The Signal Vol. 84 No.4

SEPT. 13 - SEPT. 20, 2016

VOL. 84 | NO. 4

The signal at georgia State University

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The

Neighborhood

Guide

part VIII

MIDTOWN

Midtown is the next stop on The Signal's neighborhood tour.

So all aboard!

Arts & Living | Pages 7-15

PHOTO BY JADE JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL The Midtown sign located on Colony Square sits in a vibrant neighborhood with sweet bakeries that Georgia State students can explore for themselves.

Inside The big 10 challenge

Becker's wanted

Movie review: disturbed Editorial: Financial Aid Anxiety takes a front seat in this nerve-racking drama about a soldier's struggles post homecoming.

Waiting to receive financial aid was always a headache. Now, it's gone to a new level this semester.

After a 48-14 blow out loss to Air Force, the football team returns to the road this week to face the Wisconsin Badgers.

News | Pages 4-5

A&L | page 16

Page 18

Sports | page 20

Affordable housing advocates crowded President Becker's office asking to discuss Turner Field's redevelopment.

DAILY NEWS AT WWW.GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

News 3

Arts & Living 7

Sports 19

2

NEWS

blotter

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

READ OUR ONLINE CONTENT

Another case of sticky fingers

Visit us online anytime for daily news and updates.

georgiastatesignal.com

A Georgia State student reported stolen items from Langdale Hall to GSUPD at 4:40 p.m. The case is still active.

Sept. 6

Lost and not found

A Georgia State student reported to the Georgia State University Police Department (GSUPD) about a misplaced personal item in Student Center East at around 9 p.m. The incident is still under investigation.

Sept. 7

You don't even go here!

A non-Georgia State individual was given a trespass warning by GSUPD after trying to enter the Classroom South building at around 6:48 p.m.

The incident has been cleared.

Sept. 8

Bye-bye belongings

An unspecified number of Georgia State students reported stolen belongings from Classroom South to GSUPD at around 4:30 p.m. The incidents are still being looked into by police.

This is a stickup

A Georgia State student was robbed by an unknown individual near the intersection of John Wesley Dobbs Avenue and Peachtree Street at around 1 a.m.

CL

K!

!

CK CLI

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

ICK!

CLIC

Two excited parade goers prepare to walk in the Atlanta Beltline Lantern Parade on Sept.

10.

PHOTO BY TAMMY HUYNH | THE SIGNAL

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NEWS

www.georgiastatesignal.com/news

DECK CLOSED DUE TO STUDENT OVERFLOW

Students line up to enter Georgia State N and K parking decks located behind the Georgia State Student Recreational Center.

PHOTO BY JADE JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

Students are lining up at parking decks and running late to class

LOE COLE & JAHMEELA HARKER Staff Reporters

A

s the first semester since Georgia State’s consolidation with Georgia Perimeter College is starting out, some students feel the Atlanta campus has gotten a little overcrowded.

Parking in the Downtown area is hard enough without the stress of making it to class on time. With the student population slightly up from last year, the parking has become unusually disorderly.

According to Campus Services, there are more than 32,289 Panthers clawing their way on the Atlanta campus and parking decks are falling short.

Chris Connelly, director of Marketing and Administration Support at Campus Services, provided a statement to The Signal about the situation via email. “[During] the first two weeks of every fall semester the turnover rate for parking is affected dramatically, due to the fact that students are staying on campus longer due to activities such as purchasing textbooks, and other activities that will cease once the semester gets going,” the statement said.

The university provides six student parking decks, G, K, M, N, S, and T for students who choose to pay for parking.

If students choose the free parking pass option, they may use Turner Field or pay to park in a Georgia State deck at a discounted price.

However, students registered for a semester permit are always guaranteed a parking spot, according to Campus Services.

As of August 2016, 8,820 students are registered for a semester permit with only 5,015 guaranteed parking spots available.

That’s in addition to the 23,469 students unregistered and potentially looking for one of the 1,700 free parking spots at Turner Field.

Georgia State student Amy Stearns said the parking situation has only been getting worse.

“It was chaos, [that’s] the only term I can use to describe the parking situation at this school,” she said.

Stearns said on one occasion she drove around probably 25 to 30 minutes in the same four main parking decks around the school. She said she was late for class after having to leave campus to drive to Turner Field in hopes of finding a spot there.

Students have mentioned seeing available parking spots in some of the decks, while staff did not allow other student commuters to enter.

Jessie Bosley, a Georgia State student, said she experienced staff blocking the entrance for parking while there were free spots.

“My sister took pictures of fifteen available spots and as she was leaving they [the parking staff were] not letting people in and there was no one driving around [the parking deck] looking for spots.”

With the lack of guaranteed parking,

Campus Services is currently trying to increase the number of parking spaces available to students at T-Deck, according to the statement provided by Connelly.

Another student, Bria Jackson, said she deals with parking problems every day.

“Turner Field is a great alternative for most days but even they don't allow parking on certain days. On those days, I'm either forced to pay to park or I'm late and miss class.”

Fellow Panther, Alicia King, who commutes, said she missed class after not finding parking on campus.

“During the lunchtime rush hour, all parking decks were full. Forcing me to drive around for thirty to forty-five minutes before finding a parking space on campus, and missing my first class as a result,” she said.

The statement from Campus Services said, "We are currently working toward the creation of a parking app that will allow the [Georgia State] community to see how many parking spots are available [on campus] in affiliated parking decks in real time. We are also always looking for opportunities for ways to increase parking capacity to our downtown campus.”

Zachariah Vincent, Georgia State student and Customer Service Assistant with Campus Services, said there has been an “abnormal amount of complaints” this year compared to previous years. The biggest issue, according to Vincent, is that there's not enough parking spots to go around for commuter students.

2016 totals

for commuter parking G DECK

1,096

K DECK

546

M DECK

988

N DECK

574

S DECK

342

T DECK

1,394

LOFT NON-RESIDENT

TURNER FIELD

75

1,700

6,715

TOTAL STUDENT PARKING SPOTS

NEWS

4

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

Turner Field

neighbors demand attention from Mark Becker Advocates demand a chance to discuss The Ted’s redevelopment with the president.

SEAN KEENAN Senior Reporter

A

fter some minor head-butting with campus police on Sept. 7 afternoon, advocates marched to Georgia State University President Mark Becker’s office to deliver a letter demanding he sit down with neighbors of Turner Field to discuss their concerns.

Last month, Georgia State finalized a deal to take hold of the Atlanta Braves’ stadium once the

school forks over the $30 million agreed upon.

But some residents are worried that, once The Ted changes hands later this year, they won’t be involved in the school’s redevelopment of the area.

The Turner Field Community Benefits Coalition (TFCBC), an advocacy group focused on ensuring neighborhood input, rounded up a few dozen people in Georgia State’s Library Plaza at noon to “work to establish relationships within the community that currently do not exist [with the school],” according to the letter they brought to Becker’s office.

Continued on page 5

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

5

NEWS

Turner Field continued

Becker was off-campus, and his secretaries were unable to schedule a meeting with advocates when they filed into the lobby.

However, supporters left with assurance from the office that Becker would be given the letter, which requests he helps “turn our Community Benefits Agreement proposal into a full-fledged agreement.”

“He’s not a dictator, but he is the figure that represents the school,” said Tim Franzen, organizer and leading member of Atlanta’s Housing Justice League. “Hopefully he’s willing to sit down with people.”

Franzen said, in addition to a formal sit-down with the school’s head honcho, the Coalition and other supportive groups in attendance want decision-makers to weigh affordable housing and job creation when sprucing up Turner Field and its surrounding communities.

Some people at the rally denounced gentrification, claiming the city’s recent redevelopment projects have spiked property values so much it’s pushed less-than-affluent people out of their homes.

“Atlanta continues to be in the top two in income inequality,” Franzen told The Signal.

“This [development] is going to hit Adair Park, Pittsburgh, Peoplestown [and Summerhill and Mechanicsville]. You can already see developers frothing about it, buying up property.”

But some residents at the event said they were eager for the rise in property worth.

Summerhill resident Martha Nedderman said her property has almost doubled in value since she moved in some years ago. She suggested that neighbors fearful of displacement should head to Downtown’s Fulton County Government Center to seek out tax breaks.

“All you have to do is go to 141 Pryor St. and show your income, and they’ll help you out,” she claimed. “If you present your income, they’ll just reduce your taxes. I think this development is gonna be great; we’ll have grocery stores and apartments and hopefully student housing. So I think it’s gonna be a positive change.”

Yet state Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, said the property value increase is “a double-edged sword.” “When property values go up, people get displaced,” he said. “A university has to be concerned with issues outside of churning out students. It needs to care about the communities it impacts.”

Georgia State student Christopher Hollis, a member of the Housing Justice League, told The Signal that Wednesday’s march was “not an attack on Becker.” “We’re mostly worried about development that doesn’t work with the current residents,” he said. “It’s very much a displacement issue.”

Nick Langley, a Georgia State student and activist with Panthers for Bernie, said this development deal must have transparency if the school doesn’t intend to send Turner Field

neighbors onto the streets.

“Our money is going into this [development], so we don’t want that to go toward people being kicked out of their homes, and we want to see affordable housing included in there so it’s not just these luxury apartments that nobody can afford,” he said.

In the delivered letter, residents and supporters demanded Becker reach out within seven days to schedule some sort of meeting with the community. University spokeswoman Andrea Jones told The Signal that the university has been in talks with neighborhood leaders, yet it’s too early to discuss specifics of a potential benefits package.

“We have worked with neighborhood and community leaders to move the project forward to this point. Community leaders were instrumental partners as we worked with the City of Atlanta on rezoning plans,” she said.

“Until we have Board of Regents approval for this project, further discussions of any next steps are premature.”

PHOTO BY DAYNE FRANCIS | THE SIGNAL

The Turner Field Community Benefits Coalition and Senator Ford march to Centennial Hall to demand a meeting with President Becker.

