The Signal Vol. 86 No. 9

OCT. 16 - OCT. 23, 2018

VOL. 86 | NO. 9

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Breaking the NEWS | PAGE 3 A window to a disturbing truth unveils the astonishing number of women affected by sexual assault.

PHOTO BY NATORI SPENCE| THE SIGNAL

WHO YOU GONNA CALL?

APPARENTLY NOT GSUPD

TROLLING FOR MEMES

YOUNG GUNS ON DUTY

Standing as just metal and wires, GSUPD’s call boxes haven’t been working for several years.

There’s no excuse for inoperable call boxes and dishonesty towards students.

Memes are an outlet for stress and a medium for art. They’re not going anywhere.

Football starts many freshmen who’ve had ups and downs before their Thursday game at ASU.

NEWS | PAGE 6 GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

OPINIONS

News 3

ARTS & LIVING | PAGE 12

OPINIONs 7

Arts & Living 9

SPORTS | PAGE 18

Sports 15

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NEWS

GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

PHOTO OF THE WEEK Rapper Pusha T performs at Afropunk Fest Atlanta on Sunday, Oct. 14.

PHOTO BY UNIQUE RODRIQUEZ | THE SIGNAL

NEWS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2018

www.georgiastatesignal.com/news

The power of a woman’s voice #MeToo: 21st Century Feminism NATORI SPENCE

Associate News Editor

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very 98 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted, and there’s a nine out of 10 chance that each time it happens, the victim is a woman, according to statistics by the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN).

That’s an estimated 33 women per hour, 794 women per day and 315,360 women sexually assaulted each year in the United States alone. That’s enough people to fill the Mercedes-Benz Stadium nearly four times.

“It’s an epidemic everywhere, in America and worldwide. I don’t even think I know one woman that hasn’t been violated in one way shape or form by a man. We live in a society where sexual abuse is ingrained into the culture,” Kayla Patterson, a junior at Georgia State, said.

According to an analysis of data on rape and sexual assault completed by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1997, the vast majority of violent sex offenses involves males assaulting female victims.

“Yes, men are victims of sexual abuse too, and that should not be ignored. But this is a problem that has always affected women the most,” Nakibiyah Victoria, a junior at Georgia State, said.

The predators?

Strangers. Bosses. Boyfriends. Friends. Husbands.

Dads. Uncles. Pastors. Neighbors.

According the RAINN, 25 percent of sexual violence is from a current or former spouse or significant other and 45 percent is from an acquaintance.

The majority of sexual assaults occur at or near the victim’s home, according to RAINN statistics.

In eight out of 10 cases of rape, the victim knew the perpetrator, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC).

“We know that people are less likely to disclose if it’s someone that the victim knew beforehand. We also know that the psychological trauma experience is going to be greater because there’s the added betrayal of being assaulted by someone you know,” Dr. Kevin Michael Swartout, a psychology professor at Georgia State, said.

Poster boards with the #WhyIDidn’tReport hashtag emerged in several bathrooms around the Georgia State campus during the second week of October. Both men and women were able to write anonymously about why they chose to stay silent about their sexual assault experiences.

“It was my fault,” someone wrote in the women’s restroom on the second floor of the Arts and Humanities building.

“I didn’t know what what happening. My mom’s heart would break if she knew her brother fingered her daughter while she was asleep. I was 6,” another person wrote.

“I did but that was years ago and now he’s a politician,” someone else wrote.

Stewart said that no two victims respond to an assault the same way. But, if a victim does choose to confide in someone, the response that person gives them is crucial to the victim’s decision-making process.

“If they do tell anyone, whether it’s a formal or informal source, that person’s response is really

important,” Swartout said. “If the person asks a lot of questions about what [the victim] was doing and their behavior, the survivor can feel kind of blamed.”

Although the rate of sexual assault and rape has fallen by 63 percent since 1993, the majority of victims are still reluctant to come forward.

According to NSVRC, 63 percent of sexual assaults are not reported to police.

But in recent years, the power of social media has paved the way for victims of sexual assault, women especially, to find the courage to speak up about their experiences. Online platforms have proved to be a window to a disturbing truth, unveiling the astonishing number of people affected by this issue.

“I think with social media, there’s a place for everyone. Literally, the whole world connects, and I think the power of it is that it makes everyone feel less alone,” Georgia State student Alexis Huddleston said.

In October of 2017, the #MeToo movement hashtag spread virally on social media in an effort to demonstrate the widespread prevalence of sexual assault and harassment, especially in the workplace.

The movement was actually started over a decade ago by Tarana Burke, a woman who is a survivor of sexual violence and an advocate for young women of color.

Although Swartout’s research does not specifically pertain to this topic, Swartout gave his opinion on the shifting nature of society in response to the #MeToo movement.

“Studies do show that many people, depending on exactly what you are talking about, at least somewhat are accepting of rape myths,” Swartout said.

He said that an example of a rape myth is the belief that if a man buys a woman dinner, he is entitled to have sex with her. Another example is if a woman agrees to go up to a man’s apartment or dorm room, he is also entitled to have sex with her. “[Rape myths] are kind of evidence of a society or a group of people that is to a certain extent accepting of [sexual violence],” Swartout said. “With the MeToo movement, there’s been a cultural shift. It’s becoming more normative to speak up about experiences with sexual violence and sexual harassment.”

He said this cultural shift is responsible for powerful men being held accountable for their actions. However, he mentioned that their punishment often doesn’t equate to their crimes.

He noted that Bill Cosby was only sentenced to three to 10 years despite the some 60 accusers that spoke out against him.

According to RAINN, the vast majority of perpetrators will not go to jail or prison. Out of every 1,000 rapes, 994 perpetrators walk free.

“We have a sitting president with numerous sexual assault allegations against him, a president who constantly disrespects women. We have a Supreme Court justice accused of sexual assault. In today’s society, money and power still win over everything, and until that changes, we as women can’t claim victory,” Victoria said.

“I don’t even think I know one woman that hasn’t been violated in one way shape or form by a man.”

— KAYLA PATTERSON a junior at Georgia State

campus sexual assault Women aged 18-24 are at an elevated risk of sexual violence.

Among undergraduate students, 23.1 percent of females and 5.4 percent of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence or incapacitation.

21 percent of transgender, genderqueer or nonconforming (TGQN) college students have been sexually assaulted, compared to 18 percent of non-TGQN females and 4 percent of non-TGQN males.

Only 20 percent of female student victims, aged 18-24, report to law enforcement.

Female college-aged students 18-24 are 20 percent less likely than non-students of the same age to be a victim of rape or sexual assault.

ILLUSTRATION BY EVAN STAMPS | THE SIGNAL PAGE DESIGN BY DEVIN PHILLIPS | THE SIGNAL

NEWS

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GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

Volunteers Kerri Oransky and Kristin Bryant from Indivisible, a grassroots organization working to promote progressive politics, help students register to vote in Unity Plaza on Oct. 4.

What is Georgia State doing to encourage voting?

Low voter turnout is common in ages 18-29, but students are stepping up to change that ADA WOOD Staff Reporter

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uesday, Nov. 6 is Election Day, and historically, young people don’t represent themselves at the polls.

There has been a surge of efforts at Georgia State to increase voter registration and voter turnout as the midterm elections approach during a highly divisive political climate in America.

Indivisible, launched after Donald Trump’s election to the presidency, is a nationwide movement of thousands of volunteer-led local groups that engage in progressive advocacy and electoral work at the local, state and national level.

Kristin Bryant represented the organization at Unity Plaza on Wednesday, Oct. 3. “[Voting is] the most real and direct way for you to affect local, state and federal decision-making,” Bryant said. “If you don’t vote, people who may not reflect your wishes get to make those decisions for you.”

Bryant said there’s a reason Georgia State is being targeted for voter registration efforts.

“A college is more likely than other places to have people who just became old enough to register before now,” she said.

People between the ages of 18 and 29 have the lowest voter turnout rate—below 50 percent—according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

However, this age range is also the only group to increase in voter turnout between the 2012 and 2016 election while the attendance of all other age groups has decreased.

According to Pew Research, younger generations make up a majority of the electorate, or the portion of the population that is eligible to vote.

Georgia State’s Student Government Association (SGA) encouraged voter registration online, and various student groups have provided registration resources at tables in Library Plaza.

Cherie Yoo is the president of the Korean Undergraduate

Student Association at Georgia State has been working with Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

“The main reason we are doing this is because AsianAmericans have the lowest polling rate in the U.S. of any racial group and even more so for those our age,” Yoo said.

In order to get more people to register, Yoo said they were trying to give more incentives in the form of free T-shirts and doughnuts.

Serenity Whitfield, head of the Political Action Committee for the Georgia State branch of the NAACP said that the organization sees that a lot of young people are not voting.

“We are here to teach people the significance of voting,” Whitfield said.

The deadline to register to vote in Georgia’s midterms was Oct. 9, and it’s unfortunately too late for anyone who was inspired last-minute to participate in democracy.

Between 2013 and 2017, about 1.3 million Georgia residents were purged from the rolls, since they were inactive in voting.

The key tool for all voters’ needs ahead of election day is the My Voter Page (MVP) through the Georgia Secretary of State website.

In Georgia, employers are required to give employees two hours off work that are unpaid to vote, according to Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-404. However, this is only if there are two nonworking hours available at the beginning or end of the shift during which polls are open.

Faculty of Georgia State are no exception to this rule, as clarified by a University System of Georgia policy.

For students living on campus who want to vote in the area, it’s necessary for them to update their voting address to their dorm address. This can be done online through MVP in under five minutes.

Students living on campus can even vote early at Georgia State. Voting is available on Oct. 23 and 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 30 Courtland St. NE. For those living on the downtown campus who want to vote on Election Day, the polling location is Liberty Baptist Church, which is less than a mile walk from the University Commons.

PHOTO BY VANESSA JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

KEY VOTING DATES FOR 2018 MIDTERM ELECTION OCT. 9 - Last day to register to vote OCT. 15 - Early voting begins NOV. 2 - Last day for registrar to issue or mail

in absentee ballot NOV. 6 - Election Day, time to vote!

HOW TO...

CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION STATUS, POLLING LOCATION OR SEE A SAMPLE BALLOT

Go to My Voter Page (MVP) at mvp.sos. ga.gov and fill out your name, county and birthdate.

VOTE THROUGH MAIL

Log in to your MVP and download the Absentee Ballot Application. Mail or email your application to your County Board of Registrar’s Office. Specific requirements, such as being elderly or disabled, must be met.

