The Signal Vol. 84 No.22

FEB. 28 - MAR. 7, 2017

VOL. 84 | NO. 22

The signal at georgia State University

@gsusignal

/gsusignal

@gsusignal

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The annual celebration inspires the Atlanta community once again.

A&L PAGES 10-11

PHOTO BY JADE JOHNSON |THE SIGNAL

Wild Bulls dance group from Fort Lauderdale, Fl perform in the Black History Month Parade, Feb. 25, 2017.

Inside a new scarlet letter Georgia’s new House Bill 324 aims to mark immigrant licenses with “non-citizen”.

News | Page 4

the fight is on, again

Marijuana needs to be legalized in Georgia, for more than one reason.

Editorial| Page 7

DAILY NEWS AT WWW.GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

News 3

media vs. pewdiepie

where it all started

Find out how the media has soiled this YouTuber’s name through false claims.

Blackmon turns from Georgia State student-athlete to NFL network reporter in a decade.

A&L | page 12

Sports | page 17

opinion 7

Arts & Living 9

Sports 15

b h m p

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The world is your workplace

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NEWS

www.georgiastatesignal.com/news

REPEALING THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

Senator Vincent Fort addresses the crowd during the Atlanta March for Healthcare, Feb. 25, 2017.

PERRIN WILLIAMS Staff Reporter

O

n Feb. 25, hundreds of Atlantans took to the streets to protest the government’s threats of repealing the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.

“We’re here to send a message to the city of Atlanta, to the state of Georgia and to the entire nation, keep your hands off our healthcare,” Attorney Gerald Griggs, coorganizer of the march said.

Griggs said they’ve been trying to meet with senators for five weeks and they have refused to meet “with the people”.

Effective March 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a health care statute created by former President Barack Obama that serves to reduce the uninsured population by providing higher quality and more affordable healthcare.

Included in this statute is the “Prevention and Public Health Fund,” which according to the Atlanta JournalConstitution (AJC) provides about $20 million in funding for a variety of Georgia projects and research institutes, including the Department of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Morehouse School of Medicine and Georgia State.

CDC’s Director of Asset Management Services Jeff Williams said one of the unattended consequences of repealing the ACA is the slashing of funding to state and local public health offices indirectly through grant funding via the CDC. “The CDC serves as a sort of ‘passthrough’ for federal funding for state and local recipients for a number of activities the health and public prevention initiative supports,” Williams said. “These initiatives are seldom considered when politicians look to repeal legislation.”

And besides research funding, employees could be at risk, according to Williams.

“Jobs and equipment could definitely be affected,” Williams said. “Many do not know that the federal Prevention and Public Health Fund helps pay salaries for public health experts and equipment for public [college] health labs.”

While the funding of public health offices could be

affected by the repealing of Obamacare, Georgia’s public institutions could take a hit.

STUDENTS AFFECTED

As reported by the AJC, the Prevention and Public Health Fund actively aids Georgia State’s School of Public Health as it conducts research with both Dekalb and Fulton counties, costing a total of $900,000.

According to the National REACH (Race and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) Coalition, Georgia State’s School of Public Health and Morehouse School of Medicine’s Prevention Research Center obtained a $400,000 REACH grant from the CDC to combat and reduce the rates of diabetes and heart disease in impoverished neighborhoods.

Lee Rivers Mobley, associate professor at the school of Public Health, said that Georgia State may only be minimally affected by the repeal.

“The state system maintains its own self-insured risk-pool administered by third parties,” Mobley said. “Because of that, we may only be minimally affected by requirements under the ACA.” The elimination of the ACA could ultimately affect public research institute funding, but it could also affect students’ health care.

“Georgia State students could possibly be affected if the ACA provision that covers young people until age 26 on their parents’ plan is removed,” Mobley said. “People that will be directly affected will be the millions who have been relying on state or federal exchanges to buy group insurance outside of any employee or workplace plan.”

According to the New York Times, insurance provider Humana has decided to withdraw from Georgia’s insurance exchange and will not offer health insurance under the federal law. As professor Mobley said, if the healthcare act is repealed, it could affect those who have insurance outside of the workplace and students who are currently on their parents’ insurance plans.

For Georgia State student Kristy Guilbault, healthcare is a right that everyone should have access to.

“It has no direct impact on me, since I’m insured through my parents’ employers,” Guilbault said. “But as someone who aligns my ideologies heavily with liberalism, I am definitely opposed to the act being repeal. Everyone deserves equal and affordable healthcare.”

PHOTO BY DAYNE FRANCIS | THE SIGNAL

LOCATING FUNDS About $20 million is allocated to several different departments around Atlanta through The Federal Prevention and Public Health Fund.

According to AJC

The Georgia Department of Public Health $14.7 million The DeKalb County Board of Health $928,453 Morehouse School of Medicine $999,214 American Cancer Society Global Headquarters $1.8 million Task Force for Global Health $1.6 million National Association of Chronic Disease Directors $179,000

PAGE DESIGN BY SALINNA PHON | THE SIGNAL

NEWS

4

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

City

Georgia’s new ‘scarlet letter’ bill in the house Opposers argue this ‘scarlet letter’ could create division and discrimination MICHELLE TABRIZI Staff Reporter

H

ouse Bill 324 (HB 324) would require the explicit labeling of “non-citizen” on all Georgia immigrants’ driver’s licenses.

Valerie Porter, Atlanta resident and wife to an immigrant, is not in support of the “alarming” legislation. To her, this bill is government overreach.

“I see this bill as a form of harassment,” Porter said. “A sort of ‘death by a 1,000 paper cuts’ approach to immigrant policy.”

Porter argued that in recent years there has been a cultural shift in America where lawmakers have been fighting for what she sees as discriminatory legislation like HB 324. She said that this legislation would provide no new security or information to law enforcement or employers that would be looking at the license but instead, she believes it would lead to harassment of those with the “non-citizen” ID label.

“I think the law is an example of an emerging authoritarian approach to governance,” Porter said. “And citizens are supporting these measures either naively or as an extension of prejudice but aren’t paying attention to the effect it has on our democracy. Georgia lawmakers are trying to utilize administrative bureaucracies to harass individuals. That’s alarming to me.”

The bill held its first hearing on Feb. 2, with D.A. King, a long-time outspoken lobbyist, speaking out in support of the bill, saying it was an issue of “public safety”.

“What we should be doing is ... to make a driver’s license that clearly notes the illegal status of the bearer. It could not be used to vote, it could not be used to board an airline, it could only be used for permission to drive,” he said.

King said that the state would be moving towards public safety by clearly denoting a person’s illegal status on their license.

But student Susana Durán Perez also took a stand at the hearing saying that no one ought to know whether a person is an immigrant just by viewing their license. She opposed previous arguments favoring the bill by saying that not all immigrants were criminals, and there was no proof that immigrants were a cause of voter fraud in Georgia, so she “failed to see how non-citizens will impact public safety.”

And Georgia State alumnus Roberto Gutierrez said he stands against the bill as well. Though he is not personally affected by the bill, he is a strong opposer of it.

“When you brand people as ‘non-citizen’, you set up grounds for discrimination,” he said.

Gutierrez believes this bill will further divide what is an already, in

“It doesn't concern me that my husband is going to have to go to the DMV and spend another two days trying to wade through the confusion he always meets there. It's not the inconvenience that is alarming. I feel like there's a cultural shift happening in America."

— Valerie Porter Atlanta resident

his opinion, divided country.

“Policies affect people,” Gutierrez said. “We need policies that support us rather than [policies that] separate people.”

While Carolina Antonini, a Law Professor at Georgia State, doesn’t believe the bill will pass, she is worried about the impacts it could have on Georgia if it does.

“Given the anti-immigration environment created by the new White House, this time around, I am truly concerned about the passage of this bill,” Antonini said. “It will set Georgia back politically, socially, economically and morally.”

Antonini commented on the subliminal messages that come with the label and how it encourages racist tendencies towards those that possess it.

“A branded license is no more than a scarlet letter,” Antonini said. “It sends a subliminal message to anyone viewing it that there are lower classes of people with substandard rights and those who may be prone to cross the racist line will feel permitted, encouraged.”

The process of labeling licenses is another way of branding classes that separates the population and damages society, according to Antonini.

“To issue branded licenses takes Georgia to a deeper and darker side of the road: not only is Georgia going to decide who really is legal, it is going to brand those who are not “one of us” and will “out” those people to society for whatever consequences that attaches,” Antonini said. “The implication is that each time the license is used, the requester (police, bank, bartender, store clerk) will [be] branding. The pure act of holding a branded card is damaging to the fiber of society as we, once again, having learned nothing from our painful history, again seek to separate us in classes of superiority. This is morally devastating.”

