NEWS • 02

TSA under fire for privacy issues.

SPORTS • 09

A look back at football’s first season.

ENTERTAINMENT • 13

Mint Gallery moving down the street.

LIVING • 05

RAs heroes of University Housing.

VOL. 78 • ISSUE 14 • NOVEMBER 30, 2010

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When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and the Mississippi coast in 2005, the U.S. was challenged to re-spond.

“It was challenging to watch the city go down like that,” New Orleans native and Georgia State’s Emergency Operations Manager Keith Sumas said. “There is a lot more behind the scenes that needs to take place. It is not just taking water out of the city.”

To be better prepared if a natu-

ral or man-made disaster strikes the Georgia State campus, on Nov. 19, Georgia State’s Office of Emergency Management and other agencies sim-ulated a building collapse about two blocks from Greek housing to learn how to track mass casualties.

OEM, Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta Department of Fire Rescue, Georgia and Fulton County Emer-gency Management Agencies, Georgia State Police and local law enforcement plotted this simulation, Georgia State’s

Despite efforts to increase environmental awareness, the pro-posal for student sustainability fees was recently voted down by the Georgia State University Manda-tory Fee Committee.

Georgia State juniors Gabrielle Arrington and Allie Jones alongside Georgia State Law alumnus and Environmental Law Society repre-sentative Paul Black presented the proposition for a sustainability fee to the Mandatory Fee Committee.

Their proposal was to institute “green” fees, adding an additional $3 to the mandatory fees, which would be used as funding toward sustainability programs aimed to help students and members of the university community.

The Mandatory Fee Commit-tee is compromised of students, staff and faculty. Proposals for man-datory fee increases are presented to the committee during a week-long session. In a second session, committee members can ask ques-tions to help finalize their decision.

This year, there were a total of 16 members on the committee. The finalized vote for the sustain-

ability proposal was six yeas and 10 nays.

“It was just a no vote with no discussion or explanation and no one came up to the sustainability fee presenters afterwards to explain why they voted the way they did,” said Michael Black, visiting lecturer in the biology department. “Our water and sewer rates in Atlanta are among the highest in the na-tion and continue to go up. Electric rates are also likely increase in the near future. Both of these will cut into what the university can spend on things like better programs and initiatives for student education. So, at a time when it would be a re-ally good and wise investment in conservation and energy efficiency to save future money, the university may have fewer funds to be able to do this.”

Further addressing sustain-ability issues was Kevin Kirsche, University of Georgia’s director of sustainability, who visited Georgia State to discuss how the establish-ment of student green fees helps coordinate, communicate and ad-vance sustainability at UGA.

Since the initiation of student “green” fees at the university, “we regularly receive great input from

passionate and engaged students, faculty and staff. Ideas range from waste reduction and recycling to alternative transportation, local foods and renewable energy proj-ects,” Kirsche said.

“Several new and ongoing pro-grams have been established since the initiation of student green fees. The UGArden campus community garden provides physical and meta-phorical growth through hands-on opportunities for students and has resulted in over 700 pounds of fresh, local, sustainably-grown pro-duce donated to the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia,” Kirsche said.

If the proposal for the sus-tainability fee was to be approved, Kirsche said “I believe there are many at GSU who will work hard to advance the sustainability of your great institution. There are oppor-tunities to reduce generation of waste and consumption of energy, water and other valuable material resources in an economically re-sponsible manner.”

“I think Sustainable Energy Tribe is going to try for a sustain-ability fee again next year,” Black said.

Committee members say no to sustainability feesBy JAEMIN HWANGStaff Writer

EMILY CARLSON | GEORGIA MAGAZINEA student harvests squash at the UGArden, the community garden at the University of Georgia.

Emergency simulation tracks mass casualties on campusBy DANIEL B. RINALDIStaff Writer

ANA POPENKO Georgia State’s Office of Emergency Management, Atlanta Fire, Grady Emergency Medical Services and other agencies practice dealing with a full-scale emergency situation

The University System of Georgia reached a new enrollment record dur-ing the fall 2010 semester.

The Board of Regents reported an increase of 9,550 students, or 3.2 per-cent, in enrollment over last fall. There are approximately 311,442 students at-tending 35 USG colleges.

“Individuals continue to seek out the opportunity that higher education uniquely offers,” said USG Chancel-lor Erroll Davis. “We must bear this in mind as we continue to be chal-lenged by budgets and shrinking state resources.”

The increase is not as impressive as the 6.7 percent increase USG saw from fall 2008 to fall 2009. However, it continues the steady increases in en-rollment the Board of Regents has seen in the past few years, Davis said.

“We continue to grow in good times and bad times. We are growing where we want to grow,” Davis said.

According to the official report re-

leased by the Board of Regents, Geor-gia State saw a 3.6 percent increase. Student enrollment is now 31,533.

The University of Georgia, which currently holds the record for highest student enrollment in the state, saw a decline in its enrollment by 0.6 percent and now enrolls 34,677.

If Georgia State continues to re-port gains in student enrollment, it may soon surpass the University of Georgia as the largest institution in the state.

The report also showed that mi-nority students continue to enroll at a higher rate than the overall student population in fall 2010.

Hispanic enrollment jumped 14.5 percent from fall 2009 to fall 2010. His-panic students now make up 4.7 per-cent of total enrollment.

Enrollment by Asian students in-creased 6.5 percent from fall 2009. Af-rican-American enrollment numbers increased 5.1 percent.

Female students now make up 57.5 percent of the USG’s total enroll-ment.

USG enrollment numbers continue to increaseBy MIRANDA SAINAssociate News Editor

SEE SIMULATION, PAGE 4

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Michael Eriksen, professor and director of the Institute of Public Health at Georgia State University, gave a presentation for the Great American Smokeout Week at the Student Center on Nov. 17.

The presentation, titled “What will the Second Century of Nicotine Addiction Look Like,” explored the past, present and future of nicotine addiction.

In 1962, a prominent tobacco company released a document highlighting that absorbing nicotine through smoking helps “resist external stress… [and] show a profound tranquilizing effect.”

“[Smoking] would have been okay, maybe, if it didn’t kill people along the way and not only kill people, but kill more people than any other product or action in our society,” Eriksen said.

Two million people die each year in the United States and 480,000 of those deaths are caused from cigarette smoking, according to Eriksen.

By 2007, 160,390 deaths were attributed to lung cancer and 90 percent of those deaths were caused by cigarette smoking. He indicated that the combined to-tal deaths from colon, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancer are less than the total caused by lung cancer.

One out of two lifetime smokers -- someone who has smoked from their teenage years to death -- will die from smoking. In comparison, smokers who stop smoking will be able to reduce their risk dramatically.

“Right now, there are 50 million Americans ad-dicted to nicotine,” Eriksen said.

He went on to question how smokers should get their nicotine in the future.

Tobacco companies like Camel and Marlboro cre-ated Snus, a pill form of their products that give users nicotine orally. Nicotine products are now available in water, cosmetics and even alcoholic beverages.

Electronic cigarettes, known as E-Cigarettes, have caught on in the market. The product gives smokers their nicotine dose and mimics smoking, but it doesn’t burn tobacco, according to Eriksen.

“We have not done half the things that we could do [to regulate the tobacco company],” he said.

Eriksen said smoking rates and the number of smokers has also been cut in half. Deaths caused by smoking are decreasing, but are still prevalent.

Eriksen says that students have to support the cause in order to make a smoke-free Georgia State campus a possibility.

Eriksen has worked for the CDC and World Health Organization. He is also the co-author of The Tobacco Atlas.

EMILY YANG | SIGNALMichael Eriksen gives a presentation about nicotine addiction

Eriksen looks into nicotine addictionBy EMILY YANGStaff Writer

Act, which “establishes that airport secu-rity screeners are not immune from any U.S. law regarding physical contact with another person, making images of another person or causing physical harm through the use of ra-diation-emitting machinery on another per-son. It means they are subject to the same laws as the rest of us.”

“We know through intelligence there are determined people, terrorists, trying to kill not only Americans but innocent people around the world,” Pistole said. The TSA does not release detailed records of the pos-itive effects of screenings for security rea-sons, but they said that during the week of Nov. 8, screeners found six prohibited items, 11 firearms and arrested six passengers be-cause they had dangerous or prohibited ob-jects.

“I’d rather be screened and safe than

worry about my safety. As long as it is pri-vate, I am fine with it,” said Georgia State senior Ashley Clarks.

“I’d be comfortable with it as long as females were checking females and males were checking males,” Zeldayah Wright said.

Sophomore Victoria Raby said that though she appreciates the measure taken by the government to keep citizens safe, she would not want her naked body to be dis-played. “I don’t mind them scanning me as long as the image is not a full-out image of my actual naked body. I do appreciate the government trying to keep us safe as we fly though.”

Hartsfield-Jackson Airport has a tool available on their website that updates pas-sengers on security wait times. Visit www.atlanta-airport.com/Passenger/waittimes for more information.

DAVID GOLDMAN | APPassenger at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport enters a full body security scanner. The scanners have been controversial because people believe they are an invasion of privacy.

The newest airport security measures have some passengers fuming over their rights. The new Advanced Imaging Tech-nology (AIT) scanners connect to a screen that an official looks at in a separate room. There, they can see what is under the pas-senger’s clothes, essentially showing their naked bodies.

Those who reject the scanners must go through a full-body pat down, which some passengers say are done too aggressively. Both methods have caused controversy be-cause of privacy issues. Passengers who opt out of both methods can face up to $11,000 in fines.

The debate began earlier this month when John Tyner, a 31-year-old software en-gineer, got into a scuffle with a Transporta-tion Security Administration (TSA) agent in San Diego. Tyner refused the scanner, opt-ing for a pat down, and told the TSA agent “if you touch my junk, I am going to have you arrested.” Since then, there have been various complaints from passengers con-cerning the new methods.

National Opt Out Day on Nov. 24 pro-tested the scanners. According to their web-site, “It’s the day ordinary citizens stand up for their rights, stand up for liberty, and pro-test the federal government’s desire to virtu-ally strip us naked or submit to an ‘enhanced pat down’ that touches people’s breasts and genitals in an aggressive manner.”

A reporter from the Associated Press talked to Virginian health care worker Brian Sodergren, who initiated the opt out day.

“I just don’t think the government has the right to look under people’s clothes with no reasonable cause, no suspicion other than purchasing a plane ticket,” he said.

TSA chief, John Pistole, asked passen-gers for their cooperation since Nov. 24 is one of the busiest traveling days of the year.

Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) recently introduced the American Traveler Dignity

TSA screeners under fire over privacy issuesBy SUCHI SAJJAStaff Writer

Georgia State’s J. Mack Robinson Col-lege of Business was one of the sponsors and supporters of the World Affairs Council of Atlanta’s young leadership conference held at Georgia State’s Buckhead Center.

Attendees learned about leadership in the new world economy and understanding of competitiveness and sustainability.

“We had about 65 attendees who came out bright and early on a beautiful Saturday morning,” said Clare Higgins Morton, ad-ministrator of the World Affairs Council of Atlanta.

Guest speakers included Fenwick Huss, Dean of Robinson College of Business, who opened with the welcoming remarks; Afzaal

SEE WORLD LEADERS, PAGE 4

WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILDr. Cedric L. Suzman, D.B.A. Executive Vice President & Director of Programming of the World Affairs Council and Dr. Wayne Lord, President of the World Affairs Council, seen here with Dennis Lockhart, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and Sir Nigel Sheinwald, British Ambassador to the United States.

RCB sponsors young leaders conferenceBy ANQUANNET WRIGHTStaff Writer

03www.gsusignal.com/news Tuesday, November 30, 2010NEWS

After finishing a summer in Italy, Georgia State senior Erinn King will study abroad in New Zealand for a year as a recipient of the Rotary In-ternational Ambassadorial Scholar-ship. This scholarship will allow King to study abroad at Massey University in Wellington with tuition, fees and room and board paid for by the schol-arship.

King has had a passion for trav-eling since she visited Ireland at age ten. She researched the Rotary Club’s International Ambassadorial Schol-arship in high school, but the schol-arship requires a year of college com-pleted before applying. After placing this opportunity on the backburner, King applied and was notified she had received the scholarship in August.

“A year of college passed and I had more conviction of studying abroad so I re-opened the idea,” she said.

The scholarship aims to deepen the ties between foreign countries and America. As stated on the Ro-tary Club’s website, “The purpose of the Ambassadorial Scholarships program is to further international understanding and friendly relations among people of different countries and geographical areas.”

The Ambassadorial Scholarship fund began in 1947 and the main stipulation is that when someone receives the scholarship, they are re-

quired to give a certain number of speeches about life in America. King has already presented speeches while in Italy this summer, but has not yet prepared her speech for New Zea-land.

The Rotary Club is a non-profit that runs on the donations by mem-bers and friends of the Rotary Foun-dation. The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to “enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, good-will and peace through the improve-ment of health, the support of educa-tion and the alleviation of poverty,” according to the Rotary Club website.

“Academic-Year Ambassadorial Scholarships provide a flat grant of U.S. $27,000 for one academic year of study in another country,” the website explains. “These awards are intended to help defray costs associated with round-trip transportation, tuition and other fees, room and board and some educational supplies.”

King will depart for New Zea-land in early February and will return in November 2011. She will pay do-mestic tuition, but it will be covered by the scholarship. Applicants pro-vide their top five choices of countries and universities they want to attend. The Rotary Club then processes the applications to make the best choice.

“I was squealing,” King said about learning that she had been awarded the scholarship. “My parents were excited, it was surreal because I wanted it to happen so much but ac-tually hearing that I had received it, I

almost couldn’t believe it.”Recipients of the scholarship

must perform many tasks, ranging from giving at least eight presenta-tions to Rotary and non-Rotary audi-ences upon return to attending orien-tation sessions before departure.

In the orientation seminars King said she learned what to dis-cuss in the presentations and the Rotary Club gives suggestions and

Georgia State student receives ambassadorial scholarship

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tips. When giving the presentations, the student prepares it alone. King said that in Italy her experience was that sometimes they allocated 10 minutes for an informal presentation, whereas other times they were longer and very formal.

Although King is a student at Georgia State, the Rotary Club Schol-arship is not through the university. Her summer in Italy was through Georgia State. King is a Communica-tions major and will be taking classes such as advanced public speaking. She hopes to have an internship while she is away.

“The study abroad program is great. They’ve advised me whenever I need it. The program is completely independent of the study abroad pro-grams and considering that, they’ve been so helpful,” she said.

King was attracted to the Rotary scholarship because of the club’s in-volvement with philanthropy. She heard about the Rotary scholarship opportunities through her involve-ment with Beta Club in high school.

“When I started researching the scholarship I was reading this and thought that our interests were aligned,” King said. “They do a lot of international philanthropy, especially

in India. I have a huge appreciation for intercultural communication and crossing those boundaries of cultural divides and so does Rotary and the people involved. “

While studying in New Zealand, King hopes to build strong relation-ships within the Rotary and learn about New Zealand culture. Diplo-matically speaking, she hopes to learn about their political environment. The program aims to further ties be-tween countries and enrich students’ lives through their experiences.

King is responsible for applying for her student visa and getting all the forms in order.

“The thing about Rotary, it’s not like a study abroad or research pro-gram. It’s up to you to get all the stuff done yourself,” she said.

King started a blog during her studies in Italy. She plans to continue it during her year abroad with vid-eos, posts and pictures. Her blog can be viewed at eringoesabroad.tumblr.com. King will be staying off-campus in Wellington.

For more information about the Rotary Club, or to apply for the Ro-tary Club’s various scholarships, visit www.rotary.org.

ERINN KINGStudent Erinn King sits on a ledge overlooking beautiful rolling hills on her stay in Italy.

By NICOLE SCHIMMELStaff Writer

04 Tuesday, November 30, 2010 www.gsusignal.com/news NEWS

first full-scale emergency simulation since OEM’s incep-tion in 2007, Sumas said.

Every aspect of the simulation was controlled.In the plotted setting, an unknown explosion col-

lapsed the roof of a Georgia State building, killing 10 and injuring 50. At the time, children from an elementary school were visiting the building as part of a field trip, Sumas said.

Although the explosion, the roof collapse and the field trip story were hypothetical, the setting was real-istic because adult actors played the roles of all victims, even the children, Sumas said. To make it more realistic, a makeup artist made up the volunteering actors’ bone-revealing wounds, bruises and blood-drenched clothes.

“They did not bring children to the scene, because they did not want the kids seeing all this blood. It is kind of gory,” Sumas said.

After the explosion and roof-collapse, the respond-ers — Grady Emergency Medical Services, Atlanta Fire, Georgia State Police and local law enforcement — rushed into the scene within 10 minutes and handled all the victims within approximately 45 minutes.

Within that time period, Grady respondents mea-sured the victims’ health by categorizing each as dead, severely injured, moderately injured or minimally in-jured. Emergency Medical Services Paramedic Matt Jones said the category determined the immediacy of care and where they were sent. Grady respondents then used the victims’ identification tags to track and contact their family members, Jones said.

“Depending on the scale of the [disaster], for ex-ample Katrina, they got shipped out of the state so loved ones did not know where they went,” Jones said. “So this is how we track them in a small-scale [disaster].”

The approach of the rescue is designed to ben-efit the greatest number of people, Jones said. To prop-erly design the simulation, Sumas said it took 12 to 14 months. After executing the simulation, all agencies met to discuss the successes and improvements of the pro-cess.

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>> SIMULATIONCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Malik, Vice President for Interna-tional Government Relations at The Coca-Cola Company and Terrence Williamson, Diplomat-in-Resi-dence at Morehouse and Spelman Colleges and Information Manage-ment Counselor for Mission Ger-many, who delivered the competi-tiveness presentation, along with many others.

The purpose of this year’s con-ference was to provide an informa-tive assessment and perspectives on how leadership impacts the future to better understand how to com-pete and sustain in this ever-chang-ing world. The Council’s Young Leaders strive to provide with the resources to achieve the goals through networking and education while promoting unity and support. This sense of unity is essential in evolving and globalizing the world.

The World Affairs Council of Atlanta is a fairly new organization established in 2010. It provides a forum for dialogue, a source of ex-pertise and an engine for research on international affairs and global issues that impact the corporate community, governmental and nongovernmental organizations and the general public, according to the Young Leaders website.

“The attendees were very in-volved and had lots of questions for all of the speakers. Arzaal Malik of The Coca-Cola Company probably could have answered questions all morning. The following speaker,

Steve Olson, actually offered to give up some of his time to allow more time for people to ask Mr. Malik questions,” Morton said.

The council has been on a straight and narrow path fulfilling its mission by presenting briefings with diplomats, global business leaders and country and topical ex-perts for Council members and the general public. They also facilitate forums and roundtable discussions for corporate, non-profit and gov-ernment leaders and collaborate with other institutions to enrich research and dialogue on critical international issues.

“What an inspiring and infor-mative day. Congratulations to the Council and the conference team for conducting such an incredible event,” said Michael Maziar, one of the participants at the event.

The council cultivates future leaders through the Young Lead-ers membership program, which provides opportunities for young professionals who wish to develop their understanding of internation-al issues and strengthen their lead-ership skills.

“Overall it was a great confer-ence and I can’t wait for next year’s. The speakers were all excellent and really connected with the audience,” Morton said.

>> WORLD LEADERSCONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

Holding a simulation like this at General Classroom Building would have been distracting, so instead the simula-tion took place at a former pawnshop Georgia State recently purchased, located at 242 Edgewood Ave.

“According to the Board of Regents’ policy, we have to do a full-scale exercise once every three years,” Sumas said. “I am sure we are going to have one sooner than that.”

Sumas said OEM would continue to carry out drills for fires, bomb threats and active shooters.

For emergencies, Sumas said OEM prefers students, faculty and staff to contact Georgia State Police directly at 404-413-3333 instead of dialing 9-1-1 so that proper re-sources can be dispatched for the rescue.

“Sometimes we are riding by and we see a fire truck or an ambulance in front of General Classroom Building and we are like ‘what’s going on,’” Sumas said. “We need to know what is going on because we can get there a lot quicker.”

For more information on OEM and emergency simula-tions, please contact the director, Mike Raderstorf, at 404-413-0776 or eoc@gsu.edu.

ANA POPENKOMembers of Atlanta Fire Department and Grady Emergency Medical Services assess the situation and deal with victims.

Auxiliary and Support Services and Georgia State Athletics are teaming up again for their eighth annual Toys for Tots drive. The campaign started Oct. 29, 2010 and runs to Dec. 9, 2010. Through this growing com-munity outreach tradition, Georgia State stu-dents, faculty and staff can contribute toys to children of families in need.

