer yatesMultimedia Editor: rebecka McaleerWeb Designer: John preerGraphic Designer:Galen ColesCopy Editor: John StephenSocial Media Editor: Joe adgie
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Spectator Staff
OpiniOns
Students at VSU may
find themselves suffer-
ing from a lack of
withdrawals−in this case,
atM withdrawals.
VSU president, Dr. William
McKinney first announced
his decision to install an
atM in the Student Union
during a Student faculty
Senate meeting held on Oct.
17, 2013.
What prompted this deci-
sion was a robbery incident
that occurred at the Universi-
ty Center atM. On Oct. 3,
2013, a student was held at
gunpoint and forced to with-
draw $1,000 from his ac-
count.
“an atM should be in the
Student Union,” Dr. McKin-
ney said during the Oct. 17
faculty Senate meeting. “it’s
more well-lit, there’s more
student traffic. that atM is
not in a safe and ideal loca-
tion; that atM is going to be
moved.”
Dr. McKinney’s original
intention was to remove the
atM from the University
Center because of the in-
creased number of inci-
dences occurring at that lo-
cation; however, at the feb.
20 faculty Senate meeting,
another solution was raised.
according to the report
made by the Special Com-
mittee on Safety and Securi-
ty at VSU, “some favor leav-
ing the atM machine at its
location (the UC), so visitors
to football games can use it,
(but) we also need an atM
machine at a safer location,
possibly the Student Union.”
nearly five months after
Dr. McKinney’s original de-
cision, the relocation has yet
to happen.
On Wednesday, Dr. McK-
inney said the plan was mov-
ing forward but did not offer
a specific timeline for com-
pletion.
“We are in the final stages
required to actually remove
the atM from the UC and
replace it with one in the
Student Union,” Dr. McKin-
ney said. “i plan to discuss
the matter with the SGa be-
fore final arrangements are
made.”
While this is encouraging,
we at the Spectator feel it’s
time for definitive action.
atM’s appear to be every-
where−in convenience
stores, on street corners−so it
seems like it shouldn’t be a
year-long project to install
more around campus.
We believe that it has
taken the administration
entirely too long to install
the new atM in a safer lo-
cation.
the VSU administration
has a responsibility to its
students. By neglecting to
promptly install an atM in
a safer, more accessible lo-
cation, they are putting stu-
dents at risk and are en-
couraging more crime to
take place in an area that
has already proven to be
dangerous.
the administration’s lack
of activity regarding this
matter is unacceptable. it ap-
pears that those in power
want to have the correct plan
in place but have failed to
execute it in a timely fash-
ion.
Students and faculty
should email VSU president
William McKinney at wmck-
[email protected] and re-
quest that an atM be in-
stalled in the Student Union
as soon as possible in the
name of safety.
express your opinion by
sending the staff a tweet at
@vsuspectator
This editorial was written by a member of the editorial staff and it expresses the general opinion of the editorial staff.
Our point of view...
Where is our new ATM?
Millions of americans are
being cheated out of their
right to vote, and the law of
the land is to blame.
attorney General eric
Holder recently gave a
speech at Georgetown Uni-
versity, during which he dis-
cussed the voting rights that
are given to−or more impor-
tantly, withheld from−con-
victed felons.
Determining the voting sta-
tus of felons falls to each in-
dividual state, which has led
to diverse legislation.
Maine and Vermont allow
felons to vote during their
prison sentence, while 11
states forbid convicted felons
from voting ever again. the
remaining states fall some-
where in between these oppo-
site rulings.
Holder urged states, espe-
cially the 11 that ban felons
from voting indefinitely, to
restructure their laws con-
cerning this issue because
such legislation is outdated
and counterproductive.
those who have been con-
victed of a felony deserve to
suffer a punishment for their
actions, but such punishment
should not extend to being
stripped of their right to vote.
