The Signal Vol. 87 No. 11

PAY INCREASE

NO SHAVE NOVEMBER

WINNER BY TKO

BLOTTER

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The university’s budget includes a 2% raise for faculty and staff.

A conversation with students growing it all out for cancer awareness.

Student Seungju Andrew Kim wins his debut MMA fight via a technical knockout.

SUDOKU

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COMIC

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NEWS

NOV. 5 - NOV. 12, 2019

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ARTS & LIVING

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SPORTS PAGE 18

LIVING THROUGH PROTEST

VOL. 87 | NO. 11

Hong Kong took to the streets in late March to protest an extradition bill that many in the city-state believed to challenge their relative sovereignty with mainland China. In their presence is a Georgia State student, studying and navigating through the conflict.

1. Fully withdraw the extradition bill.

2. Set up an independent inquiry to probe police brutality.

3. Withdraw the characterization of protests as “riots.”

4. Release those arrested at protests.

5. Implement universal suffrage in Hong Kong.

@gsusignal

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BLOTTER OCT. 28

Terrifying and annoying

At 10:36 a.m., someone reported a student using a telephone for annoying purposes and threatening violence for the purpose of terrorizing.

Bro… seriously, you need to leave

At 12:19 p.m., a non-Georgia State offender was arrested for trespassing in Student Center East after receiving a prior notice.

All Hangovers Eve

At 11:46 p.m., a Georgia State student was arrested for minor possession of alcohol at Piedmont North.

Dawg, this is a one-way

At 5:27 p.m., a non-Georgia State offender was arrested for driving the wrong way on Piedmont Avenue with a suspended license and attempting to conceal their identity.

OCT. 31

Lurkin’

A suspicious person was reported in Sparks Hall at 8:22 a.m.

ILLUSTRATION BY DEVIN PHILLIPS | THE SIGNAL

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019

www.georgiastatesignal.com/news

The student surrounded by a foreign protest BEN COLETTA

Associate News Editor

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ong Kong has been in a state of protest for months, ever since a controversial extradition bill was proposed by its government. Seeing thousands marching in the streets, police tear gassing crowds and roads blocked by protesters have all become commonplace. For a brief period of time, the demonstrators even took over Hong Kong International Airport.

GEORGIA STATE

A Georgia State student studying abroad in Hong Kong spoke with The Signal. They requested to remain unnamed because this could affect their safety in Hong Kong and “possibly butcher [the student’s] chances of entering mainland China.”

Demonstrations are a normal part of the day-to-day experience of living in Hong Kong, according to the student.

“It doesn’t affect every single day, but it’s very common to have it affect a regular day,” the student said. “Sometimes, they become unexpectedly large and they will shut down public transport and you aren’t able to get to places that you need to get to. I know that some people were unable to get to school at a different university because of the limited public transport options.”

However, while the protests have a tendency to disrupt travel, the student said that most protests are nonviolent.

“I think, for the most part, they’re pretty civil, but there are a lot of them that happen, and there are a percentage of them that do get pretty crazy and violent,” they said. “But, for the most part, I feel like they’re peaceful, and people don’t get hurt or killed.”

The student also noted that being in the wrong place at the wrong time or even wearing the wrong colors can impact how people see you.

“Certain colors are associated with certain things,” they said. “Black is associated with the demonstrations.

Of course, it’s still ok, usually, to wear black. But if you’re located near the demonstrations, and you’re wearing

black, people might think that you’re associated with the demonstrations. White is associated with China.”

As far as the demonstrations go, the student doesn’t think that the locals are ready to give up.

“There have been so many weeks of non-stop unrest, and I’ve spoken to locals, and they don’t see an end in sight,” they said.

The constant turbulence has impacted the exchange student’s study abroad experience, and they are unsure if Georgia State should continue to send students there while the unrest is ongoing.

“A little bit of me wonders if Georgia State knows the severity because I felt like, at one point, maybe, they should have cancelled the study abroad program. It does affect our study abroad experience, and I do feel like maybe my experience isn’t as pleasant as I would hope for it to be,” the student said. “Which is why I think I’m going to decide to not continue my experience next semester. Maybe this isn’t the right time for me to come here for an educational experience.”

The Confucius Institute, an organization that is committed to promoting Chinese language and culture, declined to comment.

IS HONG KONG PART OF CHINA?

To better understand the current situation, the social and historical context needs to be explained first.

Unfortunately the answer isn’t an easy one. Hong Kong has a separate currency, maintains and patrols their border with mainland China and its citizens need “mainland travel permits” to enter China.

China gave Hong Kong to the British in 1842 after the end of the First Opium War through the Treaty of Nanking.

In 1898, after a series of subsequent wars and expansions and now in charge of the region, the British government obtained a 99 year lease on its newly conquered territory.

In 1997, at the end of the lease, the British Government handed Hong Kong back to China. However, the agreement that dictated the handover, the Sino-British Joint Declaration, mandated that the Chinese government could not interfere in the existing government or economy of Hong Kong for 50 years.

This agreement led China to adopt the policy of “one country, two systems” plan in Hong Kong. This allows Hong Kong to remain capitalist, while the rest of China practices one-party socialism.

So, on paper, yes, Hong Kong is part of China. But it wasn’t always, and Hong Kong’s government and economy ostensibly should remain separate from China’s until 2047.

Since the policy is temporary and mainland China restricts the flow of information and internet usage, Hong Kongers are more scared than ever of losing their relative sovereignty.

PROTESTS AND EXTRADITION

So, why are Hong Kongers protesting?

In 2018, a Hong Kong resident took his pregnant girlfriend — also a Hong Kong resident — to Taiwan and killed her. A Hong Kong police investigation resulted in a confession from the boyfriend.

The Hong Kong police couldn’t arrest him for his confession because they don’t have legal jurisdiciton in Taiwan, where the murder took place, and they couldn’t extradite and try him in Taiwan.

So, the Hong Kong government drafted an extradition bill, which would also allow for extradition of Hong Kong residents to mainland China. Because the bill was widely seen as a violation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the people of Hong Kong took to the streets in protest.

Some protests were little more than groups of people standing outside of the Legislative Council, while at others, tear gas, rubber bullets and riot police were used against the demonstration. Protesters even managed to shut down Hong Kong International Airport two days in a row.

According to CNN, the protesters have five main demands: the withdrawal of the extradition bill, the resignation of Chief Executive Carrie Lam, an inquiry into police brutality, the release and exoneration of all arrested protesters and greater democratic freedoms.

So far, the only demand of the protesters that has been met is the withdrawal of the extradition bill.

ILLUSTRATION BY DEMETRI BURKE | THE SIGNAL

NEWS

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Get advice from Ludacris, or a Facebook engineer Residency programs let students work alongside industry experts DANIELLA JOHNSON Staff Reporter

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lthough classes and university organizations provide essential learning experiences for a student’s degree, sometimes, books aren’t enough. To provide handson experiences to students, Georgia State uses the residency programs in the Creative Media Industries Institute, College of Arts and Sciences and the J. Mack Robinson College of Business.

Each school has their own resident to refer to. The CMII has an “artist-in-residence,” the CAS has an “engineer-in-residence” and Robinson College has an “executive-in-residence.”

According to Brennen Dicker, the executive director at the CMII, these residents are professionals who have many years of experience in a specific field and, in most cases, are awardwinning.

“The goal in all of this is to create programs and workshops where they are involved with us, mentor students and [are] not just adding their name to a roster to support CMII,” Dicker said.

ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE

According to their website, the CMII currently has four “artists-in-residence.” Dallas Austin is an award winning producer, songwriter, musician and filmmaker. Austin has worked with many known artists, including Boyz II Men and TLC. He also produced the movies “Drumline” and “ATL.” Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges is an award winning actor, artist, entrepreneur and Georgia State alumnus. In addition to these titles, Bridges is also a philanthropist through the Ludacris Foundation, which is a platform used to serve youth and families in different communities.

Erik Gordon is an entrepreneur who has been leading in the areas of innovation, marketing strategy and relationship building. After serving as a professor at various institutions, Gordon has acquired a vast network in media entrepreneurship.

Tom Luse is the executive producer of the AMC television show “The Walking Dead.” Luse was recognized by CAS at the Outstanding Alumni Awards in 2017 as the first Georgia State

student to submit a film as a masters thesis.

The CMII in-residence program was created so students and faculty could learn from industry professionals by participating in special workshops that integrate these residents and coordinate projects with them as well.

“In fact, we have received a number of referrals for Artistin-Residence from our faculty, but also our students, which is how we got Ludacris to CMII,” Dicker said. “Derek Jackson, Sr. at CMII, toured a music producer that worked with Chris, and that is how he found out about our institute at [Georgia State].”

Going forward, the CMII will look toward recruiting a resident who can provide more insight in the areas of game design and media entrepreneurship. The CMII will also let Georgia State students know how to connect with their residents as the school year progresses.

“We want the ‘Artist in Residence’ to reflect our students in terms of diversity and are focusing on bringing representation from women over the course of the next year,” Dicker said.

ENGINEER-IN-RESIDENCE

Facebook has partnered with CAS to invite an “engineer-inresidence” during the 2019-20 academic year.

“They were very impressed with the students that were part of that program and wanted to learn more about [Georgia State’s] computer science students,” John Augusto, associate dean of CAS, said.

In a press release published on Oct. 2, it was announced that Georgia State would be collaborating with Facebook in efforts to further the skills and “career readiness” of students who are engaged in computer science classes while trying to diversify Facebook’s employees.

“Facebook sends an employee to serve as the engineer-inresidence. This person teaches computer science courses, hosts the competitive coding group at [Georgia State] and advises students about job skills for computer science majors,” Augusto said.

According to the press release, the current engineer-inresidence is Sailesh Kumar, an engineer with Facebook’s Oculus division. Kumar will be teaching teach sophomore-level courses on data structure and algorithms during this academic year. He will also host workshops and mock interviews to help advance the hands-on aspect to the classroom experience.