Toys for Tots began in 1947 in Los An-geles, California. It was founded by Major Williams L. Hendricks when his wife could not find an organization to donate a doll in-tended for a needy child. Hendricks gathered a group of Marines and, by placing collection bins around the city, collected over 5,000 toys for local children. Their efforts were so suc-cessful in the first year that Toys for Tots was launched as a national campaign the follow-ing year.

Capitalizing on its success, the organiza-tion enlisted Walt Disney Studios to design its famous red train logo. In 1991, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation was approved by the Secretary of State as an affiliate and non-profit charity foundation. They now supple-ment Toys for Tots with fundraisers and toy donations.

In 2003, Georgia State joined in the Toys for Tots campaign and, according to the Auxiliary and Support Services, to date have

LIVINGw w w . g s u s i g n a l . c o m / l i v i n g

Living EditorNoël Hahn

signalliving@gmail.com

Associate Living EditorAngel R. White

awhite49@student.gsu.edu

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s your friendly neigh-borhood resident assistant! University Housing is using a superhero-themed advertising campaign to call on brave individuals to step up and join the league of resi-dent assistants as they set off in the fight to maintain order throughout the 2011-2012 school year.

University Housing’s RA selection committee has launched its “Housing Needs A Hero!” campaign in the search of their next protagonist: someone who has what it takes to make a difference; someone who leads when others follow.

Several misconceptions exist about what it means to be an RA. An RA at Georgia State is not just the stranger at the end of the hall who occasionally patrols and makes sure the residents are behaving. An RA at Georgia State plays a significant role in the lives and education of the housing residents.

“In my opinion, I think the RA position is one of the, if not the most important position on campus,” said Shannon Corey, assistant director for community and staff development.

While traditional superheroes are out fighting crime, administering beatings and concealing their identities, RAs are interacting with their residents and making their presence known among the community they help to create. Although most do not have the power of flight, RAs do possess the power of being both a mentor and a sidekick.

But, as the adage goes, “With great power comes great responsibility.” This is the superhero motto the se-lection committee employs, and that encapsulates the essence of being an RA, according to Corey.

What makes an RA a “superhero,” Corey ex-plained, is the fact that they carry so much responsibil-ity on their shoulders and that “they can have such an impact on the students who live in the halls.”

Among their responsibilities, each RA is required to hold at least four one-on-one sessions with residents throughout the year. As students themselves, RAs are able to identify with the residents, and, according to Corey, will accommodate to their needs based on the academic and personal circumstances that occur throughout the semester.

The RAs are also responsible for creating a resi-dential curriculum, which is a variety of programs and activities designed to educate, develop communication skills, and provide academic and professional assis-tance to the residents.

It is duties such as these, plus RAs like Tony Price, that validate the concept of a true “Living and Learning Community.”

Price is a senior of exercise science and a returning RA and resident of the Freshman Hall.

We meet our “hero,” Price, sitting in the lobby. The lobby is buzzing with the hustle and bustle of the resi-dents and staff. Everybody seems to know everybody. And everybody seems to know Price.

“It’s a really family-oriented building,” Price ex-plained. “I love the people I work with. I wouldn’t trade my residents or the staff I work with for anything.”

Despite the free housing, meals, and other benefits he receives as an RA, Price has his own focal motive for doing what he does. “Don’t do it just for the benefits,” Price said. “You must have a genuine love and concern for the people.”

Aside from this attitude and all the aforemen-tioned supplemental attributes, an RA is required to have a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher. “We want to make sure that they’re strong academically, because they’re going to be a role model to other students,” Corey said. “And we do prefer that they have some ex-perience living on campus.” This experience can allow the RA to better identify with residents, according to Corey, because they will know what it is like to be one. And knowing is half the battle!

RAs: The heroes of HousingBy ANTONIO ROSALESStaff Writer

COLLECTION BOX LOCATIONS

• African American Student Services & Programs• Alumni Association• Auxiliary and Support Services• College of Education• Copy Corner and Mail Services (Kell Hall)• Dining Hall at Freshman Hall and Piedmont

North• Division of Information Systems and

Technology• Facilities and Management Services – Building

Services• Facilities and Management Services –

Employee Development• Human Resources• Nursing Students at Georgia State University• Office of Civic Engagement• Office of the Dean of Students• Office of Employee Development and Wellness

Services• PantherDining Courtyard• The Panthers Club • Panthers Corner Café • Panthers Den• Rialto Center for the Arts• Robinson College of Business• Safety and Risk Management• School of Social Work• Student Recreation Center• University Bookstore• University Career Services• University Commons• University Police

Toys for Tots drive returns to campusBy KEON-JAMAAL STEELEStaff Writer

collected and donated over 7,000 toys. Par-ticipation in this yearly event is easy and con-venient. Just stop by one of the many Toys for Tots collection boxes located throughout the campus and donate a new unwrapped toy.

Georgia State athletics fans will have the opportunity to participate in the toy drive while receiving discounts on tickets to two upcoming events. If you bring a new, un-wrapped toy on Nov. 6, 2010, when Georgia State meets Lamar in the Georgia Dome, you will receive a voucher to purchase a discount ticket for $10. Toy collection boxes will be

set up in front of the ticket booths between Gates A and D, where staff will be handing out vouchers to those individuals who donate a toy. Participants will then present their vouchers to the ticket booth and in exchange will be allowed to purchase a ticket at the dis-count price.

The second athletic event will be the men’s basketball game against James Madi-son on Dec. 4, 2010 at the Sports Arena. A toy donation allows the attendee to receive a voucher and purchase a discounted ticket for $6.

ELIJAH SARKESIAN | SIGNALToys for Tots bins are located throughout campus. Please donate unwrapped toys still in their manufactured wrapping.

NOËL HAHN | SIGNALLofts Resident Assistant Makushamar Macharaga speaks with the Lofts Student Desk Assistant Jasmine Frink about an upcoming event.

06 Tuesday, November 30, 2010 www.gsusignal.com/living LIVING

EEI guides students to financial security

With economic times hitting the wallets of even the wealthiest, it is becoming increasingly imperative to obtain a high level of financial litera-cy. Learning the basics of budgeting, like knowing how to purchase a car or home, is essential to get a head start on a creating a solid financial future. Georgia State students are working to make the concept of financial literacy accessible through the on-campus or-ganization Economic Empowerment Initiative (EEI).

EEI is one of the nation’s top fi-nancial literacy organizations. It part-ners with 16 higher-learning institu-tions. Additionally EEI works with several corporations spanning across the nation. Founded in 2001, the purpose of EEI is to assist college and high school students in developing entrepreneurial skills, financial liter-acy and personal wealth for their fu-tures. Although they are a fairly new organization, just last year they pro-vided services to more than 12,000 college and high school students, ac-cording to their national website.

EEI has partnered up with Geor-gia State in its effort to fulfill its mis-sion and vision in the community. EEI at Georgia State provides pro-gramming and community outreach to students across the metro Atlanta area. Some of the free seminars that they offer include topics on budget-ing, credit cards and debt, entrepre-neurial skills, home ownership and understanding student loans, just to name a few.

Current president LaToya Raines said, “EEI is an organization [that] strives to promote financial literacy among college and high school stu-dents. Since the chapter’s founding

in 2006 [at Georgia State], the dream that we had continues to become a reality.”

EEI at Georgia State has been recognized for their work and con-tributions to the campus and the national organization. Some of their past awards and honors include EEI’s Chapter of the Year (20062007, Cam-pus Coordinators (president and vice president) of the Year (2006-2007), 2007 Collaboration Award and Stu-dent Organization of the Year “Final-ist” (2006-2007’).

There are several benefits pro-vided for members of EEI. First, EEI has a match program that encour-ages students to meet monthly sav-ing goals. When the $2,000 goal is reached, they will match the $2,000 for a grand total of $4,000. There are opportunities for internships, jobs and networking with many of their corporate sponsors. Other perks in-clude a free checking and savings account with Bank of America, plus discounts, gift certificates and cash prizes.

Every year, EEI hosts a CEO Roundtable & Financial Empower-ment Summit that allows members to hear industry insiders share the tips and trades of various industries. This past year, it was held at Spelman College and featured Susan L. Taylor, Jack Ward and Julius Pryor, III. Cash prizes and scholarships were awarded to attendees as well.

When asked about what the fu-ture holds for EEI at Georgia State, “We have over 40 active members and the numbers keep growing,” Raines said. “EEI will continue to implement diverse and interactive seminars so that we can continue to uplift and empower the GSU campus and metro Atlanta community.”

By ANGEL R. WHITEAssociate Living Editor

LATOYA RAINESEEI members gather in Hurt Park to pass out food to the homeless for their program “Save a Tummy with EEI.”

Students interested in going green on campus can take a few simple steps to make Georgia State more environmentally friendly.

One of the simplest and most convenient ways students can help make Georgia State go green is recy-cling. Recycling Bins are located on every floor of every building on the Georgia State’s campus

Georgia State has several types of recycling bins located around campus. In offices, there are blue mini bins and large round barrel bins placed near printers for recy-cling paper. Around campus, there are four individualized compart-ment recycling bins for items like aluminum cans and plastic bottles.

Al Jones, member of Facilities Management Services and president of Sustainable Energy Tribe, believes it is important that students use recycling bins properly and do not throw trash into the bins. “Recycling does not go through to pick out the trash from the recyclable items and the items end up going to waste,” Jones said.

Currently, Georgia State recy-cles aluminum cans, plastic bottles and paper products, including card-board, magazines and envelopes. The school does not recycle glass, styrofoam cups or plastic spoons and forks.

Jones says it’s important that

Simple ways to go green on campusBy MISHALL REHMANStaff Writer

JUDY KIM | SIGNALNirvana Archer recycles her soft drink bottle on campus.

students are aware of how to recycle on campus and pay attention to the signs near recycling bins.

“Georgia State recycling does not have every kind of recycling. We have guidelines, and students should follow rules and use recycling prop-erly,” said Jones.

Another way students can get more involved is to join organiza-tions on campus focused on creat-ing an eco-friendly environment. Students are also encouraged to take part in events, like Earth Day, that are focused on creating awareness around campus. Earth Day is a col-laborative effort of various groups on campus, including the Sustain-

able Energy Tribe. Jones also encourages students

to attend the Green Bag Lunches sponsored by Greening Georgia State.

According to Jones, the most important thing towards making Georgia State more environmentally friendly is to make sure everyone does their part. .

“Each individual person makes a huge difference. It does matter whether you decide to recycle or not,” Jones said.

Those students who have ideas on how to improve recycling on campus can go to www.gsu.edu/go-green.