Many felons are reformed
and rehabilitated throughout
their time in prison, becom-
ing reputable citizens and
leaving their life of crime be-
hind them. it is not fair to
mandate that those people
cannot have a say in who
governs them simply because
of a former lifestyle they no
longer adhere to.
the felony voting laws
were employed by
several southern
states in the post-
Civil-War era in or-
der to keep african-
americans from
participating in
elections. Lingering
racism and abhorrent preju-
dice led to many african-
americans being intentional-
ly and wrongfully convicted
during this time.
a law that was created in
part to further a racist agenda
has no place in our progres-
sive society. rather than pro-
tecting citizens’ liberties,
felony voting laws restrict
them.
the right to vote helps
make up the foundation of
our democratic government,
ensuring the people as a
whole maintain their sover-
eignty in political affairs. to
disenfranchise millions of
american citizens is a grave
misstep by our government.
those serving prison time
for felonies deserve to be
stripped of their suffrage be-
cause they have temporarily
been removed from society
due to serious wrongdoing.
Once they have been reinstat-
ed into society, they should
receive the basic rights of
normal citizens−including the
right to vote.
if a former felon commits an-
other crime and returns to
prison, then his or her right to
vote can be revoked for a
second time. it is up to our
justice system to determine
the proper punishment for a
felony rather than a state gov-
ernment inflicting a penalty
of permanent disenfranchise-
ment upon convicted felons.
the United States is a
place where people can rein-
vent themselves over time,
regardless of their past, and a
single action should not pre-
vent a citizen from retaining
the power to be heard in our
society.
Students discuss ex-con voting rights John StephenC O p y e D i t O r
Gay people have the
plague−at least that’s the way
the Kansas House of republi-
cans seems to feel.
the republicans are trying
to pass a bill that will allow
private businesses to kick gay
couples out of their establish-
ment. Cops do not have to
help gay individuals if they
call the police for help.
furthermore, if a gay cou-
ple sues for discrimination
and loses, they will be forced
to pay the opposing busi-
ness’s attorney’s fees.
the ignorance is astound-
ing.
at least Jim Crow laws
claimed to be equal,
even though they were
anything but equal.
in this bill, Kansas is
blatantly discriminating
against gay couples.
the excuse for this
behavior is that Kansas
is protecting the peo-
ple’s “religious liberty.”
the bill states that cops can
refuse to help gay couples,
and business owners do not
have to allow gay couples to
be in their store if it violates
their religious beliefs.
Homosexuals can be
banned from basically any-
where in the state of Kansas.
Quoted in an article on
slate.com, Kansas Senate
president Susan Wagle said
that a majority of the state
senators in her party would
not vote for the bill. Wagle
said they support “traditional
marriage” but don’t condone
discrimination.
it’s hard to believe that in
2014 politicians are bringing
back discrimination laws.
History will always repeat it-
self, and it seems that the
time is upon us to repeat the
ignorant discrimination that
our country fought against in
the past.
it’s amazing that these
politicians would have the au-
dacity to write such a bill and
expect it to pass.
thankfully, the
Kansas Senate shot
down the bill.
arizona Gov. Jan
Brewer vetoed a similar
bill on Wednesday
night that caused a na-
tional outrage.
after hearing both
arguments for and against the
bill, Gov. Brewer decided to
strike down the bill, saying
the bill would create more
problems than solutions.
However, in Uganda, a law
was passed that, amazingly, is
worse than the bill in ari-
zona. Citizens of Uganda can
be sentenced to jail time if
they commit or support ho-
mosexual acts. this penalty is
light compared to the first
idea of punishment, which
was death.
the only hope is for people
to realize how ignorant and
selfish this bill is. it’s up to
those who believe in compas-
sion to provide everyone with
equal service.
When will these people
learn? the time of acceptance
and compassion is now. Dis-
crimination belongs in the
past.
Discriminatory bill brought to light Jordan Hilla S S i S ta n t
O p i n i O n S e D i t O r
in most states, felons have
to wait years to have their
voting rights restored and for
a good reason: they are not
trustworthy.
Being sent to prison is a
punishment, and when some-
one commits an act that lands
them there, they lose their
freedom and democratic
rights during that time.
the construct of a criminal
spending time in prison sets
guidelines for society, show-
ing american citizens that
when you commit a crime,
you lose some of your free-
dom because you no longer
deserve to have it.
allowing felons to vote
immediately after completing
his or her sentence is like ex-
pecting a newborn baby to
immediately start walking−it
shouldn’t happen.
restoring an important
freedom, like voting, so
quickly after a prisoner’s re-
lease is bad public policy,
and it certainly doesn’t en-
sure the restoration of justice.
in fact, it does exactly the
opposite, harming the people
that haven’t committed
crimes by allowing someone
who has to engage in making
decisions that will directly af-
fect the country.