HB 136 CHANCE OF PASSING

47 percent According to the AJC

SUPPORTERS 1. Alan Powell, District 32 Title: Chairman - Public Safety & Homeland Security 2. Rick Jasperse, District 11 Title: Chairman; Higher Education 3. Brad Raffensperger, District 50 4. Steve Tarvin, District 72 5. Jason Ridley, District 6 6. Josh Bonner, District 72 Summary A bill to be entitled an Act to amend Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to issuance, expiration, and renewal of licenses, so as to require the term "noncitizen" to be included on certain licenses, permits, an .identification cards; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

According to Georgia General Assembly

5

NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

State

Pushing for marijuana in the state Last Week

New bill wants to increase punishable amount to two ounces

Local

Deal expresses opposition to the return of Religious Liberty

Gov. Nathan Deal made it clear that he would not be in support of the revived religious liberty bill, which he controversially vetoed last year. According to the AJC, Deal said on Feb. 23 that he has “no desire to entertain that legislation” claiming the religious liberty legislation is “not something that is part of [his] agenda.” Deal expressed he will give the bill fair consideration, though he sees no current justification for the bill.

National

Trump says transgender rights are up to the states

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY LAHAR SAMANTARAI | THE SIGNAL

SB 105 aims to reduce punishments for possession of under half an ounce or less of Marijuana, in which the person caught will only get a $300 fine instead of jail time.

STAFF

O

n Feb. 24, parents gathered at the Georgia State Capitol in support of House Bill 65 (HB 65), which expands the scope of conditions legally to be treated by medical marijuana.

The Senate approve the bill last Tuesday, but with the expansion of treated conditions, the new piece of legislation also cuts down the levels of THC which can be legally used by patients from 5 percent to 3 percent.

THC oil has been suggested as the only sign of hope for Nichole Place’s, whose dad was recently diagnosed with cancer but because it’s illegal, acquiring it would be difficult and dangerous for him.

“My dad was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer two days after Christmas,” she said. “Only one of his doctors had suggested he try marijuana, although he couldn’t give him a medical card for it. His doctor said that it would help with the pain, nausea, and would help him eat.”

Place said people had suggested to her dad a THC oil called phoenix tears, which has in the past been proven to be absorbed by cancer cells, causing them to “eat themselves”.

“The videos and articles that we have seen also say that it can help smaller things like joint pain and migraines,” she said.

But her dad wouldn’t be able to get the treatment in Georgia, which Place said is completely unfair.

While current legislation allows for patients to receive up to 20 ounces of cannabis oil, it’s illegal to buy or sell it in the state, making it almost unobtainable.

“I feel sort of betrayed by my government because there is something out there that could work without the side effects that chemo has and they are keeping it from really sick people.

I’m angry. I’m angry at the cancer and I’m angry

2015 House Bill 1, the Haleigh’s Hope Act, Which will allow qualified patients to legally possess up to 20 fluid ounces of low-THC cannabis oils with their doctors’ recommendations.

— Signed into law that medical marijuana could help him and the government won’t give it to him,” she said.

Another bill, aiming to reduce the penalties of recreational use, is making its way through the Senate.

The new bill, introduced by a group of democratic senators and headed by Sen. Harold V. Jones II, seeks to lessen the punishments for being caught with marijuana.

Senate Bill 105 (SB105) is different from HB 65 because instead of medical marijuana, this bill targets recreational use.

“It shall be unlawful for any person to possess or have under his or her control two ounces or less of marijuana,” the bill states. Current law makes it unlawful for anyone to carry one ounce or less.

The bill states that if the aggregate weight one if caught with is half an ounce or less, they shall be punished with a fine of $300 or less, and if it weighs anywhere between half an ounce to two ounces, individuals will be “punished by imprisonment for a period not to exceed 12 months, 6 months of community service, or a maximum fine of $1,000.”

Georgia Care Project director James Bell aided Sen. Jones to work towards the success and implementation of this bill because he believes it will decrease the amount of people that become felons just for possessing marijuana.

“By moving the felony amount from one ounce to two ounces, we prevent thousands of Georgians from becoming felons,” Bell said in a statement to the Georgia Care Project. “Allowing for a $300 fine for small amounts will eliminate the risk of prison time for many more citizens.”

Feb, 2016 House Bill 1046, which regulates to possession of marijuana, so as to provide that possession of one ounce or less of marijuana is not punishable by imprisonment.

— Signed into law

Mar, 2016 House Bill 722 attempted to remove the 5 percent limit on the allowable THC amount in cannabis oil, which makes the oil ineffective for many patients.

— Did not pass

Jan, 2017 House Resolution 36: proposing an amendment to the Constitution to authorize the General Assembly to provide by a law for the regulation of the production of cannabis and sale of medical cannabis to certain individuals for medical usage as provided by law.

— Not decided on

Feb, 2017 Senate Bill 16 legislation to expand the limited medical marijuana law to include autism.

— Passed in the Senate

President Donald Trump reversed protections on Feb. 23 set during the Obama administration that allowed for transgender students to use the bathroom that matched with their corresponding gender identity. This policy reversal appears to contradict Trump’s past comments supporting transgender rights. According to The New York Times, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was initially against President Trump’s reversal, due to her uncomfort with the impact it could have on transgender students. DeVos claimed that it to be a “moral obligation” to protect students from discrimination, but after being confronted with having to resign or change her stance, DeVos went with the latter.

Global

Mexico not compliant with Trump’s funding proposal for border wall

Mexico threatened the U.S. with a trade war if President Donald Trump’s goes through with imposing a 20 percent tax on imports to help pay for a controversial wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. According to BBC News, Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said that the Mexican government could impose tariffs on certain goods from U.S. states (including possibly Iowa, Texas and Wisconsin which have previously been cited) that rely on exports to Mexico. Trump has reassured that the wall will be built, claiming it will happen much ahead of schedule.

NEWS

6 city

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

APD and GSUPD’s partnership in action Chief Spillane shares nation-wide challenges of recruiting more police officers KOFI STILES Staff Reporter

G

eorgia State and the Atlanta Police are recruiting new officers to bolster Atlanta’s security.

The Atlanta Police Department’s (APD) authorized strength has been depleted by 150 officers, according to recent Atlanta Police retiree and new Georgia State University Police Department (GSUPD) Chief Joseph Spillane.

“Retirements, resignations and terminations have seen the number of sworn officers drop from a high of 2,034 to 1,884,” Spillane said.

The hires are just the beginning Spillane said in SGA’s campus safety forum Feb. 23, as there will be more officers soon located by Turner Field as well as the university becomes more active in that part of town.

“Once [student] housing moves over there, we will have people there full time,” Spillane said, adding that he hopes to soon have a Wellness Center by Turner Field to keep police officers in shape.

Spillane and Major Scott Kreher of the Atlanta Police Zone Five have worked on numerous details together to keep the campus, as well as the rest of the city safe. Georgia State’s police covers 500 yards from any building leased or owned by the university. This allows university police to share concurrent jurisdiction with APD, thus the newly formed partnership.

The first major collaboration of the departments came after the One12 incident, where a student was shot during a robbery gone wrong. The facility falls under the jurisdiction of Zone Five, but Chief Spillane has met with Atlanta Police to keep the area around the apartment secure.

Spillane further said that residents have complained about security guard stations

Georgia State police officers work closely with APD since they’re able to access more Atlanta areas like student housing.

not being filled, and both departments found weaknesses in the facility’s safety system like doors being open when they were supposed to be closed, and security guards missing from their stations which allowed students to get in without being checked in.

“Most of the issues are management controlled. Atlanta Police Department has been working with them and has a courtesy officer living there who is increasing his patrol activity,” Spillane said.

Although Chief Spillane expressed ample confidence in his own campus’ security, he intends to increase the presence of police on campus alongside the Atlanta Police. The desire to increase the visibility of campus police is shared by Georgia State student Brittney Keith.

“I feel unsafe walking back to my dormitory at 9:45 at night, also when I leave the library at 2 a.m. there’s no one outside; I feel there should be police [on campus] during that time,” Keith said.

Getting new officers to bolster security, however, comes with its own challenges.

Director of Public Affairs for the Atlanta Police Elizabeth Espy pointed out that hiring new police is a challenge faced by the whole country.

“The Dallas [Texas] Police Department that had to cancel an academy class, because of low enrollment,” Epsy said.

Spillane attributed the decline in police hiring to the current social environment, making the profession of law enforcement unattractive to potential hires.

“Over the past several years there have

SIGNAL ARCHIVES

been many high profile incidents that have cast the police profession in a negative light,” Spillane said, “while Georgia State Police and Atlanta Police may not have had these types of incidents, those that happened in Chicago and Ferguson make national coverage and affect the entire profession and our recruiting efforts.”

