VOL. 85 | NO. 16
JAN. 16 - JAN. 23, 2018
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People that have faced judgement and prejudice for their tattoos speak out about the stigma that remains.
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PHOTO BY JULIEANN TRAN & COVER DESIGN BY KHOA TRAN | THE SIGNAL
SECRET GARDEN
A RUN-DOWN REMEMBRANCE
STAYING UNITED
BUSTLING IN BIRMINGHAM
Did you know your greens are growing in the backyard of Piedmont North?
The irony behind MLK streets that depict a difficult daily life for lower-income communities.
No matter who is trying to divide the nation, we should stay united no matter our race or culture.
Top 10 finishes highlight Georgia State’s opening weekend in Birmingham.
NEWS | PAGE 5 WWW.GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM
ARTS & LIVING | PAGE 10
News 3
OPINION PAGE 12
Arts & Living 7
SPORTS | PAGE 15
OPINION 11
Sports 13
NEWS
2
GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM
BLOTTER If it’s not tied down...
JAN. 8
Attempted suicide
At the university Lofts, a Georgia State student attempted suicide.
If you see something...
Larceny in the university Commons was reported by a Georgia State student. The investigation is active.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Christina Maxouris signaleditor@gmail.com
executive editor (atlanta) Open executive editor (perimeter) Open
That’s a foul
A call was made from Kell hall about suspicious behavior by a Georgia State student. The case was cleared.
There was an arrest of a Georgia State student for possession of a controlled substance.
JAN. 10
Too close
Editorial NEWS EDITOR Open
signalnewseditor@gmail.com ASSociate NEWS EDITOR Samuel Puckett signalassociatenews3@gmail.com OPINIONS EDITOR Open signalopinions@gmail.com ARTS & LIVING EDITOR Open signalliving@gmail.com ASSociate ARTS & Living EDITOr Open signalassociateliving2@gmail.com SPORTS EDITOR Jerell Rushin signalsport1@gmail.com ASSociate SPORTS EDITOR D’Mitri Chin signalassociatesport1@gmail.com copy editors Alaa Elassar, Sydnie Cobb signalcopyeditor@gmail.com
JAN. 11
Is that a threat?
A case is active involving the robbery of a Georgia State student by intimidation that occurred off the Downtown campus.
A Georgia State student was arrested for aggravated stalking from Langdale Hall.
Busted
A Georgia State student was arrested in Downtown’s T-deck for posession of a controlled substance.
Production production design editor Khoa Tran signalprod@gmail.com
Associate production design editor Salinna Phon
ILLUSTRATION BY ERIK REID | THE SIGNAL
signalprod2@gmail.com
PHOTOGRAPHY photo EDITOr (atlanta) Vanessa Johnson signalphoto1@gmail.com
photo EDITOr (perimeter) Open signalphoto2@gmail.com
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
ASSociate photo editor Julian Pineda signalphotoatl@gmail.com
Digital online EDITOR Danny Varitek
The African American Association of Georgia (AAAG) parade down Peachtree Street in the annual march in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and MLK Day.
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PHOTO BY VANESSA JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL
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SPORTS PHOTO BY HANNAH GRECO | THE SIGNAL
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2018
THE HIV EPIDEMIC THAT REMAINS Social factors may affect HIV victims more than lack of awareness
Lack of HIV prevention may be more heavily caused by social factors, instead of medical ones.
SYDNEY BLOEME Staff Reporter
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IV in Atlanta has steadily climbed to reach an epidemic level on par with developing countries and isn’t getting any better. Earlier this summer, Dr. Carlos del Rio, co-director of Emory University’s Center for AIDS Research, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that HIV levels of Downtown Atlanta were “as bad as Zimbabwe or Harare or Durban.” But why? According to HIV.gov, more than 1.1 million people in the US are living with HIV and less than 14 percent know their status. Over 50 percent of all new HIV infections are in the South. There are 2,386 new cases a year in Georgia, and 75 percent of the impacted reside in Atlanta. The CDC recognizes an epidemic as anything affecting 1 percent of a population. Over 4 percent of all black men in Fulton County live with HIV. Gay and bisexual men account for 67 percent of all diagnoses, and of that number, 83 percent are African-American. Derick Wilson, a member of the Fulton County Board of Infectious Disease, said that one out of two black men who have sex with men (MSM) will be HIV positive in their lifetime “if things don’t change.” “We are at 42 percent of what we’ve documented. When we think about all the undocumented people and the people unaware of their status, the number is closer to 50 percent. This speaks to some real systematic issues,” he said.
LEARNING FROM THE PAST
Fulton County started the Fulton County Task Force on HIV/Aids on World Aid’s Day in June 2014 and created the Permanent HIV Prevention, Care, and Policy Advisory Committee to lead the plan to tackle HIV in Atlanta. Fulton County said their mission through these new departments was to turn the city into “a community without new HIV infections or AIDS-related deaths, where all individuals living with HIV will be virologically suppressed while receiving uninterrupted care and treatment, free from stigma and discrimination, and grounded in the recognition that access to healthcare is a human right. Persons without HIV will be educated, empowered, and
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY VANESSA JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL
able to access tools to prevent HIV transmission.” But a year later after Fulton County’s 2014 promises, they failed to deliver on that statement and mishandled close to $28 million that was meant for spreading HIV testing and awareness. The money was federal CDC grants that were meant to target the HIV epidemic head on. Almost half of all the money the CDC granted to Fulton County that was intended as a resource in the fight against HIV was returned because of issues with management. Wilson said the reason behind Fulton County’s money mismanagement was that the programs receiving the money were new. “Whenever you start a new program, there’s always complications. Getting the right mechanisms in place in order to put money out on the street, those kind of things happened and, unfortunately, money didn’t get out in the manner that we had wanted to get out. We certainly got dinged well deservedly for not putting the money out the way it was supposed to be, but we got most of the money back and put it out.” Now Wilson says the county put in physical controls to keep the programs in check, and that’s where Wilson’s job description comes in. “My job is to work with all of our staff—our fiscal staff, our administrative staff—to really make sure we have an understanding of where the money is going and where we can recapture things here working with our providers as well.”
TACKLING THE STIGMA
John Eves, in his Office of Chairman letter, included the Fulton County Task Force progress report that stated, “While other cities and states have seen their epidemics lessen, our epidemic has stubbornly persisted, feeding off of economic and social inequalities, stigma, and discrimination.” That same discrimination is what Georgia Equality Director Jeff Graham said the state needs to get rid of in order to effectively address and prevent HIV. “We need to create a safe space for folks to be able to selfdisclose their HIV status. To recognize this isn’t a judgement from God, it is not a condemnation of a certain lifestyle, it is not about bad choices—it is a human condition, a medical condition. We need to address issues such as sex shaming in general, the attitudes towards gay and bisexual men and especially gay and bisexual men of color who feel they have multiple layers of oppression that they have to deal with,” he said.
HIV DIAGNOSES IN ATLANTA Source: aidsvu.org
2011 1,712 2012 1,615 2013 1,435
2014 1,447 2015 1,631
And Wilson said the biggest factors leading to HIV now are social and not lack of prevention. “You can’t talk about PrEP without first talking about someone’s homeless situation or jobless situation, because all of these things of all the social determinants are going to come first. Until you really can get them stabilized in a few key areas of these structural issues, you aren’t going to be able to impact their prevention profile at all.” Wilson said that means there needs to be a trained staff that can go out and target those communities, understand them and convince them about the importance of protection and testing. Fulton County is working to bring more awareness to the issue at the community level, such as speaking with local pastors to mention testing in their services. Several new programs have been popping up around Atlanta such as the HIV Free Testing Van that drives throughout Edgewood and by Grady, stopping for quick and free testing anywhere, aiding in the HIV testing accessibility problem. Other times, Graham explained, individuals are ignored when it comes to treatment. “Transgender individuals often are misgendered and not called by their preferred pronouns and often referred to as ‘it.’ These individuals are pushed away from the treatment intended and created to benefit them and even greater increase distrust in government and healthcare,” he said “At the end of the day, to be able to live a healthy life with HIV, you have to have access to quality medical care, including access to medications. Hand in hand with those are things like insurance, such as Georgia not having expanded Medicaid. Low income people who are HIV positive, but are not sick enough, don’t have access to Medicaid,” Graham said.
NEWS
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Nursing students must spend hours at a time studying in order to get into the best programs of their choice.
GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JULIAN PINEDA | THE SIGNAL
Students scramble for extra school expenses Georgia State’s most competitive program brings its own costs COURTNEY JACKSON Staff Reporter
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ith a 60 percent acceptance right, Georgia State’s nursing program is one of the most competitive programs the university offers. The program has ranked No. 112 in U.S. News Best Nursing Schools for a Master’s degree and No. 113 for a doctoral degree in nursing. Furthermore, it was ranked ninth on Niche’s 2018 list for Best Colleges of Nursing. This past summer, Georgia State’s nursing program signed an agreement with Gwinnett Tech allowing associate degree registered nurse graduates to move through Georgia State’s bachelor’s program. According to the university’s press release, the move came after a nursing shortage, serving as a way to graduate more nurses with bachelor’s degree and increase the “number of qualified nurses available to work in hospitals.” The press release also mentioned that the needed qualifications come as the profession now requires a larger skill-set, as many nurses are looking after elderly who are “older, sicker, and more fragile patients.” But despite the need for nurses, Georgia State’s nursing program continues to be one of the toughest programs to get into within the university.
ACE VS. TRADITIONAL
To accommodate all students, the nursing path is divided into two programs, the Achieving the Curriculum Expeditiously (ACE) and traditional program. According to Georgia State’s nursing website, the ACE program is for students who prefer a fast-paced and rigorous course load which is completed over four consecutive semesters, while the traditional nursing program is completed in three years. “The rigor of the program is the same for both tracks. ACE and traditional students receive didactic content and clinical experiences. The only difference is the pace at which the program is completed,” Director of Communications of the Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions Angela Go said.
On average, 175 to 200 students apply for the nursing program per semester, but only 72 students are accepted in both the fall and the spring, according to Go. “The nursing undergraduate program is competitive and students meeting minimum admission requirements aren’t guaranteed acceptance because like most most healthcare programs, nursing has limited number of spots available,” Go said. “Nursing accreditation bodies have very strict student to instructor ratios and we must follow them.” Go said that students get internships, which are clinical rotations at different hospitals. The hospitals limit the amount of students in each clinical for safety reasons. Third year student Chioma Ochei was recently accepted into the ACE program and said she had to go the extra mile when it came to preparing for the program. “I stressed out a lot. I studied all the time before class [and] after class. I would study during work and just use my time wisely. I got stuff done early. I used a planner and organized myself. All in all it was very stressful and I haven’t even started the program yet. I’m getting used to the stress though. It’s something you build a stamina for,” Ochei said. Ochei had to have a competitive GPA, high score on the Assessment Technologies Institute Test of Essential Academic Skills (ATI TEAS) test (the test nursing students have to take in order to get into the nursing program), prerequisite classes, two recommendations and an essay question. “Competitive GPA fluctuates with each class. For example, one year a 3.65 GPA may be sufficient and the year the class may have an average of 3.85 GPA. It just depends on the pool of students applying each semester.”
EXTRA EXPENSES
But there’s more than stress going into prepping for nursing school. Additional supplies like test prep and books can cost up to $1,500. Uniforms, lab supplies, and stethoscopes are also paid for by the students, but are a one-time cost, according to Go. Katrina-Jade Edwards, who is applying to the nursing program this spring, said her main concern is needing extra loans to be able to afford the program. “I’m not sure how I’m going to pay for the extra supplies. I was unaware of the extra costs until my friend got into the nursing program and informed me. Hopefully, my refund will
be enough to cover the cost or I might have to take out a larger loan,” she said. The College of Nursing and Health Professions offer a number of scholarships that students can apply for such as the Byrdine F. Lewis Clinical Practice Scholarship and Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation Scholarship. “Scholarships and grants are also available to students through various professional nursing organizations and sometimes through clinical agencies,” Go said. Go also explained that for students who have financial difficulties paying for extra supplies that come along with the nursing program, the Lewis College maintains an emergency student scholarship to assist students with expenses. Also Kaplan testing services has sponsored students who could not pay for the required test prep service in the past. “The scholarships are handled on a case-by-case basis,” said Go. “The scholarships are not traditional scholarships. Scholarships are a one time, true emergency scholarships for students who are severely impacted by a consequence beyond their control.”
GEORGIA STATE’S ACE PROGRAM The ACE program completes a nursing degree in four consecutive semesters. The traditional nursing degree is completed in three years. Up to 200 students apply to the Georgia State college of nursing per semester. Only 72 of those students will be accepted. GPA requirements for acceptance vary by year. Materials costs can reach $1,500. “Emergency” scholarships are available. The female-to-male ratio within the university’s nursing program is 80 to 20 percent.
NEWS
TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2018
5
NEWS BRIEFS LOCAL
200 romaine seedlings begin to sprout as they sit under the LED lights and soak up the nutrient based water, which is located in the freight farm behind Piedmont North Nov. 16, 2017.
PHOTO BY JA’NIYAH BLANTON-CARTER | THE SIGNAL
Georgia State’s back yard garden Your greens are being grown behind Piedmont North JA’NIYAH BLANTON-CARTER Staff Reporter
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n July 2016, Georgia State’s PantherDining began using a freight farm located behind Piedmont North to produce crops, such as kale, lettuce and herbs, using a method known as hydroponics. Hydroponics is the process of growing crops without soil while using a nutrient based water solution. “With hydroponics, the nutrients come from a derivative of a solution that aids the plant in speedy seed germination and growth without need for extensive root growth,” said James Glenn, a Georgia State student who recently got involved with the university’s hydroponics project. PantherDining’s hydroponic system uses hundreds of LED string lights to mimic natural
sunlight and stimulate photosynthesis, while streaming nutrient-based water into the vertical growing towers. Their system produces more than 3,000 plants at a time. Once the produce is grown, it is delivered directly to Miss Demeanor’s, Centennial Café, and Piedmont North’s Dining Hall for a farm-to-table experience. But many students are unaware of the green magic taking place in their backyard. “I definitely believe that’s something [the students] should know about, because we are living in the age where everyone wants to be a vegan,” said Terry Tharpe, Piedmont North’s dining hall supervisor. “It’s very important for us to know as well as cooks. We should know what we’re serving, y’all should know what y’all are eating.” According to Tharpe, the only leafy greens the dining hall receives from the freight farm are kale, romaine and bibb lettuce. Even though the freight farm website claims to produce spinach,
the dining hall receives its spinach from U.S. Foods, one of the country’s largest foodservice distributors. But are the man-made greens equally nutritious as any other kale, romaine and bibb lettuce? “The idea is that the nutrient content of the plants wouldn’t be any less,” said Rebekah Chapman, a biology professor at Georgia State. “That’s the goal.” Cameron Thompson, the key operator for the freight farm, said he doesn’t know if the nutrition value is the same but stated their way of producing is more organic than the traditional farming methods and uses zero pesticides. She said even the taste of the crops grown in the freight farm have a “pure taste” as opposed to store-bought crops. Thompson told The Signal she believes the best part about having the farm is that they are able to grow their own produce right on campus without having to outsource.
Another try for affordable housing
New inclusionary zones may help lower-income people find homes SAMUEL PUCKETT & CAMERON LINEBERRY
Associate News Editor & Staff Reporter
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ousing throughout Atlanta can get expensive, especially for college students. The passing of the inclusionary zones by the City Council gives households with lower incomes the chance to live in areas in the BeltLine Overlay District and the Westside for affordable prices. The legislation requires developers looking to build new units in that area to budget 10 percent of those units for households at 60 percent area median income (AMI) or below or 15 percent of those units for households at 80 percent AMI or below. Alnissa Ruiz-Craig, deputy press secretary for the Mayor’s Office of Communications, said, “Once a household is qualified for an affordable unit, they would pay no more than 30 percent of their monthly gross income.”
Pricing for units would be based on income and potential residents would need to make a specified percentage under the AMI to live in these designated units. “The income restrictions would exclude wealthy households,” said Ruiz-Craig. “All applicants would be required to provide proof of income.” The new zoning law does not specifically target students; however, students can be eligible for housing in these areas like everyone else, as long as students meet the necessary criteria. “People who could be affected by this include public servants like teachers, firefighters, police officers and a variety of other workers,” said RuizCraig. “There is no cap rent amount that landlords can use because it is dependent on the household income of the tenant.” Andre Dickens is the Post 3 at-large Councilman on Atlanta city council, and has led the policy research that crafted the bill. It is his concern that working people who benefit a community are not priced out of it. “This legislation will allow for city employees, teachers, police, nurses, retail workers, firefighters,
for example, to live around the BeltLine and Westside,” He said. In 2006, the Affordable Workforce Housing Implementation Task Force said that, in a conservative estimate, 30,000 to 50,000 new affordable units would need to be created. That number could reach into 100,000. This comes as Atlanta finishes the sale of the Atlanta Civic Center to the Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA). The AHA plans on converting the complex into mixed use development, including reserving 30 percent for affordable housing. The development of Civic Center will also include 250 low-income housing units and at least 10 percent workforce housing units. The low-income housing comes promised from AHA’s HomeFlex program, a rental assistance program. New Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms also has big plans for a more affordable Atlanta. She announced the day of her inauguration, during her acceptance speech, a plan to bring $1 billion of housing development to Atlanta in the form of a joint public-private fund. She has not said where the money will come from.