CAMPUS EVENTSDATE EVENT

TuesdayNOV. 30

Jazz Band II7:30 p.m.Florence Kopleff Recital Hall

WednesdayDEC. 1

Special Collections Department9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.Special Collections & Archives Reading RoomThe Special Collections and Archives of the Geor-gia State University Library collects and preserves unique and rare historical materials in selected subject areas.

Job Search and Networking Workshop3:00p.m. – 4:00 p.m.Room 245, University Center

Horn Choir7:30 p.m.Florence Kopleff Recital Hall

ThursdayDEC. 2

Understanding and Managing Conflict9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.HR Conference Room, Basement, One Park Place

First Thursday Downtown Arts Walk5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.Rialto Center LobbyThe first Thursday of each month on a self-guided tour and experience the magnificent art being featured at various venues in historic Downtown Atlanta.

Geosciences Seminar Series: Dr. Jack Pashin4:00 p.m.Room 314, Kell HallDr. Jack Pashin from the Geological Survey of Ala-bama will present: “Carbon Capture and Storage and the Future of the Energy Industry in the South-eastern United States.”

Dissertation Defense for Jana R. Ladner10:00 a.m.College of EducationAnnouncement of Dissertation Defense entitled, “African American Mothers’ and Professionals’ Perceptions About Transition to Special Needs Pre-school,” by Jana R. Ladner.

FridayDEC. 3

The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa12:00 p.m.Rialto Center for the ArtsThe department of African American Studies pres-ents “The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa,” featuring the children of the Kilombo Academic & Cultural Institute and soprano Jayme Alilaw.

Chemistry Seminar Series: Dr. Charles Z. Ding3:15 p.m.Room 101, Parker H. Petit Science CenterDr. Charles Z. Ding, from Ancor Pharmaceuticals Inc., will present: “Organborons as Potential Therapeu-tics.” Hosted by Dr. Binghe Wang.

SaturdayDEC. 4

Gala Holiday Concert8:00 p.m.Rialto Center for the ArtsContinues through Dec. 5

MondayDEC. 6

Microsoft Excel 29:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.This workshop will provide instruction with the Mi-crosoft Excel program. Individuals will learn to build upon the skills they have attained in these software applications, learn advanced skills and have the op-portunity to practice in each level.

TuesdayDEC. 7

Work-Life Committee meeting1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.Unity Plaza

Want to see your event in this space? Contact Noël Hahn with your event’s name, time, date, location and a brief description of the program. All events listed in the Campus Events calendar must either take place on campus or be produced by a Georgia State-affiliated organization.

With the end of the fall semester well on its way, students are taking a huge sigh of relief. Although, with the close of classes comes the begin-ning of semester finals. In between the library study groups and the late night cram sessions, Spotlight Pro-grams Board is hosting its final se-mester event, Finals Break: Stress Free Zone, Tuesday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. in the Student Center.

The event will feature a range of interactive activities in efforts to take students minds off final’s week anxieties. It will provide professional massage therapists, Wii games, and Dance, Dance Revolution game sta-tions.

Along with the various activities planned for the night, there will be a free homestyle dinner buffet courtesy of Spotlight Programs. The buffet will offer southern favorites such as fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese.

Special guests include the im-prov comedy group Dad’s Garage based out of Atlanta since 1995. Ac-cording to their website, they are composed of over 300 performers and volunteers that entertain more than 30,000 people each year. They have produced original pieces of co-medic relief for audiences of all ages such as The Change: Another Teen-age Werewolf Musical and Slaughter Camp.

Kiersten Smith, special events co-director for Spotlight, encourages students to come out, enjoy a stress-free atmosphere and simply have a good time.

“This is a great event to come and relax, enjoy some good food, good comedy and hang out with your friends,” Smith said.

The event is free to all Georgia State students and their two invited guests.

To learn more about the event or Spotlight Programs Board, visit www.gsu.edu/spotlight. To learn more about Dad’s Garage, visit www.dadsgarage.com.

Spotlight hosts finals stress relieverBy ANGEL R. WHITEAssociate Living Editor

STACEY BODEDad’s Garage is an improv comedy group based out of Atlanta.

07www.gsusignal.com/living Tuesday, November 30, 2010LIVING

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EASY IN, EASY OUTextended hours to fit your schedule.

Most street corners welcome a guitarist, saxophonist, singer or 5-gallon-bucket player, but rarely do they have the opportunity to welcome a cowbell or tambourine player.

Near Aderhold, in front of Moe’s and Subway, George Bell serenades the briskly pacing Georgia State stu-dents headed to and from class with his cowbell, tambourine or other per-cussion instrument of the day.

“I’m used to this corner,” Bell said. “It feels like home. I’m more re-laxed here.”

The clanking, unusual sounds can cause many people not to stop and listen. However, Bell hears some-thing that the rest do not. He plugs in headphones to play along with songs by artists like Sly and the Family Stone and Michael Jackson.

Bell recalled a time when a man told him, “When I first met you I thought you were crazy. Then I sat there and opened my ears and lis-tened to you and said, ‘man that guy ain’t crazy, that guy is getting down.’”

“Some people say [my playing] sounds good and some do not,” Bell said. “The ladies have more of the sympathy than the guys do. Some la-dies I can tell break their neck trying to cross the street just to put a little

something in my cup.”Despite people’s opinions and

tight pockets, Bell said he keeps play-ing for the love of music and uses the streets as his practice room. He has done so the past three to four years.

Bell is homeless. He lives off of the money he makes playing in the streets and occasionally with musical groups.

“Even though I am homeless, I am still happy,” Bell said.

Originally from Springfield, Tenn., about 30 miles north of Nash-ville, Bell moved to Atlanta to pursue his music.

Bell lives in Atlanta for the win-ter months because a downtown Presbyterian church offers food and shelter during that time period, Bell said. Additionally, Bell said the pastor welcomes him to play with the church band. From spring to fall, Bell lives in Tennessee with his family.

During the time Bell does not spend playing music or living at the shelter, he rides MARTA, which al-lows him to meet people and share his experiences.

“God has blessed me with the gift of ear and the gift of music,” Bell said. “I’m trying to give back what God gave me.”

Bell’s talent traces back to his family. Bell’s father played the guitar and sang the blues, and his mother

played the piano and sang.When Bell was a child, his fa-

ther would play guitar and Bell would break a tree branch into two to beat on a cardboard box in rhythm with his father.

The musical tradition carries on in the Bell family. During holidays, Bell’s family gathers in Springfield to have backyard picnics and jam ses-sions.

“Everyone grabs an instrument and they go at it,” Bell said. “It is a beautiful thing to see a family get to-gether and everybody enjoys them-selves, even when someone makes a mistake on the tambourine or plays a wrong beat on the drum.”

“If I lose [music] I know God is displeased with me in some kind of way, because he gave me one of the greatest gifts,” Bell said. “I love this more than anything in the world.”

“My old lady would tell me, ‘I will throw your clothes out, but I am go-ing to keep that equipment because you love that more than you do me.’ She is right,” Bell said. “I love this.”

Even though they are separated, Bell’s “old lady” occasionally supports him financially, Bell said. Bell has two daughters and one son all in their early twenties. Bell sees them every month when he visits Tennessee.

Street musician serenades students with cowbell and tambourineBy DANIEL B. RINALDIStaff Writer

DANIEL RINALDI | SIGNALGeorge Bell plays with various instruments outside Aderhold Learning Center to the music in his earphones.

08 Tuesday, November 30, 2010 www.gsusignal.com/living LIVING

The bebop of Miles Davis’ trumpet, B.B. King’s bluesy guitar riffs, Dinah Washington’s smooth jazz vo-cals. The spirits of these musical greats can be invoked with every snare drum over a reggae beat at the historic Royal Peacock.

Before the Royal Peacock resonated with throb-bing reggae and dancehall beats like it does now, the club was the place to be for live jazz, blues and soulful R&B performances. Legends like Dizzy Gillespie, Bes-sie Smith, B.B. King, Gladys Knight, Aretha Franklin and James Brown have all graced the stage of the his-toric Peacock.

“If you wanted to make it in the music industry, you had to perform at the Peacock,” said Sam, the club’s manager (who would not reveal his last name).

It’s been close to three years since Auburn Ave-nue’s’s reggae club staple shut down for renovations. Since that time, Peacock patrons have waited patiently for its return. During the absence of one of Atlanta’s premier reggae night spots, many wondered if the club would return with the same “dutty” vibe.

Berhane Hagos, owner of the club for 20 years, spent more than one year tackling floor-to-ceiling renovations. During the initial period of the club’s clos-ing, Hagos said he used that time to “acquire the funds needed to do a full renovation.”

The former grimy, hole-in-the-wall comfort has been replaced with a sleek, modern decor. Plush red VIP areas sectioned off with a signature velvet rope are strategically placed along the walls of the club. The stage has been transformed into a VIP lounge that overlooks the red-and-black checkered dance floor.

The fully stocked bar has been expanded, now allow-ing for as many as four bartenders to serve the crowd. Conveniently tucked away sits a mini bar, a source of relief when the main bar is overwhelmed. The mount-ed flat-screen TVs add to Hagos’ desired effect of chic modernism.

Fortunately, not all of the renovations are su-perficial. A much-needed sprinkler system has been installed, along with new plumbing throughout the building. Windows that most Peacock fans probably never knew existed have been exposed and showcase a panoramic view of Piedmont Road. The restrooms have been revamped and a new electrical system is in place. With more than $60,000 worth of construction, the Peacock’s new look leaves little to be desired.

However, the struggle between pleasing past pa-trons and generating a new clientele is as arduous as the club’s dramatic transformation was.

Jermaine Waterton, originally from New York, be-gan frequenting the club about seven years ago. What drew him there, he said, is that “no matter how small [the club] is, the vibe is always crazy,” Waterton enjoys the new look and says now the club seems “more mar-ketable.”

Saibo Jangana, a Peacock patron of 30 years, said, “The new management has lots of respect [for the club-goers].” He admits the vibe of the club is slightly differ-ent from three years ago.

The Royal Peacock’s bar manager, Paula Michelle Gomez, understands that some of the past patrons are a little hesitant to accept the changes, but she, along with the rest of the management, plans on implementing great customer service to win back the old supporters

ENTERTAINMENTw w w . g s u s i g n a l . c o m / e n t e r t a i n m e n t

Entertainment EditorJhoni Jackson

signalentertainment@gmail.com

Associate Entertainment EditorSavanna Keo

skeo1@student.gsu.edu

SEE ROYAL PEACOCK, PAGE 10

All it took was a community-based media class at Georgia State to spark a light in Erica Jameson, the founder of Mint Gallery, one of At-lanta’s few non-profit art galleries. Now with an impending move to a new space in the coming weeks, the gallery’s fifth annual Postcard Pin-Up show will christen their new home.