In addition to this, students can also participate in the competitive coding group at Georgia State.

“I think all College of Arts and Sciences students should start thinking now about their career after they graduate,” Augusto said.

EXECUTIVES-IN-RESIDENCE

At Robinson College, they pride themselves on providing real experiences and making real impacts on students through experiential learning programs, such as WomenLead and Honors Mentoring Programs. In contrast to CMII and the CAS, Robinson has “executives-in-residence.”

David D’Alessandro is the current executive-in-residence in finance. According to D’Alessandro, in the residency program at Robinson College, they typically take retired or nearly retired company executives and use them as a “counterpoint to a pure academic teaching staff.” These executives are brought in as a way to extend a hands-on-experience to train future business leaders.

“It’s much like in medicine where you would take an experienced doctor and pair them with medical students,” D’Alessandro said.

After being approached by Gerald Gay, the chair of the finance department, D’Alessandro decided that, since he was near the end of his professional career, he would become involved with the university. Two years ago, he began teaching a single class and over the summer, he became a part of the regular faculty.

“I thought I would like to give back,” D’Alessandro said.

D’Alessandro teaches classes in corporate finance. He said he makes sure his students get the real experience of what happens in boardrooms and decision-making for large companies. Outside of class, D’Alessandro provides coaching and mentoring to his students relating to finding jobs and being able to position themselves for a career in the real world and marketplace.

D’Alessandro has only taught graduate finance classes in the past but will begin teaching his first undergraduate finance class in the spring.

“My reach is going to go from … older students typically who are graduate students to younger students, and I’m looking forward to that opportunity,” D’Alessandro said.

ILLUSTRATION BY ERIN DAVISON | THE SIGNAL

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019

NEWS

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Spotlight spirit and traditions director resigns

Brandon Byrd shares why he left the influential student organization SARA MUNOZ Staff Reporter

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s Georgia State winds down from an energetic Homecoming week, it hasn’t left the mind of the man who planned it all. Brandon Byrd, the spirit and traditions director for Spotlight Programs Board, was the lead organizer for the event. He resigned from the influential campus organization on Oct. 30 at 3 p.m.

Of course, several other Spotlight members contributed to Homecoming week in some way shape or form, but it was Byrd who helped personally coordinate almost every event of the week, as he told The Signal last month.

So, if Homecoming week was a crowd-pulling success, why would Byrd resign from his position?

“For one, the pay at Spotlight is not worth everything that we do,” Byrd said.

Board members receive a $400 monthly stipend for their position, but as he explains, if the hours spent doing Spotlightrelated work were to be calculated, the pay received would be under minimum wage.

“Yes, we know what we signed up for, but sometimes, the cons outweigh the pros,” he said. “There is a struggle in balancing Spotlight and finding other means to make money and survive.”

Byrd echoed what Franklin Patterson, the former universitywide president of the Student Government Association, told The Signal last school year: There are power struggles between the administration and the students in organizations, specifically, Byrd and Patterson both said, with Gail Sutton and Boyd Beckwith, two faculty members who are involved in both SGA and Spotlight.

After an incident between a faculty member and Byrd, in which Byrd said he felt that “safety was threatened, especially on the job,” he filed an official report to employee relations.

According to Byrd, Beckwith and Sutton did not hesitate to deny his claims, despite the fact it was intended to be an unbiased “investigation.”

“It was as if they made a decision to choose faculty’s side before I even said anything,” he said.

The status of the report is currently unknown to Byrd.

As mentioned before, retention and engagement with events had been decreasing in previous years. On multiple occasions, Byrd said he tried to present innovative ideas to reverse this but would regularly get shut down by Beckwith and Sutton without any explanation.

Brandon Byrd, the spirit and traditions director of Spotlight Programs Board, resigned weeks after organizing a successful homecoming.

“It’s as if student leader opinions aren’t valued, and they think we aren’t capable of making big decisions,” Byrd said. “[With] upper leadership and how they run the department … I believe the department is, for one, self-sabotaging. There are a lot of decisions that are made without our input — and those are our events.”

When situations similar to these occur, Byrd said there is no safe space for student leaders to hold faculty members accountable. In fact, there is no space at all, he said. Messages are passed through advisers, leading to no direct opportunities for students to express how they feel to faculty.

PHOTO BY UNIQUE RODRIGUEZ | THE SIGNAL

The same could be said the other way around.

For instance, Byrd, who began working on Homecoming events since April, said he received little to no recognition from faculty members. He said the only form of gratitude shown consisted of one email from Sutton simply saying “kudos.”

“There was no appreciation shown whatsoever, and you just don’t feel valued,” he said. “I feel like I was used, basically.”

Byrd is satisfied with how Homecoming week turned out because he thinks he did all he could do.

“Regarding resigning, I don’t feel bad or sad because I know what I came to achieve I got done,” Byrd said.

How Georgia State plans to spend $12.42 million Faculty raises, a gender salary study, cybersecurity and unfulfilled commitments SARA MUNOZ Staff Reporter

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our years ago, Georgia State University President Mark Becker promised to double the number of sworn police officers on Georgia State campuses. Since then, the number has increased from 71 to 126 and will continue to grow within the next two years, according to Senior Vice President of Finance Jerry Rackliffe.

This is just one example of the fulfilled items from the Fiscal Year 2020 budget that was put in effect this July.

The total budget is composed of $1.2 billion, but Rackliffe presented a breakdown of a portion of this budget, $12.42 million, to the University Senate Research Committee at their meeting on Oct. 21.

Big ticket items consisted of a 2% raise for faculty and staff members from a merit pool of $3.8 million, the execution of the final year of the five-year Next Generation Program, the successor to the previous Second Century Initiative, leaving just over $1.5 million left for the faculty raises, and nearly $3 million

for the fulfillment of departmental research commitments.

The allocation of the nearly $3 million came after the new Vice President of Research Michael Erikson uncovered unfulfilled commitments (equipment, faculty hires, space) that were made to various colleges and faculty.

Come May, when the budgets were to be turned in for approval, Erikson had not completed uncovering all of the commitments, so any remaining will be present in the FY 2021 budget.

“These commitments were made in writing to people … and obviously we need to honor those commitments. Georgia State honors commitments,” Rackliffe said.

The last gender salary research was conducted at Georgia State in 2011, prior to the consolidation of the Perimeter campuses and the Downtown campus. Now, $372,000 will go towards a new gender salary research plan and adjustment.

It remains in the preliminary stages after Georgia State received no bids for consultation on the matter, but research studies will begin sometime within this academic school year.

“While current hiring follows the market, it is possible for existing faculty to have salaries that do not always keep pace with inflation and market,” newly appointed Provost Wendy Hensel said. “This [gender salary research plan] is a chance for us to look

comprehensively across the university at these issues.”

In an attempt to continue securing Georgia State assets, nearly $1 million has been allocated towards cybersecurity. An item that the University System of Georgia Board of Regents expressed the importance to Georgia State, according to Rackliffe.

“When you compare Georgia State to Georgia Tech or [the University of Georgia], you see that the staffing for cybersecurity is way understaffed. This would be an attempt to fill up the capacity,” a member of the research committee said.

Due to the steadily growing number of freshmen admitted each year, certain schools, specifically the College of Arts and Sciences, need extra funding — $675,000 of an “unmet demand,” to be exact — to keep up with the growing number of students in classes like English and math.

The same can be said for the rising number of students wishing to pursue a career in computer science. This leads the extra funding, $270,000, to be allocated towards more faculty, which can provide more class sections for students.

But what wasn’t included in the budget?

Items, such as graduate student health care, research initiation grants, dissertation grants and summer faculty research, were not funded from this portion of the budget.

NEWS

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U.S. House introduces College Affordability Act

House Dems want a “down payment” on cheaper higher education NATE HARRIS Staff Reporter

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he rising cost of college is often on the minds of students across the country, including at Georgia State.

State-wide, the cost of attendance at University System of Georgia schools has increased over 77% since 2006, according to a 2016 state audit. In-state tuition and fees at Georgia State specifically have jumped over 27% since 2010, records show, including another increase this semester.

With those costs only expected to rise, legislators are looking to combat the trend with a comprehensive overhaul to federal funding of higher education.

U.S. House Democrats on Oct. 15 unveiled the College Affordability Act, the party’s legislative plan to increase access to college for low-income and minority students and alleviate student debt.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Robert Scott, D-Va. chairman of the House Education Committee, and 57 other Democratic representatives, is tamer than what some 2020 presidential candidates, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have been proposing. However, legislators have said the act is a “down payment on making public institutions tuition-free.”

With a markup on Oct. 29 before heading to the House floor for a vote, the 1,200-page bill seeks to regulate public institutions, establishing compliance standards to ensure career programs lead to gainful employment and increasing state and federal funding.

Specifically, the legislation would increase the maximum Pell Grant award by $500 — the largest single increase since the grant was created in 1965 — as well as permanently adjusting the award in the future to account for inflation.

The Pell Grant, one of the most widely-used federal grants, currently provides up to $6,195 each year for qualifying students.

At Georgia State, which enrolls more low-income students than nearly any other university in the U.S., close to 90% of students receive some sort of federal, state or institutional grant, with over 50% receiving the Pell Grant.

The legislation would also create a grant program to assist students in emergency situations, such as loss of housing.

The legislation, an amalgam of various items, proposes revamping investments in historically black colleges, tribal colleges and other minority-serving institutions. This would simplify the financial aid process and improve the federal student loan repayment process. Over 50% of GSU students have federal student loans, according to TuitionTracker.org.

In a rebuke of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, legislators have also rolled in amendments to strengthen Title IX, including supporting expectant and parenting students and overriding Secretary DeVos’ controversial new rule regarding

ILLUSTRATION BY ALLEN NGUYEN | THE SIGNAL

how institutions handle sexual misconduct complaints.