Why should someone be
allowed to vote that can’t
even comply with the
regulations of a civil
society? Chances are
they probably aren’t
going to vote for the
candidate that is best
for the country−and
that is exactly the rea-
son advocates so fervently
encourage that the voting
rights of ex-felons be re-
stored.
advocates of restoring vot-
ing rights to criminals argue
that discrimination against
ex-felons will encourage
them to commit more crime
even though having the right
to vote didn’t stop them from
committing crime initially.
Voting rights are one of the
few liberties that can be re-
stored with time; many other
freedoms once allowed can
never be returned to ex-
felons. So why focus on vot-
ing rights? Why not rally to
allow felons to hold public
office or to become police of-
ficers?
the real reason supporters
of voting ex-felons focus on
this single issue isn’t because
they believe that criminals
have “paid their debts” to so-
ciety or because they came
from “disadvantaging cir-
cumstances.” they want
felons to vote because they
know that ex-felons are going
to vote for them.
it isn’t a coincidence that
the majority of the advocates
are democrats, ones that op-
erate under the guise that it
isn’t really the fault of the
criminal that he or she com-
mitted a crime or ended up in
prison. What criminal isn’t
going to support that?
Voting has value; it is one
of the most important prac-
tices in our society, allowing
citizens to have a voice. Such
an important right should not
be immediately granted to in-
dividuals that squandered it
away so easily.
Do you feel strongly about
restoring voter rights to ex-
felons? express your opinion
by sending the staff a tweet
@vsuspectator.
Taylor StoneS ta f f W r i t e r
Will Lewis/ THE SPECTATOR
PAgE 4 | vsUsPEctAtoR.com FEBRUARY 27, 2014Features
english professors collect
more than items of the liter-
ary kind.
from salt and pepper shak-
ers to pink flamingos and
brooches (a type of clothing
pin), Dr. Jane Kinney, VSU
english professor, has a wide
variety of bizarre collections
that she either keeps in her
home as decoration or wears
on a daily basis.
“i’ve always collected
books, it seems, but not other
stuff,” Dr. Kinney said. “i
find myself the owner of sev-
eral odd collections now.
When i get something odd,
funny or interesting, friends
and family start giving me
more things to add to those
odd things.”
Dr. Kinney’s unusual col-
lections may have started
with books, but they began to
take on a life of their own af-
ter she was given a set of salt
and pepper shakers from her
sister that were made from
ash particles from one of
Mount St. Helen’s many
eruptions.
Other friends started giving
her odd or uncommon salt
and pepper shakers to add to
the original volcano-shaker
set, and her collection now
consists of around 10 or
more.
Dr. Kinney’s largest collec-
tion is made up of pink
flamingos and is displayed in
her front yard.
according to Dr. Kinney,
the pink flamingos were first
used as a marker to help visi-
tors identify her home, but
with time they became a
standing joke in her family
and were often given to her
as a gift from family mem-
bers or VSU
colleagues.
the pink
flamingo col-
lection ex-
panded be-
yond the
realm of yard
décor and be-
gan to in-
clude wall
plaques,
stuffed ani-
mals and
pins.
“My fa-
vorite pin is
probably the
one made out
of paper
mache, hand-
painted with
pink flamin-
gos on it,” Dr.
Kinney said.
“i found it at
an artist’s store
in Branson,
Mo., many
years ago.”
Dr. Kinney’s large pin col-
lection started while she was
living in Valdosta. the first
pin she ever received was a
gift from her cousin.
“the pins are unusual and
an easy type of jewelry to
wear because they don’t
get in the way or get caught
on things,” Dr. Kinney said.
“they tend to catch people’s
eye and thus are good con-
versation starters.”
even students in Dr. Kin-
ney’s classes have begun to
notice her large collection of
pins.
“i began to notice the
amount of pins Dr. Kinney
has because she wears one to
class every day,” Matthew
Sullivan, senior english ma-
jor, said. “even though she
wears them all the time, i
never catch her wearing the
same one.”
Dr. Kinney’s pin collection
not only comes from artist
collectives and street fairs,
but she also buys them from
museum shops as souvenirs
when she travels.
although she may already
have a large collection of
pins, pink flamingos and salt
and pepper shakers, Dr. Kin-
ney’s collection is always
growing.