Flu season turns deadly in Georgia The Georgia Department of Public Health has confirmed there have already been five influenza-related deaths this flu season. The most dominant strain this flu season is H3N2, associated with severe symptoms. It is included in this year’s flu vaccine. The flu rates have not yet reached those of the 2014-2015 flu season, another severe year when H3N2 was common.
NATIONAL Hawaii shaken by false alarm Hawaii residents waited under shelter for 38 minutes after being warned by an emergency alert system of a missile headed for the island. The alert was sent out by human error, said Hawaii officials. Hawaii governor David Ige tweeted he planned to meet with state department officials to further investigate the false alarm.
GLOBAL Coalition talks between German parties German Chancellor Angela Merkel, of the Christian Democratic Union, and Social Democrats leader Martin Shulz held talks Thursday, Jan. 11, and drafted a 28 page outline of compromises on issues key to both their parties. The issues include taxes, migration and healthcare.
NEWS
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GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM
LOOKING INTO KEISHA LANCE-BOTTOMS’ PROMISES Will the new mayor adhere to LGBT and housing concerns of Atlantans? WILLIAM SOLOMONS Staff Reporter
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eisha Lance-Bottoms emerged as victor over Mary Norwood in an intense—and stretched—political battle for mayor of Atlanta last month. With her new position as the head of the city, she has promised to lay the foundation for various social programs to help increase the opportunities of minorities and low-income individuals throughout the city. She calls this plan All Rise, because she believes that Atlantans will be able to rise up to the occasion of growing Atlanta. One issue that the new mayor said she would resolve is the issue of affordable housing and homelessness within the city. “Atlanta is actually booming economically, but there is a lot of concern that lower-income people are being priced out of Atlanta,” said Georgia State professor Douglas Teper, as to why affordable housing got so much attention during the elections. Many students live off campus and in the past it has been difficult for them to find affordable housing. “You’ve got a real income disparity in Atlanta. You’ve got either really wealthy well-to-do folks, and you’ve got lower income folks especially when it comes to rent. When you talk to students, it gets pricier and pricier. People are building houses and rental units, but they’re on the high side,” said Teper. He said that the city can play a role in the creation of affordable housing, such as Section 8, by offering better incentives for contractors and landlords to create and allow it. This would allow some Georgia State students the opportunity to be able to afford to live off campus. During her swearing, Bottoms said she plans to adopt a $1 billion initiative that combines money from both the public and private sectors to create affordable housing and stop displacement.
“You’ve got either really wealthy well-to-do folks and you’ve got lower income folks especially when it comes to rent. When you talk to students, it gets pricier and pricier.” — Douglas Teper Georgia State professor “I introduced Displacement Free Zone legislation to the City and now, in the Vine City/English Avenue neighborhood, funding to help homeowners offset higher property taxes is available. It also provides grants for home improvements. I will expand this type of fund throughout Atlanta as Mayor,” Bottoms said during her swearing in. Displacement Free Zones help to combat gentrification, which is one cause of a lack of affordable housing. Atlanta Beltline, Inc., an advocate for affordable housing in Atlanta, has worked to provide housing for those who may not be able to obtain it, and they said they are willing to work with the new mayor on this issue.
PHOTO BY SAMUEL PUCKETT | THE SIGNAL
“We will be working with Mayor Bottoms and the city’s housing agencies, including the Atlanta Housing Authority and Invest Atlanta, to ensure that proposed funds will be used to impact all parts of the Atlanta, including the Atlanta BeltLine Overlay District,” said Brian McGowan, President and CEO of Atlanta Beltline.
FACTS ABOUT ATLANTA’S NEW MAYOR, KEISHA LANCE-BOTTOMS
LGBT IN ATL
Another mayoral goal is to expand upon LGBT rights in Atlanta and to create more opportunities for individuals within the community. According to her campaign promises, her goals are to consult with various leaders of the LGBT community and their organizations within the next year. According to Executive Director of Georgia Equality Jeff Graham, in order to keep those promises to the the LGBT community, one piece of legislation that the mayor must help adopt is a “statewide comprehensive and inclusive civil rights and non-discriminatory law that includes members of the LGBT community.” Bottoms must “make sure there are strong housing programs for homeless LGBT youth and older homeless LGBT individuals” living in Atlanta, Graham said. In the past few years there has been federal funding for HIV testing and screening programs was not properly distributed to the LGBT community by the city and state, according to Graham. He hopes that a new mayor will bring about a more efficient and positive change. Traffic has always been a major issue for Atlanta and students who are commuters at Georgia State. Mayor Bottoms has said in the past that she plans to improve traffic, but it is still unclear what exactly will be done to combat it. “There’s constantly a debate about supporting greater mass transit as in light rail or buses or extending the MARTA system or connections on a regional basis with other counties,” said Teper.
— Born in Atlanta — Was a lawyer and a politician, serving on City Council — Four Children with her husband, Derek — Attended and graduated from Florida A&M and Georgia State — Served as Executive Director of AFCRA
TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2018
HomeGrown, a bounded local homestyle foods on Memorial Drive, lives across the construction of a new business.
JALEN JENKINS Staff Reporter
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tlanta can be defined by the roads in its limits. History is found on Auburn Avenue at Ebenezer Baptist Church and Martin Luther King’s house. A street over, every weekend, Edgewood Avenue is packed to the brim with bars like Joystick and Church Bar. Peachtree Street goes right through Atlanta’s downtown and Piedmont Avenue showcases the evergrowing Georgia State. But one street has been sitting to the side, home to a few choice community staples. Memorial Drive: a calm, cool and collected connector of Grant Park, Kirkwood, Reynoldstown among others, is about to through some big changes, and a sense of community may be left behind. Not unlike Auburn Avenue, Memorial holds some interesting history of old Atlanta. It was the home of factories and warehouses, a concrete home to industry. All shapes and sizes of buildings were sprinkled down the street, including the now graffiti-covered Atlanta Dairy Building, still visible through all the construction. Another interesting building overlooking Memorial at its intersection with Hank Aaron Drive, stood the Old Georgia State Archive building. Recently blown up and torn down, the building was featured in Marvel’s Ant Man due to its solemn, square stature.
A NEW ATTITUDE
In more recent times, Memorial has been embraced by the ‘artsy’ types. The neighborhoods are filled with old, charming houses and an easy bike to Georgia State made it a place for students and younger folks to pick out. Out of those members grew centers of community. Wonderroot, a multipurpose
art space opened in 2004 offers facilities for artists for a low monthly fee. Locally owned restaurants like Mi Barrio, Ria’s Bluebird and Nick’s Food To Go all capture the spirit that Memorial has to offer, a sense of community and friendliness, connecting over common goals like good food and art. Among those ranks is Homegrown. Homegrown makes homestyle, local food that Atlanta and surrounding areas have taken a liking to since its inception seven or so years ago. Its name has found spots on lists from local Atlanta publications and blogs to Playboy magazine. Because of its fame, every weekend Homegrown is packed with regulars and has a high rate of celebrity visits, including Bill Clinton and Jerry Seinfeld. Homegrown is undeniably an Atlanta landmark restaurant, but its new neighbors are keeping them on their toes.
LOST COMMUNITY
Just down the street from Homegrown, a new Publix and AMC Movie Theatre are slated to be put in. Memorial has been lined up with new condos, a new Kroger on Glenwood has brought more people to the neighborhood, and the street is seeing a similar transformation Ponce De Leon had. What worries Tommy Gordo, manager of Homegrown, is the lack of a community value that these big brand additions may carry. “I have seen a change in clientele from artsy types to people that are not originally from here. A lot more new money coming in,” Gordo said. Another direct problem that may arise is traffic. Gordo sees accidents often, and the buildings being built will only add volume, especially a place like a movie theater. Memorial only has two lanes at its most narrow point and can be quite a hassle at the intersection of Memorial and Moreland. Even
Ponce De Leon is prone to awful traffic at surprising hours of the day with four lanes. The two-lane reverse lane has also caused some problems, changing one lane’s direction at different times during the day in order to accommodate the traffic. This trickiness could catch a tourist or new resident off guard, causing an accident or something similar. Widening the street may be an act of futility, so safety is a big concern looking into the future. Gordo said he’s also concerned for the displacement that these developments will cause. Not only will these additions be built on old neighborhood ground, the new apartments and condos could make the living expense jump, making it impossible for some to live in the area sustainably for as long as they planned. The building of parks and parking lots could push people out of their homes. This is nothing new for Atlanta; areas by the new stadium and off University Avenue are being dealt the same deck of cards despite their heavy resistance. Core members of the neighborhood go out, new people come in unaware of the deep history of Memorial and that is how the culture behind a community can be lost. Homegrown will be okay, though. Even when its neighbor Wonderroot is moving into a facility 14 times larger to accommodate demand and to prepare for all the new business that comes with the developments, Homegrown stays put in its quaint shell, confident that the additions will not hurt their stride. “Part of what sustains us is that we have a name,” Gordo said, but he is still worried about the community he holds dear. “These new people coming in and businesses coming in are people that don’t care, and if they do care its not for the reasons that brought us together in the first place.”