Perhaps the legislation’s biggest proposal is a federal and state partnership that would encourage states to make community college tuition-free. States that commit to the proposal and to “sustained investment” in their public institutions would receive greater federal funding.

The legislation proposes establishing a $500 million fund that partnered states could access to support the reforms to better serve students, specifically those who are low-income, disabled or in need of remediation.

State funding for institutions from the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia has dropped nearly 8% since 2009, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The bill comes with an estimated $400 billion price tag, a steep cost that Scott and others have downplayed by comparing it to the cost of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act pushed through Congress by Republicans in 2017.

“If they can come up with $1.5 trillion — $1.9 trillion with interest [for that bill] — I’m sure we can come up with $400 billion,” Scott said during a teleconference with reporters

Monday night. “Fixing the current laws is about half the cost of the bill.”

The bill has received mixed reviews from higher education experts and advocacy groups, with many concerned about the legislation’s lofty goals and questionable cost.

Inside Congress, House Republicans have already objected to the proposals. No Republican members of the House have joined the legislation as co-sponsors, including Georgia’s 11 Republican representatives. None of Georgia’s four Democratic representatives have joined the bill either.

“Our goal in this Congress is to have an investment in education,” Rep. Jahana Hayes, a freshman Democrat from Connecticut, said during the teleconference. “We really have, since we took the majority, looked at this through a completely different lens to say, ‘How can we best support students with not only the resources but with the legislation to be successful in school.’”

The bill is expected to pass through the House, but is unlikely to get through the Republican-controlled Senate and onto President Trump’s desk in its current form.

New dining program implements reusable containers Students score discounted meals while being sustainable BRADY STOUGHTON Staff Reporter

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tudents at Georgia State can now save money on food and play their part in saving the planet through the OZZI program. This program will allow students to use reusable containers instead of the traditional disposable ones, at Panther’s Club, allowing them to also get 10% off of their meal.

OZZI, according to their website, is a program to eliminate traditional disposable takeout containers with enhanced technology.

“As part of PantherDining Sustainable Initiatives, we wanted

to decrease and potentially eliminate the use of disposable products in our retail areas,” Suzanne Paltz, director of PantherDining, said.

After seeing the OZZI program at a food show, the PantherDining team felt that OZZI was the best option in achieving these goals, according to Paltz.

To start using OZZI, students can head to the Panther’s Club on the third floor of Student Center West and ask for a container from the staff working the food station, when they order their food, according to Paltz.

“After the customer finishes their meal, they just need to deposit the container in the OZZI machine located past the cashier stations in Panther’s Club, [and] the machine will dispense a token for them to use the next time they come in and request an OZZI container,” Paltz said.

Through this, students can be both environmentally friendly and save themselves some cash. To reward customers for using the OZZI program instead of disposable containers, customers will get a 10% discount on their food.

The benefits of the OZZI program are already being seen. According to Paltz, the program has already cut down disposable waste by 20%. She said this also aids in the cost of garbage disposal and landfill diversion.

The PantherDining team is thrilled to see the interest in the OZZI program grow as time goes on.

“Ultimately, we would love to have 100% participation with zero disposable waste,” she said. “In the spring, we are taking it one step further and offering a reusable, refillable beverage bottle program as well.”

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2019 TUESDAY, JANUARY 15,5,2019

www.georgiastatesignal.com/opinions

Georgia State vs. Georgia Southern

Based on the facts — not emotions — which school is truly better?

JASMINE BARROW Staff Columnist

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he Georgia State-Georgia Southern rivalry goes back to a time long before us. But when it comes to which school is better than the other, what is the correct answer based purely on facts?

When I asked Georgia Southern student Cheyenne Rhaney why she thought her school was better than Georgia State. she gave me a pretty common answer.

“From my perspective, I feel that we are able to get a more of a ‘college feel’ because our campus isn’t so spread out,” Rhaney said.

“Specifically, for my program, our professors and advisers make sure there are doors open for us. It’s a big little campus.”

But when I asked for factual, legitimate reasons behind why it was Southern over State, she said that Georgia Southern has lower tuition, lower housing, better academics and higher retention rates.

Well, I am here before you today to delve into whether that’s true or not, as well as look at two other categories that will answer the age-old question: State or Southern?

The first category is sports. Georgia State and Georgia Southern have only been competing against each other in football since 2014. However, they have been playing each other in other sports, such as basketball, since the ’70s.

In 2015, the two schools began a rivalry series. The series has a set of point accumulation rules and the school with the most points at the end of the athletic year wins a trophy and bragging rights. Southern has unfortunately lost the series every year since it was established.

The next category is statistics. According to Niche.com, Georgia State has the upper hand over Georgia Southern in many different categories.

For example, in the area of median earnings six years after college, students at Georgia State are expected to earn at least $43,300 a year and 25% of that graduating class is expected to earn more than $62,700 a year. At Georgia Southern, six years after graduation, students are expected to earn $41,900 and 25% of that graduating class is expected to earn $59,200. Although it’s not a huge difference, it’s a difference nonetheless.

Georgia State actually has higher retention and graduation rates, lower tuition costs and a higher percentage of students receiving financial aid than Georgia Southern, according to Niche.com.

Once again, the round goes to Georgia State.

ILLUSTRATION BY MONTE LOWERY | THE SIGNAL

Last but not least, the name. You can find hundreds of posts across all social media with the hashtags #StateNotSouthern (and vice versa) or #TheRealGSU. This all stems from the two schools’ abbreviations and who really has the right to call themselves the “real” GSU. While Georgia State was established in 1913, it was officially granted university status in 1969, whereas Georgia Southern, despite being founded in 1906, was only granted the same status in 1990. Since Georgia State became a university first, we got a

claim to the abbreviation “GSU”. It’s on our school’s URL, it’s in our student and faculty emails, our sports paraphernalia and so many other things.

Georgia Southern can’t really claim to be the real GSU because they’re not even branded by that abbreviation. Georgia Southern’s official abbreviation is “GS,” so there is really no basis for their argument here.

This wasn’t a public display of school spirit. Based on the information gathered, Georgia State takes the win as the real and better GSU.

Dry your tears, pull your skirt down and man up How we programmed aggression and self-hate in the male identity JANNEYN SIMMONS Staff Columnist

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oxic masculinity has been infused into every facet of our society. We have these toxic ideals taught to us, beginning in our formative years. The general family dynamic acts as the foundation of toxicity. Mothers are to be superheroes, acting as the brick and mortar in the foundation, while the father, if he’s present, acts as a watchdog.

His main function is to, with an iron fist, guard his son’s “masculinity,” a concept usually defined by sexual prowess, depth in tone and physical strength, and preserve his daughter’s “virginity,” a concept defined by how well she can abstain from her sexual urges and maintain “purity.”

Early on, boys are taught to stifle their emotions, dry their tears and stop being what society would call a “bitch,” while we teach girls to minimize their opinions outside of the desire for marriage and purity, accept responsibility for any folly transgressed against them and avoid being what society would call a “whore.”

From the home, we enter the world that simultaneously reduces a woman to a weak-minded mouthpiece for her husband, while

placing sole accountability for the world’s trials on feminine shoulders. Meanwhile, a man is in the paradoxical position of being the supreme, stoic being, while also being apparently incapable of accepting responsibility for his actions because he’s “just being a man.”

This continuous dynamic of toxicity has become so commonplace that any resistance to these ideals is perceived as “man-bashing” or the “feminization” of men.

We have synched folly with the collective male identity. Because we don’t teach men to know and do better, they are under the impression that they are inherently unfavorable individuals and thus perceive attacks on toxic masculinity as attacks on general manhood.

In an interview with Michael Kimble, student affairs adviser for the Office of Black Student Achievement, he was the only person, when defining toxic masculinity, to separate toxicity from masculinity as a whole. He defines the concept as “pollutants that have tainted what true masculinity is.”

Bernard McCrary, director of Black Student Achievement, credited the perceived “monolith of manhood as toxic in and of itself.”

We expect men to be promiscuous, void of emotion and violently angry. At any point, if a man is to step outside of these parameters, he is effeminate and thus deserving of ridicule.

Perceived homoerotic advances and any suggestion of “softness,” which is considered inherently feminine, are seen as unpardonable insults to a man. Plenty of brawls and even a few murders have been rooted in simple verbal disputes.

Society sees femininity as inferior and thus serves as the greatest insult to masculinity, so it’s not surprising that toxic masculinity is rooted in misogyny, the hatred not only of women but also femininity itself.

Self-hatred also plays a strong role in toxic masculinity. Women are heavily chastised for promiscuity, infidelity, aggression and independence, behaviors for which we praise men. When we bring up this fact, it is met with responses like, “You’re supposed to be better than me,” “Why do you want to be a man” or, my favorite, “Equal isn’t identical.” Men become complacent in their toxicity and project their guilt onto the backs of women.

Toxic masculinity isn’t a curse, a gene, an insult or an attack on heterosexual males. Toxic masculinity doesn’t define the entirety of manhood but rather characterizes a flaw in our society.

Toxic masculinity has tainted our perception of how humans, particularly men, should interact, and it’s about time to ditch this regressive and unrealistic mentality. We have a responsibility to allow the next generation of men the full spectrum of emotion, accountability and nurturing.

OPINIONS

8

GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

Downtown Atlanta needs more stores The Downtown campus lacks New York-style bodegas

executive president & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Daniel Varitek

KENNETH LOCKETT III

editor@georgiastatesignal.com creative director Devin Phillips managing editor Will Solomons

Associate Opinions Editor

director of business operations Vacant

D

owntown Atlanta, and by extension Georgia State, has some of the worst food deserts in the U.S. The closest true grocery store is Publix about a half-mile away. For the lack of traditional grocery stores downtown, there are plenty of other smaller stores. There are two CVS pharmacies, a RaceTrac gas station and a Walgreens within walking distance of the Downtown campus.