“i’m constantly amazed at
how my friends and relatives
can keep finding odd, unusual
and funny things to add to
my collections,” Dr. Kinney
said.
Students, staff and faculty
connect in various ways
through social media, and
now romantic relationships
are not immune to the com-
plex world of cyber commu-
nication.
More often than not, there
is a student or faculty mem-
ber nearby that’s texting their
significant other.
if that’s not the case, he or
she may be tweeting publicly
about last night’s fight with a
sweetheart.
Or worse, these individuals
may be committing the social
media sin of twatching
(tweet-watching on twitter).
Whatever the case may be,
VSU students, faculty and
staff use technology to com-
municate in romantic relation-
ships.
today’s technology makes
communication easy and ac-
cessible. this is one of the
many pros offered by new
technology, but there may
also be cons to technological
advances.
“it may take away some of
the surprises that are nice to
unfold in a relationship,” Dr.
Kathleen Lowney, VSU pro-
fessor of sociology said.
according to Lowney, so-
cial media like twitter and
facebook can provide a bio of
a person before conversations
happen. Communication out-
lets like these reveal things
about a person, which may af-
fect the level of suspense one
experiences when getting to
know a person.
However, with profile bios,
“you can see similarities and
differences,” Lowney said.
according to Lowney, indi-
viduals that use social media
can find out if they are com
patible with one another.
“You might have a better
sense of who this person is,”
Lowney said
there are those who utilize
social media in order to deter-
mine if they want to pursue a
certain relationship.
additionally, people use so-
cial media to vent about the
problems they are having in
their relationships.
“Most people don’t have
these conversations with their
partners; they would rather
vent on twitter,” Mia rawls,
junior undergraduate student,
said.
Yet, there are those who
disagree with social media
venting.
“People should be straight
up with each other; that’s how
problems get solved,” Samuel
intermann, junior history ma-
jor, said.
as social media rises in
popularity, the connection be-
tween romantic relationships
and the online world becomes
even stronger.
Love ‘bytes’: Social media
is dominating relationships
VSU students will reach
new heights with COre.
COre Outdoors will be
hosting the second annual
crate stacking competition
March 6 at 7 p.m.
the event will be held in
the Student recreation center,
and everyone is welcome to
attend.
equipped with a helmet,
harness and a rope, competi-
tors will stack milk crates
while climbing the stack,
adding more until the whole
thing collapses. the goal is to
stack as many crates as possi-
ble.
the idea of crate-stacking
came from a conference that
COre attended.
“We first heard about it at
an aOre conference; the as-
sociation of Outdoor educa-
tion then tweaked the idea to
fit VSU’s style,” Sean Wilkin-
son, COre Outdoors graduate
assistant, said.
the first time COre spon-
sored the event, it was a suc-
cess with over 40 people in
attendance. they hope to have
even more participants this
year.
“Prizes from Mountain
Khakis, KaVU, the North
face, Croakies and other out-
door companies have hooked
us up with shirts, gift cards,
chalk bags and more,”
Wilkinson said.
Students will work to break
last year’s records for most
crates stacked. the record for
men was set by asher Brant-
ley with 21 crates. rebecca
tucker set the record for
women with 19 crates.
the competition costs $5.
Participants can pay with
cash, check or flex card in ad-
vance or on the day of the
event at COre Outdoors.
LaMarcus WilkersonS ta f f W r i t e r
VSU students stack the
competition with CORE
These are se-
lected
brooches
from Dr. Kin-
ney’s unique
collection.
She collects
many things,
including salt
and pepper
shakers and
pink flamin-
gos.
Photo by Sydney Devine
Will Lewis/THE SPECTATOR
Dr. Jane Kinney, VSU English professor, wearing her favorite pink flamingo brooch
that is made of paper mache.
Summer Yates/THE SPECTATOR
River runs wild
The usually stagnant stream beside the Oak Street Parking Deck
runs rampant after Wednesday’s all-day rain storm.
Freshman Justin Lewis, left, and freshman John Keibil, right, are
passing the time in the Student Union using their mobile devices.
Technology has changed the way people conduct their relation-
ships in the age of social media.
Equipped with a hel-
met, harness and a
rope, competitors will
stack milk crates while
climbing the stack,
adding more until the
whole thing collapses.