VOTE EARLY

Log into MVP and click Early Voting Locations and Times. There are dates throughout the month of October. This is helpful if you know you won’t be available on Election Day.

CHANGE YOUR VOTING ADDRESS

Go to registertovote.sos.ga.gov and click Change Voter Information on the left.

You can change your name or address in a matter of minutes.

VOTE ON ELECTION DAY

Show up at your polling location between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 6. You will need a valid ID, such as a driver’s license. Voting, after waiting in line if there is one, takes approximately 15 minutes to check in and cast your vote.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2018

NEWS

5

Studying brains with Emory and Tech

NEWS BRIEFS

Dr. Calhoun and Dr. Turner promote collaborative research LOCAL

ZACH SALLING News Editor

Brian Kemp sued for voter discrimination

D

r. Vince Calhoun, a future Georgia State professor and world-renowned expert in brain imaging and analysis, has been appointed as founding director of the Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS) at Georgia State.

TReNDS is a tri-institutional merge between Georgia State, Georgia Tech and Emory University.

Calhoun thinks the future of TReNDS will allow researchers to work across departments in order to better understand the brain.

“I envision TReNDS being a center that incentivizes inter-disciplinary and interinstitutional work as we try to unravel the mysteries of the human brain,” Calhoun said.

“I’m hoping TReNDS will serve as a catalyst, to increase the amount of basic and applied brain imaging research.”

Calhoun will conduct research with Dr. Jessica Turner, an associate psychology professor at Georgia State.

Calhoun and Turner originally met and worked together in Albuquerque, New Mexico, one of the sites for the Mind Research Network, a nonprofit organization consisting of an interdisciplinary association of scientists.

Turner’s background is in experimental psychology which allowed for a productive collaboration with Calhoun.

“I was already using some multivariate techniques in my analyses, and it was a natural step to start using his approaches,” Turner said.

“We’ve been doing research together for at least a decade at this point.”

Although Turner and Calhoun study similar structures, their approaches to those structures are different.

“My focus is how the cognitive processes and internal reality we all live with are generated by the brain, and what role genetics has in how that develops,” Turner said.

Calhoun’s brain imaging and analysis technique

Dr. Jessica Turner from Georgia State’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience works on research regarding brain patterns in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and Huntington’s Disease.

counter-balances their approach to research.

“I use the techniques he develops to ask questions about brain structure and function, particularly schizophrenia,” Turner said.

Research in and of itself is not their end game.

“We are both committed to sharing data with the research community, so that more questions can be asked and explored,” Turner said.

Hence, the TReNDS initiative.

“It brings tremendous resources to GSU’s research community,” Turner said. “[Georgia State] should be a powerhouse of this kind of innovation in collaborative research in clinical and cognitive neuroscience.”

Calhoun and Turner’s work exemplifies the interdisciplinary success they seek to promote.

“The creativity in applications that cut across different disciplines—all of these are an immediate benefit to biomedical research community broadly at GSU,” Turner said.

The creativity, problem solving and endured

PHOTO BY DAKOTA SMITH | THE SIGNAL

hardship fuels both of their work.

“I have to keep reminding myself what is the goal of all this,” Calhoun said. “It should not be just a ‘turn the crank’ type effort. Stepping back and allowing myself to think about creative ways to solve scientific problems puts me in the right frame of mind.”

Despite Georgia State’s recent recognition of Turner’s work, moments of doubt still settle in.

“There are so many struggles, from the imprecision of the language we use to communicate, through challenges staying funded to do research, to the complexity of the systems we are trying to understand, to internal struggles and self-doubt,” Turner said.

Yet, their endurance and decade-long collaboration, struggles withstanding, testify as a paragon for the TReNDS initiative.

“Research was not just for knowledge alone [anymore] but was part of the larger efforts to help other people, to make the world a less painful place,” Turner said.

Partnership forms to study state finances AYSPS participates in research with Volcker Alliance JACELL BLAND Staff Reporter

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he Center for State and Local Finance (CSLF) at Georgia State, one of several institutions partnering with Volcker Alliance, is conducting a study to help improve budgeting and fiscal sustainability in all 50 states.

Alex Hathaway is the principal researcher and leader of the center. The center’s intention for the project is to examine budget practices, debt, reserve funds and retiree health care, among others.

“The state budget affects every citizen in some way, but understanding how states maintain a balanced budget can be a very complex task,” Hathaway said. “Our research offers a clearer picture of the fiscal practices in the South and around the nation.”

The project is currently in its third phase of research conducted by CSLF for the New Yorkbased Volcker Alliance as part of its Truth and

Integrity in Government Finance project.

The researchers are from eight universities, including Georgia State with its Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.

Hathaway said he hopes their research spurs state governments to improve transparency practices and leads to greater citizen trust and engagement.

Since 2016, CSLF has led research in the South while training graduate research assistants in the data gathering and technical writing needed to conduct analysis and produce public presentations to engage and inform stakeholders.

Hathaway is working on multiple reports for Georgia State that detail fiscal health in the South.

Some of the reports so far have focused on rainy day funds and retiree health costs.

The rainy day funds for Georgia’s balance were higher than the national average from the 2015 fiscal year through the 2017 fiscal year. The 2018 fiscal year balance is not yet available, but the state’s reserves are expected to grow and will likely surpass the 6.7 percent national average.

In addition, Georgia State’s research center received $100,000 in funding to expand this study

of government fiscal integrity.

The Volcker Alliance revealed the State Budget Practice Report Cards and Budget Resource Guide for Georgia to provide insight into Georgia’s progress for budget maneuvers. The state received an A in the category of budget maneuvers for fiscal years 2015-2017 for its willingness to shun one-time actions to achieve balance.

“Georgia was among fifteen states in 2017 that substantially avoided practices such as using borrowing proceeds, municipal bond coupon premiums, or other up-front cash flows at the time of refinancing to pay for recurring expenditures,” the report stated.

In addition, more research provided by Hathaway focused on other post-employment benefits. Her policy brief, OPEB Funding Challenges: The U.S. Postal Service, targeted long-term liabilities such as pensions and other post-employment benefits.

The conclusion for this research cemented that many states may also struggle to curb long-term liabilities without strong prefunding mechanisms or substantive reforms to benefit coverage.

An Associated Press investigation found that Georgia has 53,000 voter applicants in limbo, 70 percent of whom are AfricanAmerican. Civil rights groups sued Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, the Republican candidate for governor who also oversees elections in the state. The filing alleges that Georgia’s “exact match” protocol, which requires information on voter registration applications to precisely match information on file with the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles or the Social Security Administration, suppresses minority votes in violation of the Voting Rights Act, the 14th Amendment and the 1993 Voter Registration Act.

NATIONAL Hurricane Michael devastates Florida coast

CNN reported that Hurricane Michael’s death toll rose to 17 on Friday, Oct. 12, including eight in Florida and five in Virginia. The Category 4 hurricane slammed into the Florida Panhandle for the first time with 155 mph winds Michael crashed onto Florida’s coast Wednesday with 155 mph winds--strong enough to demolish houses. At least 1.15 million customers in seven states are without power, including 383,000 in Virginia, 365,000 in North Carolina and 301,613 in Florida.

GLOBAL Uganda mudslides and floods kill dozens

CNN reported that at least 34 people were killed after mudslides and floods engulfed homes in eastern Uganda. Dozens of people are feared missing and remain unaccounted for after heavy rains triggered mudslides, which washed mountain slopes into houses on Thursday in at least six villages in Bududa district, located on the border with Kenya. Search and rescue teams are doing their best to rescue people from the debris

NEWS

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GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

A lack of help at the push of a button

Georgia State Police say students shouldn’t rely on call boxes WILL SOLOMONS News Editor

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lue call boxes with their glowing lights dot Georgia State’s downtown campus, ready to contact the Georgia State University Police Department (GSUPD) with a push of a button. At least, that’s what they would do if they were fully functioning.

Tour guides and orientation leaders tell prospective students that call boxes are an essential aspect of safety that the university provides. However, according to GSUPD Chief Joseph Spillane, students should not rely on the call boxes to work at all and they’ve even put signs on the boxes stating that.

“I think there’s only one or two of them working out of 68 boxes,” he said. “There’s some of them hanging on the buildings on Decatur Street. You can’t even hardly notice them. They’re so faded out. They’ve been there so long.

One of the reasons why the boxes don’t work is because of outdated technology.

“The technology that’s in those old call boxes are from the

late ‘70s and ‘80s, so some of those boxes have been inoperable for years,” Spillane said.

GSUPD is also aware of the fact these callboxes have been “inoperable for years.”

“Well, I just got here. I think they have known about it. They just haven’t done anything about it. I’m the first one to have a plan to actually address it … I’m going to take all of the old ones out but I’m going to replace them with new higher-tech ones that’ll last another 10 years.

However, Spillane doesn’t plan to replace all of the call boxes.

“My plan is to pull them out. I’ve got a plan to replace several in key locations. For instance, at Piedmont North, at the Commons, at the Student Center,” he said.

The call boxes won’t be replaced until another one of GSUPD’s projects is complete: a new dispatch center.

“The boxes cost about $8,000 for the new ones that has a camera on top of it and rings directly into my dispatch center,” Spillane said. “I’m building out a new dispatch center right in 100 Auburn [Avenue] in the basement, so about a $2 million project. That will come online next month.”

As soon as the dispatch center is completed, Spillane said

GSUPD will begin replacing the boxes.

“My plan is start rolling out new call boxes after that center’s open because when you press a button it’ll ring to that center, and the camera on top will come up on the video wall. So if a student hits the button we’re going to see what’s going on [at] the call box,” he said.

Spillane said the newer call boxes will be installed in hightraffic areas on campus.

“Like Student Center East and West, Piedmont North, those areas where we have a high concentration of students, we’ll put the new call boxes that have the camera on top and the solar panel. And they’re also operated by 4G instead of digital.”

If students want or need to use call boxes, they’ll have to wait a couple months before they’re replaced.

“We just built out a brand new center. There used to be a data center on one side of that with a floating floor, and we took that spot and put a new generation and new equipment in,” Spillane said. “We’ll do a grand opening in December.”

In the meantime, Spillane said students should download and use the LiveSafe app to contact GSUPD for emergencies or escorts.