However, something Atlanta seems to lack is convenience stores, or as we call them in New York, bodegas. Beside the K Stop Market in front of the University Lofts on Edgewood Avenue, downtown Atlanta doesn’t have any stores of this type.

Also known by some as mini-grocery stores, bodegas are defined as “usually small grocery stores in an urban area, specifically ones that specialize in Hispanic groceries,” according to Merriam-Webster.

Bodegas are important to the fabric of New York culture, especially in the boroughs outside of Manhattan, mostly because there’s no space to build stores such as Walmart, Target or ShopRite, the Northeast equivalent to Publix. The limited footprint needed for bodegas allows them to be extremely successful in high-rent cities like New York.

Bodegas don’t just supply cheap and readily available grocery products for the neighborhood; they also provide jobs. Many high school-aged teens in New York typically get their first jobs at bodegas or at gas stations as pump assistants.

This provides local students with income that will ultimately end up back in the neighborhood.

It also creates a bonding location in the

Editorial NEWS EDITOR Ada Wood

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ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Ben Coletta news2@georgiastatesignal.com

OPINIONS EDITOR Shari Celestine

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Production PRODUCTION EDITOR Nadia Mohammed

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PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO EDITOR (ATLANTA) Unique Rodriguez

ILLUSTRATION BY AMBER KIRLEW | THE SIGNAL

neighborhoods. In many communities, bodegas become a neighborhood hangout spot, and many people in the community know the shop owners.

This is no different from a barbershop, where every community has that one shop all the guys go to and know each other.

Downtown Atlanta could really do with a store that not only sells bread, butter and milk but provides an extra sense of community to not only Downtown residents but also non-resident students. If anything, this could be an ideal homeless population rehabilitation program.

Provide them with jobs, and provide them with

opportunities that many of us take for granted.

As Georgia State continues to grow, as Atlanta continues to grow, it’s time that the city address a few things, beginning with the lack of access to groceries in Downtown.

These mom-and-pop shops are staples of the New York experience, and if Atlanta is going to keep taking from its Northern counterpart, it might as well take this idea and run with it.

Bodegas provide food, a sense of community and job opportunities that Atlanta desperately needs.

It’s time that some of these abandoned buildings get put to use.

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THE SIGNAL BUREAUS BUREAU CHIEF (CLARKSTON) Seawards Dawson BUREAU CHIEF (ALPHARETTA) Vacant BUREAU CHIEF (NEWTON) Vacant BUREAU CHIEF (DUNWOODY) Ashten Cunningham BUREAU CHIEF (DECATUR) Markia Lawrence ADVERTISING STUDENT MEDIA ADVISeR Bryce McNeil bmcneil1@gsu.edu

BUSINESS COORDINATOR Wakesha Henley whenley@gsu.edu

STUDENT MEDIA ADVISeR (PERIMETER) Zoana Price zprice@gsu.edu

MISSION STATEMENT

Job flexibility doesn’t mean bending over backward Why do some companies walk over student workers?

SHARI CELESTINE Opinions Editor

J

ob flexibility is a two-way street. It shows a willingness and ability to respond to changing circumstances, it’s a very good trait to have, but it shouldn’t be abused by your employer.

There is a large number of working-class students at Georgia State. I run into so many students in my upper-level classes who are balancing at least two jobs just to make ends meeton top of a full course load. As someone who is a full-time student and works two part-time jobs six days a week, I know it’s difficult, but when you have a child at home counting on you, you really need that extra income to provide for them and to make sure they have what they need.

Kenya Lemond is one student who found herself in such a predicament. She was a full-time student in search of a job to provide for herself and her son. When she landed an interview with The Shopie, located within the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, she thought she’d found a solid source for extra income.

The interview process was simple enough: She was interviewed by a woman named Lynda who wanted Lemond to be a member of her own team.

Even better, Lemond was hired on the spot. No waiting by the phone or refreshing her email for an update, she walked out with a “yes.”

“I informed her that I was in my second year of school and that I couldn’t work before a certain time due to classes,” Lemond said.

Lynda assured Lemond she would be the one to create her work schedule and Lemond would work around her school schedule in a way that she could still be a full-time student. That’s rare to find with employees outside the university since not every company wants to deal with an employee who is going to have a schedule that changes every five or six months.

Lemond attends the Clarkson campus and made the trip to the airport for her shifts without an issue… until there was an issue.

Things took a drastic turn when Travel Retail began looking to buy The Shopie. Suddenly, Lemond’s perfect schedule was changing daily. “[The Shopie] began changing things day by day in order to suit what they thought [Travel Retail] would like from schedule details, down to where we were told to stand in the store,” Lemond said.

“Everything was changed with force and in a very controlling manner.”

Lemond went to Lynda and pleaded with her to fix the errors on her schedule as she was being asked to work the morning shift when she had to attend classes. This is the same Lynda who assured

Lemond when she was hired that she would not only work around her class but would be creating that schedule herself. Instead, Lemond was taken off the schedule every day except for the one day that worked with her schedule.

“This led me to having to decide if I was going to bow down and allow this company to take advantage of me in order to provide for my son and pay my bills or take another loss,” Lemond said.

The whole situation was very traumatic and devastating for Lemond. She spent so much time trying to appease her job that she fell behind in her classes. Lemond was eventually dropped from her classes due to too many absences. Because of this, she no longer qualified for financial aid, and she had to pay for these classes out of her own pocket.

“A situation that was supposed to benefit both the company and myself became nothing but a disaster for me financially, mentally and physically,” Lemond said.

As students, we cram a lot into seven days: enough classes to be full time, part-time or fulltime jobs and extracurricular activities. The last thing we need is to be taken advantage of when we’re just trying to survive.

Editor’s Note: The names and locations mentioned in this article have been changed to protect their privacy.

The Signal shall provide, in a fair and accurate manner, news of interest and significance to the Georgia State University community and serve as a forum for the expression of ideas of members of that community. Furthermore, The Signal shall provide an opportunity for students to pursue experience within a professional newspaper environment. The Signal shall also provide truthful and ethical advertising of interest to the Georgia State University community.

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ARTS & LIVING TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019

www.georgiastatesignal.com/artsandliving

ILLUSTRATION BY JACY SHEPARD | THE SIGNAL

Atlanta artists find a safe haven in ‘The Come Up’ New variety show invites performers to do just about anything MAYA TORRES Staff Reporter

S

itting on the floor of actor Jake West’s living room, audience members of Atlanta’s recently founded variety show, “The Come Up,” experienced live theater brought back to its roots.

“I decided I wanted to create a show dedicated to people on the come up in Atlanta, a show that was about highlighting Atlanta talent, showing how powerful that can be,” West, the founder of “The Come Up,” said. “For me, a large part of that was cultivating community as opposed to just putting out content.”

In many ways, “The Come Up” challenges what the modern theater industry has become.

“I think projects like this are so important because my personal experience within the performing arts and any kind of art is someone has to let you do it,” Atlanta performer Dani Herd said. “We go to auditions, and we apply for programs. I think it’s so exciting to see the next generation of artists to go, ‘I’m not waiting around anymore for people to tell me I can go make my show.’”

Herd uses they/them pronouns and has performed on “The Come Up” once so far. For them, the first step into openly using these pronouns was when West asked which ones to use for the show. For their segment of the show, Herd performed stand-up comedy as well as a live reading of an essay from their blog.

“The title of my essay is ‘Short hair as a means of devotion,’” they said. “It’s basically about the ways in which fictional characters that have meant a lot to me throughout my life has kind of inspired my hair choices.”

Unlike in most theatrical settings, Herd was given the opportunity to perform whatever they wanted and to change their segment content multiple times throughout the week

leading up to the show.

“I [knew] at the end of the day that I wanted to create a place where I could do the work I wanted to do or my friends can do the work that they wanted to do,” West said. “There’s such a variety of stuff that we’re doing that it’s really easy to catch the light of other artists. It’s a different way to express your artistry, because a lot of us do [many] different things, but [there isn’t] always the space to do it [in professional theater].”

Although West is the founder and host of “The Come Up”, he tries to keep his involvement to a minimum and instead focus on the featured artists.

“I don’t do anything for the show,” he said. “I set it up, [I host it and] I clean up the house afterwards. The show’s about the people. That’s the coolest thing I think we have to offer.”

“The Come Up” isn’t intended only for performers who are already established in the Atlanta theater community; any artist is welcome, Georgia State students included.

“Events like this are the best thing to show off the budding talent coming out of [Georgia State],” Georgia State student Gabrielle Cohen said. “Even in Atlanta, getting the right exposure is difficult, but if [Georgia State] sponsored a similar event for their students, who knows how many awesome people would get the push they need to succeed?”

In fact, the primary purpose of “The Come Up” is to bring attention to budding artists.

“It’s about creating community and finding that next crop [of young performers],” West said. “That’s where a lot of my research is going. It’s finding people who are young and hungry. What Georgia State students can offer is the same thing that any artists can offer: being a part of the bigger thing and also bringing their artistry to it.”

The welcoming environment of the show is open to artists and audience members around the city, including those who might have some reservations about public performance.

Herd personally feels a lot of anxiety participating in open mics and for this reason hasn’t participated in standup comedy in two years. However, the relaxed setting of

someone’s home and an embracing audience made this experience more enjoyable for them.

“The couch was reserved for the performers and the panelists in the show, so everybody else was sitting on the ground,” they said. “It felt like we were at a slumber party, which was fun. So, the community factor of it felt really special and engaging. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but it ended up being so genuinely cool and supportive and comfortable.”

This experience can have a lasting impact on participants, but for West, the consequences of the show are permanent in a different sort of way, as he has a special stake in the incoming donations to the show.

“The person who donates the most [to ‘The Come Up’] gets to choose my next tattoo, and then the November show is when I get that tattoo live on stage,” he said.

This contributes to West’s hopes of creating a captivating live show. Unlike most theater, he wants the focus to be on the connection with the audience rather than telling a story.