Abbie BaggerlyS ta f f W r i t e r
Will Lewis/THE SPECTATOR
Professor’s collection: a fun diversionSydney DevineS ta f f W r i t e r
OddEven
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SudokuANSWERS
PAgE 5 | vsUsPEctAtoR.comSportS
FEBRUARY 27, 2014
Before i began writing for
the VsU women's basketball
team, they were a solid 8-2
and undefeated in their home
building.
then it seemed as if a
switch got flipped. the team
wound up losing its next 11
out of 14 games.
was i that very switch?
i would surely hope not,
but after personally witness-
ing every home game and at-
tending several practices−in-
cluding a couple of the gruel-
ing 6:30 a.m practices.
i can assure you that the
team’s poor second half did
not occur because of a lack of
effort.
Nor is there a lack of talent
on this team.
on the contrary, this team
has the talent to compete with
anybody, and they have
shown that talent−even
though such skill ultimately
results in losses−time and
time again this season.
injury has been a major is-
sue for the team all season
long.
Maylisa Johnson went
down with an ACL injury be-
fore the season began. Al-
though not a major scoring
threat−averaging about six
points per game−Johnson was
to VsU what Jason Kidd was
to the Dallas Mavericks in
the 2011 NBA Finals. she
kept the team balanced and
acted like a coach on the
court, which helps a team big
time during moments of
stress.
Midway through the sea-
son, Maggie Davis and ivana
also got injured.
Both played the center/for-
ward positions, making
VsU's front line very thin at
the end of the season.
still, the VsU roster is rid-
dled with talent. April
thomas is an electric scorer.
Jordan waugh is a tremen-
dous shooter and an incredi-
ble, fundamentally skilled
player.
rashandra owens is great
on the glass. Kourtnee
williams is great at handling
the ball through traffic and
pulling up with mid-range
jump shots.
Ultimately, from my per-
spective, the problem never
was the personnel, nor was it
a lack of depth.
the real problem was that
this group of players strug-
gled to mesh together, and at
times it's been very notice-
able.
there have been several
moments−against Delta state,
against Lee and against west
Georgia, to name a
few−where VsU had oppor-
tunities to grab hold of the
lead and snatch victory from
the jaws of defeat, but they
didn’t.
the problem can't be
chalked up to off-the-court is-
sues either.
the team frequently men-
tions how easy it would be to
point fingers and pick out the
negatives. But they haven't
and have held several talks
about how to turn hard work
into hard-earned success.
the real disconnect hap-
pens on the court, where
mental mistakes−as coach
Hill has mentioned several
times−have made the differ-
ence between a win and loss.
For example, against Delta
state, VsU cut the score to
three points with 1:30 re-
maining in the game, but they
did not get a single-shot at-
tempt and missed both of
their free-throw attempts in
the next minute.
No one stepped up. No one
said "i will not let this win
get away. we wiLL win
this."
every team needs someone
who can do this.
Not only does this set a
standard that others must re-
spect and live up to, it also
helps the whole team stay
calm in high-pressure situa-
tions−the type of situations
that not having Maylisa John-
son greatly affects.
in the buzzer-beater loss to
west Georgia, VsU found
themselves in a similar situa-
tion. But this time, VsU got
a strong contribution from its
6-0 forward, Amy Duke. Af-
ter the first half, Duke had
nine points and seven re-
bounds and was well on her
way to a double-double.
she got her double-double,
finishing with 16 points and
12 rebounds, but it could
have been more.
several times Duke had op-
portunities to score and de-
cided to distribute rather than
try for the score, including
one where she dribbled past
her defender and had nobody
between her and the basket.
she passed the ball out to a
three-point shooter who end-
ed up missing the shot.
Being a basketball mind, i
fully understand the decision.
it is nice to get other players
involved, and when you are
attracting as much attention
as Duke was that night, dis-
tributing the ball can be very
effective.
However, what ultimately
makes a team, a coach, and a
program look good is a win.
even if a player records 15
assists, it doesn't help the
team if such actions don’t re-
sult in a victory.
And with VsU so in need
of a win, it would have been
nice to see Duke be the cata-
lyst for that win.
i thought i was about to see
a win happen against west
Georgia. Coach Hill kept
drawing up isolation plays for
Duke to get the ball, forcing
the defense to either double
team her, leaving shooters
open, or play her one-on-one.
this is basically Hill's mes-
sage to Duke: "we're putting
the game in your hands."