Advocates clash with cops

Before the Sept. 7 event, as the rally crowd swelled, campus police officers formed a light perimeter around the plaza’s congregation.

GSUPD Maj. Anthony Coleman told the attendees of the rally that, in order to make speeches or loudly lead the masses, they’d need to migrate to the school’s “free speech area.”

Coleman said the attempt to suppress their expression was not a matter of the subject at hand, but rather an effort to ensure a safe environment in the library courtyard in the event of an emergency.

“It’s not because of the speech,” he said. “[Library Plaza] gets too bogged down over here, and everything is fine until something happens.

If there’s a fire or something, then there’s a stampede.”

Still, before heading towards Becker’s office, the crowd held strong against police pressure.

“We’ve been told by police that this is not a free speech zone, that the constitution doesn’t apply here,” Franzen said before Coleman told him to set down his megaphone. “We’ve done this hundreds of times, and we’ve never been told that we can’t do this. I’ve got a constitution that says I can do this.”

“I understand you had plans, but this is not the free speech area,” said Coleman.

But Franzen, citing the idea of “free speech zones’” youth, said such regulations are “ridiculous.”

“The concept of a free speech zone didn’t exist until about 2005,” he said. “It’s absolutely ridiculous that they’d say students aren’t in a free speech zone elsewhere on campus.”

“I was under the impression that the whole damned country was a free speech zone,” he said with the megaphone in hand.

PHOTO BY DAYNE FRANCIS | THE SIGNAL

Sherise Brown of the Housing Justice League delivers and makes an appointment with President Becker.

PHOTO BY DAYNE FRANCIS | THE SIGNAL

Tim Franzen of the Housing Justice League addresses other supporters at Centennial Hall.

NEWS

6

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

More money more problems

Georgia State’s having problems with financial aid due to increase in students MIKAYLA NEWTON Staff Reporter

G

eorgia State has been piling up financial aid forms and complaints from students heading to class unaware of their finances.

Georgia State student, Maiya Newton, said this is not her first year running into financial aid problems.

“My paperwork has not been processed fast enough. This isn’t the first semester that this has happened to me. I had to wait in a long line at enrollment services for them to tell me that my classes were in jeopardy of being dropped, even though I filled out and submitted my forms days before they were due," she said.

“It’s really annoying that there are way more students than there are services, to help each student with their financial needs before the school year starts.”

The loans that students apply for are awarded not by Georgia State but by the federal government. Even after students have submitted all financial aid forms and all supporting documents, there is a wait before the applications are reviewed by the federal government and approved.

Often times there is something missing in the application—the student has not answered a question or the federal government has a follow-up question—and these matters have to be addressed before the federal government can approve the loan.

According to Timothy Renick, Georgia State Vice President for Enrollment Management & Student Success, one of the biggest challenges that Georgia State faced this summer

is the large increase in the number of financial aid applications and documents that have come in after the deadline. He said the delay is partially the students’ fault.

"Unfortunately, we had about 17,000 students who missed the financial aid deadline this year," he said. “They either had incomplete files or they did not even start their financial aid applications until after the deadline.”

He said the university was put under a “large strain” to process financial aid because of the delay.

“Students and their families have every right to expect timely and professional service, and we fell short of this standard too often this summer," he said.

Renick explains further that the consolidation might have something to do with it.

“This is the first fall semester after the consolidation, though, and it has doubtlessly put strains on the abilities of our offices to respond to increased volume. Georgia State University has 50,000 students enrolled this fall, with more than 40,000 seeking financial aid. When you combine this increased size with thousands of students who missed deadlines, we have had wait times for help on the phones and in person that were far too long. We apologize for the inconvenience caused to our students and their families, and we have a plan to handle the added demand in the future.”

Georgia State student Ashley Bynum said she also had trouble over the semester.

“My FAFSA wasn’t filled out on time for me to find out that I had basically maxed out on loans and apply for this retention grant,” she

Sports fans who ride MARTA are in for a treat. The transit system announced it will be handing out free round-trip Breeze cards for two of the Atlanta Falcons games this season. On Sept.

11 and Oct. 2 between the hours of 10 a.m. - 1 p.m., fans will be able to ride MARTA free of charge. The tickets can be obtained at the H.E. Holmes, College Park, Lindbergh, and Indian Creek MARTA stations according to WGCL-ATLANTA.

National

U.S. House passes bill allowing 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia PHOTO BY DAYNE FRANCIS | THE SIGNAL

A student visits the Financial Aid office with an issue.

said. “Once I got through to financial aid after 600 people being in front of me, they told me the steps I needed in order to to get the retention grant.

After I got dropped from my classes and went to the scholarship office a few times and paid my balance down, they awarded me the grant.”

Any student who had a completed file by July 31, meaning that all financial aid forms and supporting documents were submitted by the deadline, was packaged for their aid and loans on time.

Renick said the university is developing new resources to combat the problem.

“Due to an increased number of calls about financial aid and students,

Georgia State will be hiring about 80 new staff members to help in financial aid, admissions, registration and advising,” he said.

According to Renick, most of the employees are set to start later this fall in both the Atlanta and Perimeter campuses.

As another help resource for financial aid, Georgia State is getting ready to open the SunTrust Student Financial Management Center in Sparks Hall to handle the number of calls at peak times, according to Renick. The center will have a trained team of financial counselors to help students get their financial aid issues handled.

Digital Aquarium goes under the radar for Georgia State students Staff Reporter

I

t has been a long summer waiting for the Digital Aquarium to reopen, after it closed at the end of spring 2016 for renovations. But more than just renovations have been taking place over the summer. The Digital Aquarium formerly located in the Student Center is now known as the Mac Lab located in Alderhold, room 423.

The lab serves as a productive alternative and resource for many students in the Art and film industries. The lab allows students to use Mac computers with up-to-date Adobe software in addition to renting equipment for photography or film.

Students who normally use the Digital Aquarium had to go without access to cameras, Mac computers,

Adobe software, recording equipment etc. without properly being informed.

Nijon Crews, a student employee with the technology lab, told The Signal that the old location is being converted into a testing lab, referred to as Proctor Lab. The Digital Aquarium contained 15 iMacs compared to the new Mac Lab that contains 25 27” iMacs.

In addition to bigger and better computers, the new lab will host new cameras, new software such as Final Cut Pro and the lab will offer printing. Students from all five new campus locations can visit the Atlanta campus to utilize the Mac Lab in Alderhold.

According to Recardo Tucker, the Assistant Manager of Technology Lab and Resources, there are several reasons the Digital Aquarium made various changes.

“We’ve [the technology lab] have out grown the previous location,

Local

Free Breeze Cards for Falcons’ Games

Technology changes go unannounced LOE COLE

Last Week

as well as different labs on campus are moving to different parts of the university, and to expand the Mac part of the lab,” Tucker said.

With the new renovations, came the removal of the lab’s recording space. The Mac lab location does not have the capacity for a recording space. According to Tucker, students from the Atlanta campus can visit one of the five new campuses to access a recording space elsewhere.

Many students were not aware of the changes that occurred with the Digital Aquarium. There was no email blast or a proper press release informing students of the recent changes and what students can be expected.

Students pay for access to the Mac Lab and other labs around campus through student fees. Technology fees on the Atlanta campus are determined by the amount of credit hours students are registered for. It

can range from $14.17 with one credit hour to $70.85 if you have five credit hours. If a student is registered for more than five credit hours (6-15), the tech fee is $85.

Many students are unaware of the Digital Aquarium let alone the new Mac Lab. Film student, Kendall Benjamin, feels that having the technology lab in the Student Center was more convenient.

The Mac Lab is now open and its hours are Monday through Thursday 7:30 a.m to 9 p.m., Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed on Saturday and Sunday.

Students will be able to rent a variety of equipment for photography and filming starting on Sept.12.

Equipment check-outs are only allowed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

A potentially controversial bill has been passed by the U.S. legislature regarding the relatives of 9/11 victims. According to CNN , the House of Representatives passed the bill which will allow the families of those affected by 9/11 to be able to sue Saudi Arabia for their alleged involvement in the tragic events that took the lives of nearly 3,000 Americans. The bill had been passed by the Senate in May, but a veto threat from the Obama administration slowed down the bill’s progress. The President said that the passing of the bill could ruin the United States’ relations with a powerful ally in the Middle East. President Obama is now tasked with either vetoing or approving the bill after the 15th anniversary to the day.

Global

Fears of North Korea launching an effective nuclear missile continue to rise

According to CNN, South Korea reported that the nuclear test conducted

by North Korea on Friday is the most powerful of the five tests they’ve had to date.

The blast was equivalent to 10 kilotons of TNT, and the bordering country reported of feeling tremors after the explosion. The blast was North Korea’s most powerful thus far, and only days after it launched another missile that landed in Japan’s Air Defense Identification Zone. North Korea said the test came as proof that they can put a small enough warhead on a missile.

ARTS & LIVING

www.georgiastatesignal.com/artsandliving

'FRESH TO ORDER'

Local chain provides affordable healthy meals ALEX GRAHAM Staff Reporter

M

idtown offers an unending smorgasbord of popular food stops, including a variety of college-friendly joints for Atlanta’s starving students. The fare ranges from pricey restaurants, best saved for a dinner date, to inexpensive grab and go places. Nestled next to a Five Guys is Fresh To Order, a fast-casual restaurant that aims to offer something a little different. Reasonable prices for food that is as fresh and delicious as the expensive places.

As an option for those students who shy away from the artery-clogging fare of many quick and cheap establishments, Fresh to Order serves soups and sandwiches with an emphasis on health. Its tagline sums up its goals: “Fine. Food. Fast.”

Fresh To Order is catered towards those who want a healthy meal quickly. It started back in 2006, according to Fresh to Order’s Vice President of Marketing Chris Campagna, as a way to bring more fresh foods into the fast-casual arena at affordable prices.

