Vol. 82 | No. 3

SEPT. 9 - SEPT. 15, 2014

VOL. 82 | NO. 3

Looking Forward: The deadline to apply for spring 2015 graduation is quickly approaching. You’re not sure if you’re going to graduate on time. But there’s still hope.

NEws | page 3 Inside Inside like us! facebook.com/gsusignal

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Sax appeal

another level

navigate the city

on the prowl

Bio 1101, brought to you by Uber, Lyft and Comcast. Avoid the marketing barrage.

Catch the return of Saxophone Day and let the music comfort your ears with smooth sounds.

Coach Tim Lappano has seen plenty on the sidelines. Now he’s on our turf.

News | Page 5

Opinions| Page 8

A&L | Page 12

Sports | page 18

The On the Atlanta BeltLine app offers features for exploring Atlanta’s backyard.

DAILY NEWS AT WWW.GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

News 2

Opinions 7

Arts & Living 9

Sports 17

2

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

Local

Georgia family creates special needs dating website Laura Ellis and Micheal Robbins of Buford, Georgia created an online dating site catering to special needs individuals called Special Bridge, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. The site was created six months ago in honor of Jaclyn Key, Laura’s sister, and currently holds 200 members worldwide. The creators said safety is a top priority and members should contact them if they feel uncomfortable. The annual fee is $7 a month and $12 for full access.

National

Drug cartel attempts to smuggle marijuana into U.S.

A Mexican drug cartel was apprehended by U.S. Customs while attempting to smuggle millions of dollars worth of marijuana into the country on Sept. 4, according to Fox

5 Atlanta. The cartel’s transportation, a suspicious tractor-trailer, was on Interstate 19, south of Tuscon, Arizona.

Customs used X-ray imaging to locate the drugs inside of a fake painted watermelon. The driver is now in custody.

Global

Gay partnership postponement causes protest outside European Parliament

Sept. 2

Fake check

A report was filed for fraud after a Georgia State student said an unknown male approached him and asked him to cash a check.

The student later discovered the check was invalid and the case is under investigation.

The approach

Over 500 protesters gathered outside the parliament in Athens, Greece in response to delayed legislation that would have permitted civil unions for same-sex couples on Sept. 5, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. The council of Europe’s Court of Human Rights recently ruled the Greek government was discriminatory. Justice Minister Haralambos Athanasiou said the issue was delayed because further information was needed on how the unions would affect family law and social/tax insurance systems.

A Georgia State student said two unknown males approached her at an off-campus restaurant.

While one one male talked to her the other stole her phone. The case is under investigation.

Sept. 3

ter for the Arts. They were arrested, processed and transported to Fulton County Jail. A report was filed for theft of services.

Street fighters

Edgewood Avenue A report was filed for battery after Georgia State police saw two males fighting on Edgewood Avenue Southeast. The aggressor was arrested, processed and transported to Fulton County Jail.

Watch your bikes!

University Lofts A Georgia State student said her bicycle was stolen from a bike rack at the University Lofts. A report was filed for theft and the case is being investigated.

Pay for what?

Luckie Street Two individuals refused to pay after ordering at the Landmark Diner across from the Rialto Cen-

Sept. 4

Stealing knowledge?

University Bookstore

A clerk from the University Bookstore said he witnessed a male stealing a book. Officers searched the area but did not find the male matching the description given. A report was filed for theft and the case is under investigation.

You’ve got mail

University Commons A report was filed for harassment.

Two Georgia State students said they received threatening letters at the University Commons. The case is under investigation.

Broken window

A Georgia State student said he left his laptop in the rear seat of his car. When he returned, the window was shattered and the laptop was missing. A report was filed for theft from a vehicle interior and the case is being investigated.

Photo of the week PHOTO BY RAVEN SCHLEY | THE SIGNAL A grandmother bent over to hand her lantern to her granddaughter who sat on the ground waiting for the Lantern parade at the Atlanta BeltLine to start.

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www.georgiastatesignal.com/news

Georgia State State graduation graduation rate rate Georgia

PHOTO BY RAVEN SCHLEY | THE SIGNAL

Graduates walk at Georgia State’s 99th commencement on May 10, 2014.

TRIANNA ANDERSON Staff Reporter

G

eorgia State’s graduation rate was at an all time high for 2013 and is expected to continue to rise, according to a university report.

The university graduated 1,500 more students per year since 2008, according to the report. The 2013 graduation rate rose to 53 percent compared to 2003’s rate of 32 percent—a 21 percent increase in the last decade.

The report additionally highlights a lack of Georgia State student success from 10 years ago. According to the report, Georgia State’s institutional graduation rate stood at 32 percent.

“In 2013, as a result of a campuswide commitment to student success and more than a dozen innovative programs implemented over the past several years, Georgia State’s achievement gap is gone,” the report states.

“This past two years alone, [the graduation rate] has climbed 5.1 points— reaching a new record of 53.1 percent—and it is on pace to increase another 2 to 3 points next fall.”

All-time highs

Pell grant recipients graduated at less than half the rate than those who did not receive the same financial aid option a decade ago, according to the report.

“All of these numbers set all-time highs for Georgia State. Pell students now are as successful as non-Pell students. The total number of degrees conferred annually increased in the past year from 6,901 to 7,365, up 7 percent, setting another institutional record,” the report states.

In 2011, the state of Georgia partnered with Complete College America, a nonprofit initiative created to significantly increase the number of college credential holders and to close gaps for traditionally under-served populations, according to the Education Advisory Board’s website.

“Each state-funded institution was forced to implement a plan to measure outcomes and student success. Georgia is also among a number of states who have transitioned to performance-based funding—so revenues are increasingly tied to success metrics, the number of degrees conferred and the number of students who reach certain success markers within their college careers,” the Education Advisory Board website states.

New programs and initiatives

Timothy Rennick, vice provost and vice president for enrollment management and student success, said the university created programs to decrease the amount of student dropouts.

“The administration has created a range of different programs to try to

is

e s i r e h t on

help students with some of their biggest stumbling blocks,” he said.

These programs are designed to help students pass math and other difficult courses so they can continue to maintain good academic standing.

“This is about choosing the right major, holding on to the Hope scholarship if one has it and finding the funding to stay enrolled,” he said.

The university’s revitalized plans in 2012 geared toward student success highlights major initiatives taken

by Georgia State to increase graduation rates, according to the report.

“It enables us to do simple things such as warn students when they register for courses that don’t apply to their majors, but it also allows us to help students choose majors and courses that better fit their abilities,” Rennick said.

2012 initiative plans included:

Doubling the amount of need/ merit based scholarships Continued implementation of the 2011 Panther Retention Grant program Decreasing the negative effects of hope scholarship loss Overhaul systems of academic advising Redesigning courses with high drop/withdraw rates Expansion of supplemental instruction Creation of summer-success pro-

gram for at-risk freshman students Increasing enrollment numbers of Freshman Learning Communities (FLCs)

New advisement system

In 2012, Georgia State began the Graduation Progression Success (GPS) Advising system employing technology to aid advisers in tracking every student on a day-to-day basis using predictive analysis, according to the report.

Jazmyn Fritz, spring 2014 neuroscience graduate, said she remembers emails sent by her adviser during her junior year about slipping grades.

“I had the Hope scholarship all four years of college. When I was about to lose the Hope scholarship, I had so much going on at that time I barely noticed,” Fritz said. “My adviser sent me an email regarding my grades and we literally sat down and came up with some really good time managing techniques.”

“I think the graduate increase is amazing!” Fritz continued. “Georgia State has grown exponentially, especially in the research departments. I see Georgia State doing big things in the future.”

Supplemental help for students

Darius Devlin, fall 2013 graduate with a B.S. in biological sciences, said his freshmen learning community,

supplemental instruction and the LSAMP program contributed to his success as a student.

“Most important of all was my undergraduate mentor, Dr. Zehava Eichenbaum, who advised me on classes to take and assisted with planning my post-graduation plans— keeping me on track along the way, “ he said.

Dr. Laura Meyers, instructor of the freshman learning community (FLC), said it’s always exciting to meet the freshmen in the program and later cheer them on at graduations.

“You’re not alone. I’ll share resources, introduce you to people and support you in any way I can. I want them to meet me on the 50 yard line at Georgia Dome in four years,” she said.

Georgia State has been nationally recognized for their dramatic improvement graduation rates, according to a university release.

“Georgia State has gotten national attention in the last couple of years for our use of technology to help our faculty and staff be more effective in supporting students,” he said.

Rennick also said administration is working to use financial analytics to better predict the early warning signs for when students are getting into financial difficulties.

“We are developing a mobile-device platform to help send personalized messages about available support to students,” he said.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

5

technology

On the Atlanta BeltLine app released

New app seeks to help users explore businesses and activities around the BeltLine LAUREN BOOKER Associate News Editor

A

tlanta BeltLine’s ‘On the Atlanta BeltLine’ app was released on Aug. 13, according to Atlanta BeltLine’s Communications and Media Relations manager, Jenny Odom.

