The Signal Vol. 83 No.25 by The Signal

MARCH 29 - APR. 5, 2016

VOL. 83 | NO. 25

The signal at georgia State University

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TOP p o c When Ex-Chief Connie Sampson lost her badge following some violent crime on campus, Carlton Mullis stepped into the chief seat. News | Page 3

PHOTO BY JASON LUONG | THE SIGNAL

Acting GSUPD Chief Carlton Mullis stands with a Georgia State police cruiser. Mullis will be acting as chief while the school sorts through other successor options.

Inside Fraud on campus

Two years and counting Color Craziness

News | Page 5

Opinions| Page 7

Students raise concerns after using their credit card on university grounds.

Album 88 and GPB have shared a frequency for two years now. Our columnist debate the difference between the stations.

DAILY NEWS AT WWW.GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

News 3

Get buckwild and start your summer with watercolor by trying out some trendy DIY crafts!

A&L | page 12 Opinions 7

Move, Beach! Get out the way of the No. 8 Panther Beach Volleyball squad as they sweep the competition.

Sports | page 18 Arts & Living 9

Sports 15

NEWS

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016

blotter March 21

March 23

Parking Deck Arrest

Around 4:30 p.m., GSUPD made an arrest for indecent, disorderly conduct and/or carrying weapons on school property in G Parking Deck.

March 23

DUI Arrest

Police arrested a driver in suspicion of driving under the influence on John Wesley Dobbs Avenue, late Wednesday evening.

March 22

Bye-Bye Bike

GSUPD are currently investigating a bicycle theft near the Urban Life building involving a Georgia State student that occurred Tuesday morning around 9 a.m.

March 24

Campus Theft

On Wednesday afternoon, a robbery took place in Student Center West on campus, GSUPD are currently investigating.

Learning to Leave

A criminal trespass warning was given Thursday morning in Aderhold Learning Center. GSUPD cleared the suspect after questioning.

ILLUSTRATION BY UDUAK ITA | THE SIGNAL

PHOTO OF THE WEEK Students gather around graffiti artists as they spray paint during the Graffiti Jam hosted by Spotlight Programs on March 24, 2016. PHOTO BY DAYNE FRANCIS | THE SIGNAL

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NEWS

www.georgiastatesignal.com/news

Aiming for quicker alerts GSUPD Interim Chief Carlton Mullis wants your social media advice PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JASON LUONG | THE SIGNAL

Acting GSUPD Chief Carlton Mullis stands in front of the Georgia State Police Department. In wake of the shooting outside Piedmont North, Mullis suggests a reevaluation of the GSUPD crime prevention unit.

RECENT INCIDENTS Jan. 19 - GSUPD increases officers after multiple library thefts A Georgia State student was robbed at gunpoint in the Georgia State library on Jan. 14 at 9:15 a.m., according to a Georgia State Campus Crime Alert. Jan. 28 - Two more armed robberies in Georgia State library The Georgia State library’s silence has been broken again. After only about a week following the Jan.14 armed robbery, two students were robbed at gunpoint today.

PHOTO BY JASON LUONG | THE SIGNAL

GSUPD and Acting Chief Carlton Mullis search a car at the scene of a shooting in the parking lot of Piedmont North student housing complex.

SEAN KEENAN News Editor

he university has stripped Connie Sampson of her badge. On March 22, after a 20-year tenure as chief of Georgia State’s campus police force, Sampson was relieved of her police position so she could focus on the school’s building services. University President Mark Becker announced the shift in leadership, which put GSUPD Deputy Chief Carlton Mullis in the chief seat, the day after a drug deal outside Piedmont North escalated into a brief firefight that landed both shooters in the hospital. Mullis, a long-time colleague of Sampson, will act as the school’s top cop while the university sifts through other successor options. GSUPD Maj. Anthony Coleman told The Signal that both gunshot victims, one of whom was a Georgia State student, are in stable condition and charged with violent felonies. However, Becker said in his letter of Sampson’s dismissal, GSUPD drug its feet when alerting students of Monday’s gunfire fiasco. “Many students and parents expressed concern they first heard about the incident on the news rather than from their own university,” he said. “I am disappointed we did not promptly and effectively communicate what was happening last night as information became available.” And, Becker said, the notion that the danger likely arose because a student was getting away with selling weed from his dorm is inadmissible. “While the suspects were taken into custody and

charged shortly after the incident, these types of crimes are completely unacceptable and rightfully alarm our community,” he said. “I was particularly disheartened to learn that one of our own Georgia State students allegedly created the situation by selling drugs to visitors to campus.” According to Mullis, these concerns should be better addressed by a tentative reevaluation of GSUPD’s crime prevention unit, which could be restructured to more effectively allocate forces. Still, Mullis said Sampson had always been a revered police officer during and before her carεer as chief. “Chief Sampson was a highly respected part of the police community,” he said. “We also worked together at the University of Georgia for 10 years.” Becker said the university is “immediately changing our processes for timely notifications and emergency alerts.” More on what that means after chats with the interim chief, Mullis. Mullis said those talks will be underway in days to come, as the police need to figure out, “how can we better communicate with our community to provide accurate and timely information in the best way possible? Is that Facebook? Twitter? It’s probably not Instagram,” he said. During the March 21 shootings, university police sent out a campus alert roughly an hour and a half after the violence concluded. The March 21 alert which filled in clueless students and onlookers of the recent happenings was what’s called a Clery Act notice. “It was timely for what it was for,” Mullis told The Signal. “There are legal requirements for if there’s an active emergency on campus that we need you to do something: shelter in place, don’t come to campus, go home. Ice storm impending, tornado warning, those kind of things. And there is

a Clery notice which is ‘something's happening and we need you to know about for your general safety. It’s not an active threat.” “By the time we found out about it and responded at about 9:30 [p.m.], it was over,” he said. “There was no more threat to the campus, so it really didn’t qualify for an emergency notice. By the time we got all the facts together an hour later, for some people needing to know what in the world is going on outside my window, an hour was too long.” But police are learning — and not just from fuming parents on social media — that there could be other appropriate times to inform the Panther family of campus excitement, not just when they need to act. “What we’re understanding is that there’s a middle ground in there for a significant campus event as Monday night was,” he said. Georgia State student Sam Few said, if Becker’s decision to oust Sampson from her policing position proves beneficial to campus cop practices, then it was the right choice. “I want a safe environment to learn in, along with a campus I walk freely on without feeling like I’m going to be harmed,” he said. “If this action is a step towards that, then I think it’s a positive transition forward.” However, Claire McGrath, another student, said she doesn’t think the president’s quick reaction to Monday night’s violent drama was entirely warranted. “I think President Becker is right to start taking more action, but I don’t believe it was justified to just demote someone of that power [as a response],” she said. “I think there could have been a more appropriate action taken.”

Feb 9 - Library gun scares spur student safety brainstorms In the midst of campus-wide tensions over student safety, university officials, student politicians and Panthers alike have been crowding auditoriums to spitball ways to tighten school security. On Jan. 14, hours after two armed robberies inside Library North rattled the student body, University President Mark Becker enacted a firewall of security precautions to strengthen surveillance tech and beef-up campus police presence. Feb 24 - 55 Park Place renovations delayed to fund police force After three armed robberies in the library in January yielded no suspects in custody, University President Mark Becker said at a Feb. 11 town hall forum that Georgia State is upgrading security. Jerry Rackliffe, the school’s chief financial officer, said 55 Park Place renovations could be delayed by about 2 years to pay for increased security measures, including biometric scanners in the library, which will identify students by their fingerprint. March 22 - Two shot outside Piedmont North One student and one campus visitor were hospitalized Monday night after gunfire rang out near Piedmont North. Police say the shootout took place after a drug deal went awry. PAGE DESIGN BY DARIAN MATHEWS | THE SIGNAL

NEWS

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016

City

Last-ditch efforts revive, pass rape kit bill Last Week DOMINIQUE TIMES Staff Reporter

ust after midnight on the final day of the Georgia legislative session, the House passed the Pursuing Justice for Rape Victims Act with a unanimous vote. The legislation, Senate Bill 304 (SB 304), managed to pass both chambers in a single day. Its main sponsor, Rep. Scott Holcomb, said the bill’s passage will greatly benefit rape kit processes in the future. “I’m very proud that this bill passed,” Holcomb said. “It is a very important measure that will ensure the timely processing of rape kits going forward.” The Act, first presented as House Bill 827 (HB 827) and purposed to find and test neglected sexual assault evidence, passed unanimously in the House on Feb 23.

However, Chairperson of the Senate Health and Human Service Committee, Sen. Renee Unterman, put the brakes on the bill by refusing to give it a required hearing. Unterman said she does not support the bill because the rape kit issue only occurs in Fulton and DeKalb counties, so creating a state law would be unnecessary. According to a partial count, the rape kit backlog in Georgia is an estimated 3,108 kits, with many untested kits reported in Cobb county and Unterman’s home county, Gwinnett. Since then, Unterman has faced national backlash from TBS political satirist Samantha Bee and activist groups alike. The bill would require law enforcement to submit any untested rape kits for testing before August 2016, pick up new kits from hospitals within 4 days and send them in for testing within 30 days and demands labs report on the number of rape kits

held in their inventory. Georgia senators found a way to bypass Unterman’s committee by removing language from SB 304 and replacing it with the proposal from HB 827. SB 304 passed Thursday morning without opposition and passed the senate in the session’s final minutes in a unanimous vote which included Unterman, who relented after adding language to the bill to protect crime victim rights among other changes. Women’s advocates and victims groups continued to support the bill until the legislative session’s end. Sexual assault survivor and Executive Director of Atlanta Women for Equality, Lisa Anderson, said processed rape kits are a powerful resource to prevent future acts of sexual violence and wrongful imprisonment in cases where the survivor cannot identify the attacker. “Undergoing a rape kit is an extremely traumatic experience for a

rape survivor and those who endure the deeply invasive procedure make a tremendous sacrifice in the interest of justice,” Anderson said. “This Act would help us protect our citizens and make it more difficult for us to turn a deliberately blind eye to these painfully given gifts and the truth they bear. Georgia State student Shané Boulware said this is common sense legislation that should’ve been enacted years ago. “It doesn’t make sense that this process wasn’t used in the first place because it’s pointless not to test the kits,” Boulware said. “But this is a step in the right direction.” After the vote, the chamber burst into applause and both Democrats and Republicans rose to give Holcomb a rare standing ovation. “I want to thank everyone who worked so hard, to include the student advocates,” Holcomb said. “Your voices were heard.”