“Unlike many other fast-casual restaurants, we cook on-site,” Campagna said. “For example, we only fire-grill all of our fresh proteins.”

It sounds crazy, but many restaurants do not actually cook their food in the restaurant.

For chains especially, the food is often shipped in pre-cooked or frozen and then heated up before being served, according to The Daily Meal. Fresh to Order’s decision to cook food from scratch at the time of your order is relatively uncommon in restaurants in its price range.

The menu includes lots of standard healthy dishes, but with some unexpected twists.

The Outside-the-Box Burger section, for example, includes a tuna burger made with ginger scallions and a bison burger in lieu of a traditional cow beef patty.

Most of the menu is made up of variants of standard “healthy restaurant” favorites. There are sections for salads, paninis, and soups, as well as an “Entree Long Plates” category with dishes such as Coconut Curry Chicken and Wild Mushroom Steak Medallions.

Healthiness is not just measured by calorie count and fat content – the source of the food matters as well, which inspires Fresh To Order’s use of organic and local foods.

“We do source many of our ingredients locally and our chef ’s make sure our menu items are not only full of flavor, but that they are also good for you. Achieving this combination often calls for recipes with scratch-made all-natural and organic ingredients,” Campagna said.

Fresh to Order also emphasizes the quality of your dining experience, trying to create a fine dining feel that is still comfortable when it comes to their locations, according to Fresh to

Order’s website.

It’s a chain, yes, but a local one, a far cry from the plastic feel of a McDonald’s or Wendy’s. The restaurant is clean and bright, with the food and grills on easy display, but the design is meant to still feel casual. Think of a fancy Panera as a reference point. The “Fine” in the tagline is supposed to describe both the food and the experience.

This emphasis on healthy, fresh foods with an upscale ambience led to Fresh to Order’s many industry awards, which include Food News Media’s Healthy Active Lifestyle Award (2014), and Fast Casual’s Top 50 (2015), according to their website.

This allowed founder Pierre Panos to expand to many different locations around Georgia and throughout the Southeast, including in Buckhead, Decatur, and the Atlanta Airport.

They can also be found in Tennessee and Florida.

Panos’ success with Fresh to Order is an important reminder that people want to see fast healthy food options in their busy lives, a trend reflected by the growth of “health casual” dining in the US and throughout the world. The number of fast food restaurants serving health superfoods like kale and quinoa is projected to keep growing, according to Business Insider. Traditional burger places are even joining in the trend, with restaurants like McDonald’s serving salads and grilled options.

Midtown is an ideal location for Fresh To Order to prove the “health casual” trend, since it is a foot-traffic hub near many businesses and quite close to Georgia State and the Georgia Tech Campus. It may also benefit from its prime spot on a strip of well-known restaurants, such as Escorpion and the Vortex, as hungry restaurant-seekers wander up and down the street searching for a bite.

Campagna enjoys how the location brings many different kinds of customers, from students to professionals and local residents.

“We absolutely love being able to bring high quality, REAL, food to such a wide mix of people,” Campagna said.

But those seeking a high-end sitdown dinner may not be in the mood for a quick, easy meal, and Campagna stressed the importance of Fresh To Order as a haven in the lives of busy college students.

“Today’s college students want to eat healthy, but they also want to enjoy unique flavors and fresh ingredients. Not only does Fresh To Order provide all these attributes, but we [also] do so at an affordable cost while providing different price options and plate sizes for guests,” Campagna said.

For dine in, it’s just a hop and skip from campus, right in the heart of midtown, but they also provide takeout and delivery services. Plus they offer a 15 percent discount to Georgia State students and faculty.

Next time you’re sick of fast food and looking for a bite in Midtown, Fresh to Order might be a go-to for an easy, healthy meal at affordable prices.

PHOTO BY JADE JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

(Above) An Asian Chicken Crunch panini offered as an entree at Fresh to Order. (Below) The lobby of Fresh to Order provides a cool ambiance once you enter, from the eccentric lights to the soft chatter amongst customers.

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Spring St. NW

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12th St. NE

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Map of Midtown BAKERIES 1) Insomnia Cookies 930 Spring St NW #2, Atlanta, GA 30309 Hours: Monday – Friday: 9A.M.–3A.M. Saturday – Sunday: 11A.M.–3A.M. 2) Cami Cakes 2221 Peachtree Rd NW Hours: Monday – Saturday: 10:30A.M.–8:30 P.M. Sunday: Noon–6P.M. 3) Sweet Hut Bakery & Cafe 933 Peachtree St NE #935, Atlanta, GA 30309 Hours: Sunday – Thursday: 8A.M. – 12A.M. Friday – Saturday: 8A.M.–1A.M. Parking: 2 hour parking is available with validation from Metropolis Parking through the visitor entrance. Show your parking stub at the register when making a purchase in order to get it validated.

ARTS 4) Center for Puppetry Arts 1404 Spring St NW, Atlanta, GA 30309 Hours: Monday: Closed

Tuesday – Friday: 9A.M.–5P.M. Saturday: 10A.M.–5P.M. Sunday: Noon–5P.M.

5) Museum of Design 1315 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, GA 30309 Hours: Monday: Closed Tuesday – Wednesday: Noon–6P.M. Thursday: Noon–8P.M. Friday: Noon–6P.M. Saturday:10A.M.–6P.M. Sunday: Noon–6P.M. Parking: The Center for Puppetry Arts has limited on-site parking located behind the center. When attending a show, it’s advised to arrive 30 minutes earlier than the show time for parking. The Museum of Design Atlanta does not offer parking, however visitors can park at designated public parking lots, which are located near the museum. Public transportation is also encouraged.

NIGHTLIFE 6) Ri Ra 1080 Peachtree St NE #1, Atlanta, GA 30309 Hours: Monday – Thursday: 11A.M.–2A.M. Friday – Saturday: 11A.M.–2:30A.M. Sunday: 10A.M.–12A.M.

The view from SweetHut Bakery parking deck in Midtown Atlanta.

7) My sister’s room 66 12th St NE, Atlanta, GA 30309 Hours: Sunday: 12:30–10P.M. Monday – Tuesday: Closed Wednesday – Thursday: 6P.M.–2A.M. Friday – Saturday: 5:30P.M.–3A.M. 8) Koo Koo Room 1140 Crescent Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30309 Hours: Sunday – Monday: Closed Tuesday – Thursday:10:30A.M.–2:30A.M. Friday – Saturday: 9A.M.–2:30A.M. Parking: There are several parking decks right on Peachtree Street NE and Crescent Ave. These do charge a fee, so depending on how long you stay, you could be looking at $5-$12 for parking. There is street parking, which is $2 an hour and free after 9 p.m., but there are traffic cops in the area every night doling out tickets so park at your own risk.

9) F2O Restaurant 860 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, GA 30308 Hours: Sunday11A.M.–9P.M. Monday – Saturday:11A.M.–10P.M. Parking: It is available on the street and in the Spire building parking deck. F2O will validate parking for an hour.

PHOTO BY JADE JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

Turn

! for what down

Midtown bars and restaurants to help you take the edge off

CATRINA DYGERT Staff Reporter

M

idtown is home to some incredible nightlife, including an Irish pub made from almost 300-yearold imported wood and Atlanta’s only lesbian bar. You can also drink like a VIP at a bar designed to feel like an exclusive lounge and nightclub.

When looking for a quiet place to study, this definitely isn’t the place, but when wanting to take a break from schoolwork, Midtown has a steady supply of alcohol and karaoke. There is also some international cuisine and traditional bar favorites to help keep your spirits up. Just remember to indulge responsibly.

Luck o’ the Irish Rí Rá Irish Pub is one of several Irish pubs in Midtown. The chain began in Charlotte, North Carolina just over 20 years ago, but the Atlanta hub didn’t open until 2009. Managed by Peter Constant and Ryan Costello, the pub boasts a menu that combines “traditional Irish and traditional American fare,” according to Costello.

“Literally translated in Gaelic Irish rí is king and rá is laughter,” Constant said. “In kind of informal Gaelic it’s like good times.”

Good times definitely aren’t in short supply at Rí Rá. The pub offers a plethora of different events for pub-goers to enjoy along with their beers.

“We do trivia once a month where we do a themed trivia, so this month is Star Wars,” Constant said. “There was a Harry Potter and Game of Thrones. We do poker Sunday and Mondays. The last Sunday of every month we do traditional Irish music. We get some of the Irish community and friends of the Irish community to come play an Irish music session.”

The pub also stays in touch with its European roots, airing rugby and soccer games in-house.

“We’re on the Georgia Blues Chelsea Football Club,” said Costello. “So depending on when they’re playing, we have a supporters group that comes –in addition to American Outlaws– a U.S. based soccer supporters group. We’re their official home as well.”

Rí Rá certainly does have a rich history for a bar that’s younger than Beyoncé’s “B-Day” album. The pub is made entirely out of wood imported from Ireland, with the oldest piece of wood in the bar is from the 1750s.

“It’s from different pieces of churches and schools,” said Constant. “Some of it goes back like two-three hundred years. The floor here [the second floor bar] and downstairs is from the factory where the Titanic was built.”

Bringing the Ladies to Midtown Though Midtown is known for its numerous gay bars, it’s also home to Atlanta’s only lesbian bar My Sister’s Room (MSR). The bar, co-owned by wives Jennifer and Jami Maguire originally opened in Midtown in 1996 before moving to Decatur then to East Atlanta and finally back to Midtown, where it is now. Having recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, My Sister’s Room is also one of the longest-running lesbian bars in the Southeast.

The Maguire’s bought MSR from the original founder, Susan Musselwhite, five years ago.

“It’s kind of funny,” Jen Maguire said. “I think she said she wanted to call it My Sister’s Room because she always wanted a sister, so that’s kind of where she got the name and it went from there.”