However, despite there being a large population of commuter students at Georgia State, Odom said the company doesn’t plan on visiting Georgia State to promote the app.

“We’re not marketing the app to students or a particular audience at this time, just promoting it generally to all of our audiences,” she said.

The app is the first available version and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices running on iOS 6.1 or later software, according to the app’s detail page on the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store. This includes Android 2.1 and others.

The app has an interactive map pinpointing MARTA stations, public art and more. It also has a trip planner function allowing users to customize their experience based on whether they want to walk, bike or picnic, according to Odom.

Charles Lovelo, a junior physics major, said he commutes by car and has never heard of Atlanta BeltLine.

He recommends the organization uses the internet to publicize their efforts.

“I don’t get out much. I’m either in my room or back home,” he said.

“Internet ad campaigns reach quite a few people. They are cheap, easy to do.”

Robbi Grier, a sophomore nursing major, also said she’s never heard of Atlanta BeltLine. After hearing about the organization’s trails, she said she would like to use Atlanta BeltLine.

“I definitely would. I like running and stuff like that. So, it would be nice to run outside versus just to go to the gym and run in circles,” she said.

Grier also said she might download the app if she has a good reason to.

“A lot of stuff I download has to benefit me,” she said. “Maybe if they had special events going on.”

The organization should have a stronger presence on campus to catch students’ attention, according to Grier.

“I think if they put up flyers

around Georgia State, that would help them out,” she said. “Maybe if they tried to like come out and have one of the little booths when we have fairs, that might help.”

Odom said downloads have exceeded by 3,500 in the weeks the app has been available on the iTunes App Store and the Google Play store. Google Play states there has been 500 - 1,000 installs, according to the app’s detail page on the Google Play store. iTunes App Store also displays 14 reviews and Google Play Store shows 16 user reviews, according to the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.

Odom said the organization hopes for users to enjoy and share their experiences IMAGE CREDIT: BELTLINE.ORG on the Atlanta BeltLine with family and friends.

“The app is a way to help people to use the parks and trails in the way that they want, whether it’s planning a picnic, figuring out a jogging route or find something that’s going on nearby,” she said. “But we also want people who use the app to know more about the Atlanta BeltLine by being able to easily access information about tours, the health & fitness programs and Art on the Atlanta BeltLine.”

The app was created because Atlanta BeltLine users wanted a way to navigate around the trails and plan their trips, according to Odom.

“They also want to know what’s nearby to make the most of their experience—whether it’s a park, an event, free fitness classes, tours or an Art on the Atlanta BeltLine installation. The Atlanta BeltLine app puts it all into one place for them,” she said.

Atlanta BeltLine is also offering free opportunities including the annual Art on the Atlanta BeltLine exhibition, fitness courses and volunteer programs, according to Odom.

This fall, Atlanta BeltLine will be breaking ground on the three-mile multi-use Westside Trail. The AtPHOTO BY ALLYSON BUSCH | THE SIGNAL lanta BeltLine will also be creating a The On the Atlanta BeltLine app helps each user customize their experience by allowing bikers, walkers passive-use park at Westside Reserand picnickers to plan their trips and activities. voir Park within the next five years, according to Odom.

6

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

University

Georgia State will host conference about neurology and the law SEAN TAYLOR Staff Reporter

G

eorgia State will host the first Neuro-Interventions and The Law: Regulating Human Mental Capacity conference in the Student Center from Sept. 12-14, according to associate professor of philosophy, law and neuroscience Nicole Vincent.

Vincent is the event’s coordinator. She said the conference will bring together leading minds in philosophy, law and neuroscience to address how neuro-intervention can change a person’s mental capacity.

The event will also examine if the government could ethically use neuro-intervention to alter a criminal’s mind to no longer be a threat to society, according to the conference’s website.

Georgia State hosting the conference is a result of University’s Second Century Initiative (2CI), according to Vincent. 2CI is Georgia State’s initiative to increase recognition of research programs.

“There will literally be some of the leading minds in the world at the conference. We want for as many students from Georgia State to attend as possible,” Vincent said.

Each day the conference will

begin with panels featuring the day’s theme followed by workshops exploring a topic in-depth, according to the event’s website.

Sept. 12 will address how criminals should be processed. Topic discussions include whether rapists should be jailed or if legal systems should remove their will to do crimes through neuro-intervention and release them back into society.

The decision on how to process criminals is a matter of whether the government has the right and responsibility to change an individual’s mind using neurotechnology, according to Vincent.

“The question is, does the government have the responsibility to ‘fix’ people?” she said.

Stephen Morse, Sept. 13 keynote speaker, will open the conference at 9 a.m. and conclude with dinner at 6:30 p.m. The theme will address criminals being sane enough to be punished, according to the event website.

Vincent said the government medicates mentally unstable individuals until they are considered legally sane.

“For example, often people facing the death penalty go insane.

The government considers it unethical to kill crazy people, so they medicate the person until they are considered sane enough to be

killed, then kill them,” she said.

Panels will discuss the societal threats of using cognitive enhancements on the last day of the conference. Keynote speaker Nita Farahany, professor of law and philosophy at Duke University, will close the conference.

Vincent said the increase in college students using stimulants such as ritalin and adderall are examples of the threats posed by performance-enhancing drugs.

“When many students use stimulants, professors’ expectations will be raised to the drug-induced standard. Students who do not use these drugs could begin to feel the pressure to use them in order to perform,” she said.

In her TEDx presentation earlier this year, Vincent suggested the use of cognitive enhancements could spiral out of control resulting in the drug-induced future.

“I do not want to have to be drugged just to do my job,” she said.

Entry is free for students and those interested in volunteering at the conference can contact Stephanie Hare at conference@ atlneuroethics.org.

For more details, visit the conference’s website at atlneuroethics.org

city

12 FRIDAY

SCHEDULE: Friday, September 12

Saturday, September 13

sane enough for trial

12:30 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.

Introduction

9:00 a.m.-10:15 a.m.

Keynote: Stephen Morse

4:55 p.m. -6:10 p.m.

Keynote: Nita Farahany

1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.

Panel: Making people sane enough for release 3:05 p.m. -5:15 p.m.

Parallel Streams 5:20 p.m. -6:30 p.m.

Student Poster Session and Reception

10:35 a.m. -12:05 p.m.

Panel: Making people sane enough for punishment 12:10 p.m.-12:50 p.m.; 3:55p.m.-4:35 p.m.

Parallel Streams 2:20 p.m. -3:50 p.m.

Panel: Making people

6:30 p.m. -8:30 p.m.

Conference Dinner Alma Cocina Sunday, September 14 9:00 a.m. -10:15 a.m.

Keynote: Walter Glannon 10:35 a.m. -12:05 p.m.

Panel: Cognitive

University

Protestors halt demolition of downtown historic building TRIANNA ANDERSON Staff Reporter

A

SEPTEMBER

fter a number of protests from the preservation community, The Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) halted the tear down of the Trio Laundry Dry Cleaning building on 20 Hilliard St., according to 11Alive.

Demolition was scheduled for the week of Aug. 25 but preservationists protested at the site every morning that week, according to 11Alive.

Jeff Dickerson, director of communications for AHA, said a halt in demolition was caused by the outcry of the public.

“AHA bought the building six years ago to eventually remediate and demolish the property for the redevelopment of the community. During this time there were different leadership and board chair members who made the decision,” he said.

Dr. Maurice Hobson, assistant professor of African American studies at Georgia State and a member of the Atlanta preservationists community, said the protestors were not so much concerned with the actual building as they are with the preservation of the Sweet Auburn district.

“Currently, the district is being revitalized through the trolley system being built by the city for the tourist economy,” Hobson said.

Hobson also said Sweet Auburn was once deemed as “the richest Ne-

gro street in the world” and is situated in an area that is east of downtown, blocks away from Georgia State and encompasses areas of Old Fourth Ward.

“Black businesses moved to their own segregated district, Auburn.

Here, [there is] Alonzo Herndon’s Atlanta Mutual Life Insurance Company, the nation’s first black-owned insurance company; W. A. Scotts Atlanta Daily World, the nation’s first

Black daily newspaper; the Poinciana Hotel, the city’s premiere Black hotel; the Peacock Theater, the city’s Black concert hall,” Johnson said.

Dickerson said there is soil damage in the building and right now the building is unsafe.

“AHA is currently tring to figure out how much soil damage the building has. AHA is going to do its best to preserve and fix the building,” Dickerson said.

PHOTO BY RAVEN SCHLEY | THE SIGNAL Though the Trio Laundry Dry Cleaning building was set to be demolished in August, it was halted by the Atlanta Housing Authority.