However, i never saw the
fire. i saw the effort, which
has been there in spades the
whole season.
But i didn't see the fire in
the eyes that it takes to stand
and fight for the win.
when one player is con-
stantly given the ball−which
has been the case a lot with
April thomas, VsU's leading
scorer at about 15 points per
game−it's possibly a sign that
other players don't feel confi-
dent.
As a result, players resort
to the “LeBron James” of-
fense where one player is se-
lected as the "chosen one"
and is given the ball, only to
have all the other players
clear out and watch what
happens.
it's a poor sight for a coach
to see, and one that a coach
needs to correct if he/she
wants to see better results at
the end of ball games.
Having a dominant player
is great, and having a player
step up and be a leader is
amazing. But even if there is
a “LeBron James”
player−and i use the term in
this case incredibly
loosely−there still must be a
cohesive energy given off by
all the other players.
simply put, you need a
teAM. Delta state Universi-
ty is a team. Lee University
is a team. Union University
is a team. Valdosta state at
the moment is a collection of
very good players, and the
standings show it.
Coach Hill has been work-
ing with a mantra that he
calls "working smarter, not
harder." with only two
games left on the schedule,
plus at least one more game
in the GsC tournament, the
last few games serve as a sort
of "mini" season for coach
Hill to work with his players
before going into next sea-
son.
VsU is coming off a win
against shorter, which should
help build confidence and
ease any tension in the locker
room.
At the end of the day, the
VsU women's basketball
team has no reason to get
down on themselves.
After being plagued with
injury and having to fit in the
scoring power of April
thomas, the future of this
team is still very bright.
though the team is likely
to miss the Division ii tour-
nament and finish at the bot-
tom of the GsC, don't be sur-
prised if the Lady Blazers
come out of the gates in full
force next season and rack up
the wins.
Commentary
Just not enough camaraderieNeil Frawley
s p o r t s w r i t e r
Teams still needed forspring intramurals
After being a part of stu-
dent life for over 30 years,
Valdosta state intramurals is
in full swing for the 2014
spring semester.
"You don't have to be an
athlete to be a part of the
games, we just want to give
people a chance to freely play
a sport they would like to be a
part of," Nick Lumpkin, Di-
rector of intramural and Club
sports, said.
in addition to being avail-
able to all students, it’s also
free.
“we started to try to in-
crease our information on
twitter and Facebook in real-
ization that people will adhere
more to that than flyers and
such around school,” Lump-
kin said.
read the rest online at
vsuspectator.com
Victoria Johnsons p o r t s w r i t e r
Head coach Kiley Hill speaks with his players during a timeout.
Sierra King/ The Spectator
Gulf South Conference Standings
1. Lee (16-2)
2. No. 17 Delta State (15-3)
3. Union (13-5)
4. West Florida (11-7)
5. Alabama-Huntsvile (10-8)
6.Christian Brothers (9-9)
7.North Alabama (8-10)
8. West Georgia (7-12)
9. Valdosta State (6-12)
10. Shorter (4-15)
1.1.West Alabama (1-17)
The little man that plays like a giant
When the Valdosta State
men’s basketball team took
the floor Nov. 11 for its sea-
son opener, there were sever-
al new players for fans to be-
come acquainted with.
the Blazers were victori-
ous that night led by one of
their newcomers, an under-
sized yet speedy point guard
named Larry Stone.
Generously listed at 5-feet-
10 and weighing in at 165
pounds, the junior put up sol-
id numbers in his VSU debut;
13 points, five assists and two
turnovers in 29 minutes.
those numbers don’t tell
Stone’s entire story.
During the final minutes,
with the Blazers already lead-
ing by 31 points, a loose ball
rolled toward the scorer’s
table.
As his signature dreadlock
dangled, it was
Stone, who outran an oppos-
ing player to dive head-first
to recover the ball.
“it’s great to see kids make
those plays because that
means it’s a habit,” head
coach Mike Helfer said after
the game. “it’s not for the
crowd, or for one play, it’s a
habit when you’re up that
many points. that was the
best thing for me—he is go-
ing to be diving on the floor
for the entire season so that’s
what made me happy.”
Sacrificing his body and
his game for the team has
been a key for the Blazers
this season.
Stone, a four-year starter at
t.C. Howe Academy in indi-
anapolis, ind., before playing
one year for Division i
iUpUi, started the first three
games of the season before
senior guard Jeremy McKay
took over at the point.