In the past year, MSR has won several awards from Georgia Voice, including “Best Place to Meet Women,” “Best Lesbian Bar,” and “Best Bar Food.”

MSR serves traditional bar food like nachos, tacos and the bar’s most popular dish, wings.

“We go through over 100 pounds of wings a week,” Jen said. “Lemon pepper is my favorite.”

If you’re not convinced yet, MSR also hosts a variety of different events for patrons to enjoy. The bar also has big plans for Atlanta Pride this year, including live DJs, more karaoke, a glow party and a burlesque show. The Maguires rented out Opera, a nightclub located just down the street on Crescent Avenue, to extend their festivities.

“We’re expecting around 4,000 people to show up for that. We also have a few special guest celebrities who will be coming by. We just can’t announce it yet,” Jen said. “[Also] every Wednesday is karaoke.

We’ve had that tradition for 12 years. Thursday nights are football nights, college game night.

Fridays and Saturdays are special events which we rotate, and then on Sunday Funday we do for charity events, giving back to the community.”

The Opera event will include some acrobatics and fire breathers for a Cirque-du-Soleil style celebration. Though the bar itself is 21 and up, the Pride celebration at Opera will be 18 and up. “[My Sister’s Room] is a place of acceptance and I think that’s been a thing that’s been very successful for us, Jen said. “That’s one thing that I like to say, because that’s very important especially with the times we’re in today. This is a bar for everybody.

Half our staff is transgender, gay, black, white, straight – we don’t care. We like to really say we’re a big melting pot.”

Patrons enjoy drinks in front of Rí Rá Irish Pub located off Crescent Avenue in Midtown Atlanta.

Lounging Around While Rí Rá and MSR offer more traditional, laid back bar experiences, Koo Koo Room offers a different experience entirely. Styled as a VIP lounge, Koo Koo offers a place for visitors to kick back and relax or get up and dance all in one room.

“I would consider it, somewhere between a bar, a lounge and a nightclub,” Rich Stine, Operating Partner, said. “It has a little bit of all depending on what night and what time of the night.”

It doesn’t take long for Koo Koo to get crowded.

The club offers a range of music from dubstep to Fall Out Boy and even a remix of Ghost Town DJ’s “My Boo,” if you’re feeling like a Running Man Challenge. Koo Koo does have an in-house DJ heading up the music.

The lounge will be starting up a college night on Wednesdays, though the exact start day is still up in the air. According to Stine, Koo Koo plans to pair with their sister company, Flip Flops to offer a special night for college students to come out on the town.

“Flip Flops will be more college and Koo Koo will be more industry, but both will be open. You’ll be able to get in at one time and go to both places.”

Koo Koo opened up six and a half years ago in April of 2010. While the bar does not currently offer food, they do have a menu of “solid cocktails.”

“We don’t do a whole lot of froufrou drinks.

Mostly just cocktails, beer and wine,” Stine said.

“We’re very much a local bar that a lot of out of towners will join into. We don’t run a whole lot of events, but we do run certain specialty days sometimes, holiday parties and so on like that. We do private events also.”

Stine also explained that the lounge is known for its celebrity spotting, although he didn’t name any names.

The lounge does have a dress code: no tennis shoes, shorts, baseball hats, flip flops, tank tops, sports jerseys or work boots, according to their website.

PHOTO BY JADE JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

Getting baked

Midtown bakeries sweeten the streets

Sweetening the Deal: Sweet Hut Bakery & Cafe

INGA MASIC

Arts & Living Editor

T

he are a few smells customers walking around stores find hard to resist, the floral smell that comes out of Lush or Bath & Body Works and the sweet smell coming from a bakery.

After stopping by the endless nightlife joints or admiring the creative juices flowing out of the art museums, stopping for a snack is a must.

So all sweet tooths unite, because the Midtown area has raised the bar when its comes to baked goods.

Insomnia Cookies To release the inner cookie monster inside all of us, one must visit Insomnia Cookies. This bakery lays out an endless amount of cookies to munch on, such as Snickerdoodle, Double Chocolate Mint, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup and more.

“Insomnia Cookies was born out of the dislike of heavy foods late at night and a sweet tooth,” Catharine Gatlin, marketing manager, said. “Our founder and CEO, Seth Berkowitz, created the concept in 2003 out of his dorm room at UPENN and the rest, as they say, is history. We have been fulfilling late-night cravings for our fans ever since.”

Insomnia Cookies closes every night at 3 a.m., so for those college students that either are pulling an all-nighter or for those that are walking the streets after mingling with some shots, Insomnia Cookies will be there and ready with cookies galore.

“Insomnia Cookies is known for delivering our warm, delicious cookies daily and recently began opening even earlier during the week at 9 a.m. (delivery starting at 10 a.m. Monday-Friday) to fulfill the demands of our guests,” Gatlin said. “We aren’t just cookies though, we also deliver cookie cakes, cookiewiches (your choice of ice cream sandwiched between two of our delicious cookies), bigwiches, brownies, ice cream and of course milk!”

Insomnia Cookies isn’t available anywhere else besides the Midtown location, so if the thirst is real, make the drive. It may be worth it when finding out that they enjoy giving back to this community, one they have connected well with.

“We are biased, but we think we have the best cookies around! But what truly makes us special is that we pride ourselves on not just trying to open new locations like many companies, but in truly looking to becoming a part of the communities we serve,” Gatlin said. “We do this through our fundraising program, giving back a percentage of sales to organizations looking to raise money and also through cookie donations for local events and activities.”

What makes the Midtown area so appealing to Insomnia Cookies, according to Gatlin, is the the large amount of love they receive from their customers.

“We love the variety of guests at our Midtown location from students to professional to families… who doesn’t love a warm cookie?” Gatlin said. “We have also seen a lot of friendly faces coming back time after time, especially students. We know how college is so we do our best to help treat our students (and all our fans) by offering weekly deals on our website. We

also have our Cookie Dough loyalty program on our app which earns you a point for every $1 you spend.

For every 100 points, we will give you a $10 reward to spend at Insomnia Cookies.”

CamiCakes This bakery offers an assortment of different cupcakes for customers to enjoy and attempt to knock out all of the 30+ flavors of cupcakes.

“Our mission is to create happiness one cupcake at a time so we are often a part of birthdays, weddings, showers and many other special celebrations,” Janae Bryant, office assistant, said. “We pride ourselves in coming up with unique alternatives to the boring standard.”

Camicakes began with a woman and her dream to create cupcakes with smooth buttermilk and cream cheese frosting for the entire neighborhood. It’s CamiCakes’ origin story that proves that through any circumstances, working towards a dream is possible.

“CamiCakes began when Owner and Founder, Andra Hall’s, young daughter fell sick. In the midst of leaving corporate America to care full-time for her daughter, she decided now was the time to follow her passion for baking,” Bryant said. “CamiCakes is named after her daughter Camille, now 12, healthy, and a wonderful handful.”

This place doesn’t only offer cupcakes for the public, but also fresh ice cream. The ice cream is made from scratch, making it impossible to resist savoring every bit of flavor.

“One thing that puts a twist on our bakery is that we also have a creamery where we churn out homemade ice cream. We thought the only thing that could make our cupcakes better would be a scoop of ice cream on the side,” Bryant said.

CamiCakes is home to many flavors of cupcakes, and there are some that customers enjoy a bit more than others. The colorful and quirky ora surrounding CamiCakes can be the positive pick-me-up for anyone walking through the door.

“Red Velvet is our best seller, which is no surprise due to being in the South! The Classic Cami is another best seller and Camille’s favorite. It’s a perfectly simple yellow cupcake with a dollop of delicious buttercream frosting on top,” Bryant said.

“Students love our shop because it’s a great place to treat themselves to a reward for a tough test or a long day of studying. There’s such a fun atmosphere at CamiCakes, it just brightens your day.”

Sweet Hut Bakery & Cafe in Midtown serves different sweets such as danishes, chicken puffs and BBQ pork buns.

Along with the niche-friendly shops, here is a look into another bakery that has delved into all aspects of the baking spectrum. Sweet Hut Bakery & Cafe is an East-Asian eatery that offers a cafe menu, bakery menu, sandwich menu and cake menu (including wedding cakes).

Their long list of different foods is what sets them apart from other bakeries, especially when factoring in their worldly taste. The bakery was founded by Howie Ewe, who had a background in Chinese/Asian culinary experience.

Here are some of the items offered from each menu for whatever the craving is at the moment:

Bakery Menu

Curry Chicken Puff: Chicken marinated in curry sauce and formed into a triangular, soft and flaky pastry.

Danish Nutella Chocolate: For all those Nutella fans, this pastry is filled generously with the chocolate hazelnut spread.

BBQ Pork Bun: This traditional Asian dish has pork smothered in Asian BBQ sauce and stuffed into a fluffy bread roll.

Cake Menu

Blueberry Cake: This dome-shaped cake is a vanilla cake with layers of whipped cream with blueberry puree and blueberries.

Matcha Cake: This Japanese origin cake is made from Matcha, a green tea leaf. A powder form of the herb is used and combined with layers of sweet cream.

Strawberry Yogurt Mousse Cake: This dessert is made from a mixture of strawberry puree and tart yogurt to create a mousse, which is layered with vanilla sponge cake.

Cafe Menu

Hong Kong Milk Tea: This drink has a strong tea flavor and is combined with brewed Ceylon, evaporated milk and condensed milk.

QQ Mango Pudding Green Tea: It’s made with mango pudding and green tea, with the option to add toppings.

Avocado Slush: It’s a different spin on fruity slush drinks, avocados are mixed with fresh milk, condensed milk and ice.

Sandwich Menu

Bibimbap Burger: This burger is topped with spinach, a fried egg, stir-fried carrots, sesame seasoned bean sprouts and it’s partnered with Sweet Hut’s house-made sauce.