Georgia State announces new application process MORAYO OYEWOLE Staff Reporter

G

eorgia State is trying a new method starting this year in order to make applying to school less complicated, according to a Georgia State release.

Aspiring undergraduate students can apply using the new Common Application which has a standardized process allowing students to submit a single application to multiple colleges simultaneously, according to the release.

The release states the application will replace the current application, CollegeNet, and Georgia State will join 500 other colleges already using the program.

The process cuts down on redundancy and time constraints which young adults may be under during application time, according to the release.

China Kirkland, junior journalism major, said the new application could be positive for potential students considering Georgia State.

“I think it would be a positive attribute,” she said. “College applicaitons can be confusing, especially for high school students who do not know what is going on. It [saves] Georgia State time and it saves time for prospective students.”

However, junior psychology major Antionette Richards said the original application seemed easier to her when she applied for college.

“The Common App is not going to be be that useful. The original one seemed easier to me and it is easier to make a mistake on the new app that will send to all colleges you apply to,” she said.

The application opened on Aug. 18 with an applicaiton deadline of Nov. 15 for early action fall 2015 admission. Transfer applicants will continue to use a separate application, according to the release.

Students can access the Common Application at commonapp.org

www.georgiastatesignal.com/opinions

I am not a terrorist I NICOLE MOTAHARI Opinions Editor Nicole is a double major in biology and English.

When she’s not writing, she enjoys listening to musical theater and watching British TV with her family.

Follow us @SignalOpinions

n my mind, Sept. 11 is a vast blur with startling mofalsehood that people don’t realize. The assumption is ments of clarity interspersed in my memory. I was so that because many Muslim women wear a veil, the Qu’ran young, a kid who was just happy to be at school with forces them to. my friends when all of a sudden, they wheeled in the teleActually, the tradition of veiling was not mentioned vision. At first, I was excited since I thought it was going until about 627 C.E. and that was when a verse came to be an unexpected movie day until the teachers started around that said, “Believers, do not enter the Prophet’s crying. house… unless asked. And if you are invited… do not I don’t recall much more, just bits that I have pieced linger. And when you ask something from the Prophet’s together from news clips and what is taught in schools, wives, do so from behind a hijab. This will assure the pubut as a child, what I did not expect was how drastically rity of your hearts as well as theirs.” (33:53) that one day would change not only my perspective on the The reason behind this was that for many centuries, world, but also the world’s perspective of me. women had already been veiling themselves primarily for Upon first glance, most people cannot tell what cultwo reasons. The first was to protect them from heatstroke tural heritage lies behind my visage. When I meet new and the second reason fell into class purposes. people, because of my skin color and facial features, it’s Upper-class women would wear a veil to shield themoften a Russian Roulette of trying to figure out my nationselves from prying eyes, something that made sense since al origins. Most folks settle their final guess on me being this was at a time when Prophet Muhammad’s courtyard Hispanic. was open for use to travelers who wished to rest and pitch While being Hispanic must be lovely, the truth is that their tents at night. So, it is understandable that Prophet my family background is Persian, as in from the counMuhammad’s wives would wish to retain their privacy. try Iran. However, most people hear the word ‘Iran’ and When people hear the word sheikh, what usually automatically assume that I must be strictly comes to mind is a rich oil mogul with a religious and sometimes even associate the curved scimitar, lying back on cushions and AGNOSTIC nationality with terrorism. watching a woman belly dance, oftentimes I wanted to clear this issue up for all people something reminiscent of the 80’s hit, ‘Rock who are now ashamed or hesitant to say they the Casbah’. However, the term ‘sheikh’ are Middle Eastern or Muslim due to the translates to “elder” and is an honorific aftereffects of 9/11 and the events that have title that designates the holder as a leader followed. Please stop stereotyping. or governor of sorts.

Just because someone is Middle EastThe title is usually used to refer to the ern does not mean that they are religious. head of a family or tribe, and would have It seems as though people have taken the been inherited from father to son or given phrase Muslim and have twisted to a scholar who was educatit around into someed in an Islamic school. thing that it is not.

The phrase has also Being a terbeen utilized in cerrorist and betain Jewish cultures ing from the to reflect the same Middle East meaning, pointing or practicing to yet another flaw Islam are three in the stereotype completely separate of all sheikhs being identities. It’s similar to sayMuslim. ing that you’re from Georgia; So, as you can so of course, you’re going to see, many labels placed be a Bible-thumping televanupon people who are gelist who supports the Ku Middle Eastern or Muslim Klux Klan. It doesn’t work do not take into account the like that. logical purposes and methodJust to clarify, the Middle ology behind the practices. To East is a region that stretches say that all the people of the all the way from Turkey (near Muslim religion are terrorists BUDDHIST MUSLIM Greece) to Iran and encompasses would be akin to claiming that over 15 countries. The primary because Hitler was a horrid, ILLUSTRATION BY DARIAN MATHEWS | languages spoken are Arabic and psychotic, cruel person that all THE SIGNAL Persian, but that does not mean Christians or Germans are like that people live in tents and travel him as well. through the desert by camel. Everywhere from Dubai to As with anyone, you have to take things on a person Tehran is actually quite modernized now. by person basis. There are terrible people of all ethnicities Arabs themselves do not even comprise the majority and religions, but to generalize is to promote fear, hatred of Muslims- the Far East actually comes in first with 69 and intolerance. percent of its population being Muslim, then Africa at 27 People and groups who claim to practice Islam but percent. Arabs come in third, with 15 percent of them beare instead cruel and barbaric are not true Muslims. The ing Muslim. whole religion is centered around peace, understanding Now, to address the religious portion of this debacle: and acceptance, three main traits which are ignored and Not all Muslims are terrorists and not all terrorists are tossed to the side by people who wish to abuse the religion Muslim. as an excuse or a label for inhumanity.

The basic uneducated stereotype of Islam holds a few The people who do wrong things that the media shows tenets; people assume Islam represses women, Muslims you on television are a small percentage of the population hate all non-believers, Muslims are fanatics and my faand definitely do not represent the opinions and beliefs of vorite funny one, the Islamic religion consists of men in the Middle East or Muslims as a whole. turbans and long white robes, prosperous sheiks, belly It is people like these that falsely cause the Middle East dancing women who live in harems, women in burkas and Muslim faith to have a negative stigma attached to it. and terrorists.

When you look at someone with my coloring and cultural What you probably didn’t know is that in the Qu’ran, origin, please think twice before you judge me as someit specifically mentions Christians and Jews as protected thing I am not. and respected since Muslims respect the same prophets, Some famous people who you may not have realized Abraham, Moses, Noah and Jesus. are Muslim are Doctor Oz, the rapper Ice Cube, Snoop The Torah and the New Testament are acknowledged Dogg, Shaquille O’Neal, Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, as the word of God, but they are considered flawed since the comedian Maz Jobrani, the actress from the popular they were recorded by humans. For example, due to the television series 24, Shohreh Aghdashloo and the famous different interpretation of the other books, Jesus is not singer Cat Stevens, who converted to Islam and even considered God’s son since that would contradict God’s changed his name to Yusuf Islam. These people are Musdivinity. lim, but they are not terrorists.

Essentially, Muslims consider Islam to have started all As Cat Stevens once said, “The very first lesson that the way back since Abraham introduced God and JudaI [learned] from the Qu’ran was the message of unity ism as religion since Judaism and Christianity are considand peace.” I hope that through this article, I might have ered older forms of the Islamic religion that was spread by cleared up some false misconceptions and that these facts Prophet Muhammad. can help clarify misunderstandings that have surrounded As for Islam repressing women, that is yet another Islam and the Middle East.

Dreading 9/11 Why the uneasiness of a decade and old misfortune will last a lifetime MIA MCDONALD Columnist Mia does amateur photoshoots, maintains the title of bookworm and hangs out with friends and family.

I

Follow her @MiaMore09

remember sitting in my fifth grade class when all of a sudden the school went on lockdown. We weren’t given any explanations as to what was going on, but we had to stay in our classrooms. The siren usually used for intruder alerts sounded off and everyone was directed to a safe place.

I wasn’t scared or nervous as much as I was confused. I, like everyone else, just wanted to be let in on this big secret. Little did I know that this event would change my life forever.

As the date approaches, I’ve decided to stray from the traditional form of remembering and take a look at the effects of Sept. 11.

This odd numbered date has made everyone’s life just a bit more stressful to say the least. The chore of traveling and going through airport security, the unfortunate stereotypical paranoia of Middle Eastern travelers and the birth of a new form of racism is what 9/11 has left me with.

I am someone who loves to travel and traveled via plane a lot. Now if someone mentions taking a trip, I literally cringe at the thought. Airports once served as a major part of the adventure of tourism, but now it’s just an unnecessary stress.

I long for the days that airport security lasted only five minutes as opposed to the minimum of 30 it now takes. Before I can get to my departing gate, my shoes, my bags, my person and basically my soul all have to go through security.