Students, city officials against streetcar expansion CHRISTINA MAXOURIS Associate News Editor

isions for the Atlanta Streetcar’s future are all but slowing down, with a new proposal slated to expand towards Midtown, in Downtown and around the Beltline. The city’s transit mammoth is set to expand within the next couple of years, after the City Council approved its expansion plan in December 2015 which has no set cost or deadline. Streetcar funding has come in large portions from federal TIGER grants, which have contributed over $47.6 million. Though last year Atlanta’s Streetcar didn’t receive any funding from the program, 2016 TIGER grants are up for grabs, and the decision of entering for a chance to get the money has city officials scratching their heads. In February, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced the 2016 round of TIGER grants has an available amount of $500 million. According to Atlanta Journal Constitution, Atlanta officials are hesitant to seek again $29.3 million for the Streetcar extension. Streetcar ridership has been decreasing in the past year, which some say is due to the new ticket prices, ridding the transit system of its no-cost allure. Jenna Garland, press secretary for the city of Atlanta, said ridership should bounce back once the public has adjusted to the price tag. “Ridership in January 2016 was lower compared to January 2015, which is expected due to the implementation of the faire, poor weather, and low gas prices,” she said. “Just as the public needed to adjust to the Streetcar initially, the public is adjusting to the new $1 one-way fare and $3 day pass.” The Signal conducted a Twitter

Local

Shooting at Georgia State University Housing

Georgia State University Deputy Police Chief Carlton Mullis confirmed that two people were shot outside of Piedmont North residence hall at Georgia State University’s housing. Although investigations are still underway, the shooting allegedly resulted from a possible robbery attempt. Students on sight witnessed two bodies being escorted to the hospital, while the other two were arrested.

61-year-old Found Dead in Freezer

Tuesday morning, 61-year-old Carolyn Robinson was found dead in a walk-in freezer at a Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, according to AJC. After family members reported her missing when she did not return home from work, workers found her lifeless body in the freezer and immediately notified the police. Evidence indicates that Robinson attempted to escape through the emergency exit. An official cause of death will be revealed in approximately two weeks.

National

Snoop Dogg launches nature show

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DAYNE FRANCIS | THE SIGNAL

Georgia State student Francesca Jean-Baptiste sits alone at the Hurt Park streetcar stop. With the decline in streetcar ridership students like Jean-Baptiste find the streetcar “pointless”.

poll asking students if they ride the Streetcar, in hopes of shedding light on current ridership. 96 percent of responders chose, “No.” Georgia State sophomore Nicholas Jarboe said there’s no need for a big train downtown, and following a bus system like Georgia Tech would be much more convenient. “There’s a terrible wait time [for the Streetcar], and it’s just unnecessary and expensive,” he said. Another Georgia State student, Francesca Jean-Baptiste, said taking the streetcar hasn’t even crossed her mind. “It’s pointless. I can walk down a couple of stations and get there faster than the Streetcar,” she said. “And I don’t have to pay a dollar for it.” But Garland said those stations offer a connecting point for people to the action of downtown Atlanta.

“We believe the ability to move conveniently and safely around Downtown and to the Historic Old Fourth Ward is very appealing to students, residents, and visitors alike,” she said. But Atlanta City Councilman Howard Shook, representing Buckhead, said he doesn’t want the transit system anywhere near the area, in fears of traffic congestion and inefficiency. “Buckhead’s traffic congestion is epic, in part because we don’t have any sort of grid as does Downtown and Midtown. If [ the Streetcar made stops] every couple of blocks, traffic flow would become glacial,” he said. But traffic isn’t the only thing on Shook’s mind. He said the Streetcar experience has gained negative press for being “more costly, mismanaged, and attracted far fewer riders than

promised”. In early October, the Georgia Department of Transportation ran a report on the function of the transit system, and their review included a handful of points for improvement. The report found it lacked staff and proper reporting, as well as overlooked safety critical positions, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The solution, according to Senator Fort, lies in passing over the reins of Streetcar control to MARTA officials, and out of the city’s control. The senator told Creative Loafing, “Shouldn’t we have a transit agency running transit, opposed to a politicized mayor’s officer making mistakes?”

After more than 60,000 people signed a petition to “Get Snoop Dogg to Narrate Whole Season of Planet Earth,” the rapper finally granted his fan’s wishes, according to CNN. Although he won’t be actually narrating on Planet Earth, he has released a mini-series called “Planet Snoop.” Fans can tune in on his “Merry Jane” YouTube channel.

Global

Brussel’s Attacks: Second Bomber Has Been Identified

Earlier this week, 31 people were confirmed dead from a bombing in Belgium at Brussels Airport, according to BBC. A second suicide bomber has been identified by as Najim Laachraoui. Belgian officials found his DNA at the site, which also matched DNA found at the November Paris Attacks. Other suspects have also been arrested in Germany and France.

NEWS

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016

University

Coffee, snacks and fraud?

Georgia State credit card system concerns students on campus Associate News Editor

ate night vending machine visits and coffee breaks have turned into a regrettable experience for some Georgia State students, after having their credit card information stolen. Word began spreading with a string of comments on Georgia State’s “GSU Book Exchange” Facebook group. On Feb. 9, Georgia State student Linda Chau posted the first related announcement, warning students that she had fallen victim to credit card fraud. After using her card at a Langdale Hall vending machine and then at Saxby’s, Chau said, there was a charge in a Dunwoody Zara for $230, and in a Publix in Sandy Springs for $200. Chau told The Signal that Discover, her credit card company, notified her of suspicious activity, and she reported it to the bank. Discover, however, was unable to pinpoint where the card was skimmed. “Their guess is that [the penetrator] made a copy of my card and reproduced it because the purchases were made with a physical copy [of the card] even though I had the real one on me,” she said. Following her post, 10 other students shared similar experiences, claiming money had been wrongly charged on their accounts. Sami Fuentes, another Georgia State student said that faulty charges appeared on her account as well after she made a purchase at the university bookstore. Fuentes said that a couple days later, someone made recurrent $39 payments, for ‘private internet’ in California. However, Wade Douglas, the bookstore manager said they have received zero complaints from students for random charges in their accounts. The university bookstore is run independently from Georgia State, through Follett Higher Education, their own secure network. Another student, Kim-Anh Vu, commented about suspicious purchases after she used a Sparks Hall vending machine. Shavanee Reid, a Georgia State student expressed concern on the school’s general safety, commenting, “Not only do I have to worry about being robbed at gunpoint, but now I have to worry about some stranger stealing the number on my cards”. The first to take initiative on the students’ growing concerns was the Georgia State Student Government Association (SGA), announcing during its March 10 Campus Safety Forum that they have are in communication with Catrice Clark, director of Georgia State’s Revenue, Receivable and Cashiering Services (RRCS). In the meeting, SGA Executive Vice

President Nick Smith said they are eager to address the issue as it has happened to two of their own, one of which is Anthony Nguyen, VP for Public Relations. Nguyen told The Signal he only noticed an unusual purchase because of his notification settings with Wells Fargo. “I only got this email because I set my notifications to inform me of every online purchase. If I didn’t have this optional setting, I’d probably never realize I had approximately $243 stolen from me via card fraud,” he said. Nguyen recalls the last place he used his card to be Saxby’s Café inside the library. The money was spent on a camping website based in Seattle, but Nugyen said he’ll never know the culprit’s intentions, because those kinds of criminals go by unnoticed. “I am worried that many students have been affected by such an issue, but are totally oblivious that they’ve been robbed,” he said. “This kind of issue is one that does not get the attention it needs, as card theft is a serious concern and needs to be made aware to every individual.” After correspondence with the Georgia State Payment Card Industry Compliance Team, Nguyen said they suggested anyone affected to report the false charges to their credit card companies for investigation. As part of the PCI compliance team, Clark told The Signal all service transactions on campus are outsourced to a third-party vendor,which is required to be Payment Card Industry-Data Security Standard (PCI-DDS) compliant. The vendor then transmits the transactions to their card processors. The vendors are responsible to report breaches, and attest any problems, and fulfill safety and transaction requirements set by the university. Clark said that Auxillary services contacted their vendors and they reported having no complaints of fraud, however, the university will address the issue in the renewing contract requirements for their vendors. “Nothing specific has been done yet, but things are on-going between vendors and auxillary services, and we are continuing to work on making sure the vendors fulfill their requirements,” she said. However, Clark said because of the consolidation, it’s a sticky time when contracts are being renewed and it’s hard to tend to the student concerns as quickly. As for catching the bad guy, Clark related to a personal experience and said the customer never learns about whether the person that committed the fraud will be persecuted. “I was given my money back and told that the bank will investigate. But from a consumer standpoint, you don’t get any more details than that, “ she said.