“I think theater has these grand aspirations, and I think there’s some really cool stuff that can be done with theater,” West said. “It’s absolutely changed my life, but I think more or less what I crave in a world that doesn’t have enough laughter is the idea of laughter and community.”

Projects like “The Come Up” provide not only the opportunity for artists to express their talents in their preferred way but a safe and comfortable space to do it.

“To anyone reading out there who is a performer or an artist in any sense of the term, I think it really behooves you to check out things like ‘The Come Up’ because just to be in that room was such an inspiring experience of what is possible,” Herd said. “We can do art anywhere. We can perform anywhere. We don’t have to wait for someone to give us permission.”

More information about “The Come Up” is available on Facebook and Instagram under the name “TheComeUpShowATL.” The next show takes place on Nov. 15 at 11 p.m.

Katherine Perry • Has been teaching in prisons for 15 years.

• Teaches English on Georgia State’s Decatur campus • In talks with Georgia State to offer prisoners college credit for the classes that they take.

R

eading her poetic letter to the man she murdered silences the classroom. The professor and students listen respectfully as she recounts the abuse she and her sister endured, the catalyst for her actions.

This alternative college-level classroom rests within a women’s maximum-security prison, taught by Georgia State professor Katherine Perry. Previously volunteering her time to teach at women’s correctional facilities in Alabama, Perry is now on the board of directors for the nonprofit organization Reforming Arts, which offers liberal arts education to women’s prisons, such as theater, graphic noveling and creative writing.

Upon teaching her first class in prison in 2004 when she was a graduate student at Auburn University, Perry was “totally hooked,” feeling that something had switched inside her. This was her drive to make a difference.

“I never had students like that who just hung on every word,” Perry said. “Who were completely grateful for me to just be there.”

And as an educator, that’s exactly what Perry wanted.

When colleague and friend Kyes Stevens, who first introduced Perry to the unconventional undertaking, received a grant to launch the Alabama Prison Arts and Education Project, Perry became Stevens’s first teacher to join alongside her. Then connecting with Wende Ballew, the founder of Reforming Arts, in 2010 when she moved to Georgia, Perry has continued her work.

Through her time teaching in women’s correctional facilities, Perry was shocked to find that contrary to her initial expectations, she did not fear the people in prison but rather the prison itself.

“Prison is very dehumanizing,” she said.

She explained there is a lack of expression for incarcerated people because they are assigned numbers, hyper-scheduled and not permitted to convey their personalities through clothing.

Teaching mostly poetry through Reforming Arts, Perry noted that in expressing themselves through the written word, inmates can communicate their individual differences, these variations of human experience ultimately serving as the very thing that brings them together.

Perry compared this phenomenon as a commonality with every college class she has taught, stating that friendships often form in any discussion-heavy course on any type of campus.

However, the conversations are especially heavy in maximumsecurity correctional institutions.

For example, in 2015, Perry taught a poetry class at Lee Arrendale State Prison the day after the state had executed Kelly Gissendaner, the first woman in Georgia to have been sentenced to death in 70 years. Her students knew Gissendaner and because the prison had allowed her to complete a certification program, they did not believe that the execution would proceed.

“You could feel just plain sadness in the air,” Perry said.

Perry scrapped her previously arranged lesson plan for the day and instead asked her class to simply write and then read aloud their pieces while positioned in a circle.

Perry stressed that she is not certified to conduct group therapy, but she could offer the ability to write and to then talk about that writing. “[It is] probably not the best pedagogy in the world to let people sit and cry through something, but we all came away feeling like we weren’t alone in that sadness,” Perry said. “There was nothing we could do, but we could support each other, and part of education is getting to know other human beings on the planet. I felt like I made a difference that day.”

Perry feels that writing saved her life. She, like most artists, creates because she feels like she has to. Perry stressed the importance of reader-response theory, which states that “a text doesn’t exist unless [it has] a writer and reader,” explaining that the release one experiences from writing is only half of the feat’s importance. Proceeding to then communicate personal thoughts is essential in understanding that no one is alone.

Perry explained that Ballew often takes this idea one step further with the push for theater through Reforming Arts. The process of creating a written work that one can practice, perform and master offers the ability to feel a sense of control over the content that the students want, or need, to communicate.

Perry is careful to critique students’ work on literary merit as

Leading a classroom behind bars The professor who’s teaching the arts inside a maximum-security prison Ro Parker | Staff reporter

opposed to subject matter. She treats it the same as any other academic class, careful to talk about the “speaker” of a poem rather than assume the poet is the speaker themselves.

It takes a long time for students to open up and some never do, but towards the end of the course, several people in the classes, ranging from 10 to 20 individuals, trust Perry enough to express themselves fully and deeply.

In order to establish trust, Perry explained that she has to repetitively maintain truth to her word and convey fairness as much as possible.

“If you promise them something, you better follow through because they believe no one will because no one ever has,” she said.

Classrooms within prisons also differ from the mainstream as access to the internet is nonexistent and limited libraries often do not provide enough material.

“In the free world, we don’t even realize how privileged we are,” Perry said.

To compensate for this lack of educational supplies, Perry must ensure that she provides enough information to her students so that they can complete the work assigned.

Another difference is that power dynamics are intensely concentrated within prisons. Small things that people would not think about on the outside serve as unwritten rules that could be the difference between life and death.

“I try to be really careful,” Perry said. “Don’t give a pen to one student that you don’t give to every student.”

Likewise, the mood of a classroom dramatically shifts every time that an officer walks in. Perry learned early on that if that scenario occurs, she has to be the person to speak until the officer leaves the room.

This ensures that personal information stays within the classroom, as she regards her class as a safe space where if anyone were to discuss information outside of

the class, they would no longer be able to partake in the course.

At the end of the course, students are given a certificate from Reforming Arts, a highly important piece of the organization. The certificates serve as a product that individuals can feel proud of and show their families who are on the outside, often sending them home.

“When I leave a prison class, I have a really strong awareness that I get to walk free and that the people that I’ve been trying my best to treat as equals don’t.

It’s not when I get in. It’s when I leave and that door clanks behind me and it separates us in the hierarchy [of life].”

— KATHERINE PERRY Reforming Arts board secretary Perry explained that the course strengthens parent relationships with their children who are on the outside.

Sometimes, students send books that they read in class back home so that their children can read them too and they can talk about the literature together. Likewise, students’ academic confidence grows, allowing them to

feel comfortable on a phone-call with their children in helping them with their schoolwork. “[It’s like],’Oh, wait. You mean I can be a college student?” Perry said. “They’ve been fed their whole life a completely different narrative.”

Currently, Reforming Arts is working to partner with Georgia State to offer college credit for courses taken through the organization. Students have applied for the initiative but have not yet been accepted. Perry hopes the advancement occurs in January, though it could happen this upcoming summer.

Perry noted that people are no longer as shocked as they once were to find out about her work within prisons. “[America is] spending dollars on imprisoning people, not educating them,” Perry said.

Perry also said that people are in favor of using the arts as a basis for prison education because physical products are created in the process, whether it be a play, a poem or a painting.

“Some really amazing stuff comes out [of prison],” she said. “More people can draw [than those] that know that they can draw. They just need someone to teach them how.”

The kind of art that comes out of prisons is generally dark, painting consisting of “a lot of clocks and chain.”

Although she agrees that some people do deserve to be separated from society, Perry believes that most incarcerated people do not.

“When I leave a prison class, I have a really strong awareness that I get to walk free and that the people that I’ve been trying my best to treat as equals don’t. It’s not when I get in. It’s when I leave and that door clanks behind me and it separates us in the hierarchy [of life].”

ARTS & LIVING

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GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

Put down the razor — get hairy to help “No Shave November” is more than just an Instagram trend DANIELLA BOIK

Associate Arts & Living Editor

N

o Shave November is the month where clean-shaven men become bearded beauties.

The hashtag #NoShaveNovember has been around on social media since 2009, and with more than a million posts on Instagram alone, bearded babes are posting worldwide. But it’s not just a lack of motivation to shave or wanting to add an extra layer of warmth for the winter; it’s really about cancer prevention.

According to the official No Shave November nonprofit, it began in 2009 on Facebook, but the organization teamed up with the American Cancer Society in 2014.

The goal is to refrain from any type of shaving for 30 days and use the money one would spend on grooming tools to donate to cancer research organizations, in particular prostate and testicular cancer research. The act of growing out a beard, a mustache, leg hair, armpit hair or any other hair thus stands for something much more than just a trending hashtag.

Brett Arnold, a senior at Georgia State, didn’t realize the competition he and his friends were having by growing out their facial hair was really for a good cause until later on.

“Me and eight of my friends have been doing it since ninth grade,” Arnold said. “We started with just trying to see how long we could get our facial hair to grow, but now we try to at least donate like $5-10 each to a cancer foundation.”

Humza Baig, also a senior at Georgia State, enjoys growing out his beard but also believes the purpose behind it is something to consider.

“I find it a fun way to raise awareness for an issue that’s often stigmatized; it’s subtle yet catches the eye of people and gets people talking more and more about it,” Baig said.

“This is my fifth year doing it. I’ve been lucky enough to have pretty fertile glands around the face since high school, so I’ve been able to do it without having the patchy look.”

It’s not just the men that participate. Women are also big into letting it go untamed for a month. With memes on social media showing women growing out their leg hair for days or even months after November, some women feel empowered to do so, but others don’t.

Audrey Dunkley, a junior at Georgia State, actually feels less empowered when she’s letting her leg hair grow out.

“You feel so much better shaved even if it means you’re

ILLUSTRATION BY JACY SHEPARD | THE SIGNAL

playing into the expectations of women’s self-care and how they should show up in society,” Dunkley said.

However, Georgia State student Carina Weiler thinks it’s for a good cause and wouldn’t mind skipping her next wax appointment.