Another major component of traveling and a personal favorite is meeting new people. Talking to my mother, she recalls me striking up a conversation with anyone that would listen. I haven’t lost my love for new acquaintances nor my gift of traveling gab, but I’ve noticed where people are less willing to converse.

There used to be a pleasant roar of random various conversations, but now everyone’s just focused on getting to and from their destinations. The only guaranteed conversations being held are the flight attendants doing their job of greeting and performing demonstrations and the pilots giving their updates. A lot more people are hesitant to speak.

I just named things that I’m affected by, but what about the other people involved, specifically the travelers of Middle Eastern countries?

To watch people fidget in their seats or hope and pray that the man wearing a turban isn’t a (suicide) bomber is saddening.

I’m not going to lie and say that I’ve never feared foreigners or alien travelers, but to approach things from a different perspective made me reevaluate my behavior. It’s sad that people have to introduce themselves with the disclaimer “I’m not a terrorist.” It’s a new form of racial profiling by civilians, it’s a new form of racism and overall, it’s wrong.

So what now? I’m not saying you should be terrified of traveling or that you should travel without a care, but just be mindful of your behavior; don’t stare at people as they board the plane and treat people like they belong. I don’t discourage anyone from traveling either; people need to learn or be reintroduced to relating to each other.

8

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

Dollars and sense with Mitch

Predatory sales on campus

I

MITCHELL OLIVER Columnist Mitch is a senior finance major and student financial advisor. “My goal is to have more college students financially literate.” Leave your questions for him online at georgiastatesignal.com

Follow him @madmoneyATL

was walking through the courtyard during the first week of classes and noticed a few Xfinity tents from Comcast set up. Curious, I walked by and was immediately approached by a representative asking if I currently had a cable package.

I looked around and saw a handful of students filling out these information sheets with the help of an Xfinity employee. It was at that moment I realized that predatory marketing had gone too far on the Georgia State campus. It needs to stop.

Last time I looked, I pay approximately $4,300 per semester for in-state tuition and fees. Given that around 32,000 students go here, I can make a rough estimate for the sake of this article that Georgia State rakes in well over $100 million per semester from undergraduate students.

I would hope at a very base level that this income would allow the school the luxury to not need anymore money from third parties (Comcast in this case) who want to sell in the courtyard. I run into this issue frequently during the semester. If it’s not Xfinity, it’s someone selling sunglasses, jewelry, posters, etc. etc.

The argument that these vendors are providing a ‘service’ to students—allowing for simple, convenient shopping—is ridiculous. I’m at a loss for why

Letter to the edtior Regarding the “No Still Means No” article published last week Hello,

I

am writing this letter to express my concerns about the image depicted in this article. While I appreciate the significance of this topic, I am quite appalled at the suggestive visual associated with sexual assault. As I read through the article and review the content, the ethnicity of the attackers were never discussed by the victims.

Thus, how can you explain attaching the image of a white woman’s mouth being covered by a black man’s hand? Are white women ONLY assaulted by black men? In my opinion, this eludes to black men solely being the attackers of white women who are sexually assaulted. I have NEVER been one to make everything about race, but this photograph blatantly displays negative connotations towards black men. The decision to associate this photograph with such a poignant topic is completely unacceptable and distasteful.

Mainstream media repeatedly project negative images that discredit black men, and it’s unfortunate to see that some of our community of student journalists are spreading the same biased images that misrepresent their reputation as well.

Laura Blackmon

Post-Bac/Pre-Veterinary Med Student B.A Film&Video/Minor in Journalism

“

I’m at a loss for why the school feels the need to fill our already crowded courtyard with these vendors selling this borderline useless junk...”

the school feels the need to fill our already crowded courtyard with these vendors selling this borderline useless junk (in the case of Xfinity, I would consider it worse than junk).

I’m more than happy with student organizations and clubs having bake sales and fundraisers. In fact, that’s a great way to boost visibility for these organizations. But Xfinity? Really, Georgia State? What image is that sending to students? That the school wants you to be harassed by these salespeople selling a service that hardly any student wants or can afford?

I can’t be the only one who sees this as an obtuse conflict of interest. Students mean well and just want to get around campus or hang out with friends

without being marketed to. Is that too much to ask with my education at Georgia State?

If this continues, the sky’s the limit on what the school might allow in the semesters to come. Maybe a Comcast representative sitting in on your classes, letting everyone know about their “fastest internet ever” every five minutes? Or perhaps your newest class, ‘Biology 1101: Sponsored by Kellog’s Frosted Flakes.’

All jokes aside, the easiest way to get rid of these vendors is to vote with your wallet. If they’re not making any sales, they won’t come back and we can all go along with our days without the unnecessary marketing bombardment.

Letter from the Editor

On the racial issues brought to light last week Dear readers,

L

ast week we ran a story on how largely underreported sexual assault is on campus. This story garnered much attention and some controversy.

The controversy, however, was not due to the content in the sexual assault story. It was because of the photo we chose to accompany the story on the page.

In the article, two females told their stories of overcoming sexual assault. So to illustrate their stories, we chose a female model to be the focal point in the photo. We chose a male model to place his hand over her mouth as a way of portraying the evil force of sexual assault.

The female was white. The male was black.

The decision to run this photo had much larger implications than we expected.

My photography and news editor had come together to generate ideas for the photo and once they had their idea, they began looking for models.

Most of the time we try to use models that are not a part of The Signal staff, but sometimes people outside of The Signal are uncomfortable with posing for us and understandably so. There is much pressure that goes into modeling for a photo that will be put out to more than 30,000 students.

So when we are on a tight deadline, we try to find the most effi-

cient—and admittedly easy and convenient—ways of resolving the issue at hand. With the time we had left, we chose to use two staff members from The Signal. It just so happened one was a white female and the other a black male.

To our staff, the models were just two people we knew coming together to help us complete our work.

But to some of you, this felt like a form of oppression and racism toward black people. And although that message was not intentional, it was still the message that was received by many of you.

I understand the gravity of this issue and I would like to apologize for the decision I made to run that photo.

The message that was sent was completely unintentional. In our eyes, we only saw the models as people we know and interact with on a daily basis. Race was never considered in the process. I take full responsibility for that.

As a news organization, we have a larger responsibility to monitor the messages we put out there and to be mindful of what those messages could say whether the messages are explicit or implicit. As journalists, we pride ourselves on being fair, accurate and sensitive to the culture around us.

Race and ethnicity was not a part of the story. The message we had hoped to put out—which is that sexual assault is vastly underreported— was clouded by a decision perceived

to be intentionally racist.

We know we cannot reverse what has been done; however, in our best attempt to take back that message, I have decided to pull that photo from our online archives and open the floor to you, our readers.

We are a student newspaper and as students, we are constantly learning.

We are not perfect. We hope to continue improving.

And we need you, our readers, to help us with that. We appreciate that you are able to read our paper with a critical eye and voice your concerns.

Just as we are constantly keeping the institutions and people around us in check, you should keep us in check.

If you have any general comments or concerns, feel free to write a letter to the editor and email them to me at signaleditor@gmail.com.

This week, I will be able to answer questions in a GaState Reddit forum titled, “AMA (Ask me anything) I am the Editor-in-Chief of The Signal.” You may ask me about the issue brought up in this letter or anything in general.

Thank you for reading.

Yours truly,

Anna Yang

Editor-in-Chief

www.georgiastatesignal.com/artsandliving

Georgia Congressman

John Lewis

inspires undergrads at Freshman Convocation Students listened to congressman John Lewis as he spoke at the Freshman Convocation on Aug. 24.

YAO SEIDU Staff Reporter

U

nlike most of his Georgia State freshmen class, Matt Eggers knew the keynote speaker of the Convocation Class of 2018. In fact, he had an up-close and personal encounter with the historic Civil Rights activist more than five years ago.

Eggers’ previous connection with Georgia 5th District U.S. Congressman John Lewis—a former Alabama cotton-picker and son of a sharecropper—was at his Cobb County (Ga.) middle school where this icon of the tumultuous ‘60s student movement inspired the impressionable teen. Now, Lewis would be Egger’s college freshman class convocation speaker.

The former metro Atlanta high school student was attending this year’s Aug. 24 medallion ceremony at the Georgia State Sports Arena not because it was mandatory, but because it was necessary.

“I wanted to hear and rekindle the fire and inspiration that is often shared from the man who came from humble beginnings,” Eggers said. “It’s an empowering experience.”

Lewis, a 14-term U.S. Congressman, is one of the only living keynote speakers from the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The leader of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) preceded Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech.

History tells us during that era, Lewis, a six decades-long peacenik, was beaten nearsenseless by police on Bloody Sunday, the famed demonstration at the Edmund Pettis Bridge. This was part of the 1965 Civil Rights March from Selma to Montgomery for voter’s rights.

