NEWS • 02
Celebrity involved
LIVING • 05
SPORTS • 07
politicians get Parking options on Petit in Ga. politics. and around campus. to
donates practice
ENTERTAINMENT • 11
1.5
million Lottery Ticket is a bust, Ground Zero mosque complex. but Ice Cube is in it. sparks religious controversy.
the
SIGNAL
VOL. 78 • SPECIAL ISSUE 2 • AUGUST 18, 2010 REGISTER ONLINE FOR BREAKING NEWS AT
w w w. g s u s i g n a l . c o m
Curry on building team endurance: ‘Either smash or be smashed’ By IRIS EBEN Staff Writer
Sheena Roetman Some students waited in line for nearly five hours, others only 20 minutes. Check out the Student Vox for more.
Georgia State employee arrested for theft By MIRANDA SAIN Staff Writer Angela Garner, business manager for the Department of Kinesiology and Health, had a 23year career at Georgia State before she was fired on Aug. 4. On Aug. 3, Garner was arrested by the Georgia State Police and charged with theft. “Her employment with the university has been terminated. Yesterday, she was arrested for theft by taking,” Maj. Anthony Coleman of the Georgia State Police said. According to Georgia State Police, Garner purchased a $257 19-inch television with her Georgia State University procurement card, also known as a P-card, which she used to ship it to her Georgia State office. “Our auditing department notified us of the possible theft,” Coleman said. Garner confessed to purchasing the television and taking it to her Lilburn home. “She told us where it was. The investigators went to her home with her and they recovered the television,” Coleman said. Atlanta-based news station WSB-TV reported receiving a letter from a whistleblower stating that the television was not the only
questionable purchase made by Garner. The letter alleges that Garner took university laptops home and often sent large packages to Chicago via FedEx at the department’s expense. The whistleblower also said that when the department made a purchase for 22 Nintendo Wiis, Garner purchased 23 and took the extra one home. “We, along with our auditing department, will continue to look at purchases made from Ms. Garner’s P-card to determine any other personal purchases,” Coleman said. According to the Kinesiology and Health Department website, Garner’s responsibilities as business manager included “budget maintenance, post award grant admission, personnel hiring, and management of [the] department office.” In 2007, after widespread abuse within the University System of Georgia was revealed in an investigation, the Georgia Legislature placed further restrictions and regulations on the P-card program. According to the Georgia State University P-Card Manual, the use of the P-Card for personal expenses is strictly prohibited. “Under no circumstances
PERSPECTIVES • 13
Dept. of Kinesiology and Health Garner purchased a $275 television with her P-card.
is a cardholder permitted to use the P-Card for personal purchases. Using the P-Card for personal purchases may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination from employment and criminal prosecution,” the manual states. Since the purchase price of the television was under $500, Garner is currently being charged with a misdemeanor. If Garner admits to the other allegations of other purchases brought by the whistleblower, Garner will be charged with a felony. Garner has been released on bail and has yet to make a statement on her charges.
The Georgia State football team will take on Shorter College at the Georgia Dome in less than 30 days, on Sept. 2. What can the Georgia State community and fans expect to see from the upcoming inaugural season? “Players who simply love to play football,” Head Coach Bill Curry said. In the following weeks, the team will undergo extensive preparation for the first game. Building the foundation of a new football program now behind him, Curry looks forward to doing what he does best: coaching. Between now and kick off, Curry’s focus will be on improving the players’ toughness and endurance at every practice. Responsibility falls on his shoulders to prepare the team for the 11 games this fall. “Toughness and conditioning is so important,” said Curry. “Football is a tough sport. It’s either smash or be smashed.” Curry works hard to ensure that his players are in peak shape to survive the brutal game that he calls football. Instructions like “Keep that head up—always keep that head up,” served a dual purpose at practices. Such a technique improves a player’s performance and protects him from injury. “A tackler is a better tackler when his head is up, rather than down. He can see better,” Curry said. An ongoing controversy in football is the number of severe and sometimes fatal head and back injuries players sustain while on the field. A hit to the lifted head of a player may result in a concussion. However, a player with his head down is vulnerable to more serious injuries. “That’s how you get quadriplegics,” said Curry. Safety and athleticism are not Curry’s only concerns. Bringing players together to create a winning team with excellent chemistry is
not an easy feat either. All 90 members of the football team gathered on Aug. 3 for the team’s first practice held with all team members present. Veteran and freshman players from all over the country came together with one goal: to play football well. The practice marked the first time both coaches and players saw face-toface who they would be working with. “I saw some things that gave me goose bumps and some things that made me nauseated,” Curry said. Position testing commenced the next morning while the Georgia State football program made its official media debut. All the coaches were watching to see who had taken advantage of the voluntary weight training offered this past summer for the coveted starting positions. The quarterback starting position has garnered the most attention. Some say the addition of Alabama transfer Star Jackson has created a quarterback controversy. Star Jackson, Drew Little, Kelton Hill and Bo Schlechter will be doing their best to secure the position. “A QB controversy is when there is a lot of bad QB’s. We have a lot of good ones,” Curry said. However, with such fierce competition, egos can get out of control. “Subject your selfish will to the good of the team, or you don’t play,” Curry said about dealing with players whose primary concern is how often they get the ball. “All I can ask for is that each player play well and deliver. Talk is cheap. It doesn’t win a game. Let’s go play.” The Georgia State football team will be facing an uphill battle and skeptical commentary abounds from fans and critics alike about the new football team. “No complaining. The team that handles adversity the best is the one who wins it. It’s almost that simple,” Curry said in response.