PHOTO BY JULIEANN TRAN | THE SIGNAL
Projects on Memorial 1. ATLANTA DAIRIES 2017 Paces Properties, now working on several Memorial projects, plans to transform this defunct dairy co-op into a millennial-minded development with a live music venue, 24-hour diner and office space. Estimated cost $125 million | 10 acres 2. LEGGETT AND PLATT 2018 Developer Jeff Fuqua foresees a sprawling project with more than 600 units of housing, tech offices, restaurants, a grocery store and a movie theater. Estimated cost $300 million | 15 acres 3. WALTER DAVIS PROJECT 2017 Though no deal has been finalized, owner Walter Davis envisions a oneor two-story project with retail (bank or pharmacy) and food. Estimated cost $2.5 million | 0.5 acres 4. LARKIN ON MEMORIAL 2017 Habitat for Humanity’s former Atlanta HQ will be retrofitted with loft offices, restaurants and a neighborhood grocery. Estimated cost $18 million | 4 acres 5. THE PARKER 2017 Atlantic Realty will replace an auto parts warehouse with a 238-unit luxury apartment building. The name refers to the family that owned a gas station there in the 1940s and 1950s. Estimated cost $50 million | 2.35 acres *Some projects are behind on their target dates
PAGE DESIGN BY PHILIP DURAL | THE SIGNAL
Jenn Golgan works on her best friend’s unfinished tattoo at Terminus City Tattoo, local tattoo parlor on Peachtree Industrial Blvd. PHOTO BY JULIEANN TRAN | THE SIGNAL
CHRISTINA MAXOURIS Editor-in-Chief
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here’s everything to be sceptical about when it comes to tattoos. It’s an external, visible modification to your body that is there FOREVER. And if you grew up with parents anything like mine, it’s something that’s just “neither attractive nor good for your job opportunities.” Coming from a moderately-religious Greek Orthodox family, there were plentiful of Christian friends who popped into our house as a reminder that “Jesus said writing on your body is a sin,” which in fact, was not a conversation Jesus bothered himself with. Until today, tattoos are often associated with a negative stigma of rebellion and ‘non-elite’ individuals who are ‘no one we should be hanging out with.’ That can be traced back to the revolutionary “teenager” era in the 1950s when boys with slicked back hair and motorcycles used body ink as a sign of rebellion. But the age of The Outsiders is long gone, but there’s still an uncomfortable lingering hint of unsureness about our
trust in people who’ve chosen to colorify their bodies. With this in the back of my mind, and being a relatively nonrebellious individual, I dove deeper into tattoos and the people who chose them when I confronted my itching desire for some ink. I wanted to understand the people behind the tattoos and whether the old stereotype still defined the reasons behind why they decided to modify themselves. With a built-in prejudice, I found myself surrounded by inked-up individuals earlier this year (goodbye comfort zone!) who surprised me with calm and positive attitudes and great presences to be around. I began easing into the possibility that individuals with tattoos weren’t ex-cons or drop-outs, and questioned why this was the perception a lot of us were brought up to accept. Who are the people who choose to get all inked up, and why? The latter is a case-by-case answer. Some find deep comfort in physically carrying a meaningful symbol or phrase throughout their lives, while others view their bodies as a canvas to fill. As for the former, anyone can choose to have a tattoo. Georgia State itself has more than a handful of individuals from all colleges that have chosen to modify their appearance. Nursing students covering up sleeve-long tattoo images,
athletes bearing religious reminders, journalism students with a passion for tats; anywhere you turn, more students are choosing to mark their bodies. And further out of this liberal bubble, it seems like acceptance of tattoos is becoming widespread faster than we realize.
NOT THE WRONG CROWD
Dr. Desmond Goss, lecturer on sociology at Georgia State was my first glimpse of tattoos in academia. Goss has three tattoos, one of which I noticed my first day of class. “When I began teaching, one of my goals as a professor was to decolonize the teaching process as much as possible. I wanted students to view me as a resource for support instead of a class overlord,” he said. “So, I wore plain clothes, much of which exposed my tattoos.” That, he said, came with challenges from other professors and most importantly, his superior, who suggested to him once that he should “want to to think about looking less like a student.”
“Now, most of us understand that any ‘suggestion’ from our bosses is more like a mandate. And though he didn’t explicitly mention my tattoos, I felt that they were a significant part of his issue with my appearance,” he said. “I obliged, wearing a dress shirt, long pants, and neckties from then on. I did so to protect my financial security but it damaged my self-confidence – not only as a professor, but also as someone trying to do my part to dismantle the bureaucratic foundations of oppressive attitudes and behaviors.” Goss also faced backlash from his parents, who were initially not supportive at all of his decision. “They take a ‘your body is God’s sacred creation’ perspective. However, I suspect their religious objections were less dismaying than their concerns about my employment prospects and ‘falling into the wrong crowd,’” he said. Right in the center of what Goss’ parents might call the ‘wrong crowd’ is Jenn Golgan, one of the most vibrant and friendly tattoo artists at Terminus Tattoo. She’s hard to miss. With fiery eyes, stretched out ear piercings, a nose piercing, colorful hair and a couple dozen tattoos all over her body, Golgan runs the show wherever she goes. But that can sometimes be a challenge.
“
A SIGN OF REBELLION?
“I went to Vegas with my husband, we got first class tickets, and we went to board the plane [when] they called priority boarding for first class,” Golgan said. “And people were cutting us off, not thinking that we paid to get in there. Just because I look the way I look doesn’t mean I can’t afford to get on this.” But saying something is not an option for her. “I just shut my mouth, because if I make a stir and I act the way people expect me to act then it’s just proving to them that I am what they perceive,” Golgan said. She’s no stranger to those perceptions. Though the teenager rebellion era is long-gone, body ink still acts as a signifier to some for the rule-breakers. “This is the prejudice of looking this way,” Golgan said. “Because we’re the rebels, because we go against the grain, the perception that if you have tattoos you’re a bad person, you’re a
Georgia State graduate
Tattoo artisit at Terminus City Tattoo criminal. It’s just always been that way.” For Goss, the stigma lies in more than rebellion. “Much of this stigma is likely due to the lineage of racist and classist ideology informing our cultural notion of respectability and professionalism. Many ethnic communities incorporate body modification into their cultural symbology. Over time, as the link between race and class solidified, even body modifications in white communities has become associated with non-elite identity,” he said. “Because of these associations with nonwhite, working-class, or otherwise “deviant”
DO
DON'T
YOUR RESEARCH “My advice would be to know yourself as best you can. If you’re an extracareful, hyper-critical, over-analyzer like myself, you may want to spend a good amount of time thinking about what you want and where you want it.”
GET AN OBVIOUS TATTOO UNLESS YOU’RE SURE! “There are tattoos that I won’t do, hands, neck, face, very visual places, unless you have a certain amount of body coverage.”
- DESMOND GOSS
LISTEN TO YOUR ARTIST! “If they tell you something shouldn’t be done, then you should probably listen. It’s on there forever.” - JENN GOLGAN FOLLOW AFTERCARE INSTRUCTIONS! Failure to moisturize your skin or soaking it too much can cause the skin to bleed out. GET ENOUGH SLEEP AND STAY HYDRATED! Your body should be in its best condition for maximum pain tolerance. STAND BY YOUR TATTOOS It doesn’t matter if others don’t like them, as long as they mean something to you and you’re proud of them. PHOTO BY CHRISTINA MAXOURIS & PAGE DESIGN BY KHOA TRAN | THE SIGNAL
communities, tattoos are regarded as antithetical to the brand of professionalism our society requires of members of the professional elite (doctors, lawyers, professors, etc.).” Inga Masic is a 23-year old Georgia State graduate, who recently finished getting her fifth tattoo. For her, other people’s opinions was never an obstacle in her journey of ink. “My first tattoo were the seagulls on my back, and initially I wanted the birds to cover my back,” she said. “But my tattoo artist advised me against it. The case isn’t always that the tattoo artist knows better, if you know what you want, but it’s just that they aren’t qualified or confident that they can pull it off.” Her third tattoo, a lion portrait lies on her wrist, and is one of her most visible tattoos. “I’m a strong believer that tattoos shouldn’t define a person’s work ethics, abilities, character or make them think they’re not qualified to obtain a job they want,” she said. “So I was never hesitant about getting tattoos, my only hesitation was the look of style of the tattoo, and making sure that was right.” Masic said the only person in her life who was cautious about her tattoos was her mother, who was more “conservative tendencies.” Masic assured her mom that if a job did judge her for her tattoos, it wouldn’t be a job she wanted to keep. And as a journalism major, having tattoos, Masic feels, doesn’t affect her talent on the keyboard. A point that professor Goss also felt strongly. “Ideally,” he said, “Any organization that would openly reject or punish an employee for having tattoos is not an institution that deserves my time and energy. The again, rejecting a job based on an organization’s moral character is not a privilege that many, including myself, can typically deploy.” Masic always encounters objections when sharing her future tattoo aspirations. One of them was her “lack of a stable household” growing up. “Ultimately, when people see my tattoos, they question whether I had a rebellious childhood or that my mother cared that I got my first tattoo in high school. Ever since high school and until today tattoos, for me are a form of expression and a way of letting go. Every time I get a tattoo it’s a sense of relief. It’s something that I have in my soul that I’ve now put on my skin,” Masic said. And for her, the ink is addicting. “It’s an itch you constantly want to scratch.”