The organization was incorpo-rated in June 2006, and Jameson and company have been working non-stop to promote the artistic commu-nity of Atlanta ever since.

“It’s more about the artist. We work with a lot of young, emerg-ing artists and a lot of people who may not have the opportunity to show their art elsewhere,” said Jame-son. “We view ourselves as more of a springboard.”

Not only does Mint Gallery pro-mote the local, emerging artist in its own space, but Jameson has also spearheaded GatherAtlanta, a collab-oration of Mint Gallery, Wonderroot, BurnAway.org, and ThoughtMarker.net that offers an annual conference and forum for emerging creative or-ganizations. The gallery also hopes to implement a mentorship program in the future, pairing up up-and-coming creatives with more established art-ists in their chosen medium.

The accolades that Mint Gallery

Mint Gallery moving right down the streetBy SAVANNA KEOAssociate Entertainment Editor

open its new doors to the public with an opening reception for their annual Postcard Pin-Up show. Naturally, this first show to occur at their new abode at 145B Sampson Street was also the first at Mint’s previous location.

“I love the fact that the Postcard show is like a huge art party. It’s a completely open and non-judgmental environment, and everyone is just there to have fun, mingle and enjoy all of the art,” said Gale. “It’s like a mas-sive art free-for-all.”

The Postcard Pin-Up show is a non-curated group exhibit, and everyone is encouraged to partici-pate—even those who may not con-sider themselves artists. Any medium goes, but the piece cannot exceed the size of a postcard (four inches tall, six inches wide). Past entries in the show run the gamut of art and include sculptures, paintings and photogra-phy.

“Sometimes it’s nice to have a small medium to work with, con-strained yet liberating,” said Jason Travis, another local artist who has participated in every single Postcard Pin-Up show.

The show will take place at Mint’s new space on Dec. 3 from 8 p.m. until 11 p.m. and is free to the public. To participate in the show or learn more about other upcoming events at Mint Gallery, visit www.mintatl.org.

has received from the art community for their contributions are numerous. Creative Loafing dubbed Mint 2010’s Best of Atlanta Critics’ Pick for Best Underground Art Space, and local artists continue to use the gallery to jumpstart their artistic careers.

“Mint has managed to be a huge player in the local emerging arts com-munity without any sort of pretense,” said Nikita Gale, a local artist who

currently has an exhibit on display at the gallery titled BOOLESH1T, a large display of art exploring how technology has affected human be-havior.

Mint Gallery has held down the famous orange door of Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward on JW Dobbs Avenue for the past five years, but will now be moving its venue right down the street. Mint’s current venue is a rela-

tively large space, and to make use of some of the superfluous space not used for exhibits, Jameson rented out the living quarters to local artists in the area.

“After a while it became very tiring to come in and clean up after people,” she said. “It was fine but what we had to figure out was, ‘How do we run a business out of a home?’”

On Dec. 3, Mint Gallery will

JASON TRAVISThe Mint Gallery crew, from left to right: Erica Jamison, Emma Elkins, Brandi Supra and Mike Germon.

The Royal Peacock makes a comeback

Dwayne Johnson leads Billy Bob Thornton and Oliver Jackson-Cohen in Faster, a thrilling action film about revenge, payback and unfinished busi-ness. Each character is powerful and classic in their story and their relation to the ultimate ending.

Johnson’s character, James “Driv-er” Cullen, doesn’t talk much when try-ing to avenge the wrongful death of his

brother. Recently released from prison, he’s set on catching five individuals after 10 years out of the loop. While keeping up with a murder to-do list, he catches up on his love life and the family he could’ve had before becom-ing locked up.

Oscar-winning actor Thornton depicts a crack-addicted cop. He picks up a case 10 days from his retirement and annoys his partner with his tardi-

CBS FILMS/TRISTAR PICTURESDwayne Johnson plays a vengeful family man in Faster.

‘Faster’ a suspenseful ride

SEE ‘FASTER’, PAGE 10

By NGOZI ISABELLE AHANOTUStaff Writer

By WHITNEY JONESStaff Writer

and “generate a new crowd.”It’s no surprise that once the era of

Big Band and soul music subsided, the Peacock had no problems introducing a different genre to Auburn Avenue. Now, artists like Vybz Kartel, Aidonia, Lady Saw, Sizzla and Buju Banton can be heard pulsating through the speakers. Today, that same name recognition that drew music lovers in more than 50 years ago continues to contribute to the club’s success.

Even though its August grand re-opening brought back those faithful and new, the Royal Peacock is hard at work to continue the legacy it has brought to

Atlanta. That maintenance comes in the form of improved customer service, a professional, new management style and innovative ways to generate new busi-ness and show appreciation to a more familiar crowd. The Royal Peacock plans to move closer to its roots, showcasing live jazz, blues and old-school R&B acts during the week.

On Saturday, Dec. 5, the Peacock will host a Jimi Hendrix birthday tribute, featuring live performances, artist ex-hibits and exclusive footage in celebra-tion of the renowned guitarist.

The Royal Peacock is located at 186 Auburn Ave. For more details on up-coming events, visit www.urbanparties-harder.com or call 404-827-9886. Club-goers must be 21 to enter.

10 Tuesday, November 30, 2010 www.gsusignal.com/entertainment ENTERTAINMENT

>> ROYAL PEACOCKCONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

HORACE OTTLEYJudging by the packed crowd, The Royal Peacock’s revival is well underway.

ness and inconsistency. His partner isn’t the only character upset with his immature antics—his ex-wife, whom he shares joint custody of their chubby son with, is absolutely tired of his drug addiction and is threatening to take full custody. It’s apparent that the endangered absence of his son is the only way that he will clean up his act.

Killer (yes, his name is Killer) is portrayed by acting rookie Jackson-Cohen. His character makes a living as an independent hit man. Currently seeing a psychiatrist, taking medication and in a serious relationship with a blonde that love his guns (liter-ally), Killer wants to settle down and start a family after this last job—which is to kill Driver.

Interestingly, this movie and its murders are grounded by the concept of family. Each character’s endeavors are related to their passion and commit-ment to family. It’s easy while watching to miss this concept and get wrapped up in the bullet exchanges and reckless driving, but once you leave the theater, it hits you.

Faster is packed with suspense and a seemingly never-ending plot. The talented shooting of the film creates a 3D experience without the glasses, which really puts you on edge. Talks of a sequel are ru-mored, so you can only imagine the battles to take place for part two.

>> ‘FASTER’CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

CBS FILMS/TRISTAR PICTURESOliver Jackson-Cohen plays an independent hit man in Faster.

Celebrate the holidays

If you and your significant other have tired out the routine of watching Love Actually around Christmas each year, take your holiday spirit to the park. On Dec. 9, a fee of $25 for the Gingerbread Decorations and Libations event will set each couple up with drinks and all the fixings for the creation of your very own gingerbread home. Prizes will be awarded to the best and most creative, so let your competitive streak help you create a gingerbread masterpiece.

Go even greener

Fancy an artisan cheese? The Piedmont Park Conservancy has partnered with City of Atlanta Parks to bring the Green Market, which sells fresh-cut flowers, locally-grown produce and natural merchandise, to the park. This outdoor farmer’s market is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m, through Dec. 11, at the park’s 12th Street entrance.

Play

The most basic function of a park is to enjoy being outside. Reserve a volleyball court, soccer or softball field for a game with friends, or join a pick-up game in the meadow. The Noguchi Playscape, a modern spin on the traditional playground, will please kids and adults alike with its unique fusion of functionality and public art. A new dog park has opened, so canine companions can also make a day of the park. Have an autumnal barbecue and picnic, go for a jog and prepare to be surprised by all that goes on in the near 200-acre public space.

Volunteer

If you like a little fresh air while doing good, sign up to volunteer at the park. The various volunteer programs keep it fresh with their respective names; it may be tough deciding if you would rather be a Water Warrior or part of the Invasive Plant Posse. For more information, see www.piedmontpark.org/support/volunteer.

4WAYS TO ENJOY PIEDMONT PARK BEFORE 2010 ENDS

By Hally JosephStaff WriterPhoto by Brooke Marshall

Though Hurt Park is nestled conveniently on campus and Woodruff now plays calming tunes (like a park that dreams of being a spa), one of Atlanta’s best bits of greenery will always be Piedmont Park. Flanked on all sides by highlights of

Midtown like the Botanical Gardens, the restaurants and bars of 10th Street and a residential area that gives way to Virginia Highlands, Piedmont Park is an ideal urban green space: slopes of grass and trees lead down to Lake Clara Meer,

the meadow hosts soccer games and concerts and afternoon nappers, and the skyscrapers of Midtown loom above. Once a fairground and horse-racing club of the late 1800s, Piedmont Park has since developed into an ideal public space for a variety of pursuits. Here are four ways to take advantage of Atlanta’s common

ground with what’s left of 2010.

01 Pyramid of the SunMaserati (Temporary Residence)

02 Burning Bush Supper ClubBear Hands (Cantora)

03 The Age of AdzSufjan Stevens (Asthmatic Kitty)

04 Small Craft on a Milk SeaBrian Eno (Warp)

05 RingGlasser (True Panther Sounds)

06 The Hundred in the HandsThe Hundreds in the Hands (Warp)

07 Sick of LoveJ.C. Satan (Slovenly)

08 Face TatZach Hill (Sargent House)

09 PenelopeSarah Kirkland Snider, Shara Worden & Signal (New Amsterdam)

10 Autumn, AgainA Sunny Day in Glasgow (ASDG)

11 Science and SorceryWolf & Cub (Last Gang)

12 Music for Honey & BileWilliam Ryan Fritch (Asthmatic Kitty)

13 Again and AgainThieves Like Us (deBonton)

14 One of UsPomegranates (Afternoon)

15 SportsWeekend (Slumberland)

16 Some Place SimpleMartina Topley (Ipecac)

17 Play it StrangeThe Fresh & Onlys (In the Red)

18 Full CircleShigeto (Ghostly International)

19 The FoolWarpaint (Rough Trade)

20 Nocturne of Exploded Crystal ChandelierSun Airway (Dead Oceans)

21 The Roots of Chica 2Various Artists (Barbes)

22 d’DemonstratorShobaleader (Warp)

23 Down ThereAvey Tare (Paw Tracks)

24 Turning OnCloud Nothings (Carpark)

25 New ChainSmall Black (Jagjaguwar)

26 Wild GoDark Dark Dark (Supply & Demand)

27 KudosSurf City (Fire)

28 Spectac Returns: Looks Like Another Job for SpectacSpectac (Domination)

29 Broken BowEux Autres (Bons Mots)

30 The Shore EPChapel Club (Polydor)

ALBUMS IN HEAVY ROTATION

11www.gsusignal.com/entertainment Tuesday, November 30, 2010ENTERTAINMENT

After the Athens-based band’s drummer, Jerry Fuchs, passed last year, production for the album was halted. The finished LP now serves as a tribute to Fuchs—and further evidence of Maserati’s capable grip on trance-inducing, intricate dance rock.