Bulgogi Cheese Steak: This hot sandwich is made with a thin sliced sirloin steak, portobello mushrooms and onions and is topped with provolone cheese. It’s placed in a baked hoagie and partnered with Bulgogi sauce.

Tuscan Chicken: It’s made with grilled chicken breast, which has spinach, basil, provolone cheese, olives and artichokes added to it. It’s then drizzled with a sun-dried tomato spread.

PHOTO BY DAYNE FRANCIS | THE SIGNAL

Stimulating Creativity

Embracing the future of the arts with technology and puppets CHANTE FOSTER Staff Reporter

T

wo centers, located in Midtown Atlanta, have dedicated their vision towards changing the way the community interacts with art, by providing stimulating programs that focus on creativity, education and visual exhibits. The Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) and the Center for Puppetry Arts are creating a space where people can let their imaginations wander. Through numerous outreach and educational programs, the organizations hope to impact people of all ages.

The Future of Technology

Curator of creativity, Maria Cramer, recently joined the MODA team. Cramer believes technology is constantly evolving and with the help of museums, like MODA, new advancements have a place to be appreciated and displayed. Which is why the museum constantly adapts to change by rotating a series of exhibits.

“We like to say we’re the only museum in the southeast dedicated exclusively to the study and celebration of all things design,” Cramer said. “We have that acute design focus, and that is the reason why we actually rotate out exhibit.”

The Museum of Design Atlanta is dedicated to advancing the community through design by providing programs and visual exhibits that inspire creativity.

Cramer explains there are two reaches questions.

• •

PHOTO BY LAHAR SAMANTARAI | THE SIGNAL

A display explaining the usage and benefits of the August Smart Lock at the Museum of Design Atlanta.

What is the museum of the 21 century?

Can a design museum change the world?

A reaches question is like a mission statement that provides daily motivation for the staff and board directors who are a part of MODA. Cramer says that the reaches question serves as a reminder in how the MODA team see’s the museum in relation to the community and the world.

“We restructure things here all the time, [when] attempting to create the museum of the 21 century, and that can ultimately change the world,” Cramer said.

The most rewarding part about Cramer’s job is being able to see the mission of MODA, as it relates to education, creativity and functionality, positively affect the community. As the design industry changes, the museum adapts to that change by incorporating engaging programs and exhibits to educate the community.

“What’s so amazing about working at place like MODA is our work, [which] has a strong purpose behind it,” Cramer said. “The work that we are doing here is constantly being pushed and challenged."

Current Exhibitions

PHOTO BY LAHAR SAMANTARAI | THE SIGNAL

3D printed custom prosthetic limbs displayed at the Museum of Design Atlanta.

On You: Wearable Technology Designers and Curators, Clint Zeagler and Thad Starner, created a visual display alluding to the future of wearable technology. The designers used a contrasting approach to show the evolution of technology as it relates to fashion arts, athletics and more. According to Cramer, the exhibit has grown in popularity, because it includes a detailed view on human interactions with technology.

“We’re constantly evolving and taking on these new exhibitions for the purpose of bringing new design to Atlanta, and we want it to change our industry,” Cramer said. “It’s a really special exhibition and it’s been really popular in the community so far.”

Beautiful Users: Designing for people

User-centered design takes on retable functionality with Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. The traveling exhibit features approximately 100 objects used to show how user-centered design is simply a way of designing for comfort or convenience. “[It’s] your understanding of how people are designing things specifically for the human body,” Cramer said.

“Having both of these exhibitions in house simultaneously has been interesting for us because you get to know your user better.”

Educational Programs

3D printing MODA offers adult programs such as the 3D printing class. Participants are instructed on the fundamentals, like how to operate the CAD printing program, and discuss the innovative importance that 3D printing offers to users around the world.

Throughout the class the participants will design an object, which will later be printed. The possibilities are endless, for instance participants have designed luggage tags, phone holders and silly creatures like an octopus wearing a fedora.

“It really gives everyone a chance to come in, learn a new program and get familiar with this advance technology,” Cramer said. “We print the designs for every participant and they get to come into the museum to pick up their creation.”

Kids Minecraft Kids Minecraft is an educational program for young designers. Throughout the duration of the class the young are given the chance to take a digital 2D game into a recreated 3D world using printing technology. The designers are engaging with a space that allows them to make cities, and later print their creations. “[We’re] getting kids together with the common goal of designing something for the greater good of their community, and in this case minecraft [is that] community,” Cramer said. “It’s a little world, and it’s thought provoking, inspiring and hopefully spawns creativity.”

MODA offers numerous programs, that cater to all ages and curiosities. Programs such as, Family Free Day, which takes place every month on the second Sunday.

The activities for that day are preplanned, with a guided tour of the exhibitions. For Cramer, the programs are just another way that the museum provides design education to the community.

“It doesn't matter how old you are, if you're interested or become interested we have a place for you here,” Cramer said.

-For more information about MODA’s interactive classes, visual exhibits and programs, visit the museum’s website.

The cast of Sesame Street posing in front of 1969 sign, the year the show first premiered on television.

The Center for Puppetry Arts

The Center for Puppetry Arts is home to an extensive collection of iconic puppets and a devoted staff who share their passion for arts with the community.

Marketing Director, Therese Aun, started working at the center as a puppeteer, and she returned to take on a new position that allowed her to share a passion for puppets with the world.

“People who work at the Center develop a passion for puppetry and it’s a unique place in the world,” Aun said. “Not only do we produce and perform original live performances of our own, but we also present puppetry companies from across the country and around the word.”

One way that the vision has surpassed expectations is through the Distance Learning Program. By incorporating technology devices, with videoconferences capabilities, the center uses a curriculum based program to combine arts and puppetry with educational topics such as science, social studies and other learning objectives.

“Our education and Distance Learning teams provide state-of-the-art educational programming onsite and offsite for everyone from preschoolers to professionals,” Aun said. “Our three areas of programming (theater/ museum/education) make us a true Center for the art of puppetry.”

Puppet Programs

Compared to other forms of theater, puppet theater requires various acting techniques used to transgress a story from the puppeteer into the puppet. There are programs offered by the center that teach people about the art of puppeteering, such as costuming workshops, historical museum exhibits (like Jim Henson’s Labyrinth), puppet films and more.

“Puppetry transcends the limits of the human form by making the impossible, possible,” Aun said. “They highlight our humanity by juxtaposing our humanness next to puppets.”

Costuming: Puppets, Puppets and Mascots

Costuming is an educational workshop delivered by one of the original muppet creators, Bonnie Erickson.

PHOTO BY LAHAR SAMANTARAI | THE SIGNAL

On Sept. 26, the curator for Miss. Piggy will break down the techniques for making a costume, such as looking for fabrics, designing and construction.

The Jim Henson Collection

The muppet creator and pioneer, Jim Henson has an extensive exhibit commemorating the iconic moments of his legacy. The Center for Puppetry Arts has one of the largest collections of Henson’s work, featuring interactive pieces that illustrate his work from brainstorming, design and more.

Family Series: Old MacDonald’s Farm

Even shows such as Old MacDonald, require intensive planning. When it comes to creating the design and performance, there are multiple elements that go into making a story, according to Aun. “It is an intensely collaborative art – story, design, music and movement all have to work as one,” Aun said.

“There is a choreography that is essential to successful execution.”

Younger children and families can enjoy a whimsical performance about a classic story. The interactive Old MacDonald show has singing, dancing and puppet farm animals that help bring the story to life.

All Ages Welcomed

The preservation of iconic puppetry art is one example of how the center stands apart from other museums in the area.

Some of the collection contains exclusive pieces found in Atlanta. For Aun, having a chance to share the history with new visitors is a rewarding experience.

“Atlanta should know there is no place like the Center anywhere else in this country,” Aun said. “There is no other place that is simultaneously dedicated to the preservation of the art of puppetry.”

When it comes to promoting puppetry, the center caters to everyone. There is programing for target audiences such as mature adults, families and children.

“The museum certainly is for everyone, while we have performances and educational offerings that are very targeted,” Aun said.

For more information about shows and exhibits offered at the Center for Puppetry Arts, visit the center’s website.

PHOTO BY LAHAR SAMANTARAI | THE SIGNAL

A full sized Big Bird from Sesame Street on display at the Center for Puppetry Arts.

PAGE DESIGN BY DARIAN MATHEWS

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ARTS & LIVING

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

FILM REVIEW

Tight thriller with a killer soundscape ALEX GRAHAM Staff Reviewer

T

he film “Disorder” may be a French language film playing at your local arthouse, but don’t assume that means it’s an artsy fartsy kind of movie. It’s a genre film, a thriller with all the familiar “thriller” features. But while “Disorder” may be recognizable, it’s not a throw away. Rather it uses its genre bones as a rack upon which to hang some heady, banging sound work and A+ performances.

The film follows Vincent (Matthias Schoenaerts), a French soldier recently returned from a stint in Afghanistan. He came back scarred, so messed up that the military isn’t planning on sending him back to the front despite his insistence that he wants to go, and he’s not having a good time getting back into the swing of daily life. He’s drugged up, hearing things and constantly getting lost in his own head when it would behoove him to pay attention.

This becomes especially true when he’s hired to babysit a rich businessman’s wife Jessie and son Ali (Diane Kruger and Zaïd ErrouguiDemonsant). It’s election season in France and the man’s business appears to include some shady political underworking that puts Vincent on high alert-- everywhere he sees threats, a trailing car or a suspicious man staring at them. As danger seems to close in on them, he becomes obsessed with protecting Jessie and Ali from whatever political malaise lurks in the shadows.

I can’t continue without addressing the sounds: they’re everywhere,

they’re excruciating, and I love them.

From the subtlety kicked up diegetic sounds to the twitchy electro scoring

by Gesaffelstein, “Disorder’s" sound design works wonderfully to reveal the tension in Vincent’s head and obscure what’s real and imaginary. I only wish the amazing jam from the trailer was used more liberally.