Lewis, designated as a “Living Saint” by Time Magazine and honored as the only recipient of the John F. Kennedy “Profiles in Courage – ‘Lifetime Achievement Award,’” came to Georgia State with something important to share with the more than 3,350-member freshmen class.

Envisioning the future

“As leaders of the twenty-first century, you must play your role, you must do your part, you must use your education here at Georgia State University to help build ‘The Beloved Community,’” Lewis said. “Together we must

build a world community where we respect the dignity and worth of every human being. We all live in the same family and it doesn’t matter if we are Black, White, Latino, Asian American or Native American. It doesn’t matter if we are straight or gay. We are one people, one family and we all live in the same house, not just the American house, but the ‘World House.’”

In his challenge, Lewis strongly suggested that the freshmen class use their education to reconstruct model communities and to reconcile individual differences with love and respect, not hate. Additionally, Lewis warned the first-year college students not to be lost in a sea of despair and not to be bitter from disappointments that would surely come.

“You have to work hard, study and do your very best,” he said. “You must not only do well, you must do good. Speak up, speak out and find a way to get in trouble to help create a better society, a better world. You must be brave, courageous and bold.”

Borrowing from the words of Noble Peace Prize winners Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi, Lewis suggested to the young adults that we must learn to live together as brothers and sister or we would all die as fools. He said our future choices are non-violence or nonexistence.

“It is possible that graduates of Georgia State University will develop new mechanisms, new ideas and innovative proposals that get humankind not to study the ways of war, but rather a path of leadership taking us to world peace and non-violence,” Lewis said.

In a departure from his human rights signature oratory, Lewis predicts that members of the Class of 2018 will meet with him in some foreign land and reintroduce themselves as a congressman, governor, senator, teacher, scientist or a candidate for President.

“Believe in yourself and never let anyone tell you that you cannot make it, that you cannot succeed. You have the responsibility of helping to redeem the soul of America, the soul of our world and create a world community where we live together,” he said. “Here, at Georgia State University, you can become the model for colleges and universities all over America and all around the world. Create a world community that is at peace with itself.”

Lewis, who still retains a slight speech impediment from blows to the head during Bloody Sunday, concluded his convocation

“

PHOTO BY YAO SEIDU |THE SIGNAL

... it doesn’t matter if we are Black, white, Latino, Asian American or Native American, it doesn’t matter if we are straight or gay. We are one people...

address on a reflective and sentimental note.

“I remember the days when I was a freshman, leaving home for the first time and to go off to college,” the 74-year-old Lewis said.

In an effort to help ease the teenagers’ transition to their new home, Lewis said, “Look out for each other, care for each other. Be happy, enjoy yourself, it’s all going to work out.”

Expectations met

Freshman Jonteco Stinson, a graduate of Spalding High School, called Lewis’ convocation address “a great speech.” His take-away was to do good and keep focused. Stinson’s goal is to earn a degree in business.

Eggers also said he came to this year’s convocation with great expectations.

“I met him while I was in middle school, spoke with him and shook his hand,” Eggers said.

“I found him to be a very captivating character.

So honestly, I wanted to come to hear him speak again.”

When questioned about the Convocation address, Eggers believed Lewis’s oratory was spot on.

“The speech was excellent. It was everything I wanted it to be. He talked about the need of determination and adversity. I think anything we face as young adults pales in comparison to a man who has gone to jail 40 times,” Eggers said of Lewis’ support of the human rights struggle.

The congressman, in perhaps the most intense moments of the convocation, talked about the value of making a change and pledging your efforts to work for a cause.

“I agree that we all need to be committed to something outside of our own personal lives,” Eggers said. “The concept of creating a ‘Beloved Community’ is something we can all support.

I am from another country [New Zealand]. I understand what it means to be a bit of an outsider and I think it is important in this country that we do treat it (The United States of America) as a melting pot.”

Before leaving the stage at the Aug. 24 ceremony, Lewis made a telling observation that reflects just how far Georgia State has grown and developed in its 101-year history.

“It is very inspiring to me to see such a diverse group (of students). That was not the case here (at Georgia State) years ago,” Lewis said. “As humans, we must respect the dignity and worth in all people. There is a spark of The Divine that can be found in everyone and Georgia State is leading by example in seeking out a distinct student body that represents us all in our beloved community.”

DID YOU KNOW? The 3,370-member Georgia State Class of 2018 has an average high school GPA of 3.43, an average ACT score of 22 and an average SAT score of 523 -- a point or two lower than the Class of 2017 -- according to COLLEGEdata, college admissions tracker and Georgia State officials.

Today, Georgia State, with an enrollment of 32,842 students, is the second largest school in the University System of Georgia eclipsed only by a few thousand students of the University of Georgia in Athens.

Georgia State, categorized as highly selective, has a 71 percent full-time student body and a retention rate of 84 percent, according to CampusExplorer.com.

10

Khanh Tran Junior Biology major Hometown: Ben Tre, Vietnam as told to Becca Long

W

hen the Twin Towers were under attack, Khanh Tran, a junior biology major, was in elementary school coloring with his second grade class. When news spread throughout the school of the attacks, his teacher was overcome with shock.

“The first thing I noticed was how she put her hand on her mouth and was just in shock. She just stopped. I was like, ‘Wow, what just happened?’ I had no idea because

it happened so quickly,” Tran said.

The following day, Tran felt the grief of the situation more profoundly as all of the teachers were distressed and the tone of the school was gloom.

Aside from the confusion of being so young during this chaotic time, 2001 was his second year living in America. Originally from Ben Tre, Vietnam, Tran could not understand why someone would want to wound America.

“I never thought that anybody hated America; I thought that everybody wanted to be in the country. So I was surprised that there were people who were trying to destroy a great country,” he said.

Although the time that has passed allowed for America to heal, Tran noticed the repercussions of this event throughout his life.

“After the accident… racism like skyrocketed. One of my friends just hated her high school because she was Muslim and everybody teased her that she was a terrorist,” Tran said.

Tran acknowledges the safety measures that have been established since the tragedy 13 years ago and believes that it is in our best interest to keep security levels high.

“I know the group [al-Qaida] is shut down already but I still think there should be a little bit more security here and there,” he said. “We should take more drastic measures if anything like that was to happen. Like how they have blocked doors to the cockpit of airplanes, we should continue to have those types of precautions in place.”

P

Pierre Francois Senior Film and video major Hometown: Atlanta as told to Pedro Alvarado

ierre Desdunes was 9 years old and in the 3rd grade when 9/11 happened.

“When the incident happened, my school went into a terrorist alert.” Desdunes said. “At my school, this type of alert was something that the teachers and staff were trained to handle. One of the teachers grabbed me and pulled me into a classroom and made me get underneath a desk,” At the school, as in most other places, there was a lot of uncertainty about what was going on. When the second plane hit, however, his teachers really began reacting emotionally.“ “They were crying and looked scared. None of us really knew what was going on,” recalls Desdunes.

Soon after it was reported that this was a terrorist attack, parents started coming to pick up their kids. According to Desdunes, most of the parents didn’t even check their kids out.

“My mom came straight to my classroom and got me. We went home.” Desdunes said.

Being so young, the 9/11 attacks haven’t had an obvious change in Desdunes’ behavior as an adult.

“I fly frequently and without fear. I’m not scared of Muslims; like Fox News is,” said Desdunes.

Remembe

9

|

We remember sitting in c helpless to the viole Sept. 11, 2001 is a day that nobody will soon forget. Many of us were very young when this tragedy occurred, but the damage done to both our country and our people still rings true. Thirteen

years lat the incide in the m State’s are the s students who shar about tha

11

ering

|

Ronald Smith Junior Middle education major as told to Alex Kugaczewski

R

onald Smith, junior middle education major, has kept busy over the past few years with school. He never experienced the tragic events of 9/11 directly in person, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t affected him.

It happened while Smith was in one of his ninth grade classes, but no one believed it at the time. The person who broke the

classrooms, ence

news happened to be dressed in a clown suit, leading the class to shrug off the story as a joke.

It wasn’t.

“We spent the rest of the day thinking about this and watching news reports,” Smith said.

Many of Smith’s classmates spent the next day at home, safe from the threats of violence that became frighteningly real.

Within the confines of familiar walls, Smith had time to reflect on the tragedy.

“I remember being very sad for everybody who was involved with it.

Personally, I was just very saddened by the loss of life,” Smith said.

According to Smith, many people he had met throughout his life were on their way to New York at the time on business meetings at the Trade Center and other trips. Smith remembered some of their stories.

“Many of the stories sounded miraculous. These are people who I worked with through my company,” Smith said. “We just listened and gave them the respect they deserved as survivors.”

Thinking about that day’s events now, Smith reflected on how the events have shaped his outlook as a human being.