The California composer’s richly instrumental songs could be the perfect score for the most memorable, beautiful film that doesn’t exist yet.

It’s solid hip-hop that’s more about smooth flows than trading blows: Brags, drugs and derogatory references to ladies just aren’t Spectac’s thing. Instead, a genuinely old school vibe accelerated by serious lyrical wit is what drives this album.

Snider’s the composer, Worden’s the singer, the Signal’s the orchestra and the Odyssey is the inspiration. The result is a vocally haunting, otherworldly work that’s exciting, dreamy and classically-minded.

This highly-anticipated addition to Kanye’s catalogue attempted to create a G.O.O.D. Monday for hip-hop fans. On his fifth release, Mr. West supplies listeners with a decent work of enhanced production and ordinary lyrics. His short film Run-away laid a visual foundation for the album, but the overabundance of col-laborations with Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z and Rick Ross are either immediately enjoyable or redundant in sound. By no means a hip-hop classic, it’s safe to say the tracks that did make the LP were satisfying to new and old Kanye fans.

“Dark Fantasy,” “Lost In The World” and “Blame Game” are more notable cuts, giving insight inside on the gloomy, exciting and sexy sides of West. Although Cyhi Da Prynce is phenomenal on an emcee-filled track, “So Appalled,” it and “Hell of A Life” are altogether awfully uninteresting. Besides the fact that we’ve previously heard one-third of the album because of the G.O.O.D Friday leaks West or-chestrated on his website leading up to the release, the excess in features diminishes the display of Kanye’s progress by far. This album was our opportunity to see Ye’s growth since 808s and Heartbreak. It was there production-wise, but unfortunately the content lacked any substance.

By NGOZI ISABELLE AHANOTUStaff Writer

Kanye WestMy Beautiful Dark Twisted FantasyRoc-a-Fella/Def Jam Records

Except for four new tracks, the British singer has revisited songs from her two previous albums, and stripped them down to a naked minimum. She lands somewhere between subversive soft-pop and logical trip hop—a place where pop philistines like Lily Allen wish they had the guts to reside.

Kanye’s ‘Dark Twisted Fantasy’ drowns in excesses

SEE NE-YO, PAGE 12There are DJs, and then there’s

By BROOKE MARSHALLStaff Writer

Girl TalkAll DayIllegal Art

Girl Talk. The man behind the moni-ker, Gregg Gillis, ascended to the level of indie mash-up deity with his last two albums, Night Ripper (2006) and Feed the Animals (2008). His latest offering, All Day, simply reaf-firms what we already knew: Gillis is a musical mad scientist. What starts off as a collection of pop songs that span from the iconic to the all-but-forgotten ends up a Frankenstein’s monster that, rather than lurching and stumbling, rips off its shirt and dances itself blind.

The beauty of Girl Talk is the way he layers disparate songs so seamlessly and effortlessly that you’re left wondering why you never no-ticed that Pitbull’s “Hotel Room Ser-vice” synchs up perfectly with the riff from Depeche Mode’s “Just Can’t Get Enough.” He makes it OK to en-joy “Party in the U.S.A.,” because it sounds so badass when paired with M.O.P.’s “Ante Up.”

Of course, the formula is more complex than just popular hip-hop lyrics + catchy guitar hook = Girl Talk track. Gillis is nothing if not meticu-lous, accenting songs with the barest scrap of a melody, just long enough for it to register before it’s gone. On “This is the Remix,” the guitar re-frain from the Grateful Dead’s “Casey Jones” surfaces for just a few seconds, transitioning neatly into the riff from INXS’s “Need You Tonight.”

All Day is both a cohesive al-bum and a retrospective of pop mu-sic from the last five decades. In each masterful mash-up, you’re given the luxury of hearing your favorite songs in a whole new way, filtered through the mind of a madman with an ency-clopedic knowledge of pop culture. And that’s the brilliance of Girl Talk: In listening to his work, we’re given the chance to once again hear our fa-vorite songs for the very first time.

In any genre of music, there is a very fine and delicate balancing act between embracing influences and introducing something purely origi-nal. Very few bands have the abil-ity to pull it off at all—most end up sounding more like a tired update of an old genre rather than any kind of

By PAUL DEMERRITTStaff Writer

PomegranatesOne of UsAfternoon Records

sound that deserves recognition. On their debut LP, One of Us, Pomegran-ates have mastered that balancing act, evoking the spaced out dissonance of early Modest Mouse and channeling it through the driving bass lines of Tokyo Police Club, all backed by the nostalgic atmosphere of My Bloody Valentine.

It is a wide variety and makes for often times a simply beautiful listen-ing, if not all of the time. Every song feels wholly original, as if you are dis-covering something new and breath-taking with each track. Another pit-fall which Pomegranates dodge is a lack of variation, where every song falls into the same stylistic rut. One of Us’ leading strength lies in the strik-ing diversity between songs.

“Prouncer” pushes the tempo and energy to an intense breaking point, but is followed by “Perception,” a washed out, ambient track which mirrors the naked lucidity of listening to an ocean or waterfall. The lyrics parallel the mood of the album with various tales of stargazing and moon-light cast alongside refrains which both celebrate and mourn love. One of Us is criminally underrated in its complexity, and Pomegranates de-serve to be regarded in the exact same light as their influences.

Genuine R&B music is dwin-dling annually, but singers like Ne-Yo try their hardest to keep it in the airwaves. His fourth studio LP, Libra Scale, is not far off from his previous releases, but one could suspect the title reveals his attempt to create a balance of different sounds on the al-bum. The album is diverse in its stabs at other genres, but as a whole, it is surprisingly minimal in creativity.

This time around, Ne-Yo didn’t participate much in the writing pro-cess—and that may be the reason for unbalance in production, lyrics and concept from track-to-track. The singles of choice, “Beautiful Monster” and “Champagne Life,” attracted two different audiences, displaying the at-tempted equilibrium. But it takes sev-eral listens for songs like the dance-

By NGOZI ISABELLE AHANOTUStaff Writer

Ne-YoLibra ScaleDef Jam Records

12 Tuesday, November 30, 2010 www.gsusignal.com/entertainment ENTERTAINMENT

DATE EVENTTuesdayNOV. 30

Hip-Hop Jam Session: Welcome Back Fort KnoxApache Cafe, 64 3rd St. 9 p.m.$5, 18 and upThe hip-hop hub’s Tuesday event welcomes back Fort Knox this week, when he’ll resume his regular role as host. Performers include Methuzulah, Lex Boogie and Nyce and Stanza. And, like every week, there’s an open mic and freestyle cypher with the BFD band.

WednesdayDEC. 1

PersonifiedPuritan Mill, 916 Joseph E. Lowery Blvd.7 p.m.-10 p.m.Free, all agesLocal artist Jason Travis has been collecting “Persona” shots, or images of the inside of a purse (or laptop bags, satchels and the like) paired a shot of its owner, for three years. His quirky, interesting images of what folks hold near and dear have been featured in Marie Claire, USA Today, The Atlantan and several other publications. See his favorites enlarged and in person at the opening of his solo show.

ThursdayDEC. 2

Alternative Apparel Sample Sale80 Peachtree St.10 a.m.-5 p.m.Free, all agesSnag sweet deals at this four-day sale. Fleece styles will be priced at $19, or two for $30. All short-sleeve T-shirts will be $7, or five for $25. On Friday, the event continues with the same hours as the kick-off. On Saturday, shop from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. Sunday, peruse the discounted duds from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.

FridayDEC. 3

The Non-Holiday, Holiday Art HolidayAurora Coffee, 992 N. Highland Ave.8 p.m.-11 p.m.Free, all agesImpress your family and friends with your locally-minded, creative taste by gifting Atlanta-made art. Participating artists include Kelly Cloninger, Andre Paraguassu, Brock Scott and more than 10 others.

SaturdayDEC. 4

Back Pockets, CC Ivory, Attractive Eighties Women529, 529 Flat Shoals Ave.9 p.m.$5, 21 and upAttractive Eighties Women play fast-paced, sort of silly rock ‘n’ roll—the real gems of this locals-only show are the opening acts. The Back Pockets mesh elaborate theatrics and gypsy-punk for a New Age style of circus, while CC Ivory employs only his thumbs—all of his music comes courtesy of a Game Boy.

SundayDEC. 5

Cirque du Soleil: OVOAtlantic Station1 p.m., 5 p.m.$38.50-$230, all agesThe bug-centric fantasy of energetic acrobats launched in Atlanta in early November, and runs until December 19. Catch a Sunday show for a laid-back crowd and the most aesthetically-pleasing ending to a weekend you’ve ever experienced.

Monday DEC. 6

Ice Skating and a BurgerCentennial Olympic Park$6-$9 to skate, all agesAtlanta’s only outdoor ice skating rink, now in its 13th year, opened on November 19. On Mondays and Tuesdays through December 14, admission and skates for students totals only $6. Grab a bite at Googie Burger after and they’ll upgrade your meal to a double-stack burger and larger fries—just show them your wristband.

ATLANTA EVENTS>> NE-YOCONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

Want to see an event in this space? Contact Jhoni Jackson at signalentertainment@gmail.com with the event name, time, date, location and a brief description.

driven “One in a Million” and the smooth vocals on “Making a Movie” to become more attractive to the ear.

The most remarkable cut is “Tele-kinesis,” a song with a very imagina-tive concept about love-making. The closing ballad “What Have I Done” is reminiscent of Year of the Gentle-man’s “Lie to Me.”

Ne-Yo won’t make a dent on the charts with this one based off of the receptions towards his single in the U.S., but a lot of the music is unlike his past—and offers a different model of R&B for his fans to expect. You can’t knock that.