Special Events and Clery Coordinator of Georgia State Police Department Pamisa Scott echoed this concern. She hopes to close the rift between the community and law enforcement by hiring police that are able to better engage the community.

“We want to change the public’s mindset of the police. We want them to know that we are here to help,” Scott said.

SGA

SGA spearheads safety forum, working on CBA committee CHRISTINA MAXOURIS News Editor

A

fter twice confronting the Student Government Association (SGA) during their meetings, United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), Turner Field residents and student activists finally grabbed the organization’s attention.

USAS made an appearance in the student government meetings first on Jan. 26, during a Q&A with Georgia State University President Mark Becker, where student activist Asma Elhuni was taken out of the room by police and issued a two-year ban as a criminal trespass warning.

A measure that GSUPD chief Joseph Spillane said will work differently from now on. He said the ‘ban’ will last only until the student meets with administration, and will also depend on whether the individuals are students or not, and how severe their violation was. “[GSUPD will] want to bar that student until they talk to [Dr.] Holloman and see which conduct was violated — until Holloman tells me we’re good to go,” he said during SGA’s campus safety forum on Feb. 23.

And Dean of Students Dr. Darryl Holloman said they have looked into the process ever since Spillane came on board and could not

determine where the two-year period came from, saying it “maybe was a little too long.”

USAS members and Turner Field residents spoke out again during a Feb. 2 meeting, where they decided to meet with the organization to discuss possible ways the student government can help.

In their Feb. 16 meeting, SGA heard a special report from USAS members on the recent Turner Field sale and the terms of the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) they have been pushing for. Two senators, Sen. Maxwell Turner and liaison Markeesa Walker, also presented a special report on the subject after researching the aspects of the sale and the CBA. According to SGA communications director Anthony Nguyen, USAS had drafted and presented a resolution to the senators which called for the association to take a stance on the CBA and support it.

But Nguyen said, not all senators agreed.

“The discussion turned into what we can do together, I said that we can disagree all day over the CBA about the details, but what can SGA do instead? After the discussion, we said that instead, we should draft a new resolution that doesn’t take a stance but gives them [USAS] resources that they need,” he said.

SGA will create those resources through a university-wide committee that would provide

PHOTO BY JADE JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

SGA holds a town hall meeting on student safety with (left to right) Director of Student Housing Randy Brown, Dean of Students Dr. Darryl Holloman, Senior Coordinator of Student Victim Assistance Jennifer Bodnar, and GSUPD chief Joseph Spillane.

USAS a channel of communication between their students, residents and Georgia State administration.

Nguyen said that even though SGA has heard USAS’ request in the past and presented President Becker with the CBA before, it’s the lack of constant communication that has caused a large disconnect.

This was also brought up by student activist Asma Elhuni in SGA’s Feb. 2 meeting, saying she rejected a meeting with the administration, because the representation would not be equal and she felt it was unfair.

“The committee would keep it [communication] consistent, and keep it on equal standards,” Nguyen said.

OPINION

www.georgiastatesignal.com/opinions

Atlanta’s tarnished homeless record

The city’s recent actions on homelessness exude hypocrisy

A

WESLEY DUNKIRK Columnist Wesley is a sophomore at Georgia State majoring in English. Outside of his passions for writing and reading, Wesley rows crew with Georgia State and follows the American political scene.

Tweet Wesley @wesleydunkirk

EDITORIAL

tlanta has recently gone through an apparent period of cultural prosperity - a trip to the Super Bowl, an Emmy for the television show “Atlanta,” the success of Migos, yet another rap group originating from the city, but throughout all of this success, one of Atlanta’s most storied problems remains intact: homelessness.

Fulton County has almost 6,000 homeless people within its borders – the most out of any county in Georgia, according to CBS46. While it is not unexpected for Fulton County to have a large homeless population, the way in which the City of Atlanta treats the population is contaminated with hypocrisy.

In his most recent State of the City address, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced that the city would match the United Way’s contribution of $25 million to set up a fund to assist Atlanta’s homeless population. Large financial contributions to support a group of people that are struggling to support themselves financially is, in theory, an excellent concept. In an objective reality, the city would be applauded for making such a strong effort to support its homeless population; however, in our true present moment, this financial contribution is tarnished by the city’s current treatment of issues related to homelessness and the dehumanizing attitude which it has assumed while making decisions regarding them.

The largest blemish on Atlanta’s record of handling issues related to the homeless population is its effort to shut down the Peachtree-Pine homeless shelter in Downtown. The area surrounding the shelter has been riddled with crime and an aggressive amount of drug dealing for years. The city cites these issues as reasons why the shelter should be shut down and the large homeless population that uses the shelter should be dispersed to other parts of the city. Mayor Reed has taken an aggressive stance on the issue, even going so far as to say that if an agreement cannot be reached the city would pursue taking the property via eminent domain.

A hard-line stance on shutting down a homeless shelter and further displacing a large homeless

SAVE YOUR COINS,

I WANT CHANGE! ILLUSTRATION

BY ERIK REID | THE SIGNAL population does not show the empathy for homelessness that Mayor Reed likely wanted to convey through the announcement of the city’s new homeless fund; rather, it reveals a deep lack of understanding for the needs of the homeless population and a harsh lack of desire to understand those needs.

Eliminating a prominent option for support does not help the homeless population, it makes their lives more difficult. For the city to portray empathy for its homeless residents it should be committed to opening and maintaining as many homeless support systems as possible, not shutting down one of the city’s largest shelters. The complaints that Mayor Reed has made about the shelter – crime, drug dealing – are legitimate and need to be addressed more significantly, but in a way that alleviates these issues, not through a complete shutdown that creates more problems for the homeless population that relies on the shelter and resides in its surrounding area.

If the city plans on making financial

contributions to the homeless population, it should consider making contributions aimed toward revitalizing the Peachtree-Pine shelter and supporting the homeless population that utilizes the services offered by the shelter. Ironically, in the same State of the City address that Mayor Reed announced the homeless fund, he also said that he believed the shelter would be shut down by the end of his term in 2017. Shutting down institutions that support the homeless and driving homeless individuals into different areas of the city does not match the city’s apparent goal of supporting the homeless, it undermines the legitimate efforts that the city is making to improve the quality of life of its homeless citizens.

While I would love to applaud the City of Atlanta for the strong financial commitment that it recently made to improve the lives of homeless individuals, I am unable to do so until the city places a stronger emphasis on maintaining the Peachtree-Pine shelter.

Empathy does not operate through eradication, it functions through support.

Need the weed

Marijuana’s proven to work miracles on the ill and bring in the cash for states that have legalized it

W

e’ve reached that point again where we’re hopeful. Maybe they might change their minds and legalize weed… besides, they’ve got nothing

to lose.

According to Forbes, New Frontier Data projects that by 2020 the legal marijuana market will have created more jobs than the manufacturing industry. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be more jobs created in that field than in the utilities and government industry as well.

Sadly, the majority of those jobs will not be coming to Georgia. Why you ask? Who knows.

Marijuana sales in 2016 totaled to $6.7 billion, according to Forbes. Think about how much money the state of Georgia could make off taxing this industry that has proven to be a money-maker. Instead of regulating the recreational use of marijuana, we have completely said the use outside of certain medical conditions is prohibited. Our state is doing this for the sole reason of “we don’t want our people getting high.”

Sure there are what some view as “legitimate reasons” that marijuana legalization is bad for us. According to a 2016 Georgia State School of Public Health study, “the longer a person smokes marijuana or cigarettes, the more

likely they are to experience metabolic disorders that increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes.”

But here’s what’s funny about the study: while both products seem to have the same effects after prolonged periods of usage, one has been legal since the founding of America and one continues to haunt us with is prohibition.

And furthermore, marijuana’s often proved itself a noteworthy medical advance.

We’re not saying that weed’s a miracle worker: it is not concluded that cannabis cures cancer, and that is not the notion that is being suggested. There are claims and evidence, however, that cannabinoids (THC, CBD, CBG and CBC) help and improve the conditions of cancer for some people.

Cannabinoids “affect the user by interacting with specific receptors, located within different parts of the central nervous system,” according to learnaboutmarijuanawa.org/.

There are studies that show that cannabinoids stop and reduce the growth of cancer and have proven to promote apoptosis, the death of tumor cells, while stopping angiogenesis, aiding production to the tumor, according to ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

There are cases where cancer victims resort to using “Phoenix Tears” as a treatment method. This method was

established by Rick Simpson, who create the oil himself out of the resin left over from smoking the combination of different Indica strains and high quality oils, according to phoenixtears.ca/. The Hemp oil has 90 percent of THC levels in it, and is non-addictive.

There are several testimonials and cases of the oil “curing” or reducing tumors within the body, one can view these cases on phoenixtearsfoundation.com/. They all state that their tumors decreased or disappeared in illnesses like breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer and others.