“This kind of issue is one that does not get the attention it needs, as card theft is a serious concern and needs to be made aware to every individual.” -Anthony Nguyen,

Fortune Onwuzuruike favored to win SGA presidency SGA VP of Public Relations Anthony Nguyen is frontrunner of the EVP race. SEAN KEENAN

SGA VP of Public Relations

News Editor

Over10 Georgia State Student Complaints AT LEAST

CHRISTINA MAXOURIS

SGA

$1,372

stolen from Georgia State

Students by credit card fraud

WE KNOW you're bored Find us on YouTube

The Signal at Georgia State University

ortune Onwuzuruike, Georgia State’s Student Government Association (SGA) vice president of student services is leading the pack this election season after a Signal poll. On March 25 The Signal queried on Twitter as to which SGA presidential candidate was the favorite among our followers. An overwhelming 64 percent of the nearly 300 who participated pinned Onwuzuruike as the “best” choice. The runner up of the four presidential candidates was Eugene Butler with a 26 percent of the voters favoring him. The president’s right hand position, executive vice president (EVP), will be filled by one of three candidates, all Georgia State SGA vets. SGA’s VP of Public Relations Anthony Nguyen claimed 70 percent of the vote during another Signal poll about the EVP slot. SGA Sen. Corey Gray earned 22 percent of the votes, leaving Sen. Shamari Southwell with the last 8 percent. But there’s plenty of time for SGA’s stragglers to pull themselves out of the social media slump and jump into some hardcore campaign scheming. The Signal will continue to publish polls to gauge the student interest, while SGA prospects clamor to #LetTheirVoiceBeHeard the loudest. On March 28, The Signal is hosting the first in a trilogy of student government debates. On Tuesday, president and EVP candidates will duke it out at the podium, discussing their plans to unify the Panther family. Wednesday will host the speaker of the senate candidate debates as well as those for prospective senators in Georgia State’s business school. On Thursday, the remaining senate candidates, those from the policy school and the school of arts and sciences, will take the stage to lobby for their platforms. All debates will be held in the Urban Life building auditorium at 7:30 p.m.

NEWS

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016

Library security upgrades could finish by fall Biometric scanners and surveillance cameras should be installed before summer’s end

PHOTO BY SEAN KEENAN | THE SIGNAL

GSUPD watches over the afternoon crowd after a hectic morning in Library North.

CHARLES BAILEY Staff Reporter

anthers and their possessions will be safer in the library by this upcoming Fall semester. Dean of Libraries Jeff Steely said the library will purchase additional security cameras to place on the upper library floors, and completion is expected by the end of the summer break. Steely told The Signal in an email that the library is making good progress with the surveillance system. He also said the current system has been fully upgraded, but could not specify how many cameras at the moment. “We have identified a vendor and are moving forward with a plan to purchase and install a significant number of additional cameras,” he said. Steely also said the library is working with campus partners Georgia State University Police Department (GSUPD), facility management, technology services, and Auxiliary & Support Services to add additional cameras to install after spring semester. “We are meeting with vendors, participating in product demonstrations, and getting quotes for technology options for the library entrances,” he said. Steely maintains that installation may be a noisy process. He also said GSUPD will continue monitoring library entrances and patrols. “Upgrading our entrances will likely be a rather involved, disruptive, and possibly noisy project,” he said. “Until the right longterm solution is in place, GSU Police are

continuing to provide their assistance at the entrances and throughout the library buildings.” Four armed robberies occurred in the Georgia State library in January, and following the third and fourth robberies, started upgrading the Closed-Circuit (CCTV) surveillance system. Maj. Anthony Coleman said GSUPD bought from their own budget, hidden cameras and installed in the library the day of the last robbery, according to The Signal. An Open Records Request made by The Signal found the ‘spy cams’ Coleman bought through the GSUPD budget cost over $1,400. “The hidden cameras were a temporary measure until the surveillance system could be upgraded,” Coleman said.

Surveying to place surveillance

Coleman said the upgraded surveillance system would be finished in two weeks’ time during the Student Government Association (SGA) “Campus Carry” open forum on Mar 10, according to The Signal. Coleman also said floors three through five do not have surveillance cameras. According to the policy, strategic placement of the surveillance system is needed in order to properly use the system because the cameras communicate through a “closed circuit”, or broadcast information that can only be seen through monitors and video recorders across the system. Some students carry knives to protect themselves on campus. According to jdmlawfirm.com, pocket knives with blades over 3 inches on campuses are illegal so officers either take them and keep them until they exit the library, or make students take

the weapon back to their cars. “Either they check it at the library or an officer will make them put it in their car,” Coleman said. “We just confiscate the knives and give ‘em back to them because a lot of people don’t know what the law is.” Stephanie Ekey, sophomore at Georgia State, thinks the library should have cameras on the upper floors. She also said she thinks with the recent string of crime on or near campus, GSUPD should step up their game in protecting Georgia State students, faculty and staff “Students pay a lot of money to come to Georgia State and use its facilities, and the fact that half of our library is pretty much unmonitored is disappointing,” Ekey said. Acting GSUPD Carlton Chief Mullis said the cameras on the upper floors are on a “wish-list” budget, which includes installing cameras, pricing, and a one-time licensing fee of about $125 for each camera. He also said cameras inside the library would cost up to $2,000, and the exterior cameras up to $5,000. “The cameras are near the library entrances, the stairwells and lower level exits,” Mullis said. “The license is a one time fee for all cameras, and we have about fifty cameras [in the library].” Mullis also said the upper floor cameras installation process involves installation of cables throughout the university infrastructure and IT rooms, along with paying licensing fees for each camera. Mullis previously told The Signal the outer camera system upgrades would be finished by the end of February, but placing cameras on all library floors have yet to be determined.

Georgia State employs the use of CCTV, which includes video surveillance cameras, monitors, and digital video recorders to monitor public areas like the library, in order to assist GSUPD in deterring crime, according to the Georgia State Video Surveillance Policy. Currently, GSUPD employs over 100 officers, recently increasing their plainclothes and uniformed patrols in response to the robberies, also instituting visual ID checks at library entrances until the biometric scanners are installed, according to The Signal.

What about those darn biometric scanners?

Incoming and current students will be able to register for the biometric system at the PantherCard Office, according to Director of Marketing Chris Connolly. The scanners will cost over $3,000 per library entry point. Biometric scanners, which identify a student by a set of numbers linked to his or her unique fingerprint, are currently in use only in Georgia State dining halls, according to Public Relations Officer Andrea Jones. Jerry Rackliffe, the school’s chief financial officer, said 55 Park Place renovations could be delayed by about 2 years to pay for increased security measures, including biometric scanners in the library, according to The Signal. Ekey also said that biometric scanners are a “good idea” and that the money would be worth the safety. “We want to feel safe on campus, especially somewhere so many of us go to work and study,” she said. “Even if it’s expensive to install initially, protecting students should be reason enough to put the scanners in.”

OPINION

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Album 88, two years later

Some thoughts on GPB’s occupation of Album 88 airtime

F JOHN MILLER Columnist

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or those who weren’t at Georgia State back in 2014, #SaveWRAS might not mean much, but back then, it meant a lot. You might still see the station’s sticker posted here and there, but the call to save the station has died down over time. What happened was that Album 88 started sharing roughly half of each day with Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB). This decision to share the airwaves wasn’t announced to the student population until after the trade was finalized. What was once considered a great, independent college radio station was now relegated to being great only in the evenings and on an online stream. The rest of the time, well, it wasn’t even college radio anymore. 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. was to be GPB time. I remember the day I found out about this. I was driving and listening to 90.1, and decided to listen to 88.5 for some eccentric music, only to find that the exact same newscast was playing on both stations. I remember wondering what the point was. It just seemed so stupid to me. What did anyone possibly have to gain from occupying two radio frequencies with the same show? Apparently GPB having “access to a full-market FM radio signal it never had before,” is beneficial to them, according to AJC. I still don’t get it, though. I wouldn’t think having two channels would make your message more

widespread, it would just cause the odd channel-surfer to have to skip over the same channel twice if she didn’t want to listen to it. (That is to say nothing about the revenue from sponsors.) I’m not trying to argue that college radio is at all times better than corporate radio, either. I’m just saying I don’t understand why GPB would even want to take up time on Album 88. At the same time, I don’t understand why those calling to save Album 88 would so vehemently want their day-time slot back, either. It’s not as if the entire station was bought up. They still had primetime hours for their independent programming, so why the uproar? Isn’t the best time to listen to eccentric programming late at night? I see the uproar as an ideological disagreement between what should be done with campus media resources, much like what I tried to get at in another one of my articles about CineFest. On one hand, there is the idea that college radio should be strictly determined by students’ tastes, that students should be the station’s sole DJs and that programming should be solely determined by students. In this way, any form of compromise would be selling out. After all, isn’t it all the best bands and most unique programming that

come out of this liberal-minded attitude? Students are hip, they are independent, and they’ll find obscure artists who haven’t been featured before, exposing them to a much wider audience than they would have otherwise gotten. One could argue that the resources that belong to the school are the school’s to use at their own discretion. I think that in this case, this “on the other hand” is more salient. I used to think the college has a series of a priori responsibilities to its students, one of them being an unadulterated college radio station, but I’ve since changed my mind. The school doesn’t owe its students a radio station, even if those students (or their families) pay activity fees for it. The school owes them only that which they require from school, which is, at its barest, an education and a diploma. Everything else, I think, is a privilege – or more aptly a compromise – especially in the case of Georgia State, which is by-andlarge a research institution, and a commuter school, which in my mind makes it less beholden to its students and less concerned with student and campus culture than other campuses. Along this vein of compromise, a student can argue that college radio strengthens the identity of the school and gives it a uniqueness that other

radio stations don’t have. That’s the whole idea behind college radio in the first place. It’s good for the indie DJs and the school. A good compromise leaves both parties happy. Yet, it’s probably the same reasoning the movers and the shakers employed when they divided 88.5 50/50; they didn’t want to entirely do away with one hand or the other. The deal itself was likely a decision to incorporate both hands of the debate together: corporate and student-run radio, together, making for a winning pair. Now, I don’t know if this was the rationale behind the decision–I’m only surmising–but it would make sense considering the – at least two – directions Album 88 could have gone in. It would make sense that a college radio station would want to be used for a dual purpose: providing students with a creative outlet for their individualist DJ voices – which, I might give here are themselves only patchwork conglomerations of other lesser-known tastes – as well as sharing some space with a more commercially-feasible partner. Except, if the deal has such parity, why the Save WRAS movement? Well, a good compromise always leaves both parties unhappy. Or, in this particular case, just one party is unhappy.