- JENN GOLGAN
PUT SOMETHING ON THERE YOU MIGHT REGRET! “I got a tattoo that read “Luck” in Japanese calligraphy. Later, I came to view that tattoo as terribly fetishizing of Asian identities and histories. I think it was more the evolution of my politics than my age influencing that regret.” DESMOND GOSS
GET A TATTOO WHILE YOU’RE INTOXICATED! Self-explanatory. HAVE SET EXPECTATIONS Each artist has their own style, and that’s usually going to be somewhat different than what you find on the internet.
ARTS & LIVING
10
GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM
The royal irony around MLK Drive How race and poverty affect the historic streets
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esterday marked the 35th Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day in our country since the holiday was officiated. The recognition was more than deserved by the activist, orator, agitator and icon that is Dr. King. After the holiday was named, there was a push across the nation to start honoring him with monuments, exhibits, and of course, street names. Although changing street names to honor Dr. King, on the surface sounds like an easy and effective way to commemorate his name, this is often not the case. University of Tennessee Professor Derek Alderman, who has researched streets named after Dr. King for over a decade, reported that by 2013, there were around 900 streets named after the civil rights legend. Of those, about 70 percent were found in the southeast region of the country, where the civil rights struggles were the fiercest. The southern areas that struggled the most in the Civil Rights Movement, mostly because of racial tensions, brought those same racial tensions to the street renamings. Historically, streets were named to honor the leaders in history (who often were white) which created a sense of pride around them (and not necessarily because they were white). So, when there was a rush to change those streets to honor Dr. King, citizens from many cities had some opposition. Alderman says, “It’s about protecting space, which can be a racial issue.” Because of the heavy hand black activists had in the movement to get streets renamed, and the opposition of changing streets named after white
thursday, jan. 18 Let’s Boat!
Martin Luther King Jr. Drive as seen across the street from the Georgia State Capitol.
PHOTO BY VANESSA JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL
leaders, majority of the renamed streets are in predominantly black neighborhoods. Alderman reports, “More than a third of the time, African Americans make up 50 percent or more of the population in places with a street named after King.” On top of the racial question, while some cities such as Chapel Hill, NC and Tampa, FL place their MLK streets in well-off areas, poverty often surrounds MLK streets in the south. More controversy arises because of the often low-income neighborhoods MLK streets claim. Even here in Atlanta, where Dr. King was from, Mayor Kasim Reed offered millions of dollars in the effort to make our Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive start to look as honorable as his legacy.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
All of this reveals a royally ironic injustice. While Dr. King stood for integration, his street signs stand in segregation. Citizens fought to have his name on their streets as a symbol of his legacy, but majority of the neighborhoods near MLK streets around the country are separated by their poverty and coincidentally their color. Even though this irony does exist, Atlanta, as well as some other cities, have made strides to fix it. The upgrade Mayor Reed proposed back in 2016 includes the aesthetics and economics surrounding the area. Being a frequented area for commute in the city, the revitalization is expected to bring in more developers and make the effort a truly rewarding investment.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
The next chapter emerges from the wild world of Jumanji
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n December 20, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle hit theaters. A spin-off of the original movie Jumanji, starring the deceased Robin Williams, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was not projected to outshine the former film. However, with a fresh millennial twist, the sequel brought in a whopping $7.5 million opening night. The original Jumanji was a staple movie of the 90’s, with a family friendly humor that granted it an age rating of PG—unlike the revival film. The new movie, while lighthearted and witty, received an age rating of PG-13 for crude and sexual humor that could be inappropriate to children. Nevertheless, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle did appeal to today’s millennial audience by incorporating electronics such as cell phones and Nintendo gaming devices. The use of these products in the film clearly showed the director, Jake Kasdan’s efforts to demonstrate a new generation of Jumanji. The film begins with an immediate throwback to the original Jumanji movie, by showing a view of the Victorian-style home the first film took place in. The once Jumanji game board then turns into a game console, hoping to lure in the uninterested late 90’s teenage boy to play. The film then cuts to inform the audience of the lives of four new teenagers, Spencer Gilpin (Alex Wolff), Bethany Walker (Madison Iseman), Anthony Johnson (Ser’Darius Blain),
Wednesday, jan. 17 The Georgia Aquarium is offering yoga, pilates, and bootcamp classes by local instructors right around manta rays and whale sharks in the Oceans Ballroom! Every day from 6:30 -7:30 p.m.
Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
jan. 17 - jan. 23
Water workout!
VICTOR SLEDGE
AUTUMN BOEKELOO
events not to miss
and Martha Kalpy (Morgan Turner). Each of the students coincidentally wind up violating school rules and find themselves stuck in the high school’s basement cleaning for detention. The teens come across the old Nintendo gaming device and proceed to hook it up to an old-school rolling TV. Little did they know, the characters they chose determined their likelihood to survive in the wild world of Jumanji. Audience members are quickly transported with the teens inside the videogame, where we meet the game’s characters. I was personally impressed with the allstar cast who embodied the game’s characters. Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), Professor Sheldon Oberon (Jack Black), Franklin Finbar (Kevin Hart), and Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan). My favorite comedic twist of the film was Jack Black’s portrayal of a young and clueless teenage girl, who in reality was Bethany Walker. The movie would not have been half as funny had the director chosen a male to play Sheldon Oberon. Furthermore, the playful relationship between each of the actors left me laughing until the credits rolled onto the screen. Upon leaving the film, I found myself in hopes for another Jumanji film. Who knows, maybe titled Jumanji: Back to the Jungle? I enjoyed the movie so much I would even purchase it when the DVD version releases. However, I unfortunately viewed the film in 2D. With the amount of special effects and gorgeous “African” terrain, (the movie was actually filmed almost entirely in Oahu) I would advise taking advantage of the 3D option.
The annual boat show is back for all ye marine lovers! Boats, marine gear, and accessories will be on display at the Atlanta Boat Show in the Georgia World Congress Center. The show will run until Jan. 21, 2018.
FRIDAY, jan. 19 Knee-slapping fun Check out the slapstick comedy ‘Dearly Beloved’ as the story follows a Texas family trying to pull everything together after the bride runs off on her wedding day. The show is at Marietta’s New Theater in the Square.
saturday, jan. 20 Wine n’ dine! For all you 21 and uppers, the second annual Atlanta Winter Wine Fest will be hosted this year at City Winery and due to “overwhelming popularity” last year will be hosted from 12 - 4 p.m. and from 6 - 10 p.m.
sunday, jan. 21 It’s eartastic! Enjoy Grammy-winning singers are they perform singing traditions from all around the world, celebrating the potential of human voice. Enjoy an acapella ensemble of eight as they sweep you off your feet at Rialto.
monday, jan. 22 Masterpiece finished! This ‘Let’s Get ‘er Done’ workshop is meant to bring out all your half-finished masterpieces out of your cabinets and pull them together whether they’re papers, puppets, costumes or half-written ideas!
GRADE
A
VERDICT I would recommend Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle to anyone over the age of 12 searching for a feel-good movie with a positive ending. Put on your game face, grab your glasses and get ready to enter the daunting 3D world of Jumanji.
tuesday, jan. 23 Talking therapy! Self-care is important! If you’re starting our own business and want to talk about your stressors with like-minded businessmen, pop up to the PopNTalk support group for entrepreneurs!
More events and info at georgiastatesignal.com.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2018
The Iran Protests Are A Sign of Things to Come After lifted US sanctions, country’s economic condition still not improved
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MIRO GEORGIEV Staff Reporter
Miro Georgiev loves a lot of things—art, human rights, justice, literature, philosophy and writing. He’s also a journo major.
Tweet miro!