CALL BOXES ON CAMPUS CALL BOX GEORGIA STATE BUILDING PARKING DECK

PARK LOCATIONS OF FREQUENT CRIME ON CAMPUS ILLUSTRATION BY DEVIN PHILLIPS | THE SIGNAL

OPINIONS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2018

www.georgiastatesignal.com/opinions

Georgia State, embrace unisex restrooms An issue that demands attention from the university

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SHARI CELESTINE Staff Reporter

Shari is a third-year Creative Writing major with an interest in diversity in publishing. In her spare time, she works on her Urban Fantasy manuscript.

Tweet shari!

@shari_celestine

FEMALES O N LY

hen you have to go, you have to go.. but what if you don’t have a restroom you feel comfortable using on campus — what then? This question crosses the minds of many LGBTQ students, transgender students and non-conforming students because Georgia State, while progressive and forward thinking in some aspects, is still very much behind the times when it comes to gender-neutral bathrooms. In short, the current state of gender-neutral restrooms at Georgia State is unacceptable.

There are only nine gender-neutral restrooms on campus. One of those restrooms is in Kell Hall, which will soon be torn down, so that nine is really an eight. Of the eight gender-neutral restrooms, two are within academic buildings on campus.

The rest are out of the way, tucked in hard toreach corners of our campus. Hardly any of these restrooms are placed in convenient locations like restrooms should be For example, one gender-neutral restroom is in the basement lobby of the Rialto Center for the Arts. Finding a gender-neutral restroom on campus is like playing a game of Marco Polo. Even if you happen to stumble upon a gender-neutral restroom, good luck getting inside.

Current Student Government Association [SGA] President Franklin Patterson said, “The Student Government Association has been working with the university on a multitude of all issues, and gender-neutral bathrooms I know has been one of the universities goals. And so, whichever way the university leans that is the way SGA will go on that issue. As well as the students, hearing what the students want because that’s from the perspective that we speak. As long as we know what our students want that is what we will push for. ” If that’s not a call to action, I don’t know what is. As it states directly on SGA’s website, “The Student Government Association (SGA) is the official voice of the student body at Georgia State

University. The primary purpose of the SGA is to represent the students’ interests to the university and lobby on their behalf.”

I encourage LGBTQ students, transgender students and non-conforming students to reach out to the SGA and make their concerns known.

While the online questions and concerns form link is broken, that doesn’t rule out visits in person to the office (Student Center West, Suite 450) or leaving a comment on SGA’s Panther Involvement Network page. The LGBTQ community has the numbers if they band together and make their voices heard, and through the official voice of this school’s student body, changes can be made.

The issue of gender-neutral restrooms must be addressed. No forward-thinking university in the 21st century should have only a handful of genderneutral restrooms on its Downtown campus. If the LGBTQ community can come together around this issue, it’s possible this can be brought to one of SGA’s Senate meetings or even to Georgia State University President Mark Becker.

No online sources of gender-neutral restrooms could be found for Georgia State’s perimeter campuses.

The importance of gender-neutral restrooms may not seem like a big issue for some. After all, how many transgender or non-conforming students could there possibly be on Georgia State’s campus? Well, a lot more than you’d think.

The Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity organization lists over 700 past and current members. That’s seven hundred people on a public campus with eight gender-neutral restrooms. How much sense does that math equation make? None.

Georgia State is located in the heart of Downtown within close proximity to the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University.

Georgia Tech has over eighty genderneutral restrooms listed on their Pride Alliance website. Emory has an easily identifiable map of their gender-neutral restrooms. So why then is Georgia State lacking so much in this department?

When talking to student Bryant Couvillon, a public policy major, they said, “I’m non-binary so I would love for them to be more gender-neutral bathrooms. I never see them. All of my classes are in Langdale and there aren’t any there.”

Before dismissing the question, just think how fair it would be if you, a heterosexual male or female, had to walk to the ground floor of the Student Recreation Center or the Library North coffee shop, or walk up to the 6th floor on the Citizens Trust Building every time you needed to use the restroom? How included would you feel?

“Georgia State has a giant recreation facility and obviously it recognizes it has queer students who are non-binary or nongender conforming,” student Ryan Miller, a managerial sciences major, said. “It’s upsetting as a trans-alley that if I want to go workout with my trans friend they have to overcome dysphoria, if they’re nongender they have to pick a bathroom that represents them for enough time to change and then exercise in an environment that forces them to conform to a binary that they are not comfortable with. It’s a massive expense to every student who pays fees since they are forced into a binary if they want to use those facilities.”

To give Georgia State some credit, the Georgia State Stadium has three family restrooms throughout its facility — step in the right direction but it’s not enough. The true purpose of a genderneutral restroom is its inclusivity; it’s not just for male or female. Having restrooms void of a gender identity on campus shows sensitivity to the needs of a greater range of students.

Students always have a voice. These are the values, opinions, beliefs and perspectives of every student on Georgia State’s campus. Speak up, and you will be heard.

MALES O N LY

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Failure of operation is a failure of integrity

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all boxes on campus don’t work, and that’s unacceptable. One of the most important safety measures, apart from officers and patrolling security guards, has been compromised for several years now, according to Georgia State’s Chief of Police Joseph Spillane.

If a student is in need of help immediately, they can totally just push the button on the outdated box. Obviously, it’ll call a Georgia State University Police Department (GSUPD) officer who will be able to respond within 90 seconds.

At least that’s what tour guides and orientation leaders say to prospective students. It’s grossly deceitful that representatives of the university must lie constantly because they’re uninformed—or misled—about the boxes’ lack of functionality.

As students, our safety shouldn’t be shorted because of budget restrictions. With an $8,000 price tag per box, it’s understandable why GSUPD hasn’t replaced them yet.

However, it doesn’t take away from the fact that we’ve been misled. If

one of us feels threatened, we’re supposed to run over to the box and request assistance. Instead of running away from a potential perpetrator, a student may run to a call box only to find that the ancient call lines have essentially been cut.

We’re given a sense of comfort by the faint blue glow of boxes that appear periodically on our open campus. But now, that sense of comfort has dwindled. We find no solace in the boxes anymore since they don’t provide anymore than a gentle warning to criminals.

“You maybe shouldn’t commit a crime here,” the boxes suggest, though their “out of order” signs now say otherwise.

Spillane said in an interview with The Signal that GSUPD plans to replace call boxes in “key locations” that are frequented by students, such as the well-lit Unity Plaza. But this begs the question: Why not prioritize locations that aren’t as frequently traveled by students? A student is probably more likely to be harassed or attacked in a dark, isolated corner of the campus than

the bustling courtyard surrounding the Student Center.

But the most frustrating thing about all of this is that GSUPD knew about this issue for years and still did nothing to fix it. Sure, we can wait two months until the dispatch center is completed and then the boxes are replaced, but what if there’s an incident between now and then? What if there was an incident in the past that could have been prevented by actually being proactive?

The LiveSafe app offers students the ability to directly contact GSUPD. But what happens if there’s a service outage or a student’s phone dies? We’ve all been there when our phone battery depletes after a study binge or night out with our friends. Or if a student’s phone is snatched?

The lack of honesty when it involves our well-being is disgusting and students shouldn’t have to be told their safety is prioritized when in reality it’s not.

And, of course, we must ask: What else has the university been misleading us about?

advertising@georgiastatesignal.com STUDENT MEDIA ADVISOR Bryce McNeil bmcneil1@gsu.edu business coordinator Wakesha Henley whenley@gsu.edu STUDENT MEDIA ADVISOr (perimeter) Vacant

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ARTS & LIVING TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2018

www.georgiastatesignal.com/artsandliving

Oakland’s history is Atlanta’s history A detailed look at the cemetery’s haunted past JOSH WINSTON Staff Reporter

S

ince 1850, Oakland Cemetery has served as an architectural manifestation of Atlanta’s complex and contentious past, containing within its grounds not just the bodies of Atlanta’s dead but also their lives and legacies.

Originally named Atlanta Graveyard, Oakland was first purchased to accommodate Atlanta’s growing population of 2,500 people. It was initially only six acres and occupied a small portion of land southeast of the city.

The cemetery’s Victorian architectural style is inspired by the idea that death need not be ugly. In an attempt to reinvent the traditional graveyard, Oakland was organized around a rural garden layout, a style that was chosen over more traditional cemetery plans which were often crowded and visually unappealing.

If Oakland serves as a honest reflection of Atlanta’s complicated past, it of course reflects the good and the bad.

“Oakland Cemetery is a microcosm of the city at large, so, of course, the city’s racial past is reflected here,” Angie Wynne, the marketing and public relations manager of Oakland, said.

Beginning in the mid 19th century, the history of Oakland has simultaneously been a reflection of both the history of Atlanta’s civil rights movement and a monument to the diversity that characterizes the city. This history begins with the Civil War, a bloodshed that would leave a deep and lasting impression on the city and people of Atlanta that is still recognizable in the city’s monuments.

Accommodating Civil War casualties The Civil War had profound and lasting impacts on Atlanta, and Oakland Cemetery was no exception. By 1872, Oakland’s original six acres had expanded to 48 in order to accommodate the large influx of Civil War casualties as more battles took place in and around the city.

Some Civil War battles even took place inside Oakland.

In the summer of 1864, the cemetery served as headquarters for Confederate commander John B. Hood during the Battle of Atlanta. Consequently, partly because of its proximity to several military hospitals, Oakland became the final resting place of around 6,900 Confederate soldiers with 3,000 of them remaining unidentified.

In addition to this large Confederate population, Oakland is also home to a diversity of ethnic communities, once divided by racial differences in life but now united in death. Oakland is organized around four different burial sections, each containing a distinct population of ethnic and political groups.

DIVISIONS OF BURIAL PLOTS

The first section is marked off as the original six acres of land purchased in 1850. The grave of Oakland’s first resident can still be found along the entrance walkway. It belongs to Dr. James Nissen, who died of an illness while visiting Atlanta in 1850.

According to the plaque located next to his headstone, Dr. Nissen allegedly requested his jugular be cut upon his death due to his extreme fear of being buried alive.

Also, contained within Oakland’s historic grounds are the Confederate sections of the cemetery. Atlanta’s key position in the Civil War ensured that it would become the final resting place of not only the south’s desperate effort to resist emancipation, but also the thousands of soldiers who gave their lives in service of this doomed ambition. Under the 65 foot Confederate obelisk, thousands of Confederate and union soldiers are interred, with almost half remaining unidentified.

Bordering the Confederate Section is the New Jewish Section, which houses a mixture of Orthodox, Eastern European and German-Jewish immigrants. The varying range of headstones and monuments found in the New Jewish section

reflects this wealth of diverse Jewish culture.