The scoring lends a headacheinducing thrill to the movie’s claustrophobic camera. Vincent’s world, distorted by pills and psychological trauma, is often a tightly framed, slo-mo wave of colors and glitter. His boss’s glamorous lifestyle in the high-end of politics floats past us like a waking nightmare. There’s so much going on, too much decadence for anyone to take in.

Even with all these wonderful sights and sounds, Schoenaerts is “Disorder’s" shining star. While Kruger and the kid give fine performances, nothing matches the disturbing intensity of Vincent.

Schoenaerts clearly gets that playing a someone with an anxiety disorder requires a fair amount of holding back-- real people don’t twitch constantly when they’re disturbed, they try their hardest not to twitch, and I give him boatloads of credit for his performance here. He’s on edge and desperately trying to hold it together, while false alarms abound are stressing him nearly to his breaking point. It’s wonderful, subtle work.

Unfortunately my screen time with both Kruger and Schoenaert sagged under the weight of a useless and confusing romantic subplot. I understand the impulse to make your characters fall in love, but I rarely feel as weird about unnecessary romances as I did here. Vincent and Jessie not

SYNOPSIS: Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, a security guard utilizes his training as a French special forces soldier to protect the wife and son of a shady Lebanese businessman.

GRADE: B VERDICT: Despite a weird romantic subplot, “Disorder” shapes up into a solid, clean thriller, made especially enjoyable by the leads’ performances and the awesome sound design. only didn’t work logically as romantic fodder for me (explain the setup again? He’s horny?), but also didn’t feel quite right-- the two characters interacted with each other more like new buddies or siblings than as people romantically interested in

each other.

Nonetheless “Disorder” is a tight, well-crafted thriller. Watch it in theaters for maximum effect, but it should retain its uneasiness on a small(er) screen with some good headphones if you don’t have the cash.

1

BLACK ATLASS HAUNTED PARADISE

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COMPLETE WALKTHRU "S/T"

3

DE LA SOUL AND THE ANONYMOUS NOBODY

4

GRINGO STAR THE SIDES AND IN BETWEEN

5

MAGIC TRICK OTHER MAN'S BLUES

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MILD HIGH CLUB SKIPTRACING

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MORGAN DELT PHASE ZERO

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MOTION GRAPHICS MOTION GRAPHICS

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PILL CONVENIENCE

joining the signal is only

one click away scan me!

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SHAMPOO TERRIBLE HEAT

calendar

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

17

Campus & Downtown Events

Tuesday MUSIC AT NOON AT CENTENNIAL OLYMPIC PARK

Sept. 13 Noon Music at Noon is the perfect lunchtime getaway! Get out of the office for a midday break filled with sunny skies and great entertainment every Tuesday and Thursday.

Wednesday Selena

Sept. 14 1 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 7:45 p.m.

Location: Cinefest Cinefest is screening the iconic film for two days in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Thursday revolutionary Images: Graphic Novel Discussion of Maus Sept. 15 12:15 p.m. - 1 p.m.

Location: Student Center East Suite 206 This discussion will dive into the world of multiculturalism, diversity and social justice in Maus.

Friday LinkedIn Photo Fridays

Sept. 16 3 p.m. - 4 p.m.

This is a continuation event that will occur every Friday. If students have LinkedIn accounts and want to have professional photos taken for their profile, then stop by!

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Music Midtown

University Symphony Orchestra

Hot Wings Hot Topics

Sept. 17 Piedmont Park Reowned musical artists will be at this year's Music Midtown.

Artists include The Killers, Twenty One Pilots, Deadmau5 and more! Check out http://www. musicmidtown.com for more information.

Sept. 18 3 p.m.

The University Symphony Orchestra is an ensemble of 80 undergraduate and graduate students, and every year they play up to six to eight performances, held at the Kopleff Recital Hall.

Sept. 19 8 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Once again, students, faculty and staff are welcome to join into a discussionbased event. The discussion will consist of topics that are “hot” in the world right now.

More events and info at georgiastatesignal.com

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EDITORIAL

18

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

EDITORIAL You can add finacial aid to your list of worries

C

ollege is a very frustrating time. You have test on top of test. You have roommates that you have to adjust to. You are growing up and maturing as a person. You know what shouldn't be so frustrating?

Financial Aid. Georgia State knew the consolidation was going to happen for more than a year. The Board of Regents (BOR) set this plan into motion when it decided to increase the Georgia State student population to more than 50,000 on Jan. 6, 2015 with the addition of Georgia Perimeter College. At that same BOR meeting, all parties involved were forewarned that the consolidation would be finalized a year later.

Now as planned, Georgia State started its first semester post consolidation. However, the administration has quite frankly missed the mark when actually processing this influx of students’ financial aid for them to be able to pay for their classes.

Georgia State Vice President for Enrollment Management & Student Success Timothy Renick said the financial aid issue is the

student’s fault, because some didn’t submit their paperwork in on time.

But he also conceded that they “have had wait times for help on the phones and in person that were far too long.”

The same old tactics were used when addressing students’ financial aid issues. Georgia State held a “One Stop Shop” event to address students financial aid, student accounts and enrollment services issues during the first few weeks of school. But there seemed to be not enough staff members working or when they were “working” they could be seen doing on break behavior like eating.

The wait times for students were inaccurate and daunting as the number climbed as the amount of students increased. During that event, students could be seen standing in winding lines and sitting in crowded waiting areas for hours just to get their questions answered or problems fixed.

Any student would have rather called financial aid from the comfort of their own home. But if they weren’t calling at 8:30 a.m. when the office opens up, they would definitely have to wait for

more than 20 minutes or might even get hung up on due to the high volume of callers.

For students who are paying thousands of dollars a semester towards their Georgia State education on tuition, student fees, housing and textbooks, this run around to get their financial aid processed is unacceptable.

Renick said that they are working to fix this issue by hiring 80 new employees for financial aid, admissions, registration and advising. To be honest, it’s a little too late. School has already started.

Some students have already been dropped from their classes. And expected refund money has already been issued late. All of this due to financial aid being processed improperly.

The university needs to learn from its mistakes with this financial aid debacle and fix problems while they begin bubbling to the surface, instead of waiting until the last minute. This should be done in consideration of the hardworking students who attend, and because it is your job to, Georgia State.

ILLUSTRATION BY ERIK REID | THE SIGNAL

SPORTS Rising to expectations www.georgiastatesignal.com/sports

Throughout his life, the pressure has never bothered Ari Werts TOBI ADEYEMI Staff Reporter

P

eople have always expected big things from Ari Werts. From childhood to little league football to Saturday night football, the expectations are nothing new. Being his size did not help either; his 6-4 and 225-pound frame made him the perfect size for tight end. Now in the midst of the 2016 season, expectations have never been bigger.

Werts' father, Larry Werts, is a former NFL player. He was drafted 200th overall out of Jackson State by the Green Bay Packers. His father only played five seasons in the league, but that was more than enough for Werts.

Werts' father taught him the ins and outs of the game and taught him to love it. They might have played on different sides of the ball, but that did not stop the younger Werts from soaking up as much knowledge as possible.

"I just wanted to follow in his footsteps, I wanted to follow the path he made," said Werts.

"Ever since then, I fell in love with the game."

As to why Werts did not follow in his father's footsteps position-wise as a linebacker. He said tight end is the only position he ever knew.

Werts started playing the position because he enjoyed grabbing tight end reverses from the quarterback, but as Werts grew more skillful, he learned things that made him love it even more.

"I love the mismatches," said Werts. "I feel like a linebacker can't guard me because I am big, I got speed, I got good hands, and I can block pretty well too."

The mismatches Werts loved so much helped him exploit them on the field time and time again, and he continued to do so all throughout his prep career. Werts played his high school ball at Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia, and the expectations would continue to follow. As he improved year after year, he would eventually earn All-Area recognition and at the completion of his prep career he would check off one of his own expectations.

"I always knew I would be playing D1 football," said Werts "I was always focused in high school, I stayed on point, always on my P's and Q's."

Amongst offers from Indiana, Boise State, and other D1 programs, Werts chose to become a Panther. He would start his freshman year on special teams but moved to the tight end position halfway through the season. In 2015, Werts got on the field as a tight end for the first

time vs. Appalachian State and wasted no time leaving his impact as he caught two passes for 21 yards. He would save his best performance for last, which also happened to be Georgia State's first-ever bowl game.

Werts would reel in three catches for 63 yards versus San Jose State and the production that the team expected when Werts first signed finally started to show. With a brilliant closing to his first collegiate season, Werts looks back on the year with a positive light.

"I'm just glad I adjusted to the college level, it was an adjustment year," said Werts. "It was a great experience, and I loved it."

When discussing the Panther's 2016 season, Werts' name is not held out of that discussion for long.

Werts' is in for a breakthrough year and that he is one of the key Panther's to watch this season, according to the Atlanta JournalConstitution. Doug Roberson predicted that “ Werts could start if the team elects to use two tight ends, or to flex him out to create a matchup mismatch.�

Georgia State already has the ninth best passing attack in the country, so with a solid tight end, Georgia State could climb to the top five considering how well the new quarterback plays. There are expectations for him to be a huge impact at the position, and Werts' knows this.

"I hear what they are saying, and I think I can bring a lot to this team as far as catching and blocking," Werts said. "I feel like I have to step up to the plate now."

Werts' has also been doing the things necessary for him to have the season people are expecting. He had a solid spring game.

Werts had good showings in both scrimmages, a 31-yard reception in the first scrimmage and 44 yards the next. He worked hard during the summer; off the field in the weight room and on the field with his route running.

"My greatest expectation is to just be a playmaker," Werts said. "If the ball comes my way, I want to make a play on it, whether it's too high or too low, and with my blocking to help our running backs score touchdowns."

Werts is ready for the upcoming challenges of the 2016 season. He wants to succeed like never before, and he is ready to not only prove everyone around him right but to prove himself right. The expectation is just another thing that goes along with being Ari Werts, and that is nothing to be afraid of.