@mirogeorgiev97
t the close of 2017 and for the entire first week of 2018, the Islamic Republic of Iran was convulsed by a series of protests, the largest since the demonstrations against the results of its rigged presidential election in 2009. But that is where the similarities between them end. Unlike the protests in 2009, which were led by well-known political figures in Iran and composed almost entirely of young middle-class people, these demonstrations were composed of lower-middle-class and working-class youths and were broadly leaderless. What’s more, this one was widely different in its purpose. It all started because of a rise in the price of eggs. Initially, the so-called “hardliners” of the Iranian government—the conservative functionaries opposed to the “reformism” (if one can call it that) of President Hassan Rouhani— organized the protesters in the city of Mashhad. Soon, other cities followed in the Mashhadis’ wake: Kermanshah, Hamedan, Shiraz, and over 70 other towns and cities. Eventually, Tehran, the capital itself, could not escape them. Additionally, the focus of the protests began to shift. Economic displeasure still dominated, but so did anger at government corruption and human rights issues, and opposition to involvement in foreign conflicts, such as in Syria and Yemen.
WHY THE PROTESTS?
Rouhani has done a great deal to improve the country’s economy, and some might say he is not the one that deserves this kind of backlash. The Iranian president was the one who signed off on the nuclear deal in 2015 with the world’s largest powers (including the U.S.), lifting sanctions on the country’s trade. He also cut inflation from 35 to 9 percent in just four years. While the people of Iran were expecting massively improved life conditions, the middle and lower-income households continued to get hit by inadequate economic improvement, and the people turned against their leaders.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY VANESSA JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL
The problem is, even though sanctions were removed two years ago when Iran agreed to no longer attempt to make nuclear weapons (a tenuous promise), there were still a lot of Iranian entities that remained on global ‘blacklists.’ Nevertheless, the Iranian regime, like a chicken with its head cut off, was scrambling to find the most humane way to “end the sedition,” as reported by Iranian state-owned media. Sadly, 21 people have already lost their lives. Predictably, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed foreign interference in Iranian internal affairs from its three archrivals: the U.S., Israel, and Saudi Arabia. The youths of Iran were not impressed, to put it mildly. Although Iranian state-owned media would like the world to think the protests are officially over, by all accounts, they are, in fact, ongoing. So, with all these facts in mind, one has to wonder just how soon will the Islamic Republic approach its expiration date. A country with a nearly 12.5 percent overall unemployment rate (and an even higher youth unemployment rate), led by a man so impossibly wealthy (by whom I mean the Ayatollah) that only Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates could compete with him, cannot maintain the illusion that it is still a revolutionary force. A country so youthful and energetic as Iran is not so patient with lies, deceptions, and broken promises. The more the government and its compliant media lie to its people, blaming all of their problems on outside threats (like their favorite boogeyman, the “Zionist entity,” by which they mean Israel) and “counterrevolutionaries,” the more the Iranian people hate them.
AND THE U.S.?
Following the unrest, President Donald Trump sided with the protesters and, along with the Department of State, attempted to orchestrate a condemnation against the Iranian government’s actions. They were unable to do so, however, as they faced backlash from China, Russia and much of the United Nations. His move to support the protests, however, may have been the reason why the Iranian government was so hesitant to use force against its people. A mad Trump might mean more sanctions for a country that has just now began to show signs of economic growth after lifted sanctions. We should all stand together with our Iranian brothers and sisters in solidarity with the protests. The Iranian people have been insulted enough by their corrupt, self-righteous regime. The Islamic Republic may have won this battle, but they will not win the war. These protests, like the ones in 2009, are an indication that Iran is fast outgrowing the “revolutionary” zeal of 1979 and replacing it with a hunger for real accountability, democracy, and justice; the biggest promise of the original Revolution before Ruhollah Khomeini and his cadre of Islamists hijacked it. No, the Islamic Republic of Iran will not fall tomorrow, but it is only a matter of time before the Iranian regime will have to stare death in the face. When that will happen is anyone’s guess.
OPINION & EDITORIAL
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GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM
Are we separating ourselves from each other? There can only be a racial divide where we create one
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JAMES FOX Staff Reporter
James is a journalism major on the Downtown campus. He likes MMA and being outdoors. When he can’t get outside he spends his free time reading and writing. He grew up in East Atlanta and loves his city.
Tweet JAMES!
acial tensions in the U.S. have been steadily rising and have absolutely exploded following the 2016 election. With statements that the current president has made, both Alt-right and leftist groups took it upon them to grasp on to either side, and divide the nation even further. Division based on race is not a new phenomenon. While racism has long existed in the US, things really got heated and people first took to the streets after the shootings of Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, and black men and women ignited the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, which originally fought to shine a light on police brutality and racial discrimination. With a disproportionate amount of black individuals dying at the hands of police, citizens were protesting about the lack of equality in treatment, and the built-in racism within the system. At the time, I was so outraged I attended a BLM protest to show my support. I believe injustice and oppression have no place in America. It is our duty as American citizens to fight tyranny together, regardless of race, color or creed. In order to unite, we all have to look past our differences and drop the hatred. We must realize all forms of discrimination are wrong whether against people who are black, Arab, Hispanic, white, or of any other nationality or race. During this time, it’s important to realize no one should have the power to divide us based on what we look like, act like or think like. Many people blame Trump — they claim his rhetoric during the campaign inflamed racial tensions, but I think these attitudes have been
around for a long time. I don’t think Donald Trump is a racist. I also think most of his supporters are not racist (although there are some, which I will explain later). But it was the political mudslinging on both sides during this past election that stirred up the division and hatred we see today. Hillary Clinton got the ball rolling when she said, “You can put half of Trump supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic,” et cetera. Clinton, like many others, is in no position to call anybody “deplorable” or “racist.” However, it is undeniable that there is a racist element within Trump’s base. But the racist Alt-Right makes up an insignificant minority of Trump supporters, one of which I believe he has denounced in the past. Piggy-backing on Donald Trump’s success, they got free press from the media trying desperately to conflate the ideology of this handful of idiots with the rest of Trump’s supporters. After the infamous rally in Charlottesville, the Alt-Right has run out of steam. But the fear they created has propagated, and there are still echoes of this fear heard across the nation. The New York Times recently published a controversial article called “Can My Children Be Friends With White People?” The author, Ekow Yankah, is a professor at Cardozo Law. “For many weary minorities, the ridiculous thing was thinking friendship was possible in the first place,” Yankah wrote. “It only hurts if you believed friendship could bridge the racial gorge.” Yankah emphasizes that things have gotten worse for minorities since
the president’s election into office, when they began being weary and were separated even further from white people who were watching from a “position of safety.” But Yankah does not blame Trump himself, but rather his supporters and allies which have allowed discrimination to seep into this political climate. He writes, “Mr. Trump’s supporters are practiced at purposeful blindness. That his political life started with denying, without evidence, that Barack Obama is American - that this black man could truly be the legitimate president - is simply ignored.” He goes on to paint all Trump supporters (specifically, in his words, white Trump supporters) as irredeemable bigots. By supporting Trump, according to Yankah, you are supporting racism, by ignoring Trump’s statements. “They deny that there is any malice whatsoever in his words and actions. And they dismiss any attempt to recognize the danger of his wide-ranging animus as political correctness,” he says in the article. But personally, I believe when Trump says “Make America Great Again,” that statement is all-inclusive. The absolute worst thing we can do right now is to dissever ourselves from each other. No matter your race, color, or creed, we are all Americans. We can all be friends! As a white man who is a Trump supporter, I want everybody reading this to know I will be your friend no matter what you look like. And I can assure you most other people feel the same. Let’s all work together, as Americans, to make America great again.
@KingJames21usa
editorial Happy legislative season! Keep track of this year’s bills and voice your concerns!
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ast Monday marked the first day of this year’s legislative session. Cue in the religious liberty, gun control, confederate monuments, ‘English-only’, ‘let’s-fix-transit’ bills that will begin to pop up on our news feeds. Disappointedly, despite the golden dome being just a few steps away from the heart of our Downtown campus, students are not keeping track of new legislation passing by the Georgia House of Representatives and Senate in the next 40 days. The campus carry law came as a surprise to many of our friends, despite the bill being in the works for over two years. It was no surprise to the ones that had kept track of its failure in 2015, that when the new version arrived tailored with the additions that Governor Nathan Deal had requested, campus carry would no longer just be a distant nightmare. Keeping track of bills during this session is not only essential, but it is also our responsibility as the next generation who will spend a portion of their lives in the city and state. The Georgia General
Assembly website is already piling up the prefiled bills, and is now opened to all the new bills of 2018 to make their entrance. And soon, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution will soon start giving us the legislative briefs of the week, which means there are zero excuses to be out of touch with the politics going on down the street. A lot of the decisions that will be made in March and April will affect many of us directly and indirectly, so it just sounds like common sense that we would be part of that process. After all, we saw exactly what happened last time we decided to keep our feet out of political involvement, trusting that the American people would choose the less-orange looking of the two. Finally, let’s all drop the “I’m not really into politics” excuse, because if that’s the case, just hop right into it. Politics is not a hobby or an interest, but rather is about staying in touch and in control of how you go about your every day. What should drivers legally be allowed to do and not to do?