OPINION

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016

EDITORIAL The elephant in the room

ave you ever had friend that seems like they keep making dumb decisions? Well today, that friend just happens to be the entire state of Georgia -or, to make matters worse, the state’s lawmakers. Stacked on Governor Deal’s desk are some of the nation’s most controversial bills, waiting for his approval - a real nail-biter of a wait for all of us. Somewhere in the pile lies the vision of many Georgia politicians to provide college students with the chance to carry a handgun with them all around campus - because apparently the problem with shootings in America is that we don’t have ENOUGH handguns. So of course, the next best option would be give ‘em all a gun, let ‘em take it everywhere that the bill allows. Approximately ten thousand, angsty, blurr-minded youngsters carrying guns around - now THAT sounds like a safe campus. But our thoughtful Georgia Senators and House members care for more than our physical health. For the troublesome losing sleep over having to serve same-sex couples and gay individual, have no fear, your pressured days are over. The religious bill passed onto Deal for signing would allow any individual to deny services to an LGBT person. But as Georgia House Speaker David Ralston puts it, this bill is not discriminatory. Advocacy groups claim the sole purpose of this bill is so that Christians would not be forced to “violate their faith” by serving those engaged in same-sex marriage. So if you’re preaching about God’s love and universal acceptance, it almost sounds despicable that you’d then hire or help out someone who happens to love someone of the same sex. Come on, after all, God’s love isn’t THAT universal!

Lucky for Georgia, some of its most influential and powerful businesses and companies just so happen to be members or supporters of the LGBT community. Thus it comes as no surprise that companies like Disney, Twitter, and Delta have basically told our lawmakers if that bill passes, they’re out of here. Followed by a coalition of hundreds of companies who refuse to neglect talented workers because of their sexual orientation, threats of businesses packing up and leaving started ever since early mentions of the bill. And why is this bill a bad idea - besides being discriminatory and an obvious move of legislators to ensure their conservative voters’ vote? Because Atlanta’s booming economy is largely based on fresh and progressively-minded people with unique ideas in both the business and entertainment industry. And while they tend to be the most civilized and bigger minded people, even they won’t stick around to watch a re-play of the Civil Rights Era with the new twist of instead of skin colour, you’re denied service because of your sexual preferences. The bill not only will take the state a hundred years behind, but it comes as a slap in the face to everyone who ever said that America is a land of equality. Or liberty. Or any good thing for that matter. And while Governor Deal promised Monday morning to veto it, Republican lawmakers have promised to try their best to override his veto. So indeed the fight is not over, and with the governor claiming he has received threats and insults upon his veto announcement. It seems like some people are really serious about making this abominable discrimination legal.

ILLUSTRATION BY ERIK REID | THE SIGNAL

ARTS & LIVING

B O IS T DY A WH POSITIVITY?

www.georgiastatesignal.com/artsandliving

Radicalized love demands a space for all body types

SYDNEY CUNNINGHAM

Associate Arts & Living Editor

ll bodies are good bodies. This very principle is what inspires a movement that has been practiced long back and now reaching mainstream dialogue in the establishment press. Body positivity, in its simplest forms, is a movement by women and men to embrace all body types and fight for positive representation across all platforms in the media. Recently accomplishments • •

•

In January, Aerie released a swimwear campaign starring model Barbie Ferreira among other swimsuit-clad models completely un-touched. Lane Bryant’s most recent campaign, THIS BODY, features a string of plus sized models wearing outfits and much less to support body positivity. The ad was considered NSFW by ABC and NBC and not aired. In Sports Illustrated’s 2016 Swimsuit Issue, there were three different covers released. Two of the three featured Ronda Rousey and Ashley Graham. Supermodel Cheryl Tiegs publicly rejected Graham’s inclusion on the cover, deeming her body type unhealthy.

Q&A

with Vee McConnell Vee McConnell is the Co-President of Georgia State’s Faces of Feminism. In the discussion meetings, the club works in difference of sexism, racism, classism, transphobia, homophobia, ableism and other various forms of institutional oppression. Last semester, they held a #BlackTransLivesMatter. This semester, they held a panel on fatphobia, the social demonization of fat people.

Q: What is body positivity?

McConnell: It is the idea that all bodies regardless of size, shape, color, ability, etc. are equally worthy, equally valuable. I focus more on specifically fat positivity because I believe fat people, since there’s a multi-billion dollar industry committed to making us disappear, need and deserve our own movement that focuses on our unique struggles. People of all body sizes benefit from body positivity and fat positivity though. The hatred of body fat, the fear of becoming fat and the hatred of being fat affects everyone.

Q: The world “body positive” has been mentioned in headlines lately. Is there an example you have personally seen?

McConnell: I think the Lane Bryant lingerie ad being banned from television is a good example here. Fat bodies are seen as inherently more indecent than thin bodies. I think it’s great that we are starting to see some pushback, to see some bodies that are slightly out of the norm in the media, but that’s the issue there: mainstream body positivity is only skimming the surface, only highlighting bodies that are just slightly out of the ideal. Like hourglass curvy bodies with no fat rolls, visible stretch marks, or cellulite. I would like to see more representations of bodies that are extremely outside of the “average” or “ideal” size or shape. And I mean positive representation, not those pseudo shocking “awful beach body” photos you see on some newspapers at the grocery store.

Q: What goes into practicing body positivity?

PHOTO BY DAYNE FRANCIS | THE SIGNAL

Georgia State’s Faces of Feminism Co-President Vee McConnell poses for a portrait. McConnell discusses the meaning of body positivity and the movement behind it.

McConnell: It is a constant and sometimes exhausting endeavor to try and undo the messages we receive hundreds of times a day that our bodies aren’t good enough. It requires a lot of effort to unlearn things that have been ingrained in us since birth. For me, being body positive means I have to treat myself kindly and talk about my body positively even when I’m feeling bad about it, and I feel bad about it often. To be body positive, some people engage in self-care acts like taking photos, dancing, exercising, making art of their bodies, all sorts of things. I think what goes into body positivity as a movement is harder to define. I think people sharing what they do in their individual

body positive journeys helps to foster a sense of community with others. I think something that seems as simple as posting a picture of yourself as a fat person, or a person with any type of marginalized body, can be a radical act, when fat people are told that we should be hidden away and unviewable, it tells people, “I’m here on my own terms and I am worthy of taking up space.”

Q: What about it is important to you?

McConnell: It’s no exaggeration to say that body positivity and fat positivity save lives. When I was a teen, I had a severe eating disorder that went undiagnosed because I was fat and everyone was just glad that I was finally losing weight. When truthfully I was suicidal because of the fat hatred I’d been taught. I was starving myself and losing weight at an incredibly unhealthy rapid pace and no one cared because my life didn’t matter as much as becoming thin did. People, and especially women, are taking drastic measures to achieve the “perfect body,” and we are losing ourselves, our health, even our lives in doing so. People deserve much better than this.

Q: What do you think causes the presence of body positivity?

McConnell: Women are killing themselves to be thin, employers are denying people jobs because larger people are seen as lazy and less hardworking as their thin counterparts. Body positivity in general exists, I think, because people are fed up with being told that their bodies must be in a constant state of improvement. Women are fed this lie especially, through products and all sorts of media.

Q: A foreseeable retort to body positivity is that it may promote an unhealthy lifestyle. Respond to that. McConnell: Body shaming doesn’t make people healthier. Fat shaming doesn’t make people lose weight. Loving yourself will never be unhealthy. That is what body positivity is promoting. Sometimes people will call fat positivity “glorifying obesity” and my only response to that can ever be “Screw you, my fat body is glorious.” Something really important I think needs to be included here is that all people are deserving of love, dignity and respect regardless of whether or not they are healthy. Health is not a moral imperative.