“As a sixth man, you can
see what’s going on and how
you can impact the game,”
Stone said. “if i’m on the
sidelines i can hear coach
yell out to guys what he
wants. it wasn’t a big transi-
tion—any way i can help the
team win, that’s my job.”
it is easy to point out
Stone’s lack of height, but of-
ten the smallest player on the
floor has come up the biggest
with the game on the line; in
the last two minutes of regu-
lation and overtime this sea-
son, Stone has made a team-
best 19-of-20 free throws.
“You know you’re bringing
in a really, really good player
that’s probably good enough
to start,” Helfer said of
Stone. “Larry’s such a great
kid. He knows he’s going to
play a lot of minutes and es-
pecially at the end with him
making those free throws.
For a coach to have confi-
dence in a kid to step up and
make them is really impor-
tant.”
A transfer from indian
Hills Junior College, Stone is
one of the guards in the Blaz-
ers’ back court along with
McKay and fellow junior
Jalen Crawford.
“it’s like a triple-headed
monster,” Stone said. “Jalen’s
a big, physical guard. Me and
Jeremy are the quicker,
stronger guards and we can
really get after guys as far as
our speed and quickness in
the full court. it’s a big ad-
vantage and any given night,
any one of us can go off.”
Stone finished his high
school career at t.C. Howe as
the school’s all-time leading
scorer before coming to VSU.
playing on a team with
four players averaging double
figures per game, Stone has
no problem to taking a back
seat to make his teammates
better.
“i’m more of a true, pass-
first point guard,” Stone said.
“i understand everybody
has to get the touches. the
game isn’t about who gets the
shots, it’s about the open
man. if we believe in each
other the way i believe in my
teammates, i believe we can
make a run [in the conference
tournament].”
Follow Shane on twitter:
@itsathomasthing
Shane ThomasS p o r t S W r i t e r
Paul Leavy/ VSU
Larry Stone has been a key contributor this season coming off the
bench.
VSU Athletics
the Valdosta State golf
team packs their clubs up for
texas next week as they will
compete in the 10th annual
St. edwards invitational.
the two-day tournament is
held on Mar. 3-4 at the Grey
rock Golf Club in Austin,
texas.
Five top-25 teams will join
the Blazers to make up the
16-team field, including de-
fending national champions,
No.1 Barry University and
No.4 Cal State-Monterey
Bay.
VSU looks to bounce back
after a 10th place perfor-
mance at the Matlock Colle-
giate Classic on Feb. 11.
A first round 305 score put
VSU in 13th of 15 teams and
killed any chance of a top
five finish as the Blazers
were stuck looking up the
scoreboards the rest of tour-
nament.
one of the few bright spots
to take away from the Mat-
lock was the play of junior
Austin McNeil, who finished
in 20th individually shooting
a (+3) 219.
VSU will need for McNeil
to continue his solid play
coming into this week at the
challenging Grey rock Golf
Club which hosts the annual
tournament every March.
Joining McNeil, head
coach Jared purvis is sending
Alex Jones, John Fordham,
Florian Schmiedel, and
Freshman Mitch Lomis to
texas to make up the five-
man team.
this group has proven that
they can put up low scores;
the next step is getting every-
one hitting the ball well on
the same day.
the Blazers haven’t been
able to put low rounds to-
gether for consecutive days
and the lack of consistency
has been the biggest problem
for VSU so far this season.
if VSU wants to be in a
good position on this tough
golf course, they will want to
avoid those one or two
rounds shooting in the high
70s and low 80s, which has
hurt them in recent tourna-
ments.
Chris WebbS p o r t S W r i t e r
VSU golf heads to Lone Star State
Page 6 | vsusPectator.com February 27, 2014S p o r t S
GolfDigest.com
Grey Rock Golf Club,an 18-hole golf course located near down-
town Austin, Texas., is the setting for the St. Edwards Invitational
March 3.
Follow @BlazerSports
on Twitter for updates
on VSU athletics.
Want to be a sports
photographer?
Email: epjackson@
valdosta.edu
VSU Golfer Average
John Fordham 74.1
Mitch Lomis 74.3
Alex Jones 74.8
Florian Schmidel 75
Austin McNeill 75.4
Michael Nutter 76.5
Wheaton Hall 77.8