Potter’s Field, located next to the New Jewish, occupies 7.5 acres of Oakland Cemetery. Originally designated for those who could not afford a traditional burial, Potter’s Field houses an estimated 17,000 graves. Many of these graves are unrecognizable due to the large number of headstones made from wood or other weaker materials that have since rotted away.

Adjacent to Potter’s Field is the Black Section which historically housed the cemetery’s segregated black population until racial restrictions were eased in favor of a more socially equal burial plan.

INTERRUPTING ETERNAL REST

However, this social equality did not come about until much later in Oakland’s lifetime. In 1852, Atlanta’s city council ruled that African-Americans were to be buried in the back of Oakland Cemetery on the eastern side of the original six acres.

In 1866, Atlanta’s city council ruled again to expand the slave section to a larger portion of Oakland’s 48 acres. By the 1870s Oakland had sold most of its burial plots and then had to find ways to develop additional space.

One way it accomplished this was by having the Atlanta City Council vote to relocate the bodies of slaves buried in the Slave Square of the original six acres and have them reburied in the “colored pauper grounds.” The now-empty slave graves were then re-plotted and resold to white people. A historical plaque in Oakland Cemetery reads, “In 1866, the Atlanta City Council established segregated burial burial ground at the rear of the 48 acres for African Americans.”

Legal segregation of Oakland Cemetery was not abolished until 1963 when the city banned segregated public facilities.

“The separation of Oakland residents by race reflects how prejudice and discrimination in daily life were maintained in death,” said Wynne.

NOTABLE GRAVES

In many ways, Oakland Cemetery is haunted; not in a necessarily paranormal way, although not not in a paranormal way. Rather, Oakland Cemetery is fundamentally haunted by its history and the shared histories of those buried in it.

Many heroic and historical figures are buried in Oakland, and their legacies echo in the memories of the living to whom they call out from beyond the grave. One such legacy is that of Maynard Jackson, the first African-American mayor of Atlanta who was elected in 1973.

Maynard Jackson transgressed racial boundaries both in life and death. After his death in 2003, Jackson was buried in Oakland in the original six acres of land, an area previously reserved for white people.

Other notable burials include Ivan Allen Jr., who, as mayor of Atlanta, led the city through many social and economic changes. Allen is credited with improving race relations in Atlanta and supporting Martin Luther King Jr. even after his death.

Margaret Mitchell, the author of “Gone with the Wind,” a novel noted for its heavily idealized depiction of plantation and slave culture, is also buried in Oakland and her grave is one of the cemetery’s biggest tourism draws.

In addition to these historical figures, James M. Calhoun is also interred in the cemetery. He was a lawyer in Decatur and Atlanta and is remembered for surrendering Atlanta to Union soldiers in 1854.

Oakland Cemetery is a particularly important landmark because of the story it tells about Atlanta, a story that recounts the conflict and tensions that have historically existed between Atlanta’s desire to be seen as a progressive and socially inclusive city and the reality of its struggle to realize that goal. As a result, Oakland’s thousands of graves stand as a monument to the sheer amount of sacrifice it takes to achieve such ambitions.

PHOTO BY VANESSA JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

OAKLAND CEMETERY TIMELINE 1850

Six acres of land southeast of the city are purchased and designated as Atlanta Graveyard

1866

Oakland expands its grounds to include new African-American burial grounds

1874

Confederate obelisk installed at Oakland to commemorate the Civil War

1877

1894

1960s

2017

Atlanta City Council votes to have the bodies of former slaves exhumed and moved to the new African-American section Lion of Atlanta installed at Oakland in Confederate section to honor unknown soldiers who died in the Civil War Oakland’s segregated burial practices end with the abolition of segregation Oakland begins major restoration project to uncover once-buried African-American graves and monuments

I wear my hijab for me And other things Muslim women want you to know SARA ABDULLA Staff Reporter

T

he varied, sometimes dark and tousled, other times impeccably arranged and brightly patterned, hijabs on campus are worn for several different reasons: for modesty, out of reverence for the tradition in Islamic faith and at times even as a symbol of political resistance.

When a woman chooses to don the hijab, she typically will cover her entire body, except for her feet, hands and face. The hijab specifically denotes a specific type of Muslim head covering: the headscarf, which can be purchased for hijabs in particular or refashioned from scarfs designed as neck accessories.

Many of these Muslim women began wearing the hijab as adolescents. They spoke with The Signal to discuss their experiences with discrimination and power alike as covered women and what they wish more people understood about the hijab.

“Honestly, if I take it off, I feel so awkward if I don’t wear it. It’s a part of me now. It empowers me.”

-Rahmah Keen

Aasiya Mujeeb

When and why did you decide to wear the hijab?

What misconceptions surround the hijab?

What do you want people to know about the hijab?

“It was the first day of 6th grade. I think I was 11 ... [My thought process was] ‘Oh this is a great opportunity, I’m going to middle school, new school, new friends,’ things like that. So I decided to put it on,” Aasiya Mujeeb, a senior studying biology, said.

Rahmah Keen, a freshman studying political science, wore the hijab in grade school as well.

“I’ve worn it since I was a kid. I went to an Islamic school as a child, so I guess it was part of the uniform and stuff. Because of that, I got used to it. Honestly, if I take it off, I feel so awkward if I don’t wear it. It’s a part of me now,” Keen said. “It empowers me.”

Women wanted to emphasize that they choose to wear the hijab of their own volition.

“I started wearing it towards the end of junior year. It wasn’t forced on me or anything - I actually chose to wear it myself and I really enjoy it,” freshman Arneeb Panwala said.

Some women also noted that they were enthusiastic about joining other Muslim women in the unitary aspect of wearing the hijab.

“I started in 1st grade. My sister did, and I just wanted to do it [with her] … My whole family wears it now,” freshman Maysa Berhanu said.

Junior Saeeda Choudhury echoed Verhanya’s sentiment.

“I started in 3rd grade too. I wasn’t forced either. That year, my mom wanted me to start [the] next year … but I was like ‘No, I’m wearing it this year!’ [Because] I was excited about it,” she said.

Many non-Muslims and even some Muslims believe that the hijab is a symbol of oppression and sexual repression. Muslim students at Georgia State actively wanted to combat the stereotype of the docile Muslim woman who conforms to the dominant male will.

“People are very judgy. They’ll look at me and think I’m conservative and hold certain views that I don’t [hold] … They’ll think I’m passive or a pushover, which I’m really not …

People in high school, they’ve tried to bully me, I’ve even fought people ... to let them know I’m not a pushover,” sophomore Maria Ahmed said.

A substantial portion of the controversy surrounding the hijab is about women’s choices: What power are women entitled to when deciding what they wear?

“It’s not a form of oppression and it’s not something you have to enforce on yourself, and it’s not something that people enforce on you either,” Panwala said. “It’s really something you have to take on at your own pace ‘cause then you see [other] people who resent it in a way, and that’s because there’s the stereotype about how you ‘have to wear it’ at a certain age. More so, it’s about self-expression.

It’s something you have to embrace yourself.”

Sometimes, women remove the hijab out of fear or because, as Panwala mentioned, they begin to resent the head covering.

“I guess I just feel safe with it. I like to show the world to be confident and not scared with it, especially with everything going on … You shouldn’t feel like you can’t wear your hijab,” freshman Iqra Javaid said.

Students told The Signal that the questions they have received about their hijabs are, at times, baffling.

“No, I’m not bald,” Ahmed said.

“You know a lot of the dumb stuff people say like: ‘Do you shower in it? Can your dad see you in it?’” Verhanya said.

“If it looks hot, I am hot! The other day, I was in the bathroom, and someone asked me, ‘Aren’t you hot in that?’ I was like, yeah I’m very hot! But I’m very proud in it,” Choudhury said.

One black woman pointed out that her non-traditional head covering, consisting of a scarf wrapped in a bun behind her ears, is often not recognized as a hijab.

“It’s not super obvious I’m Muslim sometimes, because a lot of black people just cover their hair,” junior Assiya Muhammad said.

Indeed, there are several different styles for the hijab. There’s the khimar, a long veil that covers the hair, neck and shoulders. The burka, typically related to Afghanistan, hides the entire body and face. The niqab, which conceals the entire body and face, allows only a slit to reveal the eyes. There are also nontraditional, Americanized versions of the head covering that consist of a revamped scarf, shawl or beanie.

Ultimately, the hijab is an intimate decision for most women that serves a unique purpose to different people. And not wearing the hijab doesn’t make a woman promiscuous or immodest.

“Whether you wear it or not, you shouldn’t be judged,” Mujeeb said.

Senior, Biology

Rahmah Keen

Freshman, Political science

Maysa Berhanu

It was the first day of 6th grade. I think I was 11... [My thought process was] ‘Oh this is a great opportunity, I’m going to middle school, new school, new friends, things like that. So I decided to put it on’. ...Honestly, it’s different for different people...it’s usually like a personal decision. Whether you wear it or not, you shouldn’t be judged.

I’ve worn it since I was a kid. I went to an Islamic school as a child, so I guess it was part of the uniform and stuff. Because of that, I got used to it - honestly, if I take it off, I feel so awkward if I don’t wear it. It’s a part of me now…

I wrap it around some days. If I want to look nice, I roll-pin it up and wear my makeup and stuff like that...Sometimes people in public who don’t get it will stare and stuff, but that’s it.

Men also have to dress modestly….It empowers me.

I started in 1st grade. My sister did, and I just wanted to do it...My whole family wears it now...I used to just not be confident in it.

I grew to be confident it. I put it up, I put it down, depending on how the weather is...It’s my choice. You know a lot of the dumb stuff people say (sorry!) like: ‘Do you shower in it? Can your dad see you in it?’ But in general, that I actually want to wear it.

Freshman, Undeclared

Saeeda Choudhury

Junior, Game Development and Design I started in 3rd grade too. I wasn’t forced either. That year, my mom wanted me to start [the] next year...but I was like No, I’m wearing it this year! ‘Cause I was excited about it.

If it looks hot, I am hot! The other day, I was in the bathroom, and someone asked me, ‘Aren’t you hot in that?’ I was like, yeah I’m very hot! But i’m very proud in it.

Assiya Muhammad Junior, Neuroscience I think I was 9? I was in the 3rd grade...I just call it a bun [referring to her bun-style hijab].

The different ways to wear it: It’s not super obvious I’m Muslim sometimes, because a lot of black people just cover their hair.