“Girls are always looking for an excuse to not shave their

legs, so if it means doing it for awareness, then that’s even better,” Weiler said.

So, as the month of November comes into full swing and men start to look like Vikings and women go against societal norms by growing it all out, let’s remember to draw awareness and appreciate the hair we’re able to have.

How Burgundy’s music relates to you

The use of this rapper’s music as a vehicle of expression and inspiration GUILLERMO RIVERA Staff Reporter

A

song’s lyrics can be written to speak about many different things. These include material things or feelings and emotions. With his music, Atlanta artist Burgundy brings his own experiences to life through lyricism.

Burgundy was introduced to music creation in a similar way to his peers. With tools for music creation being more accessible than ever and a lot of inspiration, he began to make music.

“I got my name from that one Earl Sweatshirt song off [his album] ‘Doris’ when I was in middle school or high school,” Burgundy said. “Technically, I started making music since I was in high school, I never took it seriously because I was in a group, and I wasn’t really a part of it. I really started taking it seriously when I made ‘I Been Feelin’’ last year.”

Burgundy finds inspiration through life experiences for

his music and what he writes. He uses the medium as a form of self-expression and release.

“Burgundy uses the vehicle of music as a catalyst to express himself,” Elle Alexzander, Burgundy’s boyfriend, said. “As a means of self-expression, I find that listening to his music is an insight on how he maneuvers and navigates through the problems that he faces in his life while also providing a means of escapism from these daily stressors.”

Burgundy’s experiences correlate with many feelings of love and reminiscence, and experiences young adults face when facing big life changes, either spoken or unspoken.

“I feel like all my songs are just about what I’m going through,” Burgundy said. “My whole album was about what I was going through with my life — the homelessness, being in love, stuff like that. I feel like I rap about things that people don’t say but are also going through.”

Furthermore, Burgundy’s experiences and songwriting can relate to anyone going through the same things as him.

“He talks about the struggles that come with transitioning into adulthood, like feeling lost, aimless and, most of all, being broke,” Tasmia Milkey, another close friend of Burgundy, said. “He also talks about experiencing love for

the first time in his new album, so people our age who are struggling with or beginning to feel that kind of thing could totally relate.”

Through many trials and tribulations, Burgundy has still managed to put out a solo album and a joint album with friend and collaborator Ren Haze. Not only that, but he has also released an EP and a myriad of singles.

“I see it as if I can keep doing it, then you can do it too,” Burgundy said. “It took a lot for me to do it, but as long as you’re determined, you can do it.”

Overall, Burgundy sets an example of what most modern musicians are. Difficult times can arrive during a person’s life, and Burgundy deals with these issues by rapping over melodic beats, glazed over with distorted guitars and trappy samples and others made with arpeggiating synths and booming 808s.

“I think several people have the same or similar stories to me; I just put mine over beats. I only make music for myself; it’s how I process things, but I find it awesome that people are really starting to gravitate toward it and can also relate to the things I’ve been through,” Burgundy said.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019

ARTS & LIVING

13

Office of Disability Services rebrands for inclusivity SYDNEY BLOEME Staff Reporter

T

he former Office of Disability Services will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act with a new name, better describing their initiative to help the student body. Now, students searching for the Office of Disability Services will be redirected to the Access and Accommodations Center (ACCE).

Tina E. Vires, director of the ACCE, said that changing the center’s name became a priority after noticing a disconnect between the center and its reach to students.

“Nationally, 11% of college students indicate they have a disability,” Vires said. “While not all will choose to request accommodations, we noticed that across all Georgia State campuses, Disability Services was only connected with about 2%.”

After comparing numbers, the ACCE surveyed students asking their opinion of the name and found dissatisfaction with the negative connotations that come along with the term “disability.”

Kate Wilder Cortez is a student who suffers from mental illness and other “invisible” disabilities. Cortez suffered through her initial semesters at Georgia State without accommodations until one of her professors directly led her to the center.

“I had to have a professor take me by the hand … and physically walk me to the office,” Cortez said.

Cortez was apprehensive to use the office because she associated it with physical disabilities.

“I wouldn’t consider myself disabled because I still

ILLUSTRATION BY BRANDON ZHAN | THE SIGNAL

do most of what I want to do,” Cortez said. “I didn’t like thinking of myself as someone who needed it.”

The ACCE recognized that most students were dissatisfied with the name, so in the 2018 fall semester, they consulted students, Student Government Association and other institutions that underwent similar changes.

“Over 78% of respondents chose an option other than ‘Disability Services,’ and the majority of those preferred ‘Access and Accommodations Center,’” Vires said.

Other institutions in Atlanta have also redirected their approach to accessibility. In January 2017, Emory University announced they would rename Access, Disability Services and Resources to the Office of Accessibility Services.

“It is our goal to emphasize the notion of ‘access’ and ‘accessibility’ rather than focusing on an individual’s disability,” Lynell Cadray, vice provost and university Title IX coordinator at Emory, said in a press release.

Emory isn’t the only Atlanta university shifting their

language toward access. A search for “Disability Services” on Spelman College’s website redirects to the Student Access Center and Agnes Scott College yields the Office of Accessible Education.

When asked her opinion of the change, Cortez liked how the new name focuses on changing the environment, not the individual.

“I like the change a lot to focus on the environment being accessible for the student and not that they are disabled and there’s something wrong with them,” she said. “Saying ‘disabled’ is saying they are wrong for the environment and not that the environment is wrong for them.”

Vires agrees that the adjusted language focuses on the environment and not the individual.

“There are barriers in the environment that block [students] from appropriate access. We want to focus on removing those barriers,” Vires said. “We do not ‘serve’ disabilities, and we never have. We have always facilitated

These students could open a zoo together Meet the dorm residents who have unorthodox roommates HANNAH JONES Staff Reporter

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etween classes, work and parties, many Georgia State students still find time to take care of a furry friend — or maybe not-so-furry.

Fur, spikes and scales are all characteristics of today’s pets.

More Americans than ever are opting to raise a pet, and according to the Insurance Information Institute, roughly 67% of American households have pets.

Georgia State sophomore Leilani Leon has a Jack Russell Terrier mix service dog named Winn-Dixie. Leon’s family adopted him about 10 years ago, and he now holds an irreplaceable spot in Leon’s life.

A dog that began as a regular family pet later became Leon’s companion in life and health. In high school, Leon began fainting with little warning.

As college life neared, she began to experience more stress-induced migraines and loss of consciousness. During this time, Leon noticed Winn-Dixie incessantly nudging her and following her every move. That’s when Leon realized the depth of their bond.

“Winn-Dixie started picking up on things … [I realized] maybe he knows something that’s going on with my body,”

Leon said. “Once he was staying with me all the time, he would nudge me like, ‘Hey, hey, you’re going to pass out,’ and I’m like, ‘Okay, I know what to do.’”

Since then, Leon helped train Winn-Dixie as an official service dog. For him, this includes staying calm in stressful situations and placing himself underneath Leon’s feet in case she faints.

Not all pets have the same practicality as Winn-Dixie, and Georgia State students have reported owning a wide variety of pets, including bearded dragons, ferrets and horses.

Georgia State senior Maya Watley owns an axolotl named Mushu. An axolotl is a water-dwelling amphibian that resembles a transparent, smiling salamander walking underwater. The axolotl is endemic to Lake Xochimilco near Mexico City.

She enjoys time spent with Mushu but admits that some aspects of pet ownership are tedious.

The responsibilities include keeping the tank water above 69 degrees, using a quality filter and not exposing them to any overhead light, due to the axolotl’s lack of eyelids.

Watley adds that axolotls are critically endangered but thrive in captivity. This persuaded Watley to give Mushu a new home.

Watley isn’t the only student housing a scaly friend.

Student Breanna Bertrand owns Freddy, a six-month-old bearded dragon.

Owning a baby bearded dragon comes with additional responsibility, and Bertrand added that whenever she takes Freddy out with her, she gives herself a curfew. “[He] feels like a newborn child. Like, I’ll be at a party and say, ‘Hey guys, I’ve gotta get going soon, I have to put him to bed,’” Bertrand said with a laugh. “It happens every single time I go out. I can’t stay out too late because, Freddy needs his UV light [because] he can’t get too cold.”

Despite the duties of pet ownership, these students agree that their efforts are a fair trade for companionship.

“It’s almost therapeutic taking care of something like that,” Bertrand said. “It’s just always nice having that constant presence. Even though Freddy doesn’t do a lot but bask in the light all day, he really does have a personality of his own.”

Watley agreed and said that her pets have helped her mature.

“It helps me be more responsible, just by taking care of something else,” Watley said. “I have something other than myself to regulate and make sure I’m taking care of it properly.”

Leon said she has had to make sacrifices to train WinnDixie, but now she is thankful for their impenetrable bond.

“I know he’s always there for me, and I can rely on him,” Leon said. “He is my number No.1 de-stresser, he is my lifeline.”

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SPORTS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019

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KRYSTAL WHITE & AVERY WIGGINS

Staff Reporters

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Exhibition games kick off the 2019-20 basketball season Women lose to Tuskegee; men score 101 points against Point

Men’s Basketball guard Nelson Phillips dunks during their first exhibition win against Point University.

PHOTO BY UNIQUE RODRIGUEZ | THE SIGNAL

asketball season returned with a bang. The men’s and women’s teams opened up their 2019-20 campaigns with a pair of exhibition matches at the GSU Sports Arena. Behind an impressive team performance, the men laid down their intentions and recorded a dominant win.

While the women ultimately lost their matchup, head coach Gene Hill was able to give his young players plenty of minutes to learn from and build upon their mistakes.

The women’s basketball team was defeated 78-73 by the Tuskegee Golden Tigers Tuesday night. Because of NCAA rules, the transfer players were unable to compete. The Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team’s Jada Lewis did not play either. Half of the team’s freshmen started. The Panthers made a late push in the second half to almost claim the game but ultimately came up short.