This oil, among the medicinal usage of cannabis for the control of seizures, arthritis, glaucoma, headaches, chemo discomfort and other conditions, are approaches that several people have chosen to take. However, the purchasing of medicinal marijuana is regulated so harshly in Georgia and among the U. S., according to mpp.org/ states/georgia/, that many patients don’t have access to cannabinoids for treatment.

Because it is illegal to produce, sell or purchase hemp oil, cannabinoids or medicinal marijuana, the opportunities for the sick to take their desired methods of medical care, that are effective, have become limited.

But knowing Georgia, things around here won’t change for a while.

8

OPINION

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

Is Netflix beginning to become racist?

Subscribers are deleting their accounts due to the new ‘Dear White People’ series

S

SYRINA MERILAN Associate News Editor Syrina is a sophomore Pre-Med Psychology major. She enjoys reading, writing and volunteering for the Big Brother Big Sister program at Georgia State. She also works with the early college program to prepare high school students for college. In the future, she plans to conduct research to cure schizophrenia.

Tweet Syrina! @syrinamerilan

tarting April 28, a new original series, called “Dear White People” will be screening on Netflix. The show is a spin-off of a film that premiered on Oct. 17, 2014 that attempts to tackle the oppressing environment that African American people face from all races, including their own. Some are taking offense to the new series, but frankly the opposers are being over dramatic.

It seems that after Netflix announced its new series, a lot of individuals, mainly white, are offended and have started to accuse the series and Netflix itself to be racist against white people. They have even gone to the extent to boycott Netflix by deleting their accounts altogether, according to Huffington Post. Some black people, however, welcome the new series with open arms claiming that white people have nothing to be offended over, because they cannot possibly experience racism.

There are strengths and weaknesses to both claims. It is clear that those who are calling the series “racist” have not taken the time to watch the film that the series is based on. The film does not focus on all the wrongs white people do in society, but how society (black and white) has made classifications of who you can be and how that associates with race as confirmed by the writer, Justin Simien on twitter.

“There will b[e] no arbitrary mocking of white people in @DearWhitePeople. Unflinching satirical look at all of us? Yes!,” Simien said on Twitter.

For the black people that believe the whole situation is being blown out of proportion, I agree, but not because white people can’t experience racism. The definition of racism is: “Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a

TROY FAIRBANKS SAMANTHA WHITE different race based on the POSTER CHILD REBEL belief that one’s own race is superior,” according to the Oxford Dictionary.

So no particular race can be excluded from racism.

Has there been a history of towards a particular group of people? Yes, but this does not mean the other race can never and will never experience it.

The only instance where someone can argue that the movie portrayed white people in a negative light would be the “N***a Night” LIONEL HIGGINS COCO CONNERS they held, but even this TOKEN DIVA can’t be seen as a biased portrayal, because this event actually took place at the University of California San Diego in 2010, which is exactly where Simien, got the idea from according to a blog post he made on Feb. 21.

“I waffled on whether or not to include a sequence where white students threw a “N***a Night,” to dress up in black-face, drink forties and blast Ja-Rule. I wondered if I was taking the satire too far. Months after I’d decided to cut ILLUSTRATION BY ERIK REID | THE SIGNAL the scene, I came across an article about just such honest how would a black person like deciding to never go to the an occurrence at UC San Diego. feel if a white person named a supermarket, because they sell The scene was reintroduced and movie “Dear Black People”? meat and you don’t like it. Now if provided a fitting climax that I Automatically, the first response you assume that you don’t like the could now model after real world would be take to take offense meat, but you’ve never actually events as they unfolded.” and defend their race without tried it, then the response would The “racists” claims still have any knowledge of the film. This be judged as overdramatic. If your their merits. The phrase goes, does not excuse the people who reasoning was based on the fact “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” or have judged the movie based on that the supermarket has repeated more appropriately, don’t judge a something as trivial as the name, offenses of animal cruelty, then movie by it’s title, but the tendency but it is important to keep in mind that could be considered the to judge based on appearance is a that this is a natural response. principle of the thing and banning human trait; not just one possessed Is the issue big enough to delete the establishment is perfectly by white people. That being said, accounts over? I would argue acceptable. Before you make any Simien must have expected some no, but it always depends on the drastic decisions, think ‘is this reasoning behind the choice. It’s animal cruelty or just meat’. backlash on the name alone. To be

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ARTS & LIVING

www.georgiastatesignal.com/artsandliving

One

with natural INGA MASIC

Arts & Living Editor

I

t’s all about working with what you were born with for Georgia State organization College Curls. The group aims to make women and men own their natural hair and beauty, instead of falling in with the beauty trends that society deems to be acceptable.

Naturality is being established more than usual in media and entertainment, like Alicia Keys’ self-movement. She decided to stop hiding her bare face and genuine hair from the world, and now flaunts her true self on The Voice and in public, without fear of criticism and insecurity.

That type of mentality is what College Curls wants women at Georgia State to adhere to, they want everyone to stand tall when showing off their genuine hair.

Long, short, medium, curly, straight, frizzy, sleek or no hair: it’s all worth showing off for College Curls.

President Stephanie Edgecombe opened up to The Signal about the importance of College Curls’ message and what impact it can have on women, men and young boy and girls struggling to love their natural selves.

What is College Curls and what influenced the creation of this organization?

Edgecombe: College Curls is natural hair inclusive not exclusive hair club. We focus on the maintenance of healthy hair whether you’re a girl or guy and whether you’re natural or relaxed. Back in 2013, Ajahn Richard’s created this organization to educate those who were natural, wanted to be natural or just wanted healthy hair.

Why do you want to promote natural beauty and the knowledge of natural hair?

Edgecombe: I want to promote natural beauty and knowledge of natural hair, because a lot of people feel as though they don’t have it. This organization helps members embrace

what they were given and helps them exude that confidence.

What were your thoughts on Alicia Key’s statement for embracing her natural beauty this past year and currently?

Edgecombe: I see exactly where she’s coming from. A lot of people that wear makeup and weaves are always wearing it. You’ll never see them without it. It’s a safety net for them.

Constantly covering and hiding your natural beauty can be a hindrance to one’s self esteem.

Now there’s nothing wrong with wearing makeup and weaves but it should be done in moderation.

What do you think about the promotion in media and entertainment of women promoting plastic surgery, tons of makeup and straying from their natural selves?

Edgecombe: The media promotes that because that’s their image of what being beautiful is. You can watch and listen to those things all day, but just because the media says it doesn’t mean you need to abide by it. It’s one thing for it to enhance your beauty a bit, but the way media speaks on it is a whole different level.

Has the organization done any events in the past that worth mentioning? Does it have any coming up soon?

Edgecombe: We’ve had some great events.

One event that we’ve been doing since 2013 is Curl Coction. Members come and make their own hair products, typically a conditioner or styler and we’ve heard great feedback from them and how the product worked. We have our [first] College Curls Week coming up the weekend after Spring Break (March 20 -24).

What are some respons es after joining the organization from members?

Edgecombe: The members enjoy the organization a lot. Some have expressed that’s a different than what they imaged because we don’t just cater to natural hair so they bring along their friends who aren’t natural. It’s great.

Why did you get involved with the organization?

Edgecombe: When the organization was created in 2013, I was a freshman who has just began transitioning so it was something that was going to benefit me in the long run. Joining the executive board wasn’t on my radar when it was brought to me that I should but I’m glad I did. It’s helped with my growth as a leader and person.

What is the ultimate goal you want students to take away from knowing about this organization?

Edgecombe: No matter if you’re natural, relaxed, guy, girl, this organization is one for you to be proud of it. I think students who join will learn to start embracing their natural beauty. They’ll also be able to meet new people, learn new tips and tricks about their hair and how to maintain it.

College Curls is an organization to join if one is wanting to step out of the shadows and show the world what they are truly made of, the organization’s mission statement is, “Love your natural hair, as you love yourself. Nothing is more beautiful than a woman who embraces what she was born with.”

Contact

Exotic Textures Salon | Spa | Boutique This salon caters to all needs for natural hair, they do twist sets, braid and even have a Locktress on hand to loc hair.

664 11th St NW #8, Atlanta, GA 30318 (404) 664-1752 Natural Creations If one is looking to get some color in your natural hair or dive into new and creative styles, then this is the place.

2380 Benjamin E Mays Atlanta, GA 30311 (404)441-4927 Oh My Nappy Hair This place was started for 25 years ago in California and then moved here to Atlanta. The owners opened the place to ensure the embracing of natural hair, according to http://thankgodimnatural. com 237 Mitchell Street, Atlanta GA 30303 (404) 221-8900

Instagram: @collegecurls Email: collegecurlsgsu@gmail.com

Natural hair websites These websites have everything to do with natural hair, they blog about it, sell products for it and teach about it. They aim for empowerment.