Different types of head coverings Khimar

Covers the hair, neck and shoulders

Niqab

Burka

Conceals the entire body and face, allowing only a slit to reveal the eyes

Hides the entire body and face

PHOTOS BY VANESSA JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

Hijab

Arranged to cover the neck and hair

Maria Ahmed

Arneeb Panwala Freshman, Business

Freshman, Nursing

I’ve been wearing it all my life; my parents raised me to wear it...By wearing it, I see the benefits in it as an adult...People are very judgy.

They’ll look at me and think I’m conservative and hold certain views that I don’t [hold]...They’ll think I’m passive or a pushover, which I’m really not...People in high school, they’ve tried to bully me, I’ve even fought people..to let them know I’m not a pushover. [when asked if there’s anything else they want people to know]: No, I’m not bald.

I started wearing it towards the end of junior year.

It wasn’t forced on me or anything - I actually chose to wear it myself and I really enjoy it...It’s not a form of oppression and it’s not something you have to enforce on yourself and it’s not something that people enforce on you either. It’s really something you have to take on at your own pace ‘cause then you see [other] people who resent it in a way, and that’s because there’s the stereotype about how you ‘have to wear it’ at a certain age. More so, it’s about self-expression. It’s something you have to embrace yourself.

I guess I just feel safe with it. I like to show the world to be confident and not scared with it, especially with everything going on...You shouldn’t feel like you can’t wear your hijab just because everyone is...I just don’t want people to be scared.

People think it’s forced upon you, but I feel like it’s more of a choice. If you’re forced to wear it, you’re not wearing it for the right reasons and you should give yourself more time.

Sophomore, Psychology

Iqra Javaid

ILLUSTRATIONS BY SHANCHEZE JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL PAGE DESIGN BY DEVIN PHILLIPS & SHANCHEZE JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

ARTS & LIVING

12

GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

You: What does it all meme?

Signal: Humor shaping our campus, culture and world

The original screen capture for the meme commonly referred to as “Arthur’s Fist” was posted to Twitter on July 27, 2016.

SAMUEL PUCKETT

Associate Arts & Living Editor

C

ollege students love memes. Memes are not only funny jokes or stolen images but units of cultural information.

Easily shareable and easily laughable, they lurk on your mom’s Facebook, are etched into bathroom stalls and are even displayed on the Wendy’s official Twitter. Memes, most importantly, are here to stay.

MEMES MAKE MONEY.

In 2007, Eric Nakagawa and Kari Unebasami launched I Can Has Cheezburger, a blog that would grow to become one of the largest web comedy platforms. It began when Nakagawa published an image to the web forum Something Awful. The image, now infamous, was a grey cat with eyes pleading in a direct address to the viewer, asking the eponymous question, “I Can Has Cheezburger?”

Cheezburger was successful. As of the time of this publication, web data analytics company Alexa has cheezburger.com traffic ranked No. 1,585 nationally.

In March of 2011, Cheezburger, Inc. bought web-culture etymology website KnowYourMeme.com. In February of 2016, Cheezburger, Inc. was bought by an unnamed holdings company, now addressed as Literally Media. They claim to be starting a collective platform for all millenial and Generation Z media.

Sounds nice, but first #BringBackVine and then we’ll talk.

MEMES MAKE COMMUNITY.

Prue Benson studies public policy at the Andrew Young School of Public Policy. He founded an unofficial Georgia State meme group on Facebook, “GSU Memes for Sleepy, Woke Teens.”

“I wanted to increase school spirit and create another community for students,” Benson said.

He patterned his page after other university college meme pages. These pages are memes themselves, a self replicating and mutating idea, complete with a fun naming scheme, abundant subject material and the captive audience of college students.

“I was inspired by other schools’ meme pages like Yale memes for special snowflake teens, UC Berkeley memes for edgy teens, and GT memes for Buzzed teens,” Benson said.

The first use of the word “meme” occured in British biologist Richard Dawkins’ 1976 book, “The Selfish Gene.” In the 1989 edition, Dawkins elaborates on how he invented the word: “‘Mimeme’ comes from a suitable Greek root, but I want a monosyllable that sounds a bit like ‘gene’,” Dawkins said.

“I hope my classicist friends will forgive me if I abbreviate mimeme to meme … It should be pronounced to rhyme with ‘cream’.”

Memes, like genes, copy, replicate and reform in odd ways.

Take for example a meme that culture magazine The Fader called “The song of the Summer.” Rapper Playboi Carti leaked a video of an upcoming single “Cancun” to Twitter on July 1. On July 2, a Twitter user posted an isolated clip of Carti rubbing money on his belly, singing the lines “My stummy hurt.”

The meme gene was isolated. It would spread across YouTube, Spotify and Twitter, morphing and recombining with sympathetic memes as it went.

“Uh Mr. Stark, my stummy hurt,” from a Twitter user would combine the meme with a popular “Avengers: Infinity War” reference circulating at the time.

A comic appeared, first on Twitter July 18. It featured Playboi Carti in dialogue with an anime girl.

“What’s wrong, Carti-kun?”

“Stummy hurt nee-chan.”

MEMES MAKE ART.

Joelle Bouchard is the artist behind @namaste.at.home.dad on Instagram. In September, she spoke at Know Your Meme’s Two Decades of Memes at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, New York.

She began making memes in 2015, posting them in the Facebook group “Useless, Unsuccessful, and/or Unpopular Meme Makers.” She left the group to start her Instagram in March of 2016.

Now, she’s connected with meme makers across the country.

Bouchard is a member of Bottom Text, an art collective of meme makers hosted on Instagram. Bottom Text has had two exhibitions in 2018 at The Bakery in Atlanta’s West End. Bouchard is a self-admitted perfectionist. When talking

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY VANESSA JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

about memes, she fascinates over what has been done before, what is interesting and what is just easy. She began making memes on Microsoft Paint. She continued on Paint as an intentional limitation to reign in her perfectionism over an image she knew most people would scroll past.

“It’s meant to be a s--- image. People are only gonna look at it for like 20 seconds,” Bouchard said.

Now, avoiding her virus-ridden computer, she makes memes on a collage app on her phone. Fitting, since that is the platform on which most of her audience will enjoy them.

Bouchard said she began using stock photos, the found footage of the corporate web until she wanted more. Now, she said she tries to avoid using people altogether.

“I use a lot of 3D renders,” Bouchard said. “One of my most frequent searches is for ‘3D sl--’.”

She used to troll through image boards and forums looking for images that inspired an idea. Now, she starts with the idea, and makes the images herself. She makes memes with in-depth composition: with characters, setting and themes fully fleshed out.

“Say I’m making a meme about people who shop at Whole Foods … you can’t just Google image search a ‘hipster guy,’ the results aren’t that good,” Bouchard said. “You have to think about a weird way another person would describe that person.”

Her memes are a collage of symbols with importance in their interactions and placement. As an idea develops, she begins to focus on details, matching elements and images to fit the theme.

“If I wanted to get a woman in dreads, I would find the woman, photoshop on sh----, 3D render dreadlocks and then maybe give her an annoying T-shirt,” Bouchard said.

Bouchard contends with those who would deny her access to the use of the word “art.” For her, art is in the process, not the form or formality.

“I have to create an image and pay attention to the juxtaposition between image and text, or start from scratch and create a new image with graphic design,” Bouchard said. “If you thought about it for more than 10 seconds with an open mind, it’d be obvious.”

Memes are effective. It is a genre that spans generations and continents. If high art gets defensive, then high art needs to step it up.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2018

ARTS & LIVING

13

The average student’s fight for a full night Is sleeping in the library against policy?

SYDNEY BLOEME Arts & Living Editor

There’s nothing quite like a warm nap, snuggled under a blanket and in complete silence during a rainy day. Be sure to double check your iCollege for that beloved “class is canceled” message and after four elevator beeps that feel like an eternity, you’re there—a napper’s paradise, the Library’s fifth floor.

Venture out towards Library South, past the work desks, and you’ll see it: he burgundy red chairs aching for your embrace. Using college-level engenuity, six chairs were pulled together to became three nap stations. They’re ready to cradle any grad or undergrad in need of a gentle afternoon sob, nap or both. You might be lulled into a sleep so deep that even the library security can’t wake you up.

“It’s two o’clock in the morning and we’re about to close,” security guard Kyndall Newkirk says to you, motioning to the empty library, prompting you toward the exit.

Newkirk said she has been campus security for the past four years and when it comes to sleeping on campus, as long as it’s during business hours, it’s not against any policy.

“It’s not against the rules to sleep in any of these buildings,” Newkirk said.

Venture further into the fifth floor and you will see students asleep in not only the chairs but in the aisles of bookshelves, hidden behind the columns on the ground. Maybe on a jacket, or depending how difficult their day is going, face down.

Listen carefully and you might be able to hear the acoustics of iPhone’s default alarm tone and the quick rustling of belongings before that aisle is clear and up for grabs again, ready for the next desperate, sleep-deprived student to stumble in.

One of these nappers is Heaven Kim. Kim naps almost every day on schedule. She’s never had a problem with her nomadic napping lifestyle until recently when her beloved spot behind the pillars on the fourth floor was discovered.

“Someone was already there,” Kim said. “I hate it when my spot is taken. I’ll give them a dirty look if they take my spot.”

Kim doesn’t nap for necessity, she goes to sleep at 8 p.m. She said she mostly does it because it “helps pass the time.” She thinks napping is great and said, “Everyone naps.”

Luckily, the nappers aren’t alone in their fight. Madison Mitchell describes herself as a “nap ally.”

She said because she lives on campus, she’s never had to resort to sleeping in the library but she respects those who

Georgia State students take advantage of the quiet policy on the fifth floor of the library to take naps between classes.

aren’t as lucky.

“I am a full supporter of napping and I know that not everyone can go home and nap,” Mitchell said. “I would probably nap in the library if I didn’t have a room.”

Mitchell aids the nap movement by supplying her bed to her friend who lives 45 minutes away. Without Mitchell, the napper would be left wandering, fighting for an empty aisle in the library.

“My friend didn’t live on campus but she had classes in the morning and had a couple hours gap before her job. So I’d let her in my room everyday to nap for like three hours.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY VANESSA JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

Everyday,” Mitchell said. “Yeah, I’m an ally. A nap ally. That’s what I am.”

So the next time you’re three Saxby’s cups deep after a late night which unexpectedly turned into an early morning, you won’t be alone. There is always a cold, quiet place welcoming you to Dreamsville. Take a trip up the elevator and for today’s nap, maybe venture into the astronomy section.

Set your alarm, find a spot with the least questionable stains and get ready to nap, because no one—not even campus security—can take that away from you.