“We’ve got to be vigilant as a people. We have to make sure that everybody is taken care of in the best way possible to produce stellar citizens,” Smith said. “Be strong.

Don’t give up.”

F

ter, memories of ent are still fresh minds of Georgia students. Here stories of several around campus red their feelings at fateful day.

Delany Rodgers Sophomore Marketing major Hometown: Lawrenceville as told to Sydney Cunningham

or Rodgers, Sept. 11 was a blur of people and movements.

All she knew was something bad had happened.

“I was in first grade and I didn’t find out anything until I got home from school. My next door neighbor who was older told me something about the attacks that freaked me out,” Rodgers said.

Her parents spent the day watching television and would send her to her room with her friends throughout that day and the rest of the week when she came home from school.

It’d be easy to assume many parents across the nation were shielding their young children from knowing what happened out of fear of scaring them, especially when the parents themselves didn’t really know what was going on. This was common feeling throughout the country.

“I know 9/11 threw the country in a panic and sent everything we know about being safe into question, but I think people who had a foreign name or appearance [were] harmfully suspected. Girls and guys in my school who had potential of them being middle eastern were yelled at and called a terrorist,” Rodger said.

12

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

Saxophone Day brings instrument admirers together

PHOTO BY ALEX KUGACZEWSKI |THE SIGNAL Professor Jan Baker guides her players through a key moment in their session.

ALEX KUGACZEWSKI Staff Writer

I

t’s easy to imagine pulsating synthesizers, booming microphones and screaming guitars when picturing the college-age music experience. It’s also easy to picture the dancing lights and wild rush of energized crowds.

This romantic, stereotyped image, however, exists in stark contrast to Georgia State School of Music’s Saxophone Day. Saxophone Day will be held at the Kopleff Recital Hall Sept.

20 with artist registration prices ranging from $60 for regular participants to $85 for masterclass participants. All attendees will be able to view the day’s events in full.

Performing artist and saxophone professor Jan Berry Baker founded the event eight years ago with Scott Stewart, wind ensemble director at Emory University. Together, they created the Atlanta area’s biggest celebration of the saxophone.

PHOTO BY NADIA DELJOU |THE SIGNAL The Florence Kopleff Recital Hall is located next to the Arts and Humanities Building on Gilmer Street.

“It started out as Emory Saxophone Day because I was teaching at Emory at the time. I wanted to introduce myself to the community and give back,” Baker said. “I wanted to bring amateurs, college students, professionals and avid saxophone players together.”

Bringing saxophone admirers together is exactly what Saxophone Day has done for the past eight years. Since its inception, the event has grown from an audience numbering in the dozens to include anywhere from 70 to 100 saxophonists from the Southeast alone.

According to Baker, the event has grown steadily over the years since its inception.

“The last few years it’s been big.

We have students coming from University of Central Florida. We have students from the University of North Florida and all the colleges in state. It got bigger,” Baker said.

Students from Georgia State, Valdosta, Columbus State, Kennesaw and more will attend this year’s Saxophone Day in addition to students from middle and high

schools.

“It’s an idea to meet people and get people of all ages and levels together. It really is a community event. It’s for everybody,” Baker said with a smile.

Saxophone Day isn’t just inclusive however. It’s also expansive.

The day’s events will include a number of activities ranging from warm ups, choir rehearsals, artist recitals, professional master classes, sponsor exhibits and lectures.

Renowned American saxophonist Frederick Hemke will be giving two masterclasses over the course of the day, instructing students on playing technique in addition to giving a lecture. Hemke has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Premiere Prix du Saxophone and the Kappa Kappa Psi Distinguished Service to Music Medal.

Additionally, Masahito Sugihara, assistant professor of saxophone at Sam Houston State University, will perform a recital.

Over the years, Sugihara has performed in numerous quartets, operas and ensembles in addition to numerous countries across the

world including the United States, Norway and Brazil.

While individuals from a variety of universities, careers and saxophone skill levels are invited to join the day’s activities, Baker said that she was particularly excited to see her own students perform.

“They always make me proud, so I’m looking forward to that,” Baker said. “I’m also looking forward to hearing the high school students play, because I think it’s an important beginning step for them. For a lot of them, it’s the first time they have played as a soloist in public, and that really takes a lot of courage. It’s an important moment.”

Jack Thorpe, 19-year-old sophomore saxophone performance major, has been playing the saxophone since sixth grade in his middle school band and has been a student of Baker’s since he was 15 years old. He’s scheduled to perform during the day’s saxophone choir and as a soloist during Hemke’s masterclass.

“I love playing the saxophone and it is great to meet and listen to

other saxophonists of all ages from around the area,” Thorpe said.

According to Thorpe, playing in a group allows him to better understand the sounds and intonation of different instruments coalescing, ultimately helping him to better perform in smaller groups of players.

“I have attended before and it definitely has affected my musicianship. I went to my first Saxophone Day in 2010 and every year since then I have learned from listening to others play in masterclasses for our guest artists,” Thorpe said.

Thorpe, just like his teacher, also believes that Saxophone Day is more than just a learning opportunity for musicians to better their own craft. He also sees it as a way of strengthening the musical community.

“Saxophone Day has acted as a major instrument in the growth of enthusiasm within the saxophone community of middle and high schoolers who otherwise would not have a way to meet other kids who are passionate about saxophone music,” Thorpe said.

13

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

Sex column

Sexploration with Rachel:

threesomes Editor’s Note: This week’s column is NSFW (not safe for work). Read at your own discretion.

RACHEL KINGSLEY Columnist

Rachel believes even though society has become more open about sex, it’s still a highly taboo subject.

To become more open and accepting, she believes we need to start with education. Rachel shares her experiences.

Follow her

@rachelkingsley

I

t’s no secret that threesomes have become the Holy Grail of sexual fantasies—sharing your partner with another person is both erotic and taboo.

If you want to try a threesome, my first suggestion is that you talk with your partner about it.

Matt, a guy I was dating, knew I was open to the idea. If I hadn’t communicated that to him, I don’t think it would have happened. Jealously can be a major problem with threesomes, but I think if you and your partner share the mindset that it’s purely physical and emotion has nothing to do with it, then you can pull it off.

My first threesome was completely by accident and completely organic. Matt, like me, didn’t really buy into monogamy. Even with my years of experience in “non-traditional” polyamorous relationships, I hadn’t taken the leap into the wild world of threesomes. It was just something that I wasn’t ready for.

So when it did happen, it was unexpected. Matt and I spent a weekend at his house. He had friends

over throughout the weekend too and on the last day I was there, his friend Dylan and I were the only ones there. Matt and I went up to his room to have sex before I left. While we were in the middle of foreplay, Dylan came in. It was suddenly like a scene out of porn—he jumped in and joined.

Now, you might be wondering how I would or could just let it happen. I’ll be honest when I say that I found Dylan very attractive and the thought of having two men at once turned me on.

Sometimes, situations with threesomes can be a bit uncomfortable and awkward. It can be hard to transition from having sex with two people to having sex with three or more. I’ve found that the easiest way to diffuse the awkwardness is to spend some time with each person individually. This way each person involved still feels important and relevant in the threesome.

If you’re unsure what positions to be in during the threesome, it’s best to use material from your brain’s spank bank from the porn you’ve seen.

Watching porn is the easiest way to find positions that everyone is into. Just keep in mind that if there are some awkward transitions into positions, it’s alright. Porn stars practice these things a lot more than the average person.

Also, take notes from porn about finishing together. Try and “edge” (hold off your orgasm) until everyone can orgasm together. It makes the cumulative orgasm one of the best you and your partners have ever had.

At first, I had only one inside me at a time while I performed oral on the other one. But after we had warmed up, it became more extreme—I had Matt in my vagina while Dylan and I were having anal. After we were finished, we all laid together in the bed smoking a cigarette and laughing about how the situation came to be. For me, I think I enjoyed the fact that it was unexpected and with people that I knew.

I needed Matt to be there emotionally for me when we were finished with the threesome and he was. Because of that, he made me feel secure in the relationship even though he had “shared” me with someone else. There’s always a risk in having a threesome that your relationship won’t be the same after, which is why communication is key.

Although threesomes can be daunting and even taboo, once you experience one in a safe, fun atmosphere, you realize there is a reason why it’s such a coveted act all over the world—it’s unlike anything you will ever try sexually with one partner and something I believe everyone should consider.

event column

Kicking off the new semester G JOHNNY AVERY GIPSON

Arts & Living Editor

Johnny is a senior English major at Georgia State, with a minor in film. He enjoys writing short stories, screenplays and poetry creatively and loves writing about culture and the arts journalistically.

Follow him @johnnyknownow

eorgia State offers a multitude of interesting fitness classes for students that are looking to get a more unorthodox workout. During the first two weeks of the Fall semester, Georgia State Recreation Services allows students to sample any of the classes provided. The Signal decided to sample the signature ‘Kickboxing’ class, one of the more exclusive fitness classes offered at Georgia State.