“We understand we are playing with six freshmen right now,” Hill said. “It is a learning experience. Tuskegee is a good team. We knew that it would be a good game for us to learn. Tuskegee came out and played well and hard.

They deserved their win.”

Freshman Taylor Henderson and senior Shaquanda Miller-McCray led the team in scoring. Hill was pleased with their performances but is looking for further improvement.

“We expect big things are coming from them this year,” Hill said. “We knew how good Taylor was, and she is learning. She had some missed assignments that we will work on and get better at.”

Miller-McCray ended the game with 16 points. While the senior’s offensive performance was impressive, Hill noted a need for improvement on the defensive side of the ball.

“Shaq is a big part of what we are trying to do,” he said, referring to Miller-McCray by her nickname. “She had missed assignments, also. That put her in a situation where she was fouled out.”

Henderson ended the game with a stellar 22 points in her first game as a Panther. Even though she had a great game, she remains focused on improving her game.

“I would not say I played [well],” she said. “I have a lot of other stuff I need to improve on. I’m happy to see I was able to find excellent moments and make good plays in my first college game, but I have a lot to work on.”

Comparing the first and second half, the Panthers played utterly differently.

Hill gave the freshmen advice in the halftime break, which played a big part in the second-half turnaround.

“I can tell [the freshmen] were getting down on themselves,” Hill said. “I said, ‘Hey, listen. ESPN is not tweeting about you missing a shot. You are going to miss a shot. Just continue

to stay with it. We know you can make shots.’ They are going through that freshmen jitters. They can shoot.”

For Henderson, the coach’s locker room advice means a lot.

“Coach Hill is very encouraging,” she said. “His response and actions are always great. He never brings us down or fusses at us.”

The Panthers open up their regular season play on Nov. 5 against the Toledo Rockets. For Hill, the game represents an opportunity to reverse some of the mistakes made in the exhibition game.

“Toledo is tough. They are a great program [and] well-coached,” Hill said. “They have some new players and really good veterans. We have to play better than we played tonight. We have to come out and play for forty minutes.”

On the men’s side, the Panthers rolled to their 101-66 victory over the Point University Skyhawks Friday night. The Skyhawks led for all of one minute and 48 seconds at the beginning of the first period. From that point on, it was all Georgia State.

The Panthers had five players post double figure statlines. Joe Jones lll, Damon Wilson, Justin Roberts, Corey Allen and Nelson Phillips each showed off their abilities to pour it on. The Panthers shot 49.4% from the field, 33.3% from downtown and 66.7% from the free throw line.

The success of their offense was solidified on the defensive end. Overall, the Panthers had 18 steals and four blocked shots. This allowed them to score 38 points off of turnovers and 28 points on the fast break.

The Panthers were also able to dominate down low, scoring 50 points in the paint and limiting the Skyhawks to a measly 20 points in the paint of their own.

Despite all of this success in the exhibition, head coach Rob Lanier is still disappointed with some aspects of his team’s performance. In particular, he was disappointed with defensive lapses that allowed Point to generate life as a team, namely the 12-0 run the Skyhawks went on near the end of the first period.

“We got into a situation where we were playing to score instead of playing the game,” Lanier said. “And I thought we took a little bit of a step back in the latter part of the first half.”

The Panthers start their regular season on Wednesday against the Brewton-Parker College Barons. The team is looking forward to being able to start the season at home in front of their fans. “[I am] just excited,” Roberts said. “I mean, it’s our season opener [and] the first game that’ll count. Just ready to get out there and show that we’re back.”

Roberts and many of his fellow teammates will be hoping to prove any doubters wrong and fill the massive void left by the departures of last season’s core lineup.

Only time will tell how the men’s and women’s squads finish this season, but one thing is certain: Both teams are out to surprise the masses.

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Missing Trae Young, Hawks succumb to Miami Heat Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn stood out, combining for 45 points ESPEN INDRISANO Sports Editor

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Trae Young-less Atlanta Hawks hit the hardwood Halloween night, looking to rebound from a twogame losing streak. Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn ensured that was not to be the case, as the duo combined for 45 points and helped their squad to a comfortable 106-97 win.

“I thought our guys competed tonight,” head coach Lloyd Pierce said. “We’re still learning each other. We’ve got a lot of young guys.”

Without Young, Thursday night’s game was all about communication on the floor.

“With Trae being out, one of our main leaders, I think communication is key,” Cam Reddish said pre-game.

It was Reddish who looked to facilitate in the opening minutes, as he and Kevin Huerter looked to handle the majority of the playmaking duties. The guard got to the hole with ease, drawing a couple of early fouls and knocking down four free throws as the Hawks opened up the first quarter with an 11-8 run.

“I thought [Reddish] had great pace in the first couple of possessions,” Pierce said. Soon after, though, Reddish’s inexperience began to show.

After some sloppy defensive play on the perimeter, the Heat closed the quarter on a 22-15 run and took a 30-26 lead.

The Hawks finished the quarter on a high note, though.

After a Reddish block and outlet pass, DeAndre’ Bembry threw down a one-handed jam to electrify the State Farm Arena crowd. The dunk was one of Atlanta’s few highlight plays of the night.

Bembry went on to finish the contest with a doubledouble, recording 18 points, 10 rebounds and a team-high eight assists off the bench.

The second quarter saw much of the same. The Heat were active on the glass early and opened up a 48-33 lead before Pierce called a timeout with 4:37 to go.

Out of the timeout, the Hawks responded with a 13-4 run

to close the half and cut the deficit to 52-46. Bembry and Tyrone Wallace, who dropped six points of his own, led the charge.

The Hawks came out stale in the second half, though.

Reddish and Huerter continued to struggle with their playmaking, and Kendrick Nunn began to pour it on for the Heat. After draining a three pointer, the guard intercepted a pass and threw down a breakaway dunk. The Heat fans inside the building began to find their collective voices.

Nunn, who’s performance was of no surprise to Jabari Parker, finished with a game-high 28 points.

“He’s had a different, less-publicized journey,” Parker said.

“But it’s long overdue. He’s supposed to have been here with me [in the NBA] a long time ago.”

Trailing 71-57, Pierce threw his bench unit back in, trying to regain the team’s long lost second-quarter spark.

Things went from bad to worse when John Collins went down with a left ankle sprain. He could not continue and headed straight for the locker room but returned in the fourth quarter.

But the bench unit began to find its form once again, as Parker, who finished the game with a team-high 23 points, and Bembry combined for 14 points in the third quarter, including an acrobatic offensive rebound and putback by Bembry.

“I am really proud of DeAndre’ Bembry. I am really proud and happy for Jabari Parker,” Pierce said. “I thought those two guys really gave us a spark.”

A Tyler Herro 3-pointer with less than a second on the third-quarter clock killed off the momentum and gave the Heat an 85-75 advantage going into the fourth and final quarter of play.

While the bench continued to fight in the early stages of the fourth, the team ultimately burned out, and Erik Spoelstra’s Heat polished off the Hawks for the second time this week.

The team will enjoy a much-needed break until it takes on the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 5. “[The break] can help us regroup,” Parker said. “It’s real good that we have these couple of days off.”

Here are a few things we learned.

Pre-game at State Farm Arena before the Oct. 31 Hawks vs. Miami Heat match up.

PLAYMAKING A BIG ISSUE WITHOUT YOUNG

While the makeshift backcourt of Reddish and Huerter started the game well, it quickly progressed into more of a nightmare.

“I thought [Reddish] started the game off great,” Pierce said. “I think it’s a new spot, it’s a new position, and it was good for him to experience that.”

Reddish began forcing shots, namely a circus layup attempt in the second quarter, which drew some groans from those in attendance.

“I [have to] slow down,” Reddish said. “I have to let the game come to me and just play my game. I know I’ll be perfectly fine.”

While the game was certainly a learning experience for guys like Reddish, Young’s absence was felt all night. The team will be hoping to put this performance behind them and welcome Young back to the floor as soon as possible.

TOUGH NIGHT FOR DEANDRE HUNTER

While Hunter’s defensive performance had some moments throughout the evening, his offensive game was subpar at best.

The rookie struggled throughout and finished 1-for-9 from the field with a measly four points.

This was one to forget.

TYLER HERRO LOOKS LIKE A FUTURE STAR

We know Zion Williamson, Ja Morrant and RJ Barrett will dictate the majority of the rookie talk this season, but Herro is making a great impression on the league so far.

A product of John Calipari’s Kentucky program, Herro has crushed the Hawks across their two games this week, averaging 23 points-per-game in the process.

It seemed like Herro was there with a demoralizing 3-pointer every time the Hawks put together some momentum Thursday night. His cold-blooded nature on the floor is exciting to watch.

Technically speaking, Herro’s step back is sublime, and his outside shooting is sure to light up the league for years to come. Don’t take your eyes off this kid. He could be something special and may just go on to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award.

PHOTO ESPEN INDRISANO | THE SIGNAL

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019

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Who is men’s basketball superfan Maria Urbina?

Meet the university custodial team member who loves her Panthers KRYSTAL WHITE Staff Reporter

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aria Urbina has been a member of the University Custodial Team for 15 years. Her day job is to take care of and make sure the GSU Sports Arena is clean, but she is a diehard basketball fan as well. She goes to away games on her dime.

We talked about the history of the men’s basketball program, her prediction of this upcoming basketball season, speaking Spanish with athletes and more. During this interview, multiple people greeted her when they saw her.

Krystal: What do you love the most about your job?

Maria: I love what I do here. I like the students, people and basketball players. I love it.

Krystal: What’s your favorite memory with the basketball programs?

Maria: When [the men] won the championship is my favorite moment. When they went to New Orleans, I drove there and cheered. When they won the game, I congratulated my players and told them, “Congratulations, my champion.” I call all the players “champion.” I give them hugs and kisses.

Krystal: Where is the farthest you have traveled to watch the men’s basketball team?