Covered faces to full frontal: Atlanta’s gay Pride

LGBTQ coverage in media has advanced with the fight for gay rights SAM PUCKETT

Associate Arts & Living Editor

T

he first Pride in Atlanta was met with media silence.

Activists walked down Peachtree Street in 1971, on the second anniversary of the police attack at the Stonewall Inn, also referred to as the Stonewall riots. They passed out “zines,” informal self-published magazines, with posters and pamphlets as they went—essentially DIY social media in the analog age.

In 1972, City of Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell appointed Charlie St. John to Atlanta’s Community Relations Commission as a representative of LGBTQ interests. At the time, St. John worked as a copy boy for the Atlanta JournalConstitution (AJC) and had applied for the first Pride parade permit from the city that year. St. John became the first openly gay person in Atlanta public life. Being truly “out” in Atlanta was previously unthought of.

In 1973, he was fired from the AJC for distributing flyers in staff mailboxes advertising the Pride parade. Protests against his firing were held outside of the AJC offices, which went uncovered by the paper.

That year, the Pride parade got the coverage St. John asked

for. In response to increasing media interest, some marchers would cover their faces in paper bags to represent the pressure and necessity to conceal their gay identity.

The LGBTQ community is broad and has produced many answers to the question of fair media coverage. Since the earliest days, there were efforts to reclaim print space from the voices of hate. Some answers were niche, independent, gay publications, with gay staff writing on gay stories.

Another answer was to hold mainstream publications accountable for the hateful messages they spread. In 1990, newspaper boxes were plastered with pink, bold letters spelling out “homophobic,” in response to editorials by thenreporter for the AJC Dick Williams.

Today, Williams is part of the conservative commentary show “The Georgia Gang” for WAGA-TV, Atlanta’s Fox affiliate station. He caught flack again in 2013 for his comments displayed in Project Q magazine on the Supreme Court’s decision for marriage equality.

The very first LGBTQ publication in the U.S. was ONE Magazine. It was a publication by ONE, Inc., an LGBTQ rights advocacy group founded in 1952, following in the vein of the Mattachine Society’s establishment in 1950. ONE sold in Los Angeles, California for 25 cents when it began. It won a Supreme Court case when the U.S. Postal service declared their magazine “obscene.”

TIMELINE OF ATLANTA PRIDE: 1971 - First Atlanta Pride, informally organized and uncovered by media, according to Maria Helena Donna in a 2004 speech at the Vigil for Pride.

1976 - Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson officially declares Gay Pride Day in Atlanta.

1985 - Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young declares official Pride Week.

1992 - Georgia Department of Human Resource invites ACT UP to help create effective AIDS education materials.

1998 - In Powell v. State, the Georgia Supreme Court rules as unconstitutional Georgia’s 156-year-old ban on consensual, private sodomy.

2017 - Sam Park is the first gay man elected to the Georgia state legislature.

ARTS & LIVING

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things you don’t want to miss

More events and info at georgiastatesignal.com

thursday

wednesday

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sunday

Boards and Brews

Twerk Fitness

Out in the Workplace

Mindful Meditationw

Halloween Parade

AID Atlanta 5k

Giants versus.

Falcons

October 16

October 17

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October 19

October 20

October 21

October 22

Monday Night Brewing will host the social board game group Well Played for a night of board games and cocktails.

Head over to Midtown for all kinds of low-key fun.

Come dressed in sensible athletic clothes, prepared to dance your a-off, along with a few calories. Class will be at the Tago International Center starting at 7:30 p.m.

Metro Atlanta Association of Professionals hold a panel on the pressures and power involved in being an LGBTQ proffesional.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. at Merchant E-Solutions at Lenox.

The Atlanta Buddhism Association and Emory Buddhist Club will host the visiting Buddhist monk Venerable Hueiguang at the Emory University Cannon Chapel. He will speak about mindfulness.

The popular neighborhood Little Five Points will have a Halloween festival. There will be a parade from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. and an all-day artists market.

AIDS Walk Atlanta is raising money with a 5k race and charity walk. Raise funds and awareness to fight AIDS and promote community health projects.

At the MercedesBenz Stadium, the Atlanta Falcons will take on the New York Giants. These ex-Super Bowl contenders have scores to settle—and win.

games

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crossword

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this week’s theme: SpongeBob

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This week’s crossword was submitted by Alicia O. To all of you SpongeBob fans out there, get ready. We’ve gathered some of the most memorable SpongeBob references in this week’s puzzle. We hope you enjoy!

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To suggest a topic, email us: signalprod@gmail.com

across

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2. Someone can always be heard saying this after an accident.

5. Dirty Dan and ____ Larry.

6. _____, _______, give me the formuoli!

8. Who wanted to kick SpongeBob’s butt?

9. Who was the leader of the Jellyspotters?

12. “What are they selling?”

13. The most stressful, anxiety-filled episode of SpongeBob. 17. The hat belonged to ______ Werbenjagermanjensen. He was No. 1!

18. What was the name of the egg SpongeBob and Patrick saved by replacing a lightbulb?

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19. What is the ultimate tan?

22. “I was born with glass bones and _____ skin.”

23. According to the bubble blowing technique, you stop on this foot. Don’t forget it!

DOWN

1. “You got it set to ‘M’ for mini when it should be set to ‘W’ for _______.

3. What did SpongeBob “forget” to put on Bubble Bass’s Krabby Patty?

4. “Once upon a time, there was an ugly ____. He was so ugly everyone died. The end.”

6. The only thing worst than a sea bear is a sea ________.

7. “No Patrick. _________ is not an instrument.”

10. Coral _______ No. 2 semi gloss lipstick 11. “Me Hoy Minoy!”

13. Plankton’s cousins help him steal the Krabby Patty formula after he offers them this drink.

14. “It’s as if all he knows is fine dining and _______.”

15. On what night does the Hash Slinging Slasher come?

16. What ply tissue paper do the Boys Who Cry use when they cry?

20. “I’m ____ and I’m proud!”

21. SpongeBob’s indoor friends are penny, ____ and used napkin.

SPORTS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2018

www.georgiastatesignal.com/sports

Of press and school: What is the role of the SID? The role of the SID in athletics is seldom discussed DANIEL RICHARDSON Staff Reporter

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n September, Oklahoma State Cowboys football head coach Mike Gundy threatened that if any journalists covering his team asked his players about a senior’s decision to transfer, they would lose access to every player for the remainder of the season.

This threat by Gundy, which was relayed to the press by Oklahoma State sports information director (SID) Gavin Lang, put Lang on the frontline of the situation.

Scott Wright, Cowboys beat writer for Oklahoman, was one of the journalists in the midst of the situation.

“Gavin tries to be a good communicator with [the press] about things, and to have to do what he did was difficult for him,” Wright said. “Mike Gundy is in charge and [Gavin] had to carry out what was asked of him.”

Journalists at the Oklahoma State student newspaper, The O’Colly, published an article that detailed the events of the evening.

The students brought the incident to one of their journalism professors, and it made more national headlines when the professor took the issue to social media.

Lang asked The O’Colly reporters to leave the threat out of their detail of the event, a request the reporters did not meet. The Signal reached out to The O’Colly for comment but did not receive a response by press time.

For Lang and other media relations personnel, such as Georgia State’s media coordinator Will Owens, their actions and instructions are based on what is best for the program and how that program is perceived. Oftentimes that means breaching the trust of the reporters for the good of the program.

Owens said that while “maintaining a good relationship with the media” is a part of being an effective SID, the other half of that goal is fostering a working relationship with the head coach of the program.

“At the end of the day, the media aren’t your boss; they aren’t in charge of you,” Owens said.

“While the head football coach at any school isn’t necessarily in charge of the SID, they have a lot of

Gavin Lang, Oklahoma State’s head of football communications, has come under fire for relaying a message that threatened journalists’ access to sources.

influence in who their SID is.

“That’s why I think it puts the [Oklahoma State] SID in a tough position, because he is thinking about his livelihood. And he’s [probably thinking,] ‘If I don’t do what coach Gundy asked me to do, I might be reassigned or I might not be here next year.’ He’s probably got a family he has to think about.”

Following the player interviews, Wright and Lang had a brief discussion. Scott told The Signal that in the discussion, Lang said he attempted to dissuade Gundy from carrying out the threat and that it “wasn’t the best idea” before delivering the message to reporters. “[Lang’s] attitude to us was, he was trying to just play his role as the messenger, because in the end he’s got to do what Mike Gundy tells him to do,” Wright said. “That was the role he was playing.”

SIDs have a particularly delicate relationship with the media and the university they are tasked with curating an image for.

“Our job is a few main focuses: getting publicity for our sports and for our brand, making sure student-athletes are prepared to speak with media, and maintaining the outward image of the athletics department,” Owens said. “It’s crucial that the student-athletes are ready for anything.”

A job that possesses an element of what Owens himself describes as “controlled chaos” also requires the SID to be ready in any situation. “[As an SID], you’ve got to be able to adapt last second,” Owens said. “You have to be able to think on your feet and make those last minute decisions.”

The reporters could feel that something was unusual about the usually routine Tuesday player availability when Lang came out to address the media and relayed Gundy’s threat. The approximately 15 reporters then had less than five minutes to make a decision on how they would respond to Gundy’s threat.

“It definitely seemed like [Lang] was uncomfortable with what he had to do,” Wright said. “That said, we tried to explain to him that news of this was going to come out and he said that he understood and he made it clear that it was Mike Gundy’s decision to issue this ultimatum.”

The press and other media are well aware of what their relationship with an SID means for their coverage of a team. This position is often

PHOTO ILUSTRATION BY VANESSA JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

one that requires the SID to toe the line between representing the university and giving the media what they want.

“I always try to establish trust,” Owens said.

“Whenever I’m meeting a reporter, I want to make sure that we have an understanding of what’s expected from each of us. I expect a reporter to show up on [time for an interview]. By that same notion, I am going to do everything I can do to get my student-athlete there on time as well.”

As a journalist, the relationship with an SID can face some challenges as there are sometimes competing goals working at hand.

“A coach, and especially an SID, needs to understand that they typically need the media as much as the media needs them,” Sandra Malcolm, a veteran journalist and executive producer at Georgia Public Broadcasting, said. “Journalists provide coverage of their team to the fans which helps contribute to the awareness and interest in the team.

“In return, the journalist gets access to the team and the games and gets content for their media outlet,” Malcolm said. “There needs to be an understanding of that relationship and that it can sometimes be adversarial. You have to take the good with the bad and understand that not all stories are necessarily going to be positive about the team.”