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Most important, you’ll have the chance to serve your community and your country with pride.

Keep our aircraft flying. Not to mention your career.

Classical pop singer Josh Groban

By EMILY YANGStaff Writer

Josh GrobanIlluminationsReprise Records

is back after three years with his fifth studio album, Illuminations. Groban wrote 11 tracks inspired by his per-sonal life. Unlike his previous albums where he worked with producer Da-vid Foster, Groban partnered with producer Rick Rubin (best known for his work with The Beastie Boys, Johnny Cash and the Red Hot Chili Peppers).

As heard on his previous al-bums, Groban stays true to his clas-sical sound and use of real instru-ments. His soft and soothing voice is captivating, especially on slow tempo tracks that highlight Groban’s vocal range.

Illuminations has a variety of songs, from hymns to modern classi-cal pop tunes. Showing that his music isn’t confined by genre barriers, Gro-ban offers four songs in three differ-ent languages: “L’Ora Dell’Addio” and “London Hymm” are in Italian, “Au Jardin Des Sans-Pourqoui” is sung in French and “Voce Existe Em Mim” is in Portuguese.

At times, Groban seems to be forcing the lyrics to flow with the background music, like on “Galileo (Someone Like You)” and “Straight to You.” His execution of these tracks can distract listeners from concen-trating on the overall lyrical content.

On “Hidden Away,” Groban evokes anguish in the chorus: “Reach-ing out for someone I can believe in/All I really need today/I want to feel your love.”

Groban expresses many emo-tions that listeners can feel—and though he’ll touch many listeners with Illuminations, his 2003 cover of

“You Raise Me Up” still stands as one of his best tracks.

Actor/singer Darren Criss re-cently propelled into the spotlight with an acclaimed turn as Blaine on Fox’s hit series Glee; boosted by a show-stealing cover of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream.”

On Human, an EP released by the singer earlier this year, the singer presents a selection of self-penned songs. The quality of the album is low-key at best; the songs were re-corded in one take, with no adjust-ments made before the EP’s release. The songwriting, though, shows smart pop potential, and Criss’ vocals stand as a highlight. With more time put into a proper project, Criss has a lot of potential as an artist.

By ELIJAH SARKESIANProduction Editor

Darren CrissHuman (EP)Independent

Georgia State basketball’s motto is “Building Tradition One Piece at a Time.” Head coach Rod Barnes believes he has acquired a big piece for 2011-2012 in Jervon Pressley.

The 6-8 power forward out of E.E. Waddell High School in North Carolina is the first to sign a Na-tional Letter of Intent with Georgia State this fall.

Barnes said Pressley’s signing will help the Panthers be-cause he has the abil-ity to make an impact as soon as he takes the floor.

“We wanted someone we felt like could play immedi-ately, and once we saw him play I thought, ‘Man I hope we can get him,’” Barnes said.

Along with a big, athletic body, Pressley’s pres-ence and production along the boards is just a part of his game. According to ESPN, Pressley “can score on the block with his back to the basket off his pow-er drop step.”

Barnes credited his coaching staff as a huge in-fluence on Pressley’s commitment, saying that they followed Pressley vigilantly. Seeing the campus was the deal-breaker for the North Carolina MVP.

“He liked Atlanta, [and] he liked Georgia State,” Barnes said. “I think he thought this would be a good [fit] for him, [because] he didn’t want to go that far from home. His family would be able to commute three or four hours to watch him.”

Guards are always eager to see a big guy sign. Barnes said Pressley had a chance to play with the current roster and they reported that he can indeed rebound. He added that Pressley will do the “dirty work” that teams need.

There aren’t many post players who can play with both their hands and feet. Pressley can, which strengthens Barnes’ confidence in the new recruit.

“He has that combination” Barnes said. “He has a great upside and can end up being a great player here.”

There were two weaknesses that Barnes dis-cussed, agreeing with espn.go.com’s “Lacks basic offensive skills and does not always give maximum effort.”

“He’s gotta work on playing hard every posses-sion,” Barnes said. “He doesn’t block out every time because he thinks ‘I can just go get the rebound.’” His offense should be polished and Barnes noticed that he dunks a lot, so he won’t take many jump shots.

Pressley’s passion for basketball certainly makes things simpler for preparing him to come in next season and repairing weaknesses. Barnes no-ticed Pressley sends Facebook messages out updat-ing friends on his team’s performance during and after games.

For Barnes, an important part in the recruiting process is to ensure a match goes beyond talent.

“If [the] personality or character doesn’t fit in with what we’re trying to do, it’s normally a strug-gle,” Barnes said. “He has the mentality that we’re looking for. He’s a physical player that fits.

SPORTSw w w . g s u s i g n a l . c o m / s p o r t s

Sports EditorKirkland Carter

signalsports40@gmail.com

Associate Sports EditorSaakib Zafrani

sjzafrani@gmail.com

With the first season wrapped up, there are some key themes that defined Panther football. From the Georgia Dome to Tusca-loosa, head coach Bill Curry’s Panthers gave fans plenty to talk about.

Home sweet domeThe Panthers found success at the Geor-

gia Dome in more ways than one during the inaugural season. Perhaps the biggest vic-tory for Georgia State came before the ball was even snapped, when attendance was an-nounced at 30,237, and the Panthers upstaged the then first-place Atlanta Braves who were playing a few blocks away at Turner Field.

The team, comprised of mostly fresh-men and junior college transfers, posted record of 5-2 at home, compared to the 1-3 record in away games. The high-flying offense found its groove in the Dome, posting a total of 197 points with 104 first downs and 931 rushing yards on 181 attempts.

Even as a young team, the Panthers lost only two home games, one to Jacksonville State University, ranked number nine in the FCS at the time, in overtime. The Gamecocks shocked Ole Miss earlier in the season, and the Jacksonville State game was also the only loss to an FCS opponent this season.

Extra special teams The special teams unit for the Panthers

was intrumental to the Panthers’ success this season, due in part to the former Georgia Tech walk-on Iain Vance and quarterback turned wide receiver/punter Bo Schlechter.

Vance scored 80 points on the sea-son, going 35 for 37 on PATs and 15-17 on field goals. One of Vance’s most memorable field goals was the last minute game-winner against Campbell to give the Panthers their only away victory 24-21. Vance finished the season with 2,427 yards on 41 kickoffs.

Meanwhile Schlechter gave the Panthers his best not only as a wide receiver, but also

as a dynamic punter. Schlechter’s season long punt sailed for 62 yards. He was honorably mentioned twice by CFPA for his stellar per-formances against Campbell and Savannah State.

Quarterback tossup The biggest question going into the in-

augural season was who would be under center for the Panthers out of the four can-didates for the position. Drew Little, Kelton Hill, Schlechter (who opted out of the race) and Alabama transfer Star Jackson all put in work during the offseason to compete for the starting QB position.

After being deemed the most prepared by head coach Bill Curry, Little took the first snap in Georgia State history. The 6-foot-5-inch pro-style quarterback out of Henry County High School had the arm, but many questioned whether his speed was sufficient to avoid college defenders. Little responded to the doubters by dropping 25 pounds in a rigorous summer workout program, and proved to be a prolific passer for the Panthers.

Hill, utilized mostly for his elusive run-ning ability, saw little playing time after Lit-tle’s impressive performance in the season opener against Shorter, and Jackson, new to the system, saw even less turf.

In 11 starts, Little passed for 2102 yards, completing 190 of 306 with 11 interceptions and 18 touchdowns. Eight of Little’s intercep-tions came from the losses to Lambuth and Alabama, where he threw four interceptions in each game. However, after the rough show-ing against Lambuth, Little went 202 passes without an interception.

Stacking upThe Panther offense outscored their

opponents in the first quarter 79 to 39 and averaged 27.5 points per game compared to the 26 points scored by opponents. The other aspect in which the Panthers fared better was in the passing game, where the offense put up 2,247 yards against opponents who only put up 1,865 yards passing.

The Panther offense was one-sided, and the run game lacked in consistency. The lack of a rushing game was apparent in the Old Dominion, Lambuth and Alabama games, in which the Panthers really struggled to estab-lish a run game.

The Panthers only recorded three more passing touchdowns than rushing, and with a terrific trio of backs, the future looks bright for the young offense. Leading rushers for the season were Parris Lee with four touch-downs, Hill with 461 yards, and Travis Evans with 402 yards rushing. All three are red-shirt freshmen.

Two of the top defensive standouts for the Panthers, Fred Barnes and Jake Mua-sau, helped keep opposing teams below 300 points. Barnes, a walk-on, played in ten games, including the Alabama game, where he recorded eight tackles in the first half. Barnes finished the season with 47 solo tack-les, a sack, an interception and one forced fumble.

Muasau, earned honorable mention as national linebacker of the week by the CFPA for his outstanding performance against Lambuth and left his mark on the season with several notable performances. He finished the season with 28 solo tackles, 22 assisted, one sack for 34 yards, an interception, three recovered fumbles, four forced and eight and a half tackles for a combined loss of 51 yards.

Looking ahead Although the 63-7 thrashing by the

Crimson Tide seemed like a kick in the teeth, the Panthers fought valiantly and mustered more than the Florida Gators could against Alabama-a touchdown. Georgia State got on the board when Albert Wilson scored on a 97-yard kickoff return, proving many wrong that asserted the first-year program wouldn’t even score against the reigning champs.

The Panthers are very young, with the vast majority of the team being freshmen, and posting a winning season it its first year is sure to attract more talented recruits.

GEORGIA STATE SPORTS COMMUNICATIONSAlbert Wilson did what the Florida Gators could not, score against Alabama.

A look back at the inaugural football seasonBy ZAKKIYYA ANDERSONStaff Writer

GEORGIA STATE SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS

Jervon Pressley is expected to make an impact as soon as he hits the floor next fall.

Men’s basketball signs Jervon PressleyBy JESSIKA MORGANStaff Writer

14 Tuesday, November 30, 2010 www.gsusignal.com/sports SPORTS

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With a win over the Green Bay Packers Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons proved they are a premiere team not only in the NFC, but also in the NFL, and they are possibly the best Falcons team ever.

The 2010 Dirty Birds are a force to reckoned with, especially at home in the Georgia Dome, where third-year quarterback Matt Ryan is 19-1, tying an all-time record for a quarter-back at home through 20 games. For his cool presence in the pocket, Ryan has earned the nickname “Matty Ice.”

The Falcons are truly hitting on all cylinders and clinched a third winning season since Ryan and head coach Mike Smith came on to the scene.