7 Stage

Internship programs

․ Interns are primarily selected from the youth reach program. ․ 7 stages is looking for college students who are

PAGE DESIGN BY KHOA TRAN | THE SIGNAL PHOTO BY JUSTIN CLAY | THE SIGNAL

7 Stages Theatre, located in the Little Five Points neighborhood, is currently preparing a black box theatre stage for the upcoming show Inside I.

willing to work in administrative in areas such as marketing, fundraising and finances. College interns also get to work with teenagers during the summer as mentors for young emerging artist ․The experience is tailored to each person to allow them to get a skill that they wanted. For more information contact: education@7satges.com

uiding the community in a spectrum of productions CHANTE FOSTER Staff Reporter

Stages Theater has been impacting the Atlanta community for 37 years. Each year, the staff pushes boundaries for new theater projects, in hopes to influence change within the Atlanta community. The quaint non-profit theatre located in the hub of Little 5 Points has been operating since 1979. Since then, 7 Stages has produced a combination of local and international shows that shape the modernization of American theatre. Artistic directors Michael Haverty and Heidi S. Howards share their experience with 7 Stages, and the behind-the-scene work that goes into creating a successful theater experience. One of Howard’s goals as a director was to implement educational programs for the youth within the community.

Youth Programs and Workshops Youth Creates is a five week training program. The 7 Stages staff go into schools to work with students and teachers by reading books, like “Fahrenheit 451.” Some of the students that participate in Youth Creates go on to become administrative assistants or performers that work throughout the year. “They are not restaging the book but re-creating something from their thoughts or feelings about the book, covering issues covers such as forgetting history, censorship,” Howard said. “They are making songs, dances, puppet shows and video games. Then, they create a final presentation open to the public at the end.” Youth Creates participants engage with international students traveling from the Netherlands and Israel to attend the five week program. “Watching our Atlanta kids interact with these Israeli, Dutch students, you can see everybody's brain swelling a bit as they see these kids come from a fairly different culture,” Haverty said. Special artist workshops are two or three hours designed for the community to allow people the opportunity to train with artists and learn different techniques. Artists from around the world train professionals, emerging artists and students. Companies such as Sean Dorsy Dance Company from San Francisco have coordinated dance workshops. “Laughter is a lubricant for friendship, for understanding, and if you can laugh with someone you can do anything,” Haverty said. “The international element of what we do is really unique amongst Atlanta theaters, we are committed to bringing international artists, by going over seas.”

Getting to know the directors Heidi S.Howard, Artistic Director, began working with 7 stages in 1999 as a freelance artist. Previously a production manager, educator and designer for

different companies in Atlanta, Howard became Education Director and Production Manager in 2003, working alongside the founders for over a decade. Co-Artistic director Michael Haverty started working at 7 Stages four years ago. Prior to his time at the theatre he had his own company titled Haverty Marionettes, a puppet theater for adult audiences. As Haverty got to know the staff at 7 stages, it became a second home. Through a grant from the Princess Grace foundation, Haverty was able to work as a staff member. The job of an artistic director entails making proposals for artistic programing, choosing what to put into development and merging relationships between the theatre and the community.

Impactful projects Michael Haverty’s current production “Inside I,” is the next production piece scheduled to play at 7 stages on April 21 through May 8. The show will put people inside the mind of a young man with autism. The production is designed to educate others about the demographics of people who are not normally seen within media. Haverty has been working on “Inside I” for approximately two years. He's collaborated with therapists and scientists to create an understanding of the autistic spectrum, and how to communicate with people diagnosed with autism. “The whole process has just opened my heart to a huge portion of the population, and educated me,” Haverty said. “Now getting to put that on stage and hopefully sharing that information in a really exciting multimedia way is going to be fantastic.”

Q&A: Straight from the Directors What are some of the jobs that you take on as an artistic director?

Howard: Essentially, we foster relationships with arts in the community and bolster what's happening to reinforce the importance of culture and how we work together as artist to make humanity better. It is essentially building a relationship with artist, creating a space in which we can develop, honing those skills and seeking ways in which to bring conversation to important topics by connecting our everyday life with the creative process. Haverty: Just a little different from other theatres in town, we really make it a point to produce work that speaks to certain challenges or conversations going on in the world today. So there’s a bit of a difference in searching for new plays, than just looking for the next big hit.

How is the community influenced by the work that you are producing? Howard: Super excited. They feel very welcomed to come into the doors and tell us what they think, post on our social media, ask questions and be engaged with the experience. I think that it’s gone kind of on a roller coaster of being accessible. Our

work has a history of being really exciting and right on the brink of change and then going into a dark place to really hit those human matters. It’s then really exciting to be able to have conversations and being engaged with the change that’s happening. I think that most people that walk into our space or experience our work from the artist, the community, the students and the patron are really feeling like this is a home, in which they can explore new ideas and thoughts about our world. Haverty: I think we do a good job of mixing, making sure that mission-driven also means exciting, in building new audiences and making it fun to go to the theatre, even if we are addressing all these things that makes it more alive people’s everyday experience. We have a great audience base, that loves new work, that loves to see something that will shock or surprise them and also really make them think about a subject matter.

How often do you get ideas from people?

Howard: It’s our responsibility to create a safe space, to create a welcoming atmosphere here that has got a lot of flue. People know to come here with their ideas and we get people walking in here all day, and we try to foster [ideas] as much as possible.

With the new atmosphere are there ever any challenges?

Haverty: It's important for us to remember to respect everyone's view point. Dealing with things like racism and genocide, we have to be really careful about the words that we choose and making sure that everyone is welcome. Howard: A possible challenge or opportunity that we are addressing is educating our artists and patrons on the advocacy, being able to form better words as a culture to talk about the importance and power of art making and the money that it needs for people to live sustainable lives. [We want] to educate and remain transparent about what it takes to work in a non-profit arts organization.

What’s it like being behind the scenes on the day of a production?

Haverty: It’s always different, sometimes you're scrambling until the last second, to paint that last thing, scrambling to finish something, perfection is never reached, so you're always reaching, to make things better or clearer, sometimes it's just perfect and you're just rolling, heidi is really good with getting the cast together, rituals, thanking the cast and preparing to share the show with everyone in the world Howard:There is a vulnerability or rawness, that is raw performance, sharing your hear, something that many people keep private,and to be a performer on stage, it’s just a special gift that we all share that is typically a private thing for people and being able to relate with an audience it’s a real moment that we spend time together.

ARTS & LIVING

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016

Paint the town Watercolor DIYs Water Color Agate

NICHOLE PLACE

Assistant Arts & Living Editor

othing screams summer like cool colors running down a page. So in the spirit of the upcoming season, I have provided four cheap and easy watercolor “Do it Yourself ” projects, thank me later.

Watercolor Pillow Case

Lay your head down on a cool summery pillow. Materials: White(ish) pillow case, different colored Sharpies, rubbing alcohol, cotton swabs Step one: Write a phrase using a Sharpie on the pillow case. Step two: Next go over the phrase with each colored Sharpie. It doesn’t have to be perfect, you want it to be a little messy when you overlap the colors. Step three: Dip your cotton swab into the rubbing alcohol, then run it along each letter. This will make the ink bleed on the fabric to give it a watercolor effect. Step four: Let it dry.

Paper Marbling

The perfect summer stationery. Materials: Shaving cream, thick textured paper, food coloring, baking dish, spatula, ruler, paper towels Step one: Fill your baking dish with a thick layer of shaving cream. Step two: Next add your food coloring in one drop at a time, you don’t want one color to completely overpower the shaving cream. Step three: Use your spatula to fold your food coloring into the shaving cream to create the marbling. Be careful that you don’t mix it too much. Step four: Place your paper into the shaving cream and move it around to make sure the whole front side is covered. Step five: Take your sheet of paper out, and with the ruler, scrape the excess shaving cream off from one corner to the other in a sweeping motion. Step six: Dab any leftover shaving cream off the paper with a paper towel. Tips: Before placing another sheet of paper in, fold the shaving cream with the spatula. If there is too much white, add more food coloring, if there is too much color add more shaving cream.

Nothing says summer like a classic watercolor geo painting. Materials: Water colors, different sized brushes, gold paint, textured paper Step one: Create your first ring using a lighter color. You want to use a lot of water while creating this so that it is very wet. Step two: Take a darker color on a smaller brush and trace the outside of the circle. The colors will bleed but that is what you want. Step three: Repeat the steps moving the rings outward. You also want to alternate between dark and light colors. Step four: Let the colors dry. Then you can go in with the gold paint and highlight any areas you want with it. You can also add a few gold dots into the center.

Water color vase

Painted glass with two ways to do it. 1. Nail polish Marble (Warning: not microwave or dishwasher safe) Materials: Plastic bowl, water, nail polish, toothpick, glass vase or mug. Step one: Fill the plastic bowl with water. But make sure that you don’t fill it up so much that when you place your cup in it, it overflows. Step two: Dip your nail polish into the water. Quickly use the toothpick to pull at the nail polish to create a design. Step three: Let the nail polish sit for a few seconds to create a film on top of the water. Step four: Take your vase and place it into the film covered water. You want to turn the vase in the water to make sure that it gets completely covered. 2. Alcohol Ink Materials: Ink, rubbing alcohol, a glass vase or mug, a straw, cotton swab. Step one: In a small container mix together the ink and a little alcohol. Step two: Take a cotton swab and dip it into the alcohol ink mixture and dab it into the glass. Step three: Use another cotton swab and dip it into just straight rubbing alcohol. Step four: Dap the alcohol swab onto the alcohol ink on the glass to make it run. Step five: Use the straw to blow on the ink to give it to the watercolor look. Step six: Let the ink dry on the glass. Start your summer off with the perfect watercolor DIYs. Enjoy these projects and enjoy your summer.

Watercolor Tricks Here are a few different household items that can give your water color paints a different look. · Vodka: Gives your paints a spottier and lighter look. · Salt: Adds grit to your picture. · Paper towel: Makes your paints look splotchy and faded when you dab it with paper towels. · Crayons and wax: Allows you to create shapes on the paper before painting and then discolors the shapes when you paint over them.