Should tattoos disqualify members from serving in the military (yes, that’s a prefiled bill this year)? Should students be required to attend class until the age of 16 or 17? Should bump stocks be legal? Should smoking in vehicles be allowed? Someone else will be making these decisions for you, someone will be representing your needs and wants, so you better hope you’ve communicated them correctly. Let’s not forget, all politicians run on the platform that they’re here to listen, so give them something to listen to! Send letters, write emails and leave calls. It’s surprisingly easy to get in touch with a representative - even if that means having to leave four consecutive messages with their secretary in a day. Trust us, we’ve tried it. And if none of that works, walk on down to the Georgia Capitol (approximately a 4.5 minute walk) and ask them for a quick chat. These decisions will impact all our lives, so we better take control of what that impact will be.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2018
Majnaric is the strength behind the Panthers’ success Majnaric’s unique exercises allow the Panthers to compete at an high level
Nate Majnaric returns as the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the men’s basketball team for a third season.
D’MITRI CHIN
Associate Sports Editor
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hen one thinks of the significant components of creating the body of a championship team, talent and coaching sprinkled with a generous amount of luck regarding players not suffering severe injuries is what typically comes to mind. However, there is another vital piece to the puzzle that tends to get overlooked — and that is the strength and conditioning aspect of sports. Nate Majnaric is entering his third year as the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the men’s basketball team at Georgia State. But becoming the assistant strength and conditioning coach at the university was not his primary goal in life. Majnaric walked on as a football player at West Virginia with intentions of perhaps playing in the NFL. Nonetheless, he grew fond of the idea of becoming a strength and conditioning coach when his brother got injured by deadlifting as a sophomore in high school. His coaches at West Virginia then informed him about opportunities at the university that would prove to be beneficial to his future career choice. “My brother got hurt, and it cost him his junior year, and that got me thinking about strength and conditioning,” Majnaric said. “I had great coaches there who had said ‘we have internships here if you’re interested.’” Majnaric did not hesitate to take the opportunity to intern for Daryl Bauer, the strength and conditioning coach on staff for the Mountaineers football program. “I interned with him for three years while I played [football],” Majnaric said. “So Mike Joseph, Daryl, Kevin and all the coaches at West Virginia really got me started.” Since joining the Georgia State staff in 2015, Majnaric has seemingly found his comfort zone with the rest of the coaches, but more importantly with the players. “The guys are really good, they respond really well to me,” Majnaric said of how he has created a great relationship with the players, thus far. He also said that for the players, “it’s not about sets, or reps, or weights you can push, it’s about creating you as a person physically so you can do what you do.” “So, it’s been great. They respond well to me, and we have a great communication line, and that’s all I ask. Communicate
with me, and we’ll figure it out.” During the process of developing a one-of-a-kind relationship with the players, Majnaric created a competitive challenge to get them enthused about being in the weight room. “To get them excited, I had a workout-warrior challenge,” Majnaric said. “Each week, after every week, we would have that competition, and I’d rank them pointwise. If you won the most amount of points that week, you got workout warrior for the week; you got bonus points for your team because I split them up into three teams and then you got to pick the music for the next week.” Junior forward Malik Benlevi is one player, in particular, that has not only enjoyed the workout-warrior competition but has also found much success by winning the challenge multiple times. “It’s all mental,” Benlevi said. “ When you think you’re tired, you gotta push through.” Of the many barriers Majnaric faces of being a strength and conditioning coach, finding time to train the players is at the top of the list. Majnaric works with both the men’s and women’s basketball team, so time plays a significant factor in creating the workout schedule for both sides. “Scheduling sometimes gets tough because the way classes are at Georgia State, everyone is going in the mornings so figuring out how to balance that,” Majnaric said. “Out of season is pretty easy to keep the schedule. In season is all travel because we’re on the road a lot... so you’re just tryna find ways to train in hotels and on the road the best you can and tryna stay as consistent as possible, so that’s the biggest challenge there. But other than that, training is training no matter where you’re at; it doesn’t change much.” Fortunately, Majnaric works alongside the head athletic trainer, Dinika Johnson. The two assist each other in developing workouts for players under certain circumstances. “Dinika is great; we have a great relationship. She lets me know injuries, and what’s going on or what she might see and her input is valuable because it helps us to adjust the program to certain players.” So just how does Majnaric create a regime for the players? “Going into the first week of offseason, they haven’t trained as much as in-season because of time, so you just try to build size and get them back in the weight room and get them used to doing it,” Majnaric said. “Towards the summer, you start
PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS
to express strength more, then preseason you start expressing power more and doing things of that nature.” “But you just go through and you look at the players, and it comes down to basic movements: you got to squat, you have to henge, you have to do single-leg movement, you have to do upper-body push-and-pull and just make sure you train at all points of motion and work hard.” The Panthers’ men’s basketball team have played 17 games on the season, thus far, and they have not had a player miss significant time due to an injury. While many tend to credit the coaching staff and the players for the success of the team, Majnaric deserves credit for keeping the players in top-notch shape for the duration of a long season.
Majnaric’s bio: • Joined the Georgia State University Strength and Conditioning staff in the summer of 2015 • Earned his bachelor’s degree in coaching education with an emphasis on exercise psychology from West Virginia University • Majnaric played football as a linebacker and running back at Green High School midway between Akron and Canton, Ohio • He is an active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. • He married his wife, Addie, in 2016 PAGE DESIGN BY DEVIN PHILLIPS | THE SIGNAL
SPORTS
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Portia Benbow with K.K. Williams as she accepts her award during the Sun Belt season on Nov. 26.
GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM
PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS
Portia Benbow runs the show off the court Handling all of the off court action actions is no easy task CHRISTIAN CRITTENDEN Staff Reporter
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or Portia Benbow, every day is different, no day is ever the same. As the director of basketball operations for the women’s basketball team she is continuously working and continuously on the move trying to accomplish her next task. Benbow does everything on the court that makes the team run; she pretty much everything but coach and play of course. But she still has a vital role to play in the success of the team because of everything that she does off of the court. “Every day is not the same, and that’s kind of what I like about my job,” Benbow said. “I do everything off the court so I’m in charge of the budget, I’m in charge of the team and recruiting travel. I pretty much do everything except for coaching and recruiting”. Benbow often has a lot on her plate, but in her short time here she has figured out how to manage it all. “It does get challenging, but it’s nothing that I can’t handle,” Benbow said. “You have to be very organized, and you have to be a planner in this position, so if you are good at those two things, then you will be okay.” She has always been around the game of basketball, having played at Jenkins High School, before going to Georgia Tech as a basketball manager. After two years at Georgia Tech, she transferred to Armstrong State
where she would join the team. While she was at Armstrong State, Benbow was named a team captain. She does miss playing college basketball from time to time, but one thing she doesn’t miss is waking up for practice or working out like she watches her players do now on a daily basis. Benbow became the director of basketball ops in May 2015, but before that, she worked on a lot of things, including work with the Atlanta Falcons and Braves. She loves her job because of the daily interaction she gets with the student-athletes. “I feel like everything that I do has some sort of positive impact on their experience as student-athletes,” Benbow said. One of her more prominent goals for the future is to open up a basketball facility for youth. When Benbow was in college, there was a gym called ‘Run and Shoot’ that she would often attend, and it was open 24 hours a day for the youth as an alternative. “I used to spend a lot of my time in there,” Benbow said. “I feel like it was a haven because it was right in the middle of the ‘hood, so it was a haven for those kids to come in and have things to do instead of staying in the streets. So I want to open up a facility, something similar to that to give youth an alternative to doing other things. On top of her busy job, Benbow also juggles a lot outside of her work because she is a new wife and mother. She is also a part-time referee, and she is learning to enjoy that as well. “I’m a new wife and a new mom, so those
are two other roles that I’ve kind of had to learn to maneuver this year,” Benbow said. “And still play basketball a lot. I play in women’s leagues.” While she admits that she is not in as good as shape as the players, Benbow believes that she could still give a few players on the team a run for their money on the court. “I’m not in as good of shape, but I’m smarter than they are at this age so I could probably still give them a couple of buckets,” Benbow said. According to Will Owens the Sports Information Director for the team, he once saw her knockdown 40 out of 50 jump shots.
“Every day is not the same, and that’s kind of what I like about my job. ” — PORTIA BENBOW Director of Basketball Operations Anyone who can do that can play some basketball. One thing that people may not know about Benbow is that she has type-one diabetes. “It’s a struggle, but I got it when I was 11, so it made me grow up a lot faster, and it helps me to mature a whole,” Benbow said. As for her future, she has considered the idea of coaching basketball, but she is still not entirely sure on the idea of coaching, but whatever she does she has one requirement, that it has to involve the game of basketball.