The issue surrounding McCleskey’s sudden unhappiness with the team has been a source of tension for the football program that is battling through a tough season.

Owens has worked closely with coaches to help the navigate the questions coming from the press but has never threatened the media on the instruction of a head coach.

Gundy’s approach to attempting to mitigate the attention McCleskey’s decision would receive only added an extra level of intrigue to the saga, as alluded to by The O’colly reporters.

“It wasn’t a situation where we said, ‘everybody, we’re not going to ask questions, we don’t want to screw this up,’” Wright said. “By the time the interview session ended, I was personally curious whether anyone had, and based on reactions by other people I can tell no one had gone far enough to ask direct questions about Jalen McCleskeys decision to leave.”

The decision to not ask any questions about

McCleskey’s transfer wasn’t a situation that was made by all 15 reporters in unison. The reporters in their respective groups decided not to go forward with questions on that topic, a decision the Oklahoma State professor who the broke the story disagreed with.

“A journalist has a right to ask any question they deem relevant and newsworthy as long as they are professional and respectful,” Malcolm said.

“In this case, it seems a better option for the coach would be to instruct his players not to comment on the story rather than trying to control what the media can and can’t ask. Threatening [a] journalist is never a good strategy and one that could easily backfire if the journalist all decided not to cover the team in protest.”

The student journalists at Oklahoma State chose not to ask the players about McCleskey out of respect for their fellow journalists, but Wright said he would not have had an issue with a reporter breaking rank to ask a question.

“Had someone been brave enough to be the one to fall on the sword, I would not have had a problem with it,” Wright said. “In my situation as a beat writer, needing these athletes to be able to do my job, it was a scary decision for me to try to make. I don’t know if I could have done it in that situation without having more preparation ahead of time to contemplate the idea and the ramifications.”

In his subsequent article for The Oklahoman, Wright focused on how the Cowboys would replace McCleskey without mentioning anything Gundy said. Wright said that he would like to change the fact he didn’t address the issue in the article, but instead left it out all together.

“Ultimately the coach and the SID work for the University and the journalists can take their grievance to the administration in addition to potentially boycotting coverage of the team,” Malcolm said. “I don’t think remaining silent and not addressing the story is the best course of action but I understand where these young journalists felt pressured not only in the short term but in terms of their long-term careers as they perhaps seek employment from the University.”

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‘In the trenches’: the importance of grad assistants Why graduate assistants are the unsung heroes of college athletics JOSHUA FIFE Staff Reporter

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hether you want to be a coach, athletic trainer or simply remain a part of the sport you loved playing, a graduate assistantship can provide you with valuable experience while you study.

If you watch collegiate sporting events, then you’ve likely seen graduate assistants in action. They aren’t the ones calling the plays or playing in the game. They might, however, be the one rushing over to hand the coach the clipboard at a timeout.

Graduate assistants are all around courts and fields, working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that athletes and teams all operate smoothly. They have a variety of responsibilities that they must balance alongside their school studies. They are often the oil that makes the entire machine run smoothly, making life easier for both the players and the coaches.

Georgia State women’s basketball assistant coach Katie Pate has seen firsthand how hard the graduates must work and all that they contribute to the team.

“It’s arguably one of the most thankless positions in collegiate athletics,” Pate said. “Graduate assistants, no matter the sport, are in the trenches and I think [our graduate assistant] is really finding her way about the degree of willingness that is required to take advantage of the experience, good and bad, that you can learn as a graduate assistant.

“Some of the work isn’t fun, it’s not exciting, it’s not sexy, but it’s those experiences that lay the foundation for the ones to follow. I think she’s starting to latch onto the value in the grind.”

And what a grind it is.

Georgia State women’s basketball graduate assistant, Mercedes Jorge, explained the various roles she serves on the team. Jorge played basketball her entire life and is working as a graduate assistant as a step toward her goal of becoming a head coach one day. She has a list of off-the-court duties as well as in-game responsibilities like handing the head coach the clipboard at timeouts.

“We have a lot of different jobs,” Jorge said. “I’m in charge of our team managers; finding them, hiring them, scheduling them, making sure they do what they have to do. I’m in charge of our practice player squad, so I have to find guys who want to be practice players and make sure they come to practice. This year I’m helping with gear and ordering our gear. I’m in charge of all things video, so any type of scouting reports that we do I

have to get all of the game footage and clip all of the games for those.”

She also must order and retrieve pre-game meals, post on social media, book hotels and make other travel arrangements for the team. Graduate assistants are basically used for anything and everything that the coaches need on a day-to-day basis. On any given team, they may serve as equipment manager, staff manager, travel agent, graphic designer and communication specialist all in one package.

Responsibilities vary greatly depending on the sport, staff and school. Some Georgia State teams may have several graduate assistants like football, while some teams may not have one at all, like baseball, beach volleyball and track and field. Some serve broad roles while others play very specific roles on the team, depending on each program’s individual needs.

Dwight Anderson, graduate assistant for men’s basketball at Georgia College and State University, for example, has different responsibilities for his team.

“My role just consists of learning from the head coach and the assistant coach, so going through everyday basics such as practice planning and talking about recruiting. They’ll also give me compliance paperwork to do, so like filling out the hour sheets for the preseason and when the regular season gets here,” Anderson said.

Anderson also hopes to coach one day at the junior college level to help athletes whose grades didn’t meet Division I requirements. He played junior college basketball before getting a chance to play overseas in Germany and feels that he can better relate to people who go the junior college route.

Just as graduate assistant roles vary, so do restrictions. Some grad assistants are encouraged to participate in the recruiting process while working within NCAA guidelines which only allow recruiting during certain months. Others are sidelined by their coaches and kept out of the recruiting process. The coaching staff largely determines the amount of flexibility their assistants have.

“It’s really up to whatever staff you have,” Jorge said. “Some staffs don’t like their GAs to be involved in any of the on-court things. This staff knows that I want to go on and be a coach, that this is what I want to do, so I’m very involved in our planning, our practices, things like that; which is amazing. It’s really a blessing because there are a lot of coaches that are just like ‘No, you can wait to be involved in that.’”

Even with the heavy load and restricted access, some graduate assistants feel that the hard work pays off.

Compensation varies by school and by team, but graduate

Graduate assistants Mercedes Jorge and Amanda Bruemmer act as aides to both coaches and players. Their roles can range from travel arrangements to managing the team’s social media.

assistants often receive stipends every month as payment.

For others, the cost of tuition may be reduced or completely covered by the school, allowing them to gain a higher education without the higher cost. However, the most valuable part of the position is the experience, not the money.

For those wanting to become a coach, it puts them at an advantage to serve as a graduate assistant first. Spending time working closely under head and assistant coaches can provide invaluable insight on the game and the world of coaching. If you do a good job, your coaches can connect you and refer you for potential jobs in the future.

Many of the top coaches in college football began as graduate assistants. Kirby Smart, Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney all served as graduate assistants during their college days and coached 2017 College Football Playoff teams. This isn’t unique to football, and head coaches in every sport can begin learning the job firsthand as a graduate assistant.

Though the coaching route is common, not everyone takes this path after graduation. Assistants may also use their experience for careers in other fields such as medicine, nutrition, communications, video and marketing. Being able to directly work with athlete injuries or compile press kits gives young professionals experience that they can list on résumés and market to future employers.

Like many other entry-level jobs, graduate assistants are the low men on the totem pole and have to do a lot of the grunt work before earning their way up. However, the opportunity can be extremely valuable. It may be the first taste of working in their career field, or just a chance to remain a part of the game, but what they gain in experience can be enough to make it all worth it.

GRADUATE RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO: Finding practice squad players Hiring team managers Gathering film Making team travel arrangements Composing scouting reports on opponents Completing compliance paperwork Planning practice and recruiting schedule and tactics Posting on social media

PHOTO BY CHRIS YOUNG | THE SIGNAL

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2018

SPORTS

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ILLUSTRATION BY DEVIN PHILLIPS | THE SIGNAL

Does your team name matter?

WNBA team nicknames aren’t as vicious as their NBA counterparts JERELL RUSHIN Sports Editor

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istory shows that team names in sports tend to be animals, and these names aren’t just any animals like iguanas and pomeranians. They are aggressive animals, and they are typically chosen to give the team a fierce public image.

Women’s professional sports teams take a near polar opposite approach when it comes to nicknames. Just one WNBA team, the Minnesota Lynx, has an animal as its nickname.

Georgia State professor Beth Cianfrone, Ph.D., specializes in sports advertising and consumer behavior. She said that researchers “find that logos with animals are preferred by consumers.” A few Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team nicknames are the Dream, Fever, Liberty, Shock and Sky. “Similar to the MLS, WNBA teams were established after NBA, NHL, MLB, NBA and both the WNBA and MLS franchises shy away from the aggressive animal model,” Cianfrone said. “This could be that there are plenty of teams named Panthers and providing a unique mark allows the team to be distinct in a city and stand out.”

This trend isn’t just limited to the WNBA in professional women’s sports. The National Women’s Hockey League, formed in 2013, has a Boston, Massachusetts-based team with the nickname Pride.

In 1997, the first season of operation for the WNBA, most of the league’s teams did not have unique nickname origins.

The first WNBA teams were ran by NBA team owners in the same cities, and their nicknames were intentionally made to play off of the NBA teams. Some examples are the now-defunct Houston Comets, named after the Houston Rockets, and the Charlotte Sting, named after the Charlotte Hornets.

Hiyana Lacy, student and men’s basketball manager at Clark Atlanta University, follows basketball. She doesn’t think the WNBA nicknames arouse similar emotions that NBA and men’s sporting leagues nicknames do, noting that the nicknames don’t sound fierce.

“I feel like the WNBA team names are a problem because

they do not hold the WNBA players to the same standard that they hold the NBA players to. Just keep the same energy because the names mean a lot.”

Georgia State women’s basketball assistant coach Katie Pate thinks there’s an argument to be made that WNBA team nicknames could possibly give young girls the perception that women athletes can’t be aggressive and strong.

“I could go put a great giant white shark on a t-shirt and say it was a basketball team,” Pate said. “And then other people would be like, ‘Oh that’s just to much. That’s just over-thetop. We don’t want to be that vicious.’ [It’s] because of how a women’s team is portrayed and how people view women in sports.

“I think that it’s an unfortunate argument that we’re even having [and] that it doesn’t boil down to just the basics of a great professional sports team with a mascot that you can rally around,” Pate said. “You would think in the context what difference does it make?”