DIY tutorial on our YouTube channel March 30, 2016

PAGE DESIGN BY KHOA TRAN | THE SIGNAL PHOTO BY JUSTIN CLAY | THE SIGNAL

In order to get a successful water color result, special watercolor paint and watercolor paint brushes are required. Water colors run easily if painted in multiple layers, so be patient and let it dry.

ARTS & LIVING

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016

Film review

Solid thriller with a ruinous ending

'10 Cloverfield Lane' bubbles with tension despite dopey influence ALEXANDRA GRAHAM Staff Reviewer

o matter how much the title wants you to believe it, “10 Cloverfield Lane” isn’t really a sequel to “Cloverfield,” which is Matt Reeves’ found footage alien invasion flick. It’s a self-proclaimed spiritual successor, according to Entertainment Weekly, related by feeling rather than plot. The few things they have in common boil down to one biggie: JJ Abrams and his propensity to smear his particular brand of lame onto whatever he touches. To all my JJ mega fans out there: You’ll love this movie, but maybe not this review. Proceed with caution. Most of “10 Cloverfield” is taut psychological thriller. Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) wakes up after a car accident inside a subterranean bunker, brought there by Howard (John Goodman), her maybe captor or maybe savior depending on whether you buy his story: something’s happened outside — a nuke or chemical attack or alien invasion — that has killed everyone and made the air unbreathable. He

happens to own a bunker capable of withstanding just such an event and is generously allowing her and his neighbor Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.) to take shelter there for two or so years until the air clears. So goes his story, anyway, and it’s hard to totally ignore him. The pacing relies on a steady stream of conflicting information which it offers generously, something new every scene, before it becomes clear that the baddies outside might be the lesser of two evils. Winstead gives a superb performance as Michelle, resourceful and clever but restricted by lack of intel. She and Goodman carry the film, he’s unreadable, she’s tiptoeing around him, trying to figure out the stakes. All this happens in the bunker, the setting for most of the film, and the claustrophobia adds to the unease. It’s the directorial debut for Dan Trachtenberg, and it’s a pretty good first effort for a guy whose primary work has been commercials and internet programming (“The Totally Rad Show”). Apart from some hinky emotional moments, he pulls off a single-setting thriller that’s often genuinely discomfiting.

Everything I’ve said so far only applies to the first two thirds. As far as Hollywood movies go it’s original, with its small cast, setting, and emphasis on slow moving psychological tension. Until the final act, that is, which is its own entity, an un-thrilling addition that feels slapped on by the ever disappointing JJ Abrams. The guy’s a lamo. His obsession with mystery masks a lack of imagination, that’s disturbing considering he keeps getting handed major sci-fi projects that require some originality and grace. And yes, that includes “The Force Awakens.” I went into “10 Cloverfield” knowing he produced it, but my concerns were numbed by the pleasantly traumatic first two acts. Suffice it to say the last half hour, greased as it was with slimey JJ discharge, put a damper on my happiness. Not enough to ruin the movie for me, though. A half hour of JJ drivel I can handle, especially when the rest of it was so compelling. I left the theater excited by the good stuff I’d seen, and so long as this “spiritual sequel” idea sticks around I’d welcome another excitingly original “Cloverfield” reboot.

Synopsis: As a group of New Yorkers enjoy a going-away party, little do they know that they will soon face the most terrifying night of their lives. A creature the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city, leaving death and destruction in its wake. Using a handheld video camera, the friends record their struggle to survive as New York crumbles around them. Grade: B Verdict: “Cloverfield”’s spiritual sibling is a tight thriller diminished by lame-brain Abrams influence.

C O M MAN D AURAL

LIVING HOUR LIVING HOUR

ROME FORTUNE JEROME RAHEEM FORTUNE

SAMIYAM ANIMALS HAVE FEELINGS

Album review

Zayn solo debut 'Mind of Mine' 5 CATRINA DYGERT Staff Reviewer

espite dropping his last name, and his bandmates, it’s impossible to separate Zayn Malik from his previous work in One Direction. Known for being the loner of the group, Zayn garnered fans for his punk-ish look and stellar high notes. Thankfully, Zayn’s kept both in his debut solo album, “Mind of Mine,” an R&B album that Zayn himself described as “sexual” to Complex magazine. Zayn’s first single was definitely sexy. After months of waiting and teasing, “Pillowtalk,” which debuted at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100, finally dropped in late January. Many fans were split following the single, preferring Zayn’s vocals in One Direction to his new sound. A downtempo R&B track about his new love, Gigi Hadid

(who also makes an appearance in the music video), “Pillowtalk” shows a deeper side to Zayn than any One Direction song ever allowed. The music video, while a little trippy, also let Zayn show off a little more of his personal style, but resembles Selena Gomez’s music video for her 2009 song, “Naturally.” Of course, Zayn’s is more grown up and features a darker color scheme than Gomez’s Disney Channel hit. “iT’s YoU,” the third album track, offers a softer R&B ballad with a synthpop backing. The lyrics, which are easily the best part of the song, mellow out by focusing on the heartbreak behind a failing relationship, possibly inspired by Zayn’s split with Perrie Edwards. While the lyrics are touching, the overall effect of the track is boring. Without the synth in the background, the track would just be another piano ballad, and, while Zayn has no problem hitting those high notes, the chorus stays high, for the most

part, which sounds shrill, rather than haunting. “Like I Would,” a track from the deluxe edition of “Mind of Mine,” captures the spirit of the album best. The song is a slow build, starting with just a soft beat behind Zayn’s vocals, until the climb, which adds an impressive drum kick and transforms the song into an electro-R&B hit in the chorus. The lyrics, too, are confident and fun, and fit the beat perfectly Unfortunately, not every song can be that successful. “Tio,” which stands for Take It Off, sounds like it should be a hot song, but the downplayed rhythm feels broody rather than sexy and definitely doesn’t fit the “you’re a freak like me” lyrics. The track feels a little confused as a whole. Still, for a first solo album, “Mind of Mine,” is insanely polished overall. Zayn’s certainly managed to break away from his role in One Direction. He created an album that, despite a few slip ups, really is sexy overall.

TOP TRACKS: “Like I Would” “She” “Wrong (ft. Kehlani)” Grade: AVerdict: “Mind of Mine” is a strong album both thematically and technically. All the songs follow a similar vein of heartbreak and love, making the whole album cohesive, while the even mix of ballads and bops keeps listeners interested. Zayn’s first LP sets him up for a solid solo career.

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EARTHGANG STRAYS WITH RABIES

calendar & games

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016

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Campus & Downtown Events

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in Focus 2Women 1 photography exhibition

March 29 Atlanta-Fulton 3 Central Library

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Southern girl playing in the big city Softball player Morgan Brown is achieveing her dream at Georgia State

Georgia State softball player Morgan Brown is at bat during a game against Auburn University at Robert E. Heck Softball Complex, March 25, 2016.

DEVONE SLAPPY Staff Reporter

organ Brown is living out her dream of playing Division 1 softball in the heart of the city of Atlanta. However, she stays true to who she is, a southern country girl who enjoys the outdoors, spending time with her family, and singing. “I’m for sure a country girl,” Brown said. “I’m funny I guess that’s what other people say, and I’m very loud. People hear my voice and laugh and know it’s me. I love to sing, not legit, I just love to sing and my favorite song is Dibs [by Kelsea Ballerini] by the way [laughs]. I like to go hunting with my parents, and duck hunting with my boyfriend.” Born and raised in Monroe, Georgia, Brown spent most of her days working with her family and spending time with them.. It was all about family, sports and food for Brown. “My grandparents and whole family all lived really close to me in Monroe,” Brown said. “I’d wake up and go eat breakfast at the local store and then go eat lunch with my grandparents. My grandparents had goats and chickens so I might go out there and help them out or I’d go work with my parents in their business. My parents own a wholesale electrical equipment store called Allen’s Electric. Otherwise it was school and softball.” Brown has been playing softball since her T-Ball days. She didn’t always like playing softball at a young age because of her competitive nature. In fact there was a time when her parents didn’t let her play because she would always get so mad during her games. “When I started T-Ball I really hated it because I used to get so mad when I would get out and my parents ended up making me stop for a little bit,” Brown said. However, her passion for the game got her right back into softball and she kept playing and even started on her new high school team.

“I just love being competitive and have always loved the game,” Brown said. “I’ve always played travel ball and I went to a new school and decided to play there since it’d be cool to be on the first ever softball team for that school. We were pretty good and made it all the way to state my sophomore year, but that was the furthest we’ve ever gotten.”