• naturalhairrules.com • thankgodimnatural.com • curlynikki.com

PAGE DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION BY TAISJAH WILKINS | THE SIGNAL

THE BLACK HISTORY MONTH PARAD

Honoring the past and incentivising the future INGA MASIC

Arts & Living Editor

T

he first Black History Month Parade was created in 2013 by Earl Little. Today, it is one of the largest African-American celebrations in America, according to blackhistorymonthparade.com.

On Feb. 25, the parade graced the streets of Atlanta once again to celebrate the remembrance of all those that have fought for equal rights in the past, and to inspire newer generations to keep the fight alive.

This year’s parade featured marching bands, multiple high schools and middle schools, dance groups, awareness foundations, some speaker celebrities, like Mama Ca$h and much more.

The Signal attended the parade to snap the spectacular event and all of the people showing their appreciation and pride.

So for those newcomers to Atlanta, or for those who haven’t found the time to go out and explore some rich history, here are some places to visit when wanting to see early notions of equality.

“BLACK MECCA” Many professional outlets, like The Washington Post, Atlanta-Journal Constitution and MSNBC, have referred to Atlanta as “The Black Mecca.” This name surfaced from the undeniable African-American history Atlanta carries.

Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site

This is an all encompassing tour of MLK’s birth place, Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, Dr. and Mrs. King's Gravesite, Freedom Hall, and Historic Fire Station No. 6.

450 Auburn Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30312

King Center

This center displays photos, artifacts and memories of King’s impact on the Civil Rights Movement. It was opened in 1968 by Mrs. Coretta Scott King, MLK’s wife. It also holds displays for Rosa Parks and Ghandi.

449 Auburn Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30312

APEX Museum

This museum was created to present history through an African-American perspective.

This was established to make visitors understand the amount of impact the African-American community has had in America and around the world.

135 Auburn Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30303

Center for Civil and Human Righ

This was established as a tool for empow By showing the history movement for civ in Atlanta, it’ll then catapult the moveme human rights all around the world. It bring past, inspires the present and changes the 100 Ivan Allen Jr Blvd NW, A GA 30313

ATL Black History Tour

This tour takes participants all through Atlanta and show them the the visual tim of African-American history in this city, way from the civil war to present day. Th consists of multiple stops and will walk t streets that hold plenty of stories.

To book a tour: (770) 374-7

DE

hts

werment. vil rights ent for gs up the e future.

Atlanta,

h Metro meline y, all the The tour through .

7476

PHOTO BY JADE JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

PAGE DESIGN BY KHOA TRAN | THE SIGNAL

Over 30 groups that include dance groups, a Panamanian marching band and participate at the 2017 Black History Month Parade, Feb. 24, 2017.

ARTS & LIVING

12

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

column

PewDiePie is not a Nazi now or ever How clickbait media defamates characters for monetary gain

PAGE DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION BY MINH HUYNH | THE SIGNAL MINH HUYNH Graphic Designer

I

t must be a slow week down at The Wall Street Journal (WSJ); there must not be any news worthy stories on politics or global economics for them to be fabricating clickbait articles on YouTuber Felix Kjellberg, otherwise known by his channel name PewDiePie. Felix has the most popular channel on YouTube with a little over 53 million subscribers. He is a comedian that started off playing video games like Call of Duty and Halo and reacting to them. Then later on in his career he started reacting and making jokes on other content creators’ videos and sometimes making funny, satirical rants. His humor is silly, immature, and blunt, but recently he has been accused of making anti-semitic jokes

by WSJ. After watching the jokes in question I can say with certainty that he is not a neo-Nazi.

I am not a fan of PewDiePie, I’m not part of his zealous “Bro Army,” and I don’t find his videos entertaining. To be honest, I didn’t watch many of his videos until WSJ released their hit piece on him.

I looked at the original clips and images in The Wall Street Journal’s video that they complied from Felix’s channel. It took me less than thirty minutes to find the original contents on his channel, watch them in their entirety for me to see that they have been taken out of context.

One of the jokes he made was a social commentary on the website Fiverr, he was pointing out the stupid things people would do for five dollars. He paid people to hold up a sign that read “Dead to all Jews” and say “Subscribe to Keemstar.” The Wall Street Journal and countless other media sources removed the last part “subscribe to Keemstar,” in their reports. The joke was Felix was trying to make Keemstar (another YouTuber) look like an Anti-Semite. Perhaps the joke went too far, and Felix pushed the boundaries of what is acceptable, but the context

remains that he was making a social commentary on what stupid things people would do for money, and making a stab at Keemstar, not expressing personal anti-Semitic views.

What the WSJ has done is purposefully misrepresent Felix by taking his videos out of context, cherry picked jokes that he made and framed those images to make him look like a neoNazi. Take another example, in a video that Felix made that he posted on his YouTube channel titled, “I’m Racist?,” Felix is mocking different news outlets for calling him a neo-Nazi based on no real evidence. He spends the entire video calling out the media for misrepresenting him and taking his previous videos out of context. He spent most the video criticizing the culture of clickbait articles that use sensationalist headlines for more views.

He was extremely heart-felt when he said, “Every year there is something like this coming out. I’m a racist now, and then I’m sexist. I’ve been a pedophile. These like horrific claims, I just have to take from the media. It will get them clicks, and uh who cares?

Who cares if there is a real person behind it right?”

And of course, because Felix is a comedian he ended his video with a joke of him putting on Nazi military clothing and watching a clip of Hitler speaking. The joke was meant to make himself look like what the media is painting him to be. However, the brilliant team at The Wall Street Journal found this video and his joke at the end and made their own video of him. The Wall Street Journal then removed the context of the joke and made him appear to be watching Hitler’s speech seriously.

These journalists chose to watch his entire video, ignore all the points that he made about the media misrepresenting him, and then took his one joke out of context to misrepresent him as a neo-Nazi. This doesn’t sound real, this sounds more like an episode made by the South Park creators or an actual fake news article from The Onion, but this is the sad reality that we live in a post-fact world. The consequences of this type of journalism has a negative impact not only on Felix, but also on the current political climate.

Because of The Wall Street Journal’s hit piece, YouTube has cancelled Felix’s show, Scare PewDiePie. The announcement

was made shortly after Disney Maker Studios cut their ties with him as well. This type of defamation of character has lost him millions, and has stunted the growth of other YouTubers. For example, Ethan Klein from H3H3 Productions is a growing channel and he along with other YouTubers were supposed to make appearances on Scare PewDiePie, so this cancellation based on false claims has an impact on other independent creators in the YouTube community, as well.

However, the greatest impact that this type of reporting has is that it defies the core principal of what journalism is supposed to be. Journalism’s sole purpose is to report to the public accurate news that will inform their judgement. Taking information and then decontextualizing it on purpose for personal gain goes against everything that reporters should do, and it has an effect on the integrity of the company.

The current comments, and Like to Dislike bar on The Wall Street Journal’s video on PewDiePie illustrates my point. People like myself who aren’t his fans but have seen the evidence that he isn’t an Anti-Semite, and members of his fan base are all coming together and voicing our discontent. People have been reporting in the comments section that they will be reporting the video, and ultimately The Wall Street Journal’s credibility is taking a toll.

In recent months, more than ever before, I have heard people from my own social circle to the general public express outright disdain for the media. We live in such a vast age of information that someone like myself, or a 10 year-old for that matter, can simply pull out our phones and fact check these kinds of news articles.

Because of that reason I feel like people from the politically left and right have been calling out the various news sources for lying by omission or decontextualizing quotes. This article that The Wall Street Journal posted is unfortunately a textbook example of fake news, and because they have contributed to the heated climate of false reporting and senseless labeling of “racist” or “anti-Semite.” The next time an actual racist or sexist has gain a stronger platform to spread their ideas, I along with other readers will be more skeptical.

13

ARTS & LIVING

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

movie Review

‘John Wick: Chapter Two’ is pure joy ALEX GRAHAM Staff Reviewer

T

his sequel is, in one word, awesome. Fans of the first will be more than pleased, as will those who haven’t seen the first but need some bloody assassin action in their lives.

True to its titular promise, “Chapter Two” picks up where the first movie left off. Still wigging out over the death of his wife and having just finished offing the guys who stole his car and killed his dog, super assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is visited by his old acquaintance Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio), who forces him back on another killing spree, thanks to a blood oath Wick made years back.