"I love expectation, if anything, I embrace it."

Werts in training Starts playing football for Central DeKalb Jaguars

6 years old

Starts playing football for Stephenson High School

Highschool Freshman

Recieved first scholarship offer

Highschool Junior

Commits to Georgia State

Named to AllArea team by AJC

Highschool Senior

Panther tight end Ari Werts aims to be a playmaker this year.

Officially enrolled at Georgia State

January 2015

Good showings in both scrimmages

First scrimmage 31-YARD RECEPTION

Plays tight end for Georgia State for the first time Three receptions for 63 yards

Versus Appalachian State

Cure Bowl

PHOTO BY DAYNE FRANCIS | THE SIGNAL

second scrimmage 44-YARD RECEPTION

20

SPORTS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

Panthers must be ready Team returns from Colorado, only to head north to face Top 10 opponent Wisconsin WOODY BASS Staff Reporter

A

fter a battle with the Air Force, the Panthers will turn around and venture north for the second of three monster road games as they prepare to head to Camp Randall Stadium to face the Wisconsin Badgers.

Paul Chryst, a Madison, Wisconsin native and a former quarterback and offensive coordinator for the University of Wisconsin, is in his second year as the head Badger with a 30-22 overall head coaching record.

Chryst returned to the Badgers after his first head coaching stop at University of Pittsburgh. His Badgers, who are coming off a 10-3 record last season, opened 2016 with a big win against SEC powerhouse LSU Tigers at the home of the Green Bay Packers historic Lambeau Field.

The Badgers defense returns six starters that held opponents to just over 13 points per game and allowed opposing offenses a total of 3,491 yards last season. Under new defensive coordinator, Justin Wilcox, the Badgers are starting the

season off with great confidence after limiting the Tigers to a total of 257 total yards of offense and 126 total yards on the ground. LSU running back and Heisman candidate Leonard Fournette, who is one of a handful of players to surpass 3,000 career yards, was held to 128 yards on 23 carries before he left the game with an injury.

“It was a heck of a challenge today.

And if you just focus on Fournette, who is a heck of a running back, I think you can leave yourself exposed to other things and I thought guys played their assignment,” Coach Chryst told the press following the victory over the Tigers. “I thought it was a good start to this year.”

Senior linebacker Vince Biegel, who added 4 tackles versus LSU to his career 18, points to the experience returning in 2016.

“You know, we’ve got a lot of guys returning on our defense and we’ve got guys who played in a lot of ballgames,” he said after the game.

“We’re confident in what we can do and, you know, I’m very confident in our inside backers, our D-line, our safeties. I’m excited about what the future holds for this defense and this Wisconsin Badger football team.”

The dominance of the Badger

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defense so far this season, who returns six starters and allowed an average of 13 points per game a season ago, could signal a real problem for the Panthers who are dealing with “life after Arbuckle” that included a running game that was limited to 77 yards against a mediocre, in comparison to what they will face versus the Badgers, Ball State defense in the season opener.

“We have to improve as a whole on offense,” redshirt freshman QB Aaron Winchester said following the loss to Ball State after the Panthers were held to 19 first downs and 272 yards of total offense. “We’ve got to get our guys ready and execute better.”

Last season the Badgers receivers, surprisingly, led the offense with a total of 2,988 yards compared to the running game which mounted a total of 1,954 yards and averaged nearly 27 points per game. In 2016, this side of the ball also returns six starters and is on target to match their average of 380 yards of offense per game against a Georgia State defense who allowed 325 yards to Ball State on the ground alone.

Badgers Senior quarterback Bart Houston made his first start under center passing for 205 yards

against LSU, the most since former quarterback Joel Stave in 2012. Chryst was mostly happy with the play of his quarterback in the opener.

“I thought he was himself. I thought that he competed. I thought he made some plays. Obviously, a couple plays that we’ve got to learn from and you’d like not to do. But I thought he kept his poise in it and did some good things,” Coach Chryst said.

Testing the Panthers secondary will be junior tight end Troy “Fume” Fumagalli and senior Robert Wheelwright. Fume emerged as the leading receiver for the Badgers in their victory in the season opener with seven receptions averaging 14.3 yards per catch. Wheelwright, who came off a 2015 season with a total of 416 yards, followed with 60 yards on four receptions against the Tigers.

Georgia State defensive coordinator Jesse Minter may be having nightmares as he prepares his defense for one of the best rushing attacks in the entire nation. Senior running back Corey Clement leads the Badgers running game and is coming off a 2015 season where he missed seven games. Clements battled for 86 yards on 21 carries against LSU and

scored his 22nd career touchdown versus the Tigers.

“There were times we were able to run the ball and I think it takes all 11 to do that,” Chryst said in his postgame press conference about the performance of his running backs against one of the nation’s best defenses. “I think they’ve got an edge to them.”

Georgia State will have their work cut out for them as they prepare for a team ranked in The Associated Press Top 10 following their victory over LSU. The Badgers are one of the most physical teams in the country on both sides of the ball and the Panthers will need to match their intensity if they have any hopes of staying in the game.

By the time the Panthers make their way to Madison, Wisconsin will have played a warmup against the Akron Zips who defeated the Virginia Military Academy 47-24.

The Panthers will face the Badgers on Sept. 17 at noon on the Big Ten Network before they #TakeTheNextStep to their goal of a run at the Sun Belt conference title starting with a trip to rival Appalachian State.

SPORTS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

21

Home opener brings many Panther fans

Even though the team lost the fans still enjoyed themselves CHRISTIAN CRITTENDEN Staff Reporter

T

he fan experience is one of the key components to having a success game day. Making sure the fans are involved and entertained are major keys for any event that is hosted.

The Panthers had their first game on Sept. 2 against the Ball State Cardinals. The Panthers suffered a tough 31-21 loss, but they still did a good job of keeping the fans in the game and entertained. From a pre game concert, to the tailgate, to the halftime show, Georgia State did an excellent job of building the hype from last seasons bowl game with several open scrimmages for fans to go out and see the team while enjoy the activities that were there.

Despite the loss, fans still were able to enjoy themselves. As a recent graduate of Georgia State, John Phillips, enjoyed his time. “My favorite part about today was the tailgate [because a lot of my friends], and the entire build up for the game was fun," Phillips said.

Senior Brandon Deveraux who is a marketing major, also enjoyed his time.

“My overall experience today was

great, I started my internship today and the atmosphere was good,” Deveraux said. Deveraux has an internship working with Georgia State athletics.

It's easy for fans to overreact especially after losing a very win-able game, looking at the next two games.

Next up they have No. 10 ranked Wisconsin and Appalachian State.

Although it does seem daunting it isn't impossible. Wisconsin pulled off an upset against No. 4 LSU, when they were unranked. Appalachian State nearly pulled off an upset against No.17 Tennessee, and probably would have if not for some late game mismanagement.

After the game fans were both optimistic and pessimistic about how the season will play out.

“I think that they will go four (wins) and eight (losses) this season.

We’ve got a few weaker games on the schedule later on so it’ll probably be tough as we try to figure out who our starting quarterback is going to be this season,” Phillips said.

[It is easy to see Phillip’s point, but games are played for a reason.]

On the other end of the spectrum, Deveraux was very optimistic about the season outlook.

“We’ve got a bowl game coming up this year, I feel like we're going to go

The Panthers defensive line attempts to block a Ball State field goal.

into our new stadium with a winning season behind us,” Deveraux said.

One thing that fans are good for are hot takes after games, and while some were provided they had legit commentary after this one.

“We gotta come back out in the

PHOTO BY DAYNE FRANCIS | THE SIGNAL

second half, do better, just stay strong and keep the momentum going,” Deveraux said.

Deveraux was correct in saying that the teams does need to come out better in the second half, because they were tied going into halftime, before

they falter eventually faltered and lost.

The game was pretty well attended with a crowd of 12,223 people, and they were making plenty of noise in support of the Panthers. Although they lost, the fans showed their support for the program.

Specials teams unit gear’d for a big year CHRISTIAN CRITTENDEN Staff Reporter

W

hen you hear people talk about football, a lot of the times special teams can get lost in the discussion and not get the proper attention that it deserves.

In extremely tight games, special teams are often the deciding factor.

The plays made by the special teams unit can help win or lose a game. For the Panthers, their special teams unit performed well in its season opening loss to Ball State and they look to carry that momentum for the rest of the season.

While everyone on those units are important, the players with the biggest roles are long snapper Daniel Zielger, kicker Rogier ten Lohuis, punter Brandon Wright, kick returner Glenn Smith and punt returner Penny Hart.

Zielger is a junior and has been doing long snapping for three years now. A kick is only as good as its snap, so Ziegler tries to just focus in on that while waiting for his time to snap.

“Basically, I just go out there, and try to stay relaxed , don't really worry about what else is going on in the stands or whatever. I just worry about what I’m doing, which is my job. I also focus on my hand placement

so I can get the snap right for him (Rogier), and that's all I really worry about,” Ziegler said.

Ten Lohius is a senior and he handles the field goals, extra points and kick-offs. No matter what he’s kicking he says that he does it the same way every time.

“The idea is that you kick everything the same way, so the main difference for me is that when I start to move back and start, maybe at the edge of my range, I just remind myself to kick it the exact same way.

As soon as you start to overthink it you’re going to miss hit the ball and not hit the ball that you are used to hitting,” Lohuis said.

Lohuis was a perfect three-for-

three on his extra points against Ball State, but he did not attempt any field goals. His other responsibility is kickoffs, which are important because of field position. Lohuis had three kickoffs against Ball State for a total of 190 yards, with a 63.3 yard average and one touchback.

Wright is a redshirt freshman and he handles the punting duties.