Brown moves to the big city

After graduating from high school, Brown decided to take her talents to the city of Atlanta. A place that is unfamiliar to her countryside lifestyle, but her reasons for the change explain why she made such a decision. “Georgia State was close to home and I didn’t want to go far away from home, plus it was Division I so it was like a dream come true,” Brown said. “The city is something different than what I’m used to and that’s why I chose GSU.” After being in Atlanta for more than two years, Brown got the experience to realize how living in the city is way different than living e in Monroe. “I couldn’t imagine living there in the city for the rest of my life,” Brown said. “But it’s a good thing to do for four years. It’s not bad, it’s cool to get out because I’ve never been in the city that much, and I get to try things I haven’t done before. I don’t miss home too much since I get to visit often and I love the city, but I just couldn’t imagine living there forever.” Brown started playing softball at Georgia State in the 2014 season. Her daily process of being an athlete and a college student is a busy one, thankfully this semester she has some online classes. “I have a lot of online classes this semester, so I don’t have to go to class that much plus Monday’s I have no class so I just go home,” Brown said. “Other days I wake up and go do weights, and Tuesdays I actually have a class on campus and then I have to do four hours of learning lab since I have four online classes. After I do that, I’ll go to my apartment eat

PHOTOS BY DAYNE FRANCIS | THE SIGNAL

What can Brown do for you? • Currently batting .300 this season • Tied for fourth on the team with 27 hits • Hasn’t missed a game since her 2014 freshman campaign • Born in Lawrenceville, Georgia lunch, do homework, go to practice, comeback eat and chill a little bit and then do some more homework.” Majoring in interdisciplinary studies, Brown plans to end up helping kids in some way and after she graduates, it’ll probably be the end of her softball career. “I want to work in a hospital environment and do something with kids,” Brown said. “After my senior year, I think I’ll put the cleats up for good or maybe play slow pitch later in life maybe.”

Brown, the athlete

As an athlete, Brown is a player who is constantly improving after each season and the statistics prove it. In her first year at Georgia State, she had a hitting average of .262 and had 28 hits on the season. The next year, she improved dramatically hitting an average of .297 and had 51 hits on the season. This season, Brown is hitting an average of .287 through 31 games and has 25 hits on the season and it’s only the midpoint. Expect her to end up breaking some of last year’s statistics

again. Not only is she improving but her team is as well, currently the Panthers are 18-14 on the year and 4-2 in conference play. In Brown’s eyes, this season is one where the team is constantly improving. “I know we started off kind of bad, but I feel like we are progressing each game,” Brown said. “We’re 4-2 in conference, which pretty good right now, but I just want to get those sweeps because each game is important.” The Panthers next conference game is against South Alabama, a team Brown feels they can beat and hopefully sweep them. “We’re about to play South Alabama, which we’ve only won one game in the past few years against them,” Brown said. “I don’t think they’re as good since they lost a lot of players. So we just need to come out fire it up and sweep them. I want to sweep them so bad!” Brown is definitely a team player, as her goals reflect that of what a team player should be. “Team goal is to win conference and go postseason,” Brown said. “It’d be great to win conference regular season and the tournament.

SPORTS

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016

Competitive spirit Linn Timmermann makes an statement on and off the court

Linn Timmermann sets to throw a serve during a match at Dunwoody Country Club against Florida International University, Feb. 19, 2016.

LEAH COTTON Staff Reporter

eorgia State’s women's tennis team currently holds an overall record of 7-5, but for senior Linn Timmermann the 2015-16 season will be her final chance to defy the odds. Timmermann made the 2015 All-Sun Belt singles second team as well as the 2015 All-Sun Belt doubles second team. Behind Timmermann’s organized and competitive spirit lies the desire to become a better player.

The pathway to Georgia State

Timmermann was born in Rostock, Germany to parents Sven and Siegrid Timmermann. While her father was a tennis coach, Timmermann picked up her first tennis racquet at the age of three and began playing at age six. When Timmermann was 14 years old she moved to Florida, along with her twin brother, to attend Saddlebrook Preparatory School located in Wesley Chapel, Florida. Saddlebrook Prep is known for their world-class academics as well as exceptional golf and tennis training. “I moved with my brother so it wasn't that bad,” Timmermann said. “Our grandparents stayed with us the first year, then our mom stayed with us. After that we did two years alone and then moved on to college.” During Timmermann’s four years at Saddlebrook Prep, her best finish was in the 2009 Dominican Republic ITF Tournament. Timmermann advanced to the semifinal round in singles and doubles. Along with this memorable accomplishment, Timmermann received the 2010-11 Player of the Year Award and the 2010-11 Leadership, Sportsmanship Award at Saddlebrook Prep. Showcasing her skills on and off the tennis court, Timmermann began to catch the eye

of several colleges and universities. However, tennis offers as well as pursuing tennis on the collegiate level were not on Timmermann’s radar until she realized that college coaches were interested in her. “When I first got offers from college coaches, I didn’t really think I would,” Timmermann said about playing after high school. “Then I got offers and I started to look into it. At that time I just decided to play tennis in college.” After visiting several college campuses, Timmermann decided Georgia State was the university for her. Possessing an urban environment, Georgia State stood out to Timmermann. “I really got along with the coach when he recruited me,” Timmermann said. “I liked the girls and I thought that being downtown was cool because it was different from other colleges.”

Stepping into play

Timmermann earned a team-best 11 singles wins as well as a 6-2 doubles record in her first semester of playing, fall 2012. Having reached the consolation final in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Southeast Regional Championships, Timmermann won four straight matches against Miami (Fla.), University of Central Florida and in-state foe Georgia Tech. Throughout the previous seasons Timmermann continued to knock down nationally ranked opponents such as No. 72 Syracuse and No. 31 Illinois. While always striving to become a better player Timmermann focuses on what she can improve on for the next match. “Just working on my weaknesses and trying to figure out where I can improve,” Timmermann said. “I’m working on my transitioning to the net while including more volleys. I’m still working on my serve and working on the mental aspects like staying calm.”

PHOTO SUBMITTED BY GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS

“She gets ‘A’ grades in most classes and rarely do you see her getting below this. She has done very well in school and has been able to keep her tennis on a very high level while doing this.”

- Jason Marshall

Women's Tennis head coach Timmermann entered the fall 2014 season with six straight singles victories. The now senior also recorded a 8-1 doubles record with teammate Tarani Kamoe. The two gained a victory over duo Monique Albuquerque and Clementina Riobueno of No. 12 Miami (Fla.) who were ranked No. 3. Continuing on in the spring 2015 season the Panther duo was once ranked at No. 33 in the ITA double rankings. Revealing her talents in both singles and doubles, Timmermann advanced onto the Sun Belt Championships. Having won both singles matches at the Sun Belt Championships last season, Timmermann debuted her strengths. Head coach Jason Marshall is pleased with the progress Timmermann has made during her time at Georgia State. "Linn has improved a lot in the past 2 years,” Coach Marshall said. “She has been consistently beating nationally ranked opponents at the top position and showing that she is clearly the best player on our team. Her doubles skills have developed as well." Along with being a hard-working athlete, Timmermann strives to be the best in the classroom as well. Receiving honors such as being on the 2014-15 Sun Belt Honor Roll as well as making the Dean's List in fall 2013, spring, 2014 and spring 2015, Timmermann

takes the student aspect of her title seriously. "In the classroom, Linn has been one of the best girls on the team,” Coach Marshall said. “She gets ‘A’ grades in most classes and rarely do you see her getting below this. She has done very well in school and has been able to keep her tennis on a very high level while doing this. She is a quick learner and knows how to make adjustments when needed."

Leading the way

Hoping to perform well in the Sun Belt Championship and make it to the NCAA tournament while winning more than one round, Timmermann is focused on achieving these top two goals. Having her family back in Germany as well as being close to her teammates, Timmermann is fueled with the motivation to keep pushing. “This is actually the closest I’ve ever been to my teammates,” Timmermann said. “We all get along great and we do things off the court as well. It’s great having them around.” Georgia State is now ranked No. 47 in the most recent Oracle/ITA rankings. Just two behind No. 45 and conference member South Alabama, the Panthers look to move up in the rankings. Georgia State has been ranked in the top 75 for six weeks straight.

SPORTS

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016

Column

Minor setback for a major comeback TOBI ADEYEMI Staff Reporter

arch Madness is almost over, and one of the biggest stories of last season’s tournament will not be participating. Georgia State’s season ended in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament against the Texas State Bobcats, denying them further postseason participation. Last season, Georgia State capped off arguably their best season to date with their NCAA tournament run. The Panthers would repeat as conference champions earning them the number one seed in the Sun Belt tournament. They would go on to beat their rivals, Georgia Southern, in the final giving Georgia State their first March Madness bid since 2001. Selection Sunday would give them the No. 14 seed and pit them against third seeded Baylor, and the rest would go down in history. RJ Hunter would score nine straight points for Georgia State and hit the game winning three with 2.6 seconds left to complete the upset and knock the already crippled Coach Hunter out of his chair. Georgia State’s upset of Baylor and Coach Hunter’s antics would lend to Georgia State becoming the darlings of the NCAA tournament. RJ’s shot would end up going down

as one of the biggest moments of the whole tournament and definitely the biggest shot of it. Georgia State found themselves as media favorites; Coach Hunter would go viral with the clip of him falling out his stool. They even received an invitation to the ESPYs as they were nominated for Best Upset. The media loved the father-son dynamic that Coach Hunter and RJ Hunter provided; both of them would be all over TV the rest of the tournament whether it was for interviews or guest analyst spots. The Panthers would go on to fall in the next round of March Madness to the Xavier Bulldogs 75-67, but their Cinderella story was already cemented. This season, the Panther were tasked with following up such a terrific season, and from the beginning it was going to be a difficult job. The Panthers had to replace key rotation players in Curtis Washington and Ryann Green, and their top two scorers in Ryan Harrow and RJ Hunter. All of this change obviously ended up hurting the team as the never really caught a steady groove like the season prior. Along with integrating new players and new roles, the lack of offensive firepower and experience hurt the team all season. Losing the two best players will affect any team, but when those two players both averaged over 20 points

per game and provided over half the team’s scoring nightly, the offense will struggle, and that was the nightmare Georgia State found itself in this past season. Jeremy Hollowell would lead the team in scoring this season with 14 points per game and Kevin ware would follow behind with 11, but no other player averaged over double digits. This lack of offense caused the Panthers to lose a lot of winnable games versus beatable opponents and it showed in their record as they finished 16-14, a far cry from their 25-win season a year ago. Despite all the struggles, Georgia State was still able to put together a decent season and qualify for the Sun Belt Tournament. The Panthers played in a lot of memorable and exciting games this season. They would start the season winning 12 of their first 16 games, the second best 16 game start in program history. One of the most memorable games of the season was against rival Georgia Southern at the Sports Arena. The game would eventually head to OT after Isaiah Dennis’ 30 foot buzzer beater was waived off. Behind T.J. Shipes huge double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds, they would pull out the win 69-66. Next season, the Panthers are primed for a comeback to the big dance. Even though they graduated four seniors, which included Kevin

PHOTO SUBMITTED BY SUN BELT CONFERENCE

Kevin Ware makes a jump shot during a game against Texas State at the Sun Belt Conference, March 10, 2016.