The rest is pretty much nonstop blood splatter, and it’s pretty frickin’ amazing. Director Chad Stahelski and cinematographer Dan Laustsen make a great duo when it comes to shooting fights, abiding by the all-important (but often forgotten) rule that the action is

best when we can actually see what’s happening. Hollywood likes to skimp on choreography in favor of uninteresting tight framing, shaky cam and fast cutting to give us the impression of action, which is way lamer than watching some welltrained badasses lunge at each other in frames that give them room to move. Keanu Reeves, it turns out, is one such badass, and Stahelski and Laustsen make sure to show off his and the rest of the amazing cast’s fighting skills. This makes the fight scenes super effective, interesting to watch and easy to follow.

This is John Wick we’re talking about, so the deaths are bloody and wonderfully creative. To whit, that story from Chapter One about Wick killing some guys with a pencil comes back — let your imagination run wild for a second and you’ll know whether or not you’ll like this movie.

Reeves somehow feels like the perfect vessel to deliver all this blood. I’ve never rejoiced in his glory like I have watching him dominate as Wick, with his blank face bathed in neon colors as he breaks necks and severs arteries.

As an actor he’s not great with his face, which actually works for him when he’s in action mode and needs to look sad or angry or determined (these are all emotions that we can easily project onto that perpetually stern gaze). It’s hot and effective, so I’m totally on board.

As for plot, it’s perfectly whatever.

It functions to move the action forward and keeps the stakes nice and high — Wick’s always on the brink of death —and D’Antonio’s intentions are clear. I guess it’d be predictable if you were thinking hard about it, but if you’re just there to brag that you can understand basic narrative structure, you’re missing what’s great about the “John Wick” movies: the narrative is the bones on which the cool fighting rests, and these bones are unshakably simple and unobtrusive.

So hooray for simplicity!

“John Wick: Chapter Two” is a fabulously crafted action flick that’ll get your adrenaline pumping. You should most definitely see it and experience Keanu Reeves shoving knives into people. It’s one of the purest pleasures there is.

Verdict

Grade

A-

“John Wick: Chapter Two” has all the wild knifing and stabbing of the first film, plus another dog!

Album review

Matt Martians funky debut delivers a new sound JALEN JENKINS Staff Reviewer

R

&B/Soul collective band The Internet is coming off the release of its Grammy nominated 3rd album Ego Death, which was met with critical acclaim. Matt Martians, who played keyboards and sang as well as produced most of the album, released his first solo attempt The Drum Chord Theory in late January.

The album runs at 12 tracks and just over 40 minutes long, and it is filled with a cohesive unique style that Martians has crafted. The influences are pulled anywhere from soul music, funk and hip hop, and thematically, there is a very loose narrative about a girl and drugs.

This is a solo album, but he is joined by lots of friends including Tyler the Creator, fellow Internet members, Syd Tha Kid, who also recently released her own solo effort and Steve Lacy, as well as

others. Tyler the Creator lends his unmistakable production skills on the song “Dent Jusay,” and Syd and Lacy sing and play guitar on other songs.

The first song “Spend the Night/ If You Were My GF” sets the perfect mood of the night time with a bright ride cymbal being played over dreamy light bells, and synth with Martians crooning that blends perfectly together. From then it goes into “If You Were My GF,” which picks up the pace to a funky standard, with Martians voice pitched up and harmonized with himself.

Although the influence is taking from smooth music, the music that Matt Martians has on this project is choppy, but in its choppiness, lies its charm. Because of Martian’s talent and instrumentation, he was able to produce smooth music with additives that are not expected.

An example of this is the first half of “Where Are Yo Friends,” which has pretty piano chords but the percussion sounds like a factory, with different instruments working together to make a cohesive beat.

This style works well throughout the album, and gives Martian a unique curve to his music that makes it memorable.

A funny song on the album, called “Found Me Some Acid Tonight” is only 51 seconds, and it tells the tale of Martians, well, finding some acid. This is a happy song, with a floppy bass line and some harmonies. The inclusion of this song keeps the album lighthearted, which is the mood that works well the best with this release.

Songs on The Drum Chord Theory stop as soon as they start, often using repetition in verses and instrumentation to emit a vibe, like on “Southern Isolation.”

Some songs are split into two different songs on the same track.

This organization of the album and how some of the songs end so abruptly give it a feeling of it being unfinished or being amateur, but the confidence level that Martians possesses to throw these parts together gives the whole album an attitude of “Yeah, this is my album and this is how I’m going to do it.”

Grade

B+

Verdict For Mat Martians debut album, his personality shines through the machine-like percussion under fat basslines, smooth keys and razor lead synth parts.

Tracks to listen to • • •

“Dent Jusay” “Where Are Yo Friends” “Spend the Night/If You Were My GF”

WE KNOW you're bored

Find us on YouTube: The Signal at Georgia State University

calendar&games

14

Campus & Downtown Events

Wednesday

6 4

8 9

Gone with the Wind

Atlanta Jewish Music Festival

The museum dedicated to the classic film is offering discount tickets for every two bought, you just have to pay $9 for two tickets.

That’s a steal!

Atlanta doesn’t only host the Jewish Film Festival, it welcomes a musical creation to the city.

The festival will feature jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, orchestra, folk and other genres.

Friday

Sunday

Peter Morrison

Cardboard Con

Sleeping Beauty

Don’t miss your chance to see some mind blowing magic from magician Peter Morrison. Tickets are $15 and the event will be held at the Atlanta Magic Theater.

The unique convention is back in Atlanta, and it’ll harbor many science-fiction and fantasy cardboard costume creations.

The con will be held at different downtown hotels.

The Georgia Ballet is bestowing a timeless show onto Atlanta’s residents, it’ll have a profound music score, beautiful costumes and intoxicating emotions.

March 4

March 3

March 2

Saturday

8

7

8 1

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1“The Adventures7

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March 5

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Thursday

March 1

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

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March 7 3The Atlanta 5 9 Symphony Hall 2 is hosting a show filled with classic 5 3 Irish music, mixed in with 6some modern twists.

Discount tickets online start at $22.

6

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SPORTS Georgia State Athletes

www.georgiastatesignal.com/sports

and Black History Black History month is a very important time of the year, but it is often forgot about

Who is your favorite prominent black figure?

Tiffany Holston and D’Marcus Simonds admire Barack obama Willie Clayton admires langston Hughes

Penny Hart

led his teammates on several marches

PAGE DESIGN & ILLUSTRATIONS BY DEVIN PHILLIPS | THE SIGNAL CHRISTIAN CRITTENDEN Staff Reporter

F

ebruary is black History Month in the U.S., a time where people look back and reflect on that history and impact of Black people in America. Sometimes its value gets overlooked, but it means different things to different people. Here are how some Georgia State athletes feel about Black History Month.

What does Black History month mean to you?

Holston: I think Black History Month means basically celebrating our culture basically going back to what happened in the past viewing on our upbringing. We made it out of tough times and slavery and I think as blacks we came a long way.

Simonds: We’ve had a lot of our rights oppressed, a lot of things going on against the black community, so to have this month dedicated to us, it’s just a big part of respecting our culture and just really appreciating everything that has happened to us so that we can grow.

Clayton: I think with black history it opens up the next generation’s eyes to a lot of things. There’s a lot of things people don’t know about black people invented. So I think with teaching our next generation all of the information is good to continue the history of black people.

So it means a lot.

Hart: It means celebrating the history of all African-American people and the history that we’ve had over the years from past struggles and even prospering throughout society and everything that we’ve been able to do here in America and throughout our history.

What would you do to help black people achieve social equality in America?

Holston: I wouldn’t try to fight fire with fire. You have to be smart in situations and basically learn. I think what most blacks don’t know is that knowledge is basically our power, we have to have a lot of knowledge and progress through because you can’t fight fire with fire and we can’t do wars, but that’s what they want. We basically have to learn and get in the books.

Simonds: Honestly, I would just tell people that we’re all here to love each other, people can have their differences but those differences

should never end up in violence and things like that. We should always keep our heads cool and keep everything riding.

Clayton: I do that now, I speak on a lot of thing through my fraternity about how black men should be viewed in a great light and how we should pretty much not live the stereotypes and not live up to the stereotypes. If you carry yourself like a respectable young man then a guy or a woman is going to approach you like a respectable person. So with saying that if you present yourself in a way of respected then you can get a lot of things as a black man.

Hart: I think it would have to take further measures, more than just marching because I remember at the march before we left I gave a little brief speech. A lot of people try to say that marching, it doesn’t work but I feel like it does and that’s step one. Because maybe just getting people to understand what you’re going for and what you’re trying to do and getting people’s attention. Because a lot of those times when we’re walking down those streets and people were on top of buildings and they were looking down on us maybe they didn’t know what was going on because it’s so many people out here that dont understand whats going on and what has been going on and they all of a sudden get an idea of what’s going on, now they try to help the change.

SPORTS

16

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

Story behind McCallum’s coaching career D’MITRI CHIN Staff Reporter

A

ssociate Head Coach Ray McCallum is in his first year with the Georgia State men’s basketball team, but his resume speaks volumes.