Maria: New Orleans is the farthest. I watched the team win the Sun Belt Conference Championship against Georgia Southern back in 2015. This is the game Coach [Ron] Hunter tore his Achilles. I was so excited when they won the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Baylor [University]. All I saw was good things about Georgia State in the news. “Georgia State went to NCAA [Tournament].”

“Georgia State is doing a great job for the school.”

Krystal: What are your predictions for the men’s basketball season?

Maria: This season, I’m sure we will have a good season.

Coach Lanier is an excellent coach. I saw a practice, and he is working hard with the team. Every morning, the team is here at 6 o’clock. They are in the weight room.

They practice twice a day, I think. We have great assistant coaches.

Krystal: What do you think of the new players joining the men’s team?

Maria: I’m so happy with the new players. Eliel Nsoseme is coming from Cincinnati. JoJo Toppin came from Georgia.

I call all of them my “best champion.” Joe Jones III is a transfer too. He is so tall and outstanding. The players last year were excellent. Damon [Wilson] is good. Chris [Clerkley] is good. When they see me, they yell out, “Champion!”

Krystal: When you are watching the game, what excites you the most?

Maria: When they shoot three-point and dunk, oh, my God, I get so excited!

Krystal: What are your predictions on the women’s basketball season?

Maria: Last year, they had a good season. There were a lot of injuries last year. This year, we have a lot of new players.

We can have an exciting and enjoyable season under Coach Hill. I cannot wait to see my girls.

Krystal: Do you think the men will go back to the NCAA Tournament?

Maria: Yes. We will have a good season and win the Sun Belt Conference title. I am ready to travel and watch my players. I’m also prepared to watch them on television.

Sometimes things happen. If we do not make it this year, next year we will be in the first place.

Krystal: Two weeks ago, you were tutoring a volleyball player in Spanish. How close are you with the players?

Maria: I’m super close to the athletes. Lauren Bandera, from the volleyball team, [speaks] in Spanish with me all the time. Sometimes the athletes will come to me and say, “Hey Maria, I have a question about Spanish in one of my classes. Can you help me out?” I say, “Okay!” We sit down, and I help them.

Krystal: Is there anybody who speaks Spanish with you fluently?

Maria: Lauren [Bandera] from volleyball, Angela [Alonso] from cross country and a player from the women’s soccer team. I try to speak English to [the soccer player], but she

Maria Urbina is a member of the University Custodial Team and has a die-hard passion for the men’s basketball team.

responds in Spanish every time. I tell her, “No, English!

English! No Spanish! I want to learn more English.” She said, “No! No! No! You speak good English. You do not need any more English.”

Krystal: What is a funny moment you had with someone at the GSU Sports Arena speaking in Spanish?

Maria: Sometimes, when I see Mike Holmes [associate athletic director of communications], I say, “Hola! ¿Cómo estás?” He said, “Estoy bien [I am well].” When I continue talking in Spanish, he tells me, “I do not know what that means, Maria.” I talk in Spanish with the coaches, like the track and field coach Chris England. I love to speak in Spanish with Chris Kreider, assistant coach for men’s basketball. We only talk in Spanish.

Krystal: Coach Lanier mentioned you in his introductory press conference. Why did that happen?

Maria: When the first time [Athletics Director] Charlie Cobb and [Georgia State University President] Mark

PHOTO BY UNIQUE RODRIGUEZ | THE SIGNAL

Becker introduced the new head coach, Coach Lanier talked about me. At the conference, he said, “I’m new here at Georgia State. I’m still trying to learn everyone’s name, but I know one person. I know Maria. Everybody knows her and loves her.”

Krystal: How did you meet Coach Lanier?

Maria: The first time I met him was outside. I saw a big black car. I knew [Rob Lanier] was the new head coach. I saw a picture of him and his family on the website. I said to myself, “This is him.” I went outside because I had to let him inside. I saw his son, Emory. I ask him, “You are the son of the head coach?” He said, “Yes.” I said, “I’m Maria!”

We had a long conversation. You would [have thought] we had known each other for years. Coach Lanier walked over to us. I told him, “welcome.” He had a surprised look on his face, probably because he did not know me at the time.

He remembers me because I introduced myself. The first person he met was me.

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Men’s basketball guards hoping to claim more silverware

Kane Williams and Damon Wilson looking to lead by example ESPEN INDRISANO & ANDREW FREEDMAN Sports Editor & Staff Reporter

“W

e get boogie, baby,” Kane Williams said with a beaming smile across his face. The junior guard was discussing the upcoming season and why students should be ready for the show, regardless of the fact that the team recently lost some of its better players, including D’Marcus Simonds and Malik Benlevi.

“If [students] want to see some wins [and] have a good time, come to the third floor [of the GSU Sports Arena],” Williams said.

For Williams, the upcoming 2019-20 season will be all about adapting to his new environment, whether it be his newfound role as one of the team’s leaders, or working under a new head coach, Rob Lanier.

“It is just a little adjustment for me and [Damon Wilson],” he said. “We are in leader roles now.”

For Coach Lanier, Williams’ progression as a leader has been significant to the team’s off-season growth, as they prepare to take on the Brewton-Parker College Barons on Nov. 6. “[Williams] has been the most vocal advocate each practice,” Lanier said. “He is a natural leader.”

For Williams, it was a transition that needed time, but Lanier has seen a significant development throughout the pre-season.

“I don’t think he fully embraced [the role] early on,” Lanier said.

“Now, his voice matters more, and I think it’s taken him a few weeks to settle in, and he has embraced it.”

Williams has not been alone in the process. Senior guard Damon Wilson, who also played a large role in last season’s run to the NCAA Tournament, has been with his fellow backcourt partner from the very beginning.

“I am trying to lead by example,” Wilson said. “We have a really good, skilled team.”

Lanier has taken note of Wilson’s leadership and noted that it goes hand-in-hand with the team’s energy levels on the practice floor.

For those who returned from last season’s heartbreaking loss in the NCAA Tournament, the hiring of Lanier ushered in a new style of play. “[Coach Lanier] is very defensive-minded,” Wilson said.

For the senior, the transition into a hard-nosed man defense was difficult at first.

“It was a big change,” he said. “We are getting used to it and we are learning to love it.”

Under Ron Hunter, the previous head coach, the Panthers primarily ran a zone defense. Fans will not be seeing a zone defense much, if ever, this season.

“We will be a man-to-man defense,” Lanier said during April’s introductory press conference. “We’re going to guard you all the way up the floor and then when you get into the halfcourt, we’ll be guarding you then.”

Lanier knows there are expectations at Georgia State. Under Hunter, the Panthers blossomed into the national spotlight,

Kane Williams, Damon Wilson and coach Lanier spoke on the upcoming season during the men’s basketball media day on Wednesday afternoon.

especially during the team’s 2015 run, in which Hunter famously coached from a stool, the result of an Achilles tear he suffered while celebrating the team’s conference triumph over Georgia Southern.

During April’s introductory press conference, Lanier stressed that the winning culture was paramount in his final decision to accept the position.

For Williams and Wilson, the upcoming season’s goals are no

PHOTO BY UNIQUE RODRIGUEZ | THE SIGNAL

different than they were last year.

“We are always going for [the title],” Williams said. “I am trying to get all of them.”

For Wilson, this is his final year of eligibility. On top of a Sun Belt championship, he has high aspirations for his personal performances.

“First-Team All Sun Belt and Sun Belt Player of The Year — those are my expectations,” Wilson said.

Seungju Andrew Kim wins debut MMA fight by TKO

A vicious right hook stopped the fight in the second round ERIK INDRISANO Staff Reporter

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aking his way into the red corner… Seungju Andrew Kim.” Andrew Kim made his way to the Monday Night Brewing Garage cage Friday night with “Right Above It”

by Lil Wayne blaring over the speakers. He shuffled around the cage, stared down his opponent and prepared for a battle.

Kim, who was making his debut in Mixed Martial Arts, faced off against fellow debutant Lee Alarcon in a three-round bout.

The cage doors locked and it was time to see if all the years of hard work and intense training would pay off.

The two came out full force, both landing a plethora of big shots. Neither was backing down from the initial adversity.

Early in the first round, Kim was taken down, but due to an

illegal head strike thrown by Alarcon, the ref stood the two back up and deducted a point from Alarcon.

Shortly after, Alarcon landed a shot that popped Kim’s contact out, which halted the bout. Kim, unable to put the contact in, decided to continue with impaired vision. This seemed to have little to no influence over his performance.

A right cross landed flush on Alarcon’s chin, dropping his opponent in the middle of the first round. Kim’s supporters in attendance erupted into cheers.

Alarcon recovered, and after Kim landed some big body shots on the ground (NFC rules prevent any head strikes on the ground), the bell sounded and brought an intense first round to an end.

Round 2 opened up similar to the first, with the two exchanging big shots. Kim found himself on the receiving end of some strong right hooks, but the Georgia State student wasn’t going to let anyone beat him.

Alarcon began to load up on his punches, putting tons of force behind them, but through the advice of his corner, Kim

began to evade these strikes and his opponent began to tire out.

Kim began to land a plethora of jabs mixed with a couple of leg kicks, and as the round went on, Kim began to dominate.

One minute and 11 seconds into the second round, Kim set his opponent up with a feint left and a massive right hook.

The punch landed flush on Alarcon’s chin, dropping him and ending the fight via a Technical Knockout, also earning the first knockout of the evening. The crowd appreciated the show and early stoppage.

Kim’s corner, made up of coaches and training partners from American Top Team, rushed into the cage to celebrate with their fighter, lifting him up into the air. The life-changing final decision came soon after.

“Your winner by technical knockout, Seungju Andrew Kim!” Kim’s supporters made themselves heard, cheering and screaming at the top of their lungs for their beloved fighter.

Kim was victorious. The years of training had culminated into a beautiful right hook. His NFC record now stands at 1-0.

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