Ware, the team’s second leading scorer, Markus Crider, and TJ Shipes, there are a lot of key players returning. The team’s leading scorer, Jeremy Hollowell will be returning for his senior season and so will Isaiah Williams. Freshmen Austin Donaldson and Malik Benlevi, both who provided minutes off the bench will be back for their sophomore campaigns. Jeff Thomas who showed the ability to shoot the ball extremely well will be back for his second year.

Georgia State’s transfers will also be able to play next season. Devin Mitchell, who transferred from the University Of Alabama, will figure to play big minutes along with UNCCharlotte transfer Willie Clayton. They will also be bringing in one of their best recruits yet next season in four star guard D'Marcus Simonds from Buford High School. The talent will definitely be there next season, and hopefully they will be able to pull it all together.

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SPORTS

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016

Beach volleyball starts out strong Button/Olivova and Pickering/Rohan leading the way for beach volleyball

DEVONE SLAPPY Staff Reporter

he No. 8 ranked Georgia State Beach Volleyball team is starting off the season right where they left off last year. The team went 18-3 on the season, despite it being only their third season into existence and this season is no different as the team is off to a 14-2 start. The Panthers entered this season joining the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) conference, along with UAB, Florida Atlantic (FAU), Florida International, Florida State, LSU, South Carolina and Tulane. Entering this conference means a chance at a conference championship, as well as a chance to compete in the first NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship that will take place May 5-7 in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Georgia State started the season off at the Burrow Beach Bash and went up against North Florida, Webber and FAU all in the same day. The Panthers crushed North Florida 4-1 winning the first four flights before losing their final fifth flight. Against Webber, the Panthers made sure not to lose any more flights as they dominated winning all five flights. However, the Panthers had trouble against conference opponent FAU as they lost 3-2 in the final match of the day. It was the Panthers first loss against FAU in their six meetings all time. Even though the Panthers started off conference play 0-1, they didn’t let that lone loss affect how they’d play for the rest of the seaso. The Panthers took their frustration from the loss out against Mercer at home with an impressive 5-0 win and improved to 3-1 on the season. They are 7-0 all-time against Mercer, and used the momentum from this game towards the LSU Invitational in which they would face two conference opponents. In the LSU Invitational, the Panthers won all five of their games to complete the sweep and bring their record to 8-1 and 2-1 in conference play. The Panthers, at the time were ranked No. 10, faced off their first match against No. 8 ranked Stetson and won a hard fought match 3-2 despite losing the first flight. This was also a morale victory for GSU, as they got revenge against Stetson for last year’s lost in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Championship Tournament. Not only did the Panthers beat one ranked team, but they beat two as their next match was against conference foe No. 9 ranked Florida International. Georgia State dominated that game 4-1 and got their first ever conference win. At the LSU Invitational, the Panthers continued their dominance as they won the next two matches 5-0 against the University of New Orleans and UL Monroe. They then faced off against tournament host and conference foe LSU. LSU won the first two flights of the

match putting the Panthers in a 2-0 hole, as seniors Sara Olivova and Jansen Button lost their first matches of the season. Despite their best players losing their match and being put in a 2-0 hole, the Panthers didn’t waver as they won the next three flights for their second conference win. The Panthers, No. 8 ranked now, next opponent was No. 1 ranked Pepperdine at the College of Charleston Beach Tournament. The last time they faced Pepperdine, the Panthers were swept 5-0 at the AVCA Championship Tournament. Not much changed this time around as Pepperdine won 4-1, but at least seniors Olivova and Button were able to get their personal revenge as they were the only ones to win a flight. Once again after a loss, the Panthers took their frustration out against their next two opponents Lincoln Memorial and University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). The Panthers swept both Lincoln and UNCW 5-0 and improved to 10-2 on the season and 2-1 in conference play.

Button/Olivova and Pickering/Rohan leading the way

Seniors Button, Olivova, Milani Pickering and junior Delaney Rohan are leading the Panthers way to victory as the two groups are a combined 22-2 in play this season. Button and Olivova earned AVCA All-America honors last season and started out this season being named into the CCSA Preseason All-Conference Team. They are the winningest duo in GSU beach volleyball history with a combined record of 69-41 in their career. The duo started out the season with 8 straight wins before losing to conference foe LSU. Being the senior leaders that they are, after losing their first match against LSU, they motivated their teammates to do better than they did and the team responded well winning the last three flights to take the win. The most surprising duo of this season has to be Pickering and Rohan. The two dominated this season going 11-1 together and won their first nine matches. Their lone loss this season was against No. 1 ranked Pepperdine. Picking and Rohan were also named Student-Athletes of the Week this season and were the first beach volleyball players to be acknowledged for the award this season. Button/Olivova and Pickering/Rohan both have yet to lose against the same opponent this season and they look to keep that streak going for the rest of the season. The Panthers hosted and swept their final home event of the season against UNCW, Eckerd, UL Monroe and Lincoln Memorial at the GSU Sand Slam.

PHOTO BY DAYNE FRANCIS | THE SIGNAL

An excited Milani Pickering celebrates during a match against Eckerd College at the GSU Beach Volleyball Complex, March 25, 2016.

PANTHER OF THE WEEK

SPORTS

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016

SPORTS CALENDAR

SPORTS EDITOR’S PREDICTIONS

*CONFERENCE GAME

GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS

Sara Olivova Beach Volleyball Olivova and her partner in crime Jansen Button won all of their duo matches last weekend in the GSU Diggin’ Duals. The senior duo built the Georgia State Beach Volleyball program since its inception in their 2013 freshman seasons. Olivova was named a 2015 All-American with Button and has made either the University’s Dean’s List or President’s List each semester. She has been in college as an exercise science major. Last season, Button and Olivova went 24-14, with the career highlight win over No. 4 Florida State. Her mother was a professional track runner as a member of the Czech Republic National Team.

1st

Sun Belt Standings

2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th

RASHAD MILLIGAN | THE SIGNAL

WOMEN’S TENNIS Thursday, March 31

VOLLEYBALL Saturday, April 2

UL Monroe*

Emory Tournament

at Atlanta, Georgia Noon

at Atlanta, Georgia All Day

NCAAM Championship PANTHER OF game THE WEEK

UNC vs. Oklahoma

NCAAM Winner

UNC

NCAAM MVP

Marcus Paige

NCAAW

UCONN

NCAAW MVP

Breanna Stewart

WNBA No. 1

Breanna Stewart

Saturday, April 2 Charlotte

at Atlanta, Georgia 9 a.m.

MEN'S TENNIS Saturday, April 2 Presbyterian

at Clinton, South Carolina TBA

Sunday, April 3

WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD Friday, April 1 Florida Relays

at Gainesville, Florida 10 a.m.

College of Charleston

Saturday, April 2

at Charleston, South Carolina Noon

at Gainesville, Florida 10 a.m.

Florida Relays

THE FINAL SCORE

SOFTBALL

BASEBALL

South Alabama

9-0 | Overall: 18-6

The team was a part of a three-day series in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The No. 66 men’s tennis team defeated the UAB Blazers ssee. Freshman Jack MacFarlane clinched the Saturday match. Current rank is 4-1.

Georgia Southern

Women's Track & Field

6-3 | Overall: 15-8

Texas State

6-3 | Overall: 15-9

UL Lafayette

6-3 | Overall: 15-9

Little Rock

5-4 | Overall: 12-11

Troy

3-6 | Overall: 13-12

Arkansas State

3-6 | Overall: 11-12

UT Arlington

2-4 | Overall: 14-11

Georgia State

2-4 | Overall: 12-12

Men's Tennis

The Panthers participated in the Yellow Jacket Invite over the weekend. Ravin Gilbert finished first in the 100m and second in the 200m. Junior Alysiah Whittaker placed third in shot put and LaPorscha Wells finished fourth. Men's Golf

Georgia State won its third consecutive Furman Intercollegiate title on March 27. Sophomore Max Herrmann tied for fourth in the tournament. Junior Nathan Mallonee shot a second consecutive round in the 60s and is the No. 87 player in the country. Women’s Basketball commit wins Georgia high school player of the year

McEachern senior guard Jada Lewis was named the Georgia Class AAAAAA player of the year. Lewis has a three-star, 90 overall rating on ESPN.com. The Panthers will also be returning reigning Sun Belt freshman of the Year guard Madison Newby and leading scorer Makeba Ponder.

CORRECTIONS Corrections - SGA Issue. March 22, 2016 Fortune Onwuzuruike - Last name was not included in the issue. Blake Rios - Withdrawn from Presidential race. The Executive Vice President debate - Debate date has been shifted to Tuesday, March 29, 2016 instead of March 30, 2016.