Coach McCallum has been a head coach for 19 years and currently has over 30 years of coaching experience. These facts are impressive, being that in the sport’s world today, coaches are often dropped from programs like bad habits.

Every coach has their unique way of making an everlasting impression on an organization.

For McCallum, it’s his passion for the game of basketball.

“The big thing is, I coach for the love of the game,” McCallum said. “It started with me as a player; I had a great love for the game, and the game was good to me as a player.”

McCallum had the opportunity of playing for the Indiana Pacers and playing in the CBA, which is now considered the D-League. His journey as a basketball player is what led to him securing his first coaching gig.

However, unlike many other coaches, who seem to score their first coaching opportunity at an older age, Coach McCallum landed his first job as a coach at a considerably young age.

“After I got cut by the Pacers, I went to the CBA, which is like the D-League and after that, I got released from the CBA and went on a couple tours overseas to Europe and down to South America,” said McCallum, as he explained his journey that led to him becoming a coach.

“During that time, I was in the process of training to give the NBA another shot, and I went back to my alma mater [Ball State] and helped out the coaching staff. “And that’s when I kinda got the call. It continued a pursuit of a professional basketball career, or get into coaching. And I made the decision to get into coaching, so I was probably 24. I went in as the third assistant [University of Wisconsin].”

McCallum’s stint with Wisconsin lasted for nine years. He then became a part of the Michigan Wolverines’ organization. He considered this move to be “a great time to go into Michigan,” since Chris Webber had just gone pro.

McCallum becomes youngest head coach in Division I

Coaching for McCallum has not always been peaches and cream, however. He endured some tough challenges along the way, one in particular, being a young head coach.

“I was the youngest head coach in division I —I might’ve been 31 or 32,” Coach McCallum said.

“That was difficult from the standpoint of, all of a sudden you were at Michigan with the fab four, and you get a call the day before the start of the season to go coach a team, and you didn’t

know any of the players—and I mean, that was challenging. That was probably the most difficult thing I’ve experienced in coaching.”

McCallum found a way to thrive as a first-year head coach at Ball State and vastly improved his team’s overall record.

“We ended up finishing fourth in the league and had a winning season. We won 16 games.”

His second year as head coach of the Cardinals was even better.

“The next year, we won the tournament. So, in my second year, we won the championship.”

Of all the challenges as a coach that McCallum faced, the “most exciting challenge” was coaching his son, Ray McCallum Jr., who is currently in the NBA and plays for the Charlotte Hornets.

McCallum explained that since his son McCallum Jr. had turned down so many offers from top Division I programs such as UCLA and Arizona to play for him at the University of Detroit, it added a “certain level of pressure”.

He called that period of him being able to coach his son (2010-2013) “the best experience I had in coaching”.

McCallum Jr. also shared some kind words about his father. He credited his father for the level of success he has achieved while playing in the NBA and throughout life.

“A major influence,” McCallum Jr. said in response to how much of an influence his dad has had on his life. “Growing up I always say he’s always been my coach my whole life. He really taught me the game and everything that I’ve learned and just in life in general, too, not just basketball. Even making it to the NBA, none of that would’ve been possible without him.”

The most significant piece of advice McCallum Jr. said his dad shared with him is “to always stay true to yourself.”

Observing coach McCallum’s resume, one will notice that he has had his fair share of working for highly dominating basketball programs.

Georgia State isn’t considered to be a powerhouse basketball program, so just how did Coach McCallum find his way to the dirty south?

The answer to that is in this cliche saying: It’s not what you know, but whom you know.

McCallum’s relationship with Head Coach Ron Hunter runs deep and is what ultimately led to his appearance on coach Hunter’s staff.

“The reason I’m here is because of Coach Ron Hunter,” McCallum said. “I mean, Coach Hunter and I we go back—we played against each other in college, so we got a great friendship when you’re talking basketball.”

“When Detroit made the decision to move on from me and my contract, I mean he said right away ‘come on, come on and work with me.”’

PHOTO BY GORDON CLARK | THE SIGNAL

Georgia State’s new Associate Head Coach Ray McCallum at the Texas State basketball game on Feb. 20.

McCALLUM’S STATS AS A COACH •

•

•

•

During McCallum’s sevenyear tenure as Ball State’s Head Coach, helped them to a 126-76 record McCallum directed Ball State to two NCAA Tournament appearances (1995, 2000) and a NIT berth (1998) Became the first coach in Ball State history to post seven consecutive winning seasons.

During his first five years at the helm at Detroit, the Titans increased their conference win total in every season.

AS A PLAYER •

• •

•

•

McCallum was a member of two state championship teams at Central High School in Muncie, Ind. Played collegiately at Ball State He was named the MAC’s Freshman of the Year after leading the Cardinals in scoring with 16.5 points per game.

As a senior, McCallum was named MAC Player of the Year and conference tournament MVP. The Indiana Pacers selected him in the 1983 NBA Draft

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17

SPORTS

Blackmon is a Panther Pro in unique way Former Georgia State women’s soccer athlete details her climb in journalism as a NFL Network reporter

PHOTO BY GORDON CLARK | THE SIGNAL

Tiffany Blackmon, a Georgia State alumna working as a reporter for the NFL Network, discusses how she got her start, black history month and whether student athletes should be paid.

RASHAD MILLIGAN Sports Editor

G

eorgia State alumna Tiffany Blackmon’s post student-athlete career took a different route than most. The former women’s soccer defender that played for the Panthers from 20032006 now reports for the NFL Network.

Since joining the network in 2015, Blackmon has been assigned to field reports around the country, but she got her start in media by interning with the communications department for Athletics at Georgia State, while she was a student.

How does it feel coming from Georgia State to where you are now on a national platform?

Blackmon: It’s great. I had a great experience during my time, I guess many years ago now, back at Georgia State, and I was given a lot of opportunities to be put in a position to succeed with a lot of the professors that I had there. I was with Andree Grogan for a little while. She got my foot in the door at the Weather Channel to get my first start but having that background at Georgia State really helped to prepare me to now be in the position that I am in at NFL Network.

Oh and Doug Barthlow, I had a great time in his class. He actually helped me get started by helping me find an internship, which I eventually did with the Georgia State Athletics Department, but it was really cool being in his class as well. So it was definitely Barthlow and Grogan that really helped to set me up to take those next steps and kind of tell me the reality of the business that I’m in. How cut throat it is and how you really have to start from humble beginnings and that was a really cool experience to have.

How was it for you, balancing student-athlete life and also a student pursuing journalism?

Blackmon: You know, I get asked that a lot, and I guess I never really thought about it back then because it was just what I did. So I was never thinking, ‘Oh, I’ve got too much homework and studying stuff to do..or, I have too much practice, I can’t find a way to juggle both.’ You kind of just do it. I didn’t know anything else really. I played soccer for most of my life and I was still balancing my normal school work in high school, so making that transition to college wasn’t that tough for me.

So it’s just the same thing, but on a different level?

Blackmon: Yes, a much grander level, because you’re getting to school early, you’re getting through preseason, you have practice every day and games on the weekends. I think my senior year, we were on the road a crazy amount because we were getting a new facility. A new soccer field was being built for us, so we were gone quite a bit, but I guess I just never really felt like anything was any different.

What about the basketball programs like Duke or UNC?

Blackmon: That’s true as well. I do feel like, and again just focusing on football, but I do think that with all sports, you should be compensated. Especially, mentioning Duke, obviously everyone knows the rich history they have there with their basketball program, but I do think athletes should be receiving more. Obviously, education is great. You can’t beat getting an education, maybe a free education or being compensated in some way to help make up what you have to pay to get that education, but once your playing career is over and you’ve given your blood, sweat, tears to this University, I think it would definitely be nice to have something to fall back on, considering the school’s bringing in so much money.

So it’s Black History Month. Were there any black journalists that inspired you along your path growing up?

Blackmon: I would definitely have to say Pam Oliver’s one of them. Given when thinking about the biggest females in the business, she was one of the first. Robin Roberts is great. Going back to Pam, though, it was so refreshing for me, my first season at NFL Network, she came up to me. That was a pretty awesome moment for me, the fact that she was so warm. She really made me feel comfortable. It just really meant the world to me that someone I grew up watching and eventually wanting to emulate would come up to me and tell me that I’m doing a great job and that she wanted to meet me. Now, I’ve seen her several stops since then and that’s been very cool for me, running into her at games, we share the same dog walker now [laughs], she helped me out.

Pam is someone I definitely looked up to, I just love them all. Like Stuart Scott. You can just go through the list of names. John Saunders was amazing at his craft. There’s just so many people, looking at the women: Pam, seeing Robin Roberts, those are definitely the people that- I know I’m probably leaving somebody out, but seeing that they could do it, I always felt like I could do it. Even beyond the race factor, I just always felt like I could do it.