QUICK FACTS • Played college basketball at Armstrong State University • Became Director of Basketball Operations in May 2015 • Served as Georgia Tech’s basketball manager for two years • Has worked with the Atlanta Hawks,
TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2018
SPORTS
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Panthers open indoor track and field
panther of the week
Track and field off to a decent start in opening meets JERELL RUSHIN Sports Editor
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he track and field team opened their indoor season over the weekend with two events in Birmingham, Alabama. A handful of Panthers finished in the top-10 in several events hosted inside the Birmingham Complex Arena. Lotte Meyberg was Georgia State’s first athlete to compete in the UAB Blazer Invite on Friday morning. She ran the mile in 5:09.11, placing her in seventh place. Meyberg who is also a cross country star, finished fourth in the 3,000m run the next day at the UAB Vulcan Invite with a time of 10:19.15. The freshman’s hot start gives reason to expect Meyberg to be force to be reckoned with for the rest of her career at Georgia State. After dominating in cross country in the fall with two wins and more superb finishes, she’s proving she can perform just as well in the spring semester. Last season’s team routinely posted two top-tier finishes with now-graduated LaPorsha Wells and Alysiah Wells. However, the upperclassmen still came to play in their first track and field event of the year. Two seniors competitors stood out on Friday. Michaela McGhee ran the 500m dash in a seventh place time of 1:19.26. In the weight throw, Rashell Reid completed a throw of 17.47m for eight place overall. Other Panthers to finish in the top half of UAB Blazer Invite events were Kayla Jordan in the 300m dash with 40.65 Kelsey Gray with 15.33m in the weight throw. To open the indoor season last year, Georgia State placed in the team standings at the BSC Icebreaker Indoor T&F Icebreaker, also held in Birmingham. Ole Miss won the most events on Friday as athletes took home five first-places finishes at the UAB Blazer Invite. Alabama took walked away with first-place in three events. On Saturday, the Panthers laced up to return to the Birmingham Complex Arena for the UAB Vulcan Invite. After three exceptional
PHOTO BY GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS
Jeff Thomas
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Assistant Coach Kyle Stevenson gives sprinting advice to the women’s track and field team on Jan. 11.
performances on Friday, head coach Chris England’s team looked for equal or better performances. Under the direction of assistant coach Kyle Stevenson, the sprinters logged two finishes in he top half. Zensha Tennyson ran the 60m dash in 7.88 seconds, placing her in 28th place out of the 69 sprinters who completed the race. 5’1” senior, Gabby Irving finished in 26th place in the 200m dash with a smooth time of 25.32 seconds. Nuria Ramirez ran a 10:39.63 in the long distance 3000m, joining Meyberg in the top-10. Morgan Laushey paced herself to 5:27.92 in the mile, falling just .8 from a top-15 finish. Leaping 1.59 meters, Jada Watson sprung her
PHOTO BY HANNAH GRECO | THE SIGNAL
way to 14th place in the high jump. Ashlan Rosier found herself back in the top-five early this year, coming in fifth in the long jump with a distance of 5.56 meters. Westlake High School product, Ra’Breekia Harrison logged an impressive 11.56 meters in the triple jump, good for fourth place. Reid had finished in ninth-place in the weight throw with 14.67m as she watched Wells’ meet record go down at the hands of Tennessee’s Stamatia Scarvelis. Tennessee swept the sprint events and won six on the day. Georgia State’s next meet is the Samford Open which runs from Friday through Saturday. In last season’s Samford Open, Angela Alonso ran a third place time of 2:15.10 in the 800m.
Panthers blazing before Georgia Southern game
Big three-ball and confidence before State vs. Southern JERELL RUSHIN Sports Editor
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eorgia State (13-6, 4-2) defeated Coastal Carolina (7-12, 1-5) 72-58 Saturday in their sixth Sun Belt contest. Behind 14 three-pointers, Georgia State was able to pick up their fourth consecutive victory. They now average 8.9 three pointers per game. “What a huge win today and pair of wins on the road for us this weekend,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “As proud as I am of the defense we played today, I was equally happy with our offense. We spread the ball around well, and for the most part, took smart shots all game.” Malik Benlevi logged a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. In just 22 minutes, Devin Mitchell went 4-7 from three leading him to 15 points, a team-high. D’Marcus Simonds’ 13 points extend his streak of games in double-digits to 36 games. Down low, Jordan Sessions snatched nine boards and dropped 11 points. The Panthers remain undefeated in 2018
behind a perfect stretch since beginning conference play 0-4. Their next contest will be against Georgia Southern in a premiere of two of the Sun Belt’s top teams. Hunter’s team found early success from behind the arc, hitting nine of 17 first half three point attempts. Six different Panthers made three pointers in the game. Coastal took the lead during a near fiveminute Georgia State scoring drought in the first. Williams ended the drought with a three. He and Benlevi each knocked down another three in the final two minutes. Georgia State never relinquished the lead. Other than the explosion from behind the arc, Hunter was quite disappointed in the first half performance. He said it may have been the worst half of the whole season. He cited his team’s poor defense, ball movement and defensive rebounding. Panthers blew the roof off the Chanticleers to begin the second half. They built a 52-36 lead in less than six minutes, setting the tone for the rest of the half. Their next opponent, Georgia Southern (14-5, 5-1), is in the midst of a four-game winning streak
as well. The Eagles are coming off a 60-59 nailbiting win over Appalachian State. Tookie Brown led a 12-point comeback, scoring 21 points and the final four of the game. Brown shoots 55.1% from the field, leading him to 18.6 point per game and making him fifth in the Sun Belt. Simonds and Brown will be the most anticipated players to watch for in the first 2018 contest between the two universities. Their quick hands land both stars in the top-three in steals. Last season’s two games were split— the home team winning each matchup. Georgia State fell 88-65 in Statesboro to open the conference slate. D’Marcus Simonds did not suit up in the first contest, but scored 21 points in a 72-67 Georgia State win in the Sun Belt regular season finale. Since Georgia Southern joined the Sun Belt in 2014, neither team has won on the opponent’s home floor. But Georgia State leads the series due to its 38-36 win over Southern in the 2015 Sun Belt Basketball Championship, advancing them to the NCAA tournament. Tipoff is Saturday at 2:00 p.m. inside the GSU Sports Arena. Tune in to WatchESPN to view the battle between top-four teams in the Sun Belt.
The Panthers’ third-highest scorer, forward Jeff Thomas, shined in Georgia State’s last two games. He posted a new career-high of 22 points during a 71-58 victory over Appalachian State. Along with the new careerhigh, he brought down a team-high eight rebounds, tying his season-high. Thomas hit three of Georgia State’s 14 three-pointers against Appalachian State on Saturday. He finished the game with 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block. Thomas made six threes on the week and shot 48.1 percent from the field.
SPORTS BRIEFS Women’s Tennis — Went 3-5 in matches against BYU at the SMU Winter Invitational. — Fell in all three double matchups to hometown SMU.
Men’s Tennis — Swept Mercer in straight sets. — Freshman, Kevin Huynh won first career match in dual play 6-1, 6-1. — Lost to No. 21 ranked Florida State.
Men’s Basketball — Went 2-0 last week to remain undefeated in 2018. — Downed Appalachian State 71-58 behind Jeff Thomas’ career-high 22 points. — Used 14 three-pointers against Coastal Carolina to extend winning streak to four.
SPORTS CALENDAR TRACK & FIELD JAN. 19 SAMFORD OPEN
Birmingham, Alabama
SAMFORD OPEN
SUN BELT FOOTBALL
TENNIS
school
JAN. 19 11 A.M.
women’s tennis AUBURN
Auburn, Alabama
JAN. 20 Birmingham, Alabama
STANDINGS
11 A.M.
4 P.M.
JAN. 19 men’s tennis OREGON
BASKETBALL
women’s tennis
women’s basketball GEORGIA SOUTHERN
12 P.M.
JAN. 20 Atlanta, Georgia
OKLAHOMA/LOUISIANA MONROE
Auburn, Alabama
4 P.M.
JAN. 19
men’s basketball GEORGIA SOUTHERN
8 P.M.
JAN. 20
JAN. 20 Atlanta, Georgia
Eugene, Oregon
Conference Overall streak
LOUISIANA
5-0
15-3
W5
GEORGIA SOUTHERN
5-1
14-5
W4
TEXAS STATE
5-1
12-7
W5
GEORGIA STATE
4-2
13-6
W4
APPALACHIAN STATE
3-2
8-11
L2
TEXAS-ARLINGTON
3-3
12-7
W1
SOUTH ALABAMA
2-3
9-9
L1
TROY
2-3
8-10
W1
LITTLE ROCK
2-4
5-14
L1
LOUISIANA-MONROE
1-4
7-9
L2
COASTAL CAROLINA
1-5
7-11
L5
ARKANSAS STATE
1-5
men’s tennis 2:15 P.M.
PORTLAND
Eugene, Oregon
TBA
6-12
L5
ILLUSTRATION BY ALEX BROOKS | THE SIGNAL