Against Ball State he had seven punts for a total of 258 years, with an average of 36.9 yards, one touchback, and landed one punt inside of the 20 yard line. He has a very strong leg netting a long of 55 yards. His ability to either pin teams deep or flip field position will be key this season.

Smith doubles as the team's kick

returner and starting running back.

“It's about being in shape, and then being able to pay attention and knowing what to do and when to do it,” Smith said.

He had five returns for 128 yards, with a long of 38 yards against Ball State.

Hart is also one of the team's top receivers, while being a punt returner. Both Smith and Hart have an opportunity to help set the offense up with good field position with excellent returns, but they must be careful and pick their spots.

Special teams are often undervalued, but they can play just a big of a role as the offense or defense.

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22

SPORTS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

Men’s tennis back like they never left

The team looks to build on last year’s success while returning all starters

Andrei Andrukhou prepares a forehand return during a Georgia State men’s tennis practice last season.

DEVONE SLAPPY Staff Reporter

I

n his second year as the head coach last season, Brett Ross had the Panthers going undefeated in conference play at 4-0 and 17-6 overall. In addition, the Panthers earned their highest ranking in nine years at No. 51 ITA. Coach Ross had the Panthers ranked No. 1 overall in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, but the team fell short of expectations losing to UT Arlington 4-1 in the semifinal round.

“I’m really excited for our team to build on last year’s success,” Head Coach Ross said after Georgia State’s Men’s Tennis fall schedule was released.

Despite coming up short, the Panthers still had one of their best seasons in nearly decade last season and are returning this season with all six starters.

The magnificent six

The Panthers are back like they never left, with all their starters coming back. It’s rare for a college team after such a successful season to have all of their starters returning.

Star singles player Jannis Koeke is returning for his senior year coming

off an amazing season last year.

Koeke finished the season with 11-8 singles record at the No. 1 position.

He had two wins over ranked players and four match-clinching wins last season, and he was named to the 2016 All-Conference Singles First Team.

With another year under his belt at the No. 1 position, look for Koeke to be the leader of this team.

Another player returning for his senior year is Zackery Kennedy who finished last season with a 12-6 record, 3-0 in conference, at the No. 2 position. Kennedy also finished with the second best record for the doubles competition on the team with partner Jack MacFarlane going 9-6 on the season.

Kennedy had the best offseason compared to any of his teammates after competing in the BB&T Atlanta Open in doubles competition with partner Chris Eubanks, a player from Georgia Tech. Kennedy and Eubanks were selected as a wild card spot going into the tournament and were able to make it all the way to the quarterfinals where they fell 7-5, 7-5. Kennedy scored the winning point in their win in the first round of 16. Kennedy is coming into this season in mid-season form thanks to playing the highest competition in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) BB&T Atlanta Open tournament.

Returning for the No. 3 starting position is junior Andrei Andrukhou, who finished last season 11-7 in singles play and 1-0 in conference play. Anrukhou was tied for the third most singles wins on the team, scored the only point against Georgia Tech last season and had two matchclinching wins. However his best attribute last season was his doubles play going 11-7, which was the most doubles wins on the team.

Speaking of star doubles players, Anrukhou’s partner Sebastian Acuna is also coming back for his junior year. Acuna plays the No. 4 position on the team and went 10-5 in singles play and 2-0 in conference play. With Acuna and Anrukhou both coming back and building another year of doubles chemistry, look for them to dominate in doubles once again.

Last year’s freshman standout player MacFarlane is coming into this season with another year of experience. MacFarlane was ranked second on the team in singles wins with a record of 13-7 and plays the No. 5 position. MacFarlane was by far the clutchest player on the team last season thanks to his six matchclinching wins. In addition, he had a 10-9 doubles record with Kennedy and both look to continue their winning ways in doubles competition at the No. 2 position.

The most successful singles

PHOTO SUBMITTED BY GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS player on the team last season, Felipe Jaworski is coming back as well for his senior year at the No. 6 position. Jaworski had a 15-3 singles record and went 8-9 in doubles play.

Jaworski is versatile playing with three different doubles partners and also playing at the No. 5 position depending on the team they are facing that day. Look for Jaworski to keep being that all around versatile player that this team needs.

With all six starters returning, a championship is on the horizon

Building on last year’s success seems to be this teams theme this season. The Panthers plan to prepare for the upcoming spring season by competing in four exciting tough competition tournaments, including two ITA national tournaments. A true to test to whether this team can truly build off of last year’s success and get that Sun Belt Championship that alluded them last year.

“The fall schedule will allow our players to compete against some of the highest quality competition,” Coach Ross said in a press conference. “The All-American will be the highlight for our guys, as it always attracts the best players in the country.”

The fall schedule for the team is indeed exciting, but it is no way easy.

However to prepare for the spring season, you have to prepare for the best and no better way of doing that than playing in four difficult tournaments.

The first tournament for the Panthers will be the Southern Intercollegiate Championships hosted

by Georgia from Sept. 23-26. The Panthers played in this tournament last year, with Jaworski winning his bracket and MacFarlane going to the semifinals in his bracket.

The second tournament is the first ITA event called the All-American, which will be hosted in Tulsa from Oct. 1-10. This is the tournament that Coach Ross believes will be the toughest. Then just nine days later, the Panthers will compete in the second ITA event called the ITA Regionals. The ITA Regionals will be hosted by Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla. from Oct. 19-24.

The final tournament of the fall season will be the Wake Forest Fall Tournament in Winston-Salem, N.C. from Nov. 11-13. The Panthers will be competing in this tournament for a third year in a row.

With a tough fall schedule, look for the Panthers and their magnificent six to be primed and ready for the spring.

PANTHER OF THE WEEK

SPORTS CALENDAR 1

*CONFERENCE GAME

GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS

Hannes Burmeister Men's Soccer Burmeister scored his seventh goal of the season in the overtime loss to Brown on Sept. 9. Before the Brown matchup, Burmeister’s six goals ranked second in the NCSAA. Last week, he was named the back-to-back Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week after scoring two hat tricks for the Panthers.

Also in the two week span, Burmeister had a gamewinning assist to redshirt freshman Oliver Haines against Central Arkansas.

VOLLEYBALL Friday, Sept. 16

South Carolina State at Atlanta, Georgia 6 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 17

East Carolina

at Atlanta, Georgia 4 p.m.

Standings

Texas State 0-0 | Overall: 1-0

3rd

Appalachian State 0-0 | Overall: 1-1

4th

Idaho 0-0 | Overall: 1-1

5th

New Mexico State 0-0 | Overall: 1-1

6th

Troy 0-0 | Overall:1-1

11th

MEN’S SOCCER Saturday, Sept. 17

Men's Soccer Presbyerian at GSU Soccer Complex 7 p.m.

2nd

10th

at Madison, Wisconsin Noon

Saturday, Sept. 17

Georgia Southern 1-0 | Overall: 2-0

9th

Wisconsin

at Atlanta, Georgia 11 a.m.

1st

8th

FOOTBALL Saturday, Sept. 17

South Carolina State

FOOTBALL

7th

23

SPORTS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

UL LAfayette 0-0 | Overall: 1-1 UL Monroe 0-0 | Overall: 1-1 Arkansas State 0-0 | Overall: 0-2 Georgia State 0-0 | Overall: 0-2 South Alabama 0-0 | Overall: 0-2

WOMEN’S SOCCER

THE FINAL SCORE Hart sits out, offensive struggles continue at Air Force

Georgia State’s No.1 wide receiver Penny Hart, linebacker Mackendy Cheridor and defensive Carnell Hopson were sidelined on Sept. 10 against Air Force due to injury. Conner Manning got the start again for the Panthers, but Colorado’s strong winds affected Georgia State’s passing game. Once Aaron Winchester entered the game in a similar situation during the season-opener, the Falcons anticipated Winchester’s scrambles and blitzed the quarterback before he could get a rhythm of his own. Senior wide receiver Robert Davis is now nine receptions away from tying Albert Wilson’s All-Time receptions record in program history.

Lutz starts for Saints week one

The Saints announced the Georgia State leader in points and field goals Wil Lutz as the team’s starting kicker for week one of the NFL season. Lutz signed with the Baltimore Ravens moments after the 2016 NFL Draft and was released in the preseason after missing a field goal and backing up pro bowl kicker Justin Tucker. The Ravens referenced Lutz to the Saints organization, where he was signed to the team’s practice squad. Just a couple of days on the squad, Saints head coach Sean Payton said Lutz had one of the most “impressive workouts” that he ever saw and Lutz was inserted as the team’s new starter. Lutz and the Saints are scheduled to face Wilson and Chiefs on Oct. 23, which is also the homecoming weekend for Georgia State. His first career 42yard field goal attempt was good.

Volleyball growing pains continue

The court volleyball team is in the midst of a five-match losing streak after being swept at the Georgia Challenge held at Georgia Tech. The Panthers lost in straight sets to the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech on day one and fell to Kennesaw State 3-1 on day two. Georgia State is now preparing to host the GSU Invitational tournament on Sept. 16-17.

MEN’S SOCCER

Appalachian State 0-0 | Overall: 0-0

Appalachian State 0-0 | Overall: 0-3

South Alabama 0-0 | Overall: 0-0

Coastal Carolina 0-0 | Overall: 0-0

Troy 0-0 | Overall: 0-0

Georgia State 0-0 | Overall: 0-0

Little Rock 0-0 | Overall: 0-0

Georgia Southern 0-0 | Overall: 0-0

UL Lafayette 0-0 | Overall: 0-0

Hartwick 0-0 | Overall: 0-0

Georgia Southern 0-0 | Overall: 0-0

Howard 0-0 | Overall: 0-0

Georgia State 0-0 | Overall: 0-0

n/a

Coastal Carolina 0-0 | Overall: 0-0

n/a

Texas State 0-0 | Overall: 0-0

n/a

UL Monroe 0-0 | Overall: 0-0

n/a

Arkansas State 0-0 | Overall: 0-0

n/a

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