What advice would you give to young, aspiring journalists now?

Blackmon: The best thing that I could say is everybody has a path in this business and everybody’s path is totally different. At the end of the day, you have to worry about yourself. I see situations where there have been younger people or maybe people with less experience, climb the ladder faster and I’ve seen other people be bitter about those people. So if I’m working really hard, grinding in Lake Charles, Louisiana and then another friend of mine all of a sudden skyrockets to NFL Network or ESPN that didn’t do everything that I did? Carry the camera, shoot, write and edit. All that kind of stuff, I think that people have a tendency to be really

MORE TER-IFF-IC FACTS • Blackmon has two dogs, one was adopted from Houston and the other was adopted from Atlanta.

• She mainly covered the last two reigning NFC Champions in the Carolina Panthers and the Atlanta Falcons.

• She ran into former Georgia State Sports Information Director Charlie Taylor often on NFL sidelines around the country.

• She emphasized that her communications internship taught her how to interview subjects and turn the interviews into stories at Georgia State. negative about that, but you have to look at your own path and all that stuff that I did? Made me better. I appreciate the hell out of our photographers, out of our audio guy, because that’s stuff that I had to dabble in all of that, and I respect what they do. It takes a team to make everybody, especially at this level, look good. So my biggest piece of advice is just not to look at everybody else, worry about yourself and that’s why I feel like I’ve had success.

I think one period in time I remember I got bitter about a friend getting something over me when I first started. I talked with my mother about it or something and it really kind of struck a cord and you just can’t. You can never if you got caught up in what someone else is getting in front of you or doing, you’re not going to get anywhere.

Read the full interview online at georgiastatesignal.com

SPORTS

18

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

column

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTSGRID.COM

Stuart Scott is the G.O.A.T.

PHOTO COURTESY OF @STEPHENASM TWITTER

PHOTO COURTESY OF DEADSPIN.COM

Ask his millions if they care that you hate him

ESPN’s Michael Smith is next up

D’MITRI CHIN

RASHAD MILLIGAN

CHRISTAN CRITTENDEN

hen I think of an African-American sports journalist that has significantly influenced me the most as a reporter, Stuart Scott instantly comes to mind. See, Scott wasn’t your ordinary journalist. He brought everything to ESPN that every other reporter lacked at the time--charisma, spunk, identity and a unique personality.

It’s also worth noting here that Scott ultimately led the way for African-Americans who aspired to become the next great sports reporters. He was the epitome of being brave, as he battled cancer. His determination was unmatched as he continued to carry out his job with great passion. Seeing him take on that battle with such grace is what inspires me to continue to strive for everything that I want to accomplish in the field of journalism.

Scott was also known for his many famous catchphrases.

My favorite Stuart Scott punchline is: ‘As cool as the other side of the Pillow’. Of course, I can relate. Scott also showed how dynamic of an individual he was. Along with being a highly recognizable sports reporter, Scott also managed to get his book “Every Day I Fight” published in 2015. All in all, Scott is surely a legend in my opinion, and I have learned a great deal from him while he was alive. Long live Stuart Scott.

ay what you want about him, but you can’t deny Stephen A. Smith’s success. The boisterous personality wrote at The Philadelphia Inquirer for over a decade and a half as a columnist and general assignment reporter. He began contributing to ESPN’s NBA Shootaround in 2003 and in 2005 he was given his own show, Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith. After leaving ESPN in 2008, Smith joined Fox Sports Radio, where he broke the news of Allen Iverson’s first retirement and predicted that Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James would join forces with the Miami Heat during the 2010 free agency period.

Smith has made the most out of his career as a sports journalist in all three media platforms of print, radio, and broadcast.

Although I may not like his method the most, the results of his of his career are some that I wish to one day mirror.

Granted, while he was in college, he wrote a column that called for the firing of his own basketball coach that he played for as a staff member of the Winston-Salem State University newspaper.

The closest story I’ve done to that was saying that Athletic Director Charlie Cobb was hiring a new football head coach before the opening of Turner Field, I one day would like to say my career was as accomplished as his.

y favorite black sports journalist is Michael Smith.

Smith is one of the best journalists in the industry.

He has been with ESPN since 2007 and recently got bumped to Sportscenter with co-host Jemele Hill. Smith has risen throughout the ranks since he started off as a beat reporter for the New England Patriots. Since then he has hosted Numbers Never Lie and His & Her with Hill. The thing that I like about Smith is that he has never changed his style.

On a recent interview with the Breakfast Club, he and Hill said if they were going to go out, then they would go out swinging. That is exactly what they are doing and it has worked and has inspired me. ESPN is known for controlling opinions, and the fact that he still does pretty much what he wants is inspiring. I believe in the same philosophy, obviously, there are rules wherever you work, but sticking with your own style is the key to making it. I don’t know where this career path will take me, but I plan on sticking to my own style and making it work.

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PANTHER OF THE WEEK

SPORTS CALENDAR *CONFERENCE GAME

The junior catcher set the new Georgia State record for career home runs by blasting her 39th in the bottom of the sixth inning against Illinois on Feb. 24. In the final game of the doubleheader against the Illini, the Panthers took the victory and series split, by winning 13-4. The school’s previous record holder in the statistic, Callie Alford, set her mark after four seasons in 2015. Drake set the school’s new mark with the first home run of her third season.

RASHAD MILLIGAN | THE SIGNAL

Hawks vs.

Mavericks

SOFTBALL Friday Mar. 3

at GSU Sports Arena Noon

at Tampa, Florida 11:30 a.m.

Clippers THE vs. WEEK Rockets

Friday Mar. 3

Hawks vs.

Cavs

Cavs

Pelicans vs.

Spurs

Spurs

South Florida

MEN’S BASKETBALL Saturday Mar. 4

Hawks

PANTHER OF

Syracuse

Georgia Southern*

Kylee Love Softball

SPORTS EDITOR’S NBA PREDICTIONS

at Atlanta, Georgia 4 p.m.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Saturday Mar. 4

GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS

at Tampa, Florida 2 p.m.

Clippers

Georgia Southern*

at GSU Sports Arena 2:15 p.m.

BASEBALL Tuesday, Feb. 28 Georgia Tech

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Standings

19

SPORTS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

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WOMEN’S TENNIS Friday Mar. 3 ETSU at GSU-Clarkston 2 p.m.

@gsusignalsports

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

MEN’S TENNIS

WOMEN’S TENNIS

1st

UTA 12-3 | Overall: 22-6

Little Rock 15-1 | Overall: 21-7

South Alabama 0-0 | Overall: 12-2

Coastal Carolina 0-0 | Overall: 5-1

2nd

Georgia State 11-5 | Overall: 18-10

UTA 12-4 | Overall: 19-7

UTA 0-0 | Overall: 5-1

ULM 0-0 | Overall: 4-1

3rd

Georgia Southern 11-5 | Overall: 18-11

Texas State 11-5 | Overall: 16-11

Georgia Southern 0-0 | Overall: 11-4

Georgia Southern 0-0 | Overall: 6-2

4th

Arkansas State 10-5 | Overall: 19-9

Troy 11-5 | Overall: 18-9

Louisiana 0-0 | Overall: 9-4

South Alabama 0-0 | Overall: 8-4

5th

Texas State 9-6 | Overall: 16-11

Louisiana 10-6 | Overall: 16-9

Coastal Carolina 0-0 | Overall: 3-2

Georgia State 0-0 | Overall: 3-3

6th

Coastal Carolina 9-7 | Overall: 14-15

Georgia Southern 9-8 | Overall: 13-15

Georgia State 0-0 | Overall: 6-5

Texas State 0-0 | Overall: 2-3

7th

Troy 8-7 | Overall: 16-13

Coastal Carolina 7-10 | Overall: 12-15

Appalachian State 0-0 | Overall: 3-3

UTA 0-0 | Overall: 2-3

8th

Louisiana 7-8 | Overall: 17-11

Georgia State 7-10 | Overall: 11-17

Troy 0-0 | Overall: 3-6

Appalachian State 0-0 | Overall: 2-5

South Alabama 6-9 | Overall: 13-15

Appalachian State 5-11 | Overall: 10-17

Troy 0-0 | Overall: 2-7

Little Rock 4-11 | Overall: 13-15

Arkansas State 4-12 | Overall: 6-22

Louisiana 0-0 | Overall: 1-6

Appalachian State 3-13 | Overall: 8-19

South Alabama 4-12 | Overall: 9-18

Arkansas State 0-0 | Overall: 0-4

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stands on Mar. 7 DESIGN BY PHILIP DURAL | THE SIGNAL