Kickboxing begins with fast-paced cardio led

by Georgia State’s professional instructor, Erick Heegaard. Also known by his MMA nickname, the “Detroit Destroyer,” Heegard has wrestled in major kickboxing competitions around the world.

Heegaard said Georgia State’s large, ambitious student body attracted him to downtown Atlanta.

“There’s a lot of people interested in hard work here,” Heegard said. “They really enjoy learning here and in the seven years I’ve been here, it’s always been fun. There’s always full classes.”

Heegard also said Georgia State’s current kickboxing classes are some of the most exclusive programs in the state.

“We’re the only school that has a mixed martial arts program offered to students, so it’s really special,” Heegard said. “I started it four years ago and ever since then it’s been an amazing experience.”

After entering the room, students must remain off of the mats until they remove their shoes. Only bare feet and socks are allowed in the dojo and students must also put on a pair of boxing gloves for the sparring activities. It’s recommended that students bring water with them to the room, because the high rate of activity soon to follow causes profuse sweating and bouts of exhaustion.

Heegard takes a few moments to introduce himself and explain how he operates his class before any activity begins. After directing students from jumping jacks to high knees, the cardio is strenuous and rapid-fire. Timed abdominal exercises like scissor kicks and leg-ups are also a staple of the warm up, timed in 30-second intervals.

PHOTO BY RUTH PANNILL |THE SIGNAL Students in the class are taught to kick higher, faster, and stronger.

Once the blood gets flowing, Heegard barks out the next orders, his 30 second timer blaring boisterously in the background.

“Rapid fire jabs in the front! Thirty seconds!”

Heegard drawls. “Crossing jabs in the back!

Roundhouse kicks at the bags!”

Instantly, a flurry of punches and kicks erupt in the packed room. The temperature of the room rises as students groan and pant at the Detroit Destroyer’s regimen.

Students are taught the basic techniques of kickboxing in the class, from simple jab punches to strenuous roundhouse kicks. Breathing exercises are also an integral part of the training, with emphasis on deep breaths between repetitions and constant hydration. Heegard claims that although he’s teaching self-defense, kickboxing is about more than just knowing how to beat someone up.

“Kickboxing class is about more than just learning how to fight. It’s about getting good exercise and becoming more confident in yourself.

When you take the class, you get a great workout every time and you’re learning how to defend yourself for emergency situations,” he said.

Students can attend Kickboxing classes on Mondays at noon, Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m., and Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m.

Watch the Detroit Destroyer’s videos! https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=3nGy4nBl1SU

14

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

PALS helps freshmen branch out and connect BECCA LONG Staff Reporter

A

fter the organization’s two year hiatus, Genè Hunter, President of PALS, has devoted her ambition to restoring Passing Along Lessons Socially. Believing in the power of personal mentorships between freshmen and upperclassmen, Hunter revived PALS for Georgia State’s newest class.

“I want this organization to continue because it really was once a good organization and I didn’t want it to just fall,” Hunter said. “We pair up upperclassmen with incoming freshmen and we help them transition from high school into college,” Focusing on building opportunity rich relationships, PALS looks for mentors that are involved in the Georgia State and Atlanta communities. This approach to mentorship provides freshmen with the ability to get connected in specific areas that interest them.

“Most of the mentors that we get, or the upperclassmen, are usually involved in SGA, Greek-led organizations, Spotlight, campus events or they’re involved in Atlanta’s community internship wise and

community service wise,” Hunter said.

With current mentors involved in Spotlight, University Housing, Tighter Grip and more, PALS provides an abundant amount of opportunities to its mentees.

“This community involvement really helps the freshmen kind of branch out and get out there, especially coming to a big, open university like this,” Hunter said.

Once the freshman is paired up with an upperclassman, they are encouraged to meet on their own time, initially meeting once a week and then at varying times throughout the school year for special events and programs.

The programs are kicked off with PALS Week which incorporates a volunteer event, a Meet your PALS at the Park session and team building activities which will take place in late October.

PALS mentors are also encouraged to pass on their advice through events like the Real Talk Forum where freshmen and mentors engage in a conversation on various college topics like financial aid, relationships and deciding on majors. This informal approach to real college issues is a key feature of what this organization is all about.

“Freshmen should join PALS because we’re a traditional organization, but at the

same time, we’re not,” Hunter said.

“There’s a lot that they can gain from that one on one experience verses them being in an FLC with one mentor and twelve students.

You really get a one on one connection and get a head start networking.”

PALS is also teaming up with some of the FLC’s (Freshmen Learning Communities) that do not have a mentor and is working on getting into classrooms in order to spread the word on their upcoming opportunities.

The benefits of PALS do not just fall on the freshmen but on the mentors as well. Giving back is the driving force behind this organization and its president.

“When I started school I had a mentor, well a couple of mentors, who really helped me jump start my leadership journey at Georgia State. My thing has always been being to someone else what other people were for me,” Hunter said. “So just being that push of motivation, a shoulder to lean on or that guide, that’s what PALS is all about.”

PHOTO BY RUTH PANNILL |THE SIGNAL Genè Hunter, president of Campus Pals, wants to guide freshman through their first year by providing them with a seasoned mentor.

Applications to become involved with this organization are on OrgSync now.

For more information, email PALS at membership.cp@gmail.com

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Fall Career Expo and Accounting Employer Showcase • September 19, 2014 • 11:00 am - 3:00 pm • Hyatt Regency Atlanta

Visit your career center for Synchrony Financial job opportunities and on-campus interview dates.

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To apply go to SynchronyFinancial.com/University

15

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

ALBUM REVIEW

Maybeshewill stumbles with ‘Fair Youth’ ALEX KUGACZEWSKI Staff Writer

A

Release Date: Aug. 25, 2014 Grade: C Verdict: Maybeshewill crafts a serviceable post rock record, but nothing else.

lthough it’s been said ad nauseum over the course of music discussion, it bears repeating that post rock as a genre is exceptionally prone to stagnation. Sure, innovators such as Talk Talk and Godspeed You! Black Emperor have come and gone, but the sea is, on the whole, vast and swarming with pale imitations.

Since the group’s inception in 2005, Maybeshewill has carved a unique niche for itself the post rock world, effortlessly combing instrumental grace, adventurous songwriting and the trademark beauty post rock is known for. The band’s fourth album, “Fair Youth,” however, finds the three-piece outfit stumbling over speed bumps instead of shooting to new horizons.

“Fair Youth’s” biggest problem isn’t that it presents the audience with an hours worth of poor music, but that it presents the audience with an hours worth of completely familiar music. Maybeshewill goes to great lengths to take the listener on an unexceptional voyage into the well-traveled.

Take the album’s second track “In Amber” for instance which manages little more than to exist as a five-minute excursion into mid-tempo noise.

Granted, the track certainly is pretty, but it never manages to distinguish itself from the rest of the post rock canon. Throughout its five-minute run-

time, the track repeatedly calls back to better songs by other artists and that’s a dangerous first impression to leave.

Four tracks deeper into the band’s fourth record finds the twinkling, mid-tempo monotony at an all-time high with Sanctuary, a completely inoffensive slab of starry-eyed instrumental balladry.

Perhaps it isn’t fair to be thankful that the track runs as the album’s shortest cut. It’s a serviceable piece of music, sure, but there’s a certain latent irritation that slowly begins to swell at the thought of such a strong, capable band succumbing so fully to mediocrity.

This isn’t to say that “Fair Youth’s” songs aren’t competently performed, because each of the album’s 11 tracks are admirably-played compositions. It’s not at all difficult to hear the roots of the powerful instrumental core that made albums such as “Sing The Word Hope In Four-Part Harmony” so successful.

Unfortunately, “Fair Youth” isn’t “Sing The Word Hope In Four-Part Harmony.” It isn’t even compelling as itself, and really, that’s the most damning thing of all. The faux-grandiose sweeps of synthesizer of “In The Blind” reek of a ragged, weary road that’s been traveled far, far too many times before to warrant yet another trudge. Still, if Maybeshewill felt compelled to go down this route, the band could have played to the post rock canon with a little more conviction than what’s on display in “Fair Youth.” Maybe next time they will.

MOVIE REVIEW

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EL MAY The Other Person Is You

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J MASCIS Tied To A Star

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LITERATURE Chorus

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WAREHOUSE Tesseract

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AMP LIVE Headphone Concerto

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ALLISON MAY Loved/Dark

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BISHOP ALLEN Lights Out

JJ V

NAOMI PUNK Television Man

ALBUMIN Celebration

The November Man

NOW PLAYING AT

Cinefest

Rating: R Running time: 108 mins.

Grade: C Verdict: No matter what month it is, “The November Man” is an average movie at best.