With 19 touchdowns and only five interceptions, “Matty Ice” has hit 64.7 percent of his passes and through 11 games has an average quarterback rating of 94.4. With five games remaining in the regular sea-son, Ryan has the opportunity to set career highs in all major passing cat-egories.

The run game, led by Michael “The Burner” Turner, has been a huge factor in Ryan’s success. With Turner healthy this season, the Falcons have averaged a respectable 129.9 rush yards per game.

Another key to the run game success is Jason Snelling, who has

proved he can carry the load if Turner can’t go. With Turner out in week two against the Arizona Cardinals, Snel-ling had a tremendous showing of 186 total yards and three touchdowns.

The receiving corps for the Fal-cons is as good as any in the league today. “Rowdy” Roddy White leads the team and NFC with 1066 receiv-ing yards. White has blossomed into an elite receiver since Ryan came on the scene with 3066 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns. He also has a chance to set career highs in all major receiving categories this season.

Tony Gonzalez has been clutch in every definition of the word since he signed with the Falcons last year and has been a major target in the red zone and on third down. In his four-teenth season, Gonzalez is still play-ing at a very high level and still man-ages to catch just about every thing thrown his way.

Since Michael Jenkins’ return from injury midway through this sea-son, the Falcons passing attack is as high flying as ever.

None of those numbers would be possible without the Falcons offen-sive line and resilient defense. Coach-ing legend Vince Lombardi figured out the secret to football decades ago.

“Some people try to find things in this game that don’t exist but foot-ball is only two things - blocking and tackling.”

Anchored by Tyson Clabo and Harvey Dahl, the O-line has been

Best Falcons ever?By SAAKIB ZAFRANIAssociate Sports Editor

protecting Ryan and giving him time to find those receivers. They’ve also been the reason for the run game’s success, making huge holes and pick-ing up key blocks for Turner and Snelling to shred opposing defenses.

The defense, which was consid-ered to be a very “patchwork” unit at the beginning of the season has come into its own and displayed champi-onship caliber performances against Green Bay and New Orleans. John Abraham is a bird of prey in the back-

field and is giving offensive coordina-tors fits with nine sacks so far.

The Falcons will hit the road for three straight weeks at Tampa Bay, Carolina and Seattle and will finish their season at home hosting New Orleans and Carolina. Having already beat Tampa Bay and New Orleans once, the Falcons have a good enough squad to take the Buccaneers on the road and stop Drew Brees and the re-surgent Saints at home.

Seattle could be a trap game, as

Quest field has proven to be one of the loudest and most hostile environ-ments to play in, but on paper, the Falcons are vastly superior.

As far as the 1-10 Panthers go, they’ve gone out of their way to prove that they are the worst team in the NFL, by far.

With such a dominant record in the Dome, home field will be crucial for the Falcons Super Bowl chances. Don’t be surprised if you see the Fal-cons in Dallas on Feb. 6.

ATLANTA FALCONSFuture Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez has been instrumental to the Falcons success in 2010.

15www.gsusignal.com/sports Tuesday, November 30, 2010SPORTS

Alex Castro, off the green

Alex Alberto Castro was brought into the world on April 18, 1989 in Baton Rouge, La., full of life and fit to carry on the family golf legacy.

Alex’s aunt, Jenny Lidback, played golf at LSU and then profes-sionally on the LPGA tour for 17 years and won a major championship, the 1995 du Maurier Classic.

His older brother Roberto played golf at Georgia Tech and now plays professionally. Little brother Franco is currently a freshman on the LSU golf team, and the brothers prac-tice together and compete in tourna-ments in the offseason.

The Castros are extremely close-knit. One can feel the warmth of their spirit immediately upon entering their Alpharetta residence. Hospital-ity comes naturally to the Spanish-speaking family, as friends and guests constantly fill the home. Home-cooked meals and Arnold Palmers are staples in the home, where an open-door policy has always existed.

“I am very close with both of my brothers,” Castro said. “We have a ton of mutual friends, and it makes for great block parties.”

Alex’s free-spirited Peruvian mother, Annie Castro, calls him “my buddy, my supporter, my doer.”

The two are very connected, and he attributes her as his inspiration in life.

“She does things the right way,” Castro said. “She is very positive, optimistic and solves problems. She lives life. She believes in me. She is superwoman!”

GEORGIA STATE SPORTS COMMUNICATIONSAlex Castro graduates with a degree in business management in the fall of 2011.

By ABBY CARNEYStaff Writer

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CORRECTIONS / RETRACTIONS / CLARIFICATIONS

From the November 16 issue:• “Album review: Kid Cudi: ‘Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rag-

er,” page 15: The story is credited to Emily Yang. The correct author is Junia Abaidoo.

His positive outlook on life car-ries over to the golf course, as team-mates tell of his level head and calm demeanor at tee time. Like most athletes, he has seen his share of ups and downs with his sport, but he has stuck with it.

Castro recalls his worst golf ex-perience his sophomore year at the Jerry Pate, where he says he had lost all interest in playing golf.

“I really just wanted to walk off the course,” Castro said. “I could do nothing right and it was very demor-alizing. That started my hatred for golf that year. I took a long break from the game and waited for the hunger to return and that was that.”

Thanks to that determination and perseverance, Alex was named

CAA Golfer of the Week following his ninth place finish at the 2010 Se-ahawk Intercollegiate, also his best-career finish.

Alex plans to graduate in fall 2011, but he prefers to cross one bridge at a time, as he is still unsure what he will pursue with his Business Management degree. One thing he is certain of is that he will never lose his sense of adventure.

The senior loves to travel, and he has unofficial plans of traveling to Mexico following graduation.

Castro has enjoyed a rich golf ca-reer at Georgia State.

“I have enjoyed my tenure at Georgia State, that’s for sure,” Castro said. “The best part is being with the team and having a few laughs.”

High school seniors Brittany Johnson and Kayla Nolan have both signed letters of intent to join Geor-gia State’s women’s basketball. The two guards will officially join the Pan-thers next fall.

Johnson, out of Fort Wayne Southside High School in Fort Wayne, Ind., averaged 13.9 points per game last season. The 5-foot-9 guard has demonstrated an impressive record, and “led the [Southside] Archers to a 15-9 record, SAC tournament title, and sectional championship,” accord-ing to the Journal Gazette.

Her coach, Juanita Goodwell, looked to Johnson as a leader for the

Archers.“We do count on Brittany a lot

for leadership,” Goodwell said. “Every strong team needs a strong leader, and she has definitely stepped up to that role.”

Georgia State’s head coach, Sha-ron Baldwin-Tener, called Johnson a “great shooter” and a “good passer.”

“[Johnson] has a high basketball IQ and handles the pull-up and three pointers well,” Baldwin-Tener said.

Johnson will be following in her older brother’s footsteps. Senior guard Marques Johnson is also a Pan-ther. According to her hometown paper, The Journal Gazette, Johnson chose Georgia State, although Xavier, Western Michigan and Indiana’s IU-PUI showed considerable interest in

her.Nolan, a senior from Duluth

High School, averaged 13.5 points, 3.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds for her team last year. She also plays for the Georgia Hoopstars AAU team under the guidance of coach J.D. Davis.

The 5-foot-8 Nolan received All-County honors with her high school volleyball squad. Baldwin-Tener de-scribes Nolan as a “strong combo guard [who’s] great at rebounding.”

Baldwin-Tener said the recruits “get along really well with the rest of the team.”

The 2010-2011 Panthers are 3-2 after falling to Rice 52-55 in the championship game of the GSU Thanksgiving Tournament.

GEORGIA STATE SPORTS COMMUNICATIONSFirst-year head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener is known for excellent recruiting.

Two guards sign with women’s basketballBy WHITNEY JONESStaff Writer

Student ActivitiesSTUDENT ORGANIZATION ROUNDTABLEThursday, December 2 Noon - 1 p.m.235 University CenterR.S.V.P. for Student Activities events through OrgSync at http://gsu.orgsync.com

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENTCongratulations to Emily (Emma) Nell Adair,Winner of the Nell Hamilton Trotter Award!Emily (Emma) Nell Adair will receive the Fall 2010 Nell Hamilton Trotter Student Leadership Award during Commencement for her commitment to student involvement. The university’s highest student leadership award, it is given to students who represent strong leadership ideals and commitment to the Georgia State community, qualities personified by Nell Hamilton Trotter, GSU’s first dean of women and a dedicated faculty member for nearly 40 years.

CINEFEST FILM THEATRE

November 29 - December 5: “Troll 2”

Monday - Friday: 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m.

Saturday - Sunday: 1 p.m., 5 p.m.

November 29 - December 5: “Best Worst Movie”

Monday - Friday: 1 p.m., 5 p.m., 9 p.m.

Saturday - Sunday: 3 p.m., 7 p.m.

December 6 - 13: “Despicable Me”

Monday - Friday: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m., 7 p.m., 9 p.m.

Saturday - Sunday: 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m., 7 p.m.

SPOTLIGHT PROGRAMS BOARD

All shows free for

Georgia State University

students with ID. Guests

$3 before 5 p.m.

and $5 after 5 p.m.

For more information,

visit gsu.edu/cinefest.

SAVE THE DATE!

COURTYARD SERIES

Comedian:

Prashanth Venkataramanujam

Thursday, January 13

12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Soulful Musician: Chinua Hawk

Tuesday, January 18

12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Pop Singer: Jessie Payo

Thursday, January 27

12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Come enjoy a break from the stress of finals!

Have a relaxing evening and let us pamper you with

a massage. There will be many games and activities,

along with a southern-style dinner buffet, as you

enjoy a performance by Dad ’s Garage, a local

improv comedy group.

For more information, call the Spotlight Programs

Board at 404/413-1610.

Finals Break:

This is a

Stress-Free Zone

Tuesday, November 30

7 p.m - 10 p.m.

Student Center Ballroom

REMINDERClean Out Your Locker!The deadline to remove all items and

locks from lockers rented through the

Student•University Center is Tuesday,

December 14. Any items remaining in

lockers after this date will be discarded. NO EXCEPTIONS!

Spring locker rentals will begin January 5, 2011.

What’sHappening

on Campus!Supported by

Student Activity Fees

Give Us Your Ideas for Upcoming EventsWant your voice to be heard about future concerts and comedic acts? A survey by Spotlight Programs Board and Campus Events is now available to collect your opinions and suggestions. Check your e-mail or visit the Spotlight website at www.gsu.edu/spotlight for a survey link.