Georgia State assistant professor Timothy Kellison, who has a Ph.D. in sports management, believes that having nicknames that are ideas are valuable. Kellison did acknowledge that the WNBA nicknames aren’t traditional.

“I’d argue that concepts like the Dream and Liberty are important,” Timothy Kellison said. “And while they certainly don’t evoke the same kind of response as the aggressive names you listed, they’re actually incredibly meaningful. Still, they may be a bit abstract for most sports fans to get behind.”

The Dream were named because of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and the tie he has to Atlanta.

Cianfrone thinks it was a good idea because it’s unique. The Dream’s colors are red, navy and blue, but she said the franchise could consider giving the team the same colors as other teams in the city like the red and black that the Falcons and Hawks use.

Whether a nickname is a fan favorite or overwhelmingly disliked, winning is what ultimately brings people to games in sports. But out of the four WNBA teams with the best regular season records in 2018, two teams (Washington and Atlanta) were in the bottom four in average per-game attendance in the 12-team league.

“Teams names and logos that are tied to the city and create an emotional response for the consumer are the most effective,” Cianfrone said. “Typically, that emotional response is tied to an

experience though, watching a Dream game or attending will be what draws people to the team, not the name itself.”

The WNBA, 22 years old, is just a young adult in terms of age. The shadow that WNBA and its teams operate in behind the NBA has decreased since the league’s beginning, but subtle reminders are still present. Some are the team nicknames that mirror NBA teams, NBA player cosignings having a big effect and playing games in large NBA arenas that cause sparselooking crowds on TV. “I think we’re a ways away from [not needing NBA support],” Pate said. “I wish it were closer and we were more in a time that we didn’t have to depend upon the NBA as much as we do now, especially from a financial side as much as we do so there will be a distinction of sorts. It is what it is.”

In college athletics programs, women’s and men’s teams share the same mascot. In many cases the women’s teams will go by Lady “insert-mascot-name-here.” This was the case at Georgia State until the 2007-2008 season, when the athletics program discontinued the use of “Lady Panthers.” The decision to call all teams just “Panthers” was made to build consistency in its brand because some people found it confusing to have the Panthers and the Lady Panthers.

The University of Tennessee athletics programs called its women’s teams the Lady Volunteers until the summer of 2014, when they also decided to go for “brand consistency.” This was met with serious backlash from Tennessee’s fans. Only the women’s basketball team remained the Lady Vols. Legendary Tennessee women’s basketball head coach Pat Summitt helped lift the Lady Vol brand to one of the most prominent in college athletics.

Two years, 23,000 signatures and a letter from a Tennessee House of Representative later, the university once again named all Tennessee women’s team’s Lady Vols in 2017.

There was clearly strong pride in that name and brand in women’s sports. Pate thinks WNBA teams have a branding problem on their hand.

“I think one of the biggest challenges that the WNBA has faced is creating its identity and its brand,” Pate said. “If you look back, you’ll see multiple branding and taglines assigned the WNBA over the last 20 years. There hasn’t necessarily been as consistent or steady a brand initiative to the WNBA as you might see in other leagues. And I think that’s still because we’re still trying to find our identity a little bit.”

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Young Panthers playing, for better or for worse Thanks to a slew of injuries, freshmen are forced into action CHRISTIAN CRITTENDEN Staff Reporter

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njuries and attrition have forced the Panthers to play younger players all around the field. After struggling to start, the young football players are starting to learn and make major impacts.

Coming into this season, the Georgia State football team knew that it would put a very young team on to the field, but they also had some veterans returning to help shoulder the load.

During a season injuries happen, and are entirely unavoidable. When they occur it requires a next-man-up mentality.

After a rash of injuries in the secondary, the Panthers were forced to rush several young players into action, some of which got their first career starts against Memphis. Since that game, the defense has given up an average of 214 passing yards and two touchdowns per game.

“Early on we went through some rough patches, but I think over the last few games they’ve started to grow a lot,” defensive coordinator Nate Fuqua said. “I think the game has slowed down a lot for them, but there are still things that come up each week that we haven’t seen that we’ve got to do a great job of trying to get them those looks in practice. But overall I think they’re progressing.”

There have been bumps in the road, and they have given up four big pass plays of 30 yards or more. Additionally, opposing quarterbacks are completing 70 percent of their passes.

True freshmen Quavian White and Jacorey Crawford are now starting in the secondary along with redshirt freshman Jaylon Jones. White and Jones each have an interception this season. Redshirt junior Remy Lazarus started at free safety for the Panthers this year and had played before, but this is his first year as a full-time starter. Early on in the season, the Panthers were forced to play with heavy inexperience in the secondary, but it has started to help them progress faster than they thought.

“As a whole, the young secondary has really stood out. Quay White has had some good games for us. Tyler Gore [also had good games],” Fuqua said. “But as a whole what Remy Lazarus has been able to do as a first-year starter as our free safety [has stood out].”

Things have been a bit similar on the offensive side of the ball as well. Redshirt freshman Jalen Jackson started at right tackle for the Panthers. In that game the offensive line gave up three sacks and several quarterback hurries.

Coming into the season, one of the big position battles was at the running back position with veterans Demarcus Kirk and Tra Barnett coming back, but talented freshmen Destin Coates and Seth Paige have made huge contributions and get plenty of playing time.

Georgia State’s only game of the season against their biggest rival, Georgia Southern, will take place on Oct. 20 in Statesboro.

The Panthers primarily play running back by committee with several backs getting snaps during the game. So far this season Paige is the team’s second leading rusher behind quarterback Dan Ellington.

Paige’s 227 net yards leads the running backs, and he is also averaging 7.1 yards per carry with three touchdowns. He also made the longest run in school history with an explosive 82yard touchdown against Louisiana-Monroe.

Coates has made a big impact as well by carrying the ball 32

PHOTO SUBMITTED BY GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS

times for a net total of 137 yards. Freshman Cornelius McCoy is second on the team in receiving with 188 yards, with an 11.1 yards per catch average, and first-year wideout Christian Owens leads the team with two touchdown receptions.

There is no doubt that first and second-year players are making their stamp on this team. The Panthers have a solid mix of veterans as well, which helps. However, the remaining schedule for the Panthers is extremely tough so they will be put to the test soon.

Will we see more dominance over Southern?

Georgia State eager to snag fourth straight win in rivalry series TAJ STRICKLAND Staff Reporter

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he rivalry between Georgia State and Georgia Southern has always been important to the current students and alumni of the two schools.

It’s usually their competitions like football or basketball that most people tune into when they play. However, one game that often gets overlooked is the men’s soccer matchup.

The Panthers have won the past three meetings against the Eagles, including two Sun Belt Conference tournament wins.

Head coach Brett Surrency loves the series and sees Georgia Southern as a quality program.

“As a competitor, it’s the type of game you want to play,” Surrency said.

He has coached the Panthers through 10 games against

the Eagles and owns an 8-2 record against them.

In the 2016 season, Georgia State was the No. 3 seed while Georgia Southern was the No. 2 seed when they faced off in the Sun Belt tournament. As a freshman, senior forward Kwaku Adu-Boahene scored a game-winning goal against the Eagles. His teammate, Rashid Alarape, added another goal to snag a 2-0 win over Georgia Southern.

The Eagles defeated the Panthers earlier that season, and Surrency described the win as “a lot of things coming together for us.”

The next tournament win, after beating Georgia Southern 3-1 in the regular season, came through courtesy of another game winning goal by senior midfielder Max Hemmings. He was a junior when he helped secure the third straight win against the Eagles.

While the rivalry series between these two has only been going on for five years, some understand the importance of beating their Sun Belt Conference rival.

“The boys take great pride in beating Southern so there’s

always a little extra from them in those games,” Surrency said.

Some have yet to witness playing in this rivalry series but senior forward Javen Palmer has the newcomers covered when the Panthers go off to Statesboro to face the Eagles this Saturday.

“At times, it can be a very physical game and sometimes the ball isn’t always on the floor! But we have to prepare like we do for every game,” Palmer said.

He is one of the senior transfers on this team who has faced Georgia Southern two or more times in his soccer career at Georgia State.

“It’s an added bonus that we get to beat our closest rival twice in a season,” Palmer said.

Georgia Southern is one of the Panthers’ last four opponents before the Sun Belt Conference tournament begins. On Oct. 20 they will play in Statesboro, where the Panthers are 3-1 in dating back to 2012, when the rivalry series began.

SPORTS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2018

19

SPORTS CALENDAR GOLF

FOOTBALL

OCT. 16

SOCCER

OCT. 18

men’s golf AUTOTRADER COLLEGIATE CLASSIC

ALL DAY

ARKANSAS STATE

Jonesboro, Arkansas

7:30 P.M.

men’s soccer

Duluth, Georgia

GARDNER-WEBB

OCT. 21-23

SCAN HERE TO JOIN US!

PAT BRADLEY CLASSIC

ALL DAY

Sorento, Florida

VOLLEYBALL ULM

OCT. 20

women’s tennis

men’s soccer

ITA REGIONALS

7:30 P.M.

Monroe, Louisiana

OCT. 18-22 Atlanta, Georgia

OCT. 18

TBA

OCT. 19-23

OCT. 19

SOUTHEAST REGIONALS

LOUSIANA

7:30 P.M.

Layfayette, Louisiana

Athens, Georgia

TBA

SOUTH CAROLINA

GSU Baseball Complex

SUN BELT CONFERENCE FOOTBALL STANDINGS

EAST DIVISION conference

overall

streak

GEORGIA SOUTHERN

3-0

5-1

W3

APPALACHAIN STATE

2-0

4-1

W4

TROY

3-0

5-2

L1

GEORGIA STATE

1-1

2-4

L1

COASTAL CAROLINA

1-2

3-3

L2

WEST DIVISION conference

overall

streak

LOUISIANA

1-1

3-3

W2

ULM

1-2

3-4

W1

SOUTH ALABAMA

1-2

2-5

W1

ARKANSAS STATE

0-2

3-3

L2

TEXAS STATE

0-3

1-5

L4

GEORGIA GWINNETT

Robert E. Heck Softball Complex

7 P.M.

OCT. 19

OCT. 21 1 P.M.

7 P.M.

men’s soccer Columbia, South Carolina

SOFTBALL

BASEBALL

GEORGIA SOUTHERN

Boone, North Carolina

7 P.M.

OCT. 23

women’s tennis

GEORGIA HIGHLANDS

school

GSU Soccer Complex

TENNIS

women’s golf

OCT. 20

school

OCT. 16

women’s soccer 1 P.M.

TEXAS STATE

San Marcos, Texas

8 P.M.