PEDRO ALVARADO Staff Reviewer

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n an action movie with an aging star, one of three things has to happen in order for it to work: 1) The elder actor has to actually be able to keep up; 2) the character that the elder actor is playing must also be out of his prime; or 3) the elder actor is surrounded with help from younger actors to make his contribution to the action sequences plausible.

“The November Man” tells the story of a retired CIA agent who is brought back into service for an easy extraction mission that leads to a major international scandal.

This movie is a vanity project, plain and simple. Star Pierce Brosnan (who plays lead Peter Devereaux) is also one of the executive producers—the most likely reason he is the star. Throughout the entire picture, Brosnan’s performance wreaks of an “if Stallone can do it, so can I” air and

it is painful to watch. He meanders across the screen in a way that suggests that more than trying to catch the bad guy, he’s trying to catch his breath.

In this action movie, Brosnan was surrounded by younger actors. But instead of letting them do the proverbial heavy lifting while his character gives sage advice and makes command decisions, he elects to carry the load himself, which leaves the audience with an aching back.

Be that as it may, Brosnan is only onethird of the ingredients in this recipe for mediocrity. The screenplay, written by Michael Finch and Karl Gajdusek, provides the second ingredient. The script is very convoluted combining contemporary international human rights issues with ‘80s Cold War paranoia and the fight for control of a country’s oil rights.

The events in the story line are so discombobulated that even in the end there is no clear indication of who the good guys and bad guys are and two of the pivotal characters are left with no resolution at all.

The final ingredient in this failure is poor direction. In terms of film aesthetics, Roger Donaldson directed a movie that comes across as an ‘80s James Bond film starring Roger Moore.

With the exceptions of Peter Devereaux and David Mason (played by Luke Bracey), each of the characters are stereotypes of an era of filmmaking gone by. There is a refugee turned social worker whose life is in danger because she holds the secret that has the ability to turn the entire free world upside down, a drunk Russian general turned politician with a secret to hide, a rogue CIA agent who will stop at nothing in his quest to spread American idealism, a sleazy pimp/informant, and, of course, a femme fatale.

Not surprisingly, the movie is adapted from the 1987 novel “There Are No Spies”

by Bill Granger. It appears that instead of either making a contemporary adaptation or sticking to the period in which the novel was written, the filmmakers attempted to do both and failed miserably.

Under the Skin Synopsis: A voluptuous woman of unknown origin combs the highway in search of isolated or forsaken men, luring a succession of lost souls into an otherworldly lair. They are seduced, stripped of their humanity, and never heard from again.

Showtimes: Wednesday- Friday 1 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm, and 7pm Rated: R Running Time: 108 minutes

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

Sudoku

Campus & Downtown Events

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Sept. 9 Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood 7 p.m.

Kings of Leon return to Atlanta with special guests, Young the Giant and Kongos. The spacious Amphitheatre at Lakewood is sure to be packed, some come early and get a good seat to enjoy this amazing performance.

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KINGS OF LEON WITH YOUNG THE GIANT & KONGOS

from Decatur’s Universal Joint restaurant and 21+ venues by GREY GOOSE and Michelob Ultra

arts is an event dedicated to bringing together outstanding artists from throughout the country

SESAME STREET LIVE

ONE MUSICFEST

Sept. 12 -14 10:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Fox Theatre Relive the greatest moments of your childhood when the stars of Sesame Street come to the Fox Theater. Enjoy all of your favorite characters with your family, and make this experience one to remember!

TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP BY ATLANTA ARTS FESTIVAL Sept. 13-14 COCA-COLA Piedmont Park Sept. 10-14 East Lake Golf Club At the TOUR Championship guests can partake in modern luxuries such as a concert from Yacht Rock Revue, Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q, selections

Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood (formerly Lakewood Amphitheatre) Sept. 13 Noon ONE MusicFest, modestly speaking, is an intimate outdoor music festival that will showcase over a dozen performances.

Some past performances included Snoop Dogg, CeeLo Green, Goodie Mob, Erykah Badu and many more.

10 a.m.

The 8th annual Atlanta Arts Festival is a two day, outdoor festival with an emphasis on the visual arts. Set in historic Piedmont Park, this autumn festival of excellence in the

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ASSIGNMENTS BACKPACK BATHROOM BELL BINDER CAFETERIA CHALKBOARD CLASSROOM CLOCK COURSES DESK DOORS ENROLL

ERASER EXAMS FIRST DAY GYMNASIUM HALLWAY HOMEWORK INTERCOM JANITOR LANGUAGE ARTS LEARNING LIBRARY LOCKER LUNCHROOM

MATH NEW FRIENDS NOTEBOOK NURSE OLD FRIENDS PADLOCK PAPER PENCILS PENS PRINCIPAL QUIZZES ROLL CALL RULES

www.georgiastatesignal.com/sports

Georgia State Panthers

The NFL DREAM How current and former Panthers look when it comes to going pro

SUBMITTED PHOTO | GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS

Matt Hubbard’s p-unting stats are on par with current NFL punters.

SEAN TAYLOR Staff Reporter

F

ive former Georgia State football players entered the 2014 NFL preseason. Five former Georgia State football players entered the 2014 National Football League (NFL) preseason.

Christo Bilukidi, Albert Wilson, Emmanuel Ogbuehi, Theo Agnew and Ulrick John all fought to makes a team’s coveted 53-man roster. Here is how the players did.

The Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons called Theo Agnew was called for a three day mini-camp but was released on Aug. 26 when teams had to trim their rosters down to 75 players.

Aug. 30 was the final deadline for teams to chop their roster down to their 53 best players. Teams also had the option of keeping 10 players on their practice squad, putting players on injury reserve or adding them to their Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.

The Kansas City Chiefs

The Oakland Raiders

Wide Receiver Albert Wilson had four receptions for 34 yards in the Kansas City Chiefs’ final preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. He was successful in making the team’s final 53-man roster. The Chiefs speculate that Wilson will provide a spark to the offense.

Christo Bilukidi was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the sixth round in 2012. After being released Bilukidi was picked up by the Cincinnati Bengals, he also did not make the 53-man roster.

He still is expected to eventually make the team.

Cleveland Browns

Georgia State’s current roster is extremely young. When factoring in redshirts, the team has 44 juniors, 32 sophomores and 35 freshmen. There are only 13 seniors, including walk-ons.

Based on performance, three seniors have a shot at making the NFL in 2015.

All-conference punter Matt Hubbard stats put him right in the midst of current NFL punters. Hubbard has averaged 42.3 yards in his college career.

Last season, Hubbard punted a Georgia State record of 80 yards. Only one NFL punt was longer in 2013.

Linebacker Jarrell Robinson had a short 2013 season after suffering a shoulder injury. Robinson recorded 33 tackles and 2 sacks in eight games. The three-year letter-winner will be looking to return and raise his stock in his senior year.

Tight End Emmanuel Ogbuehi received minimal playing time for Cleveland Browns in the preseason. He caught a 45 yard touchdown pass in an Aug. 18 game against the Washington Redskins, but it was not enough. Ogbuehi did not make the 53 man roster but is on the team’s practice squad.

The Indianapolis Colts

Ulrick John, an offensive lineman, was drafted in the seventh round by the Indianapolis Colts.

He suffered a broken ankle in early August and was placed on injury reserve. John will have a chance to fight for a spot when he returns.

Georgia State hopefuls for NFL

Tim Wynn began last season as a starting guard before being sidelined for a game due to injury. When both the starting and backup center suffered injuries as well, Wynn returned as a fillin. Wynn started at center for the last four games and will return to guard in the 2014 season.

It is likely these players will either be drafted late or go undrafted. But there are still other opportunities for players to compete for a roster spot. Three of the five former Georgia State football players that participated in this NFL preseason did not get drafted.

Former Georgia State linebacker Jake Muasau also went undrafted in 2012 but later got a call from the New York Giants. The Giants cut him at the end of preseason but brought him back the following season for a second look.

He was released and is currently listed as an unsigned free agent.

Georgia State has a young football team, which means that many of the players have received minimal or no playing time. Collectively, there are only 10 starters returning on offense and defense. There is a lot of experience to be gained, making it difficult to determine which players will become true break-

out stars and pave a path to the NFL. Georgia State is entering its second year in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The team already improved upon last year’s winless record when they defeated Abilene Christian University on Aug. 27. With one victory under its belt, Georgia State has gotten the proverbial “monkey” off of its back. Multiple wins this season could be a good sign for the young team’s future.

Panthers in the NFL

ALBERT WILSON Kansas City Chiefs

EMMANUEL OGBUEHI Cleveland Browns

CHRISTO BILUKIDI Cincinatti Bengals

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2013 18

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

Seasoned veteran brings his experience to Georgia State AKIEM BAILUM Sports Editor

W

ith over 30 years of coaching experience in football, Tim Lappano has seen plenty throughout his career on the sidelines. Having coached a variety of position groups spanning the high school, college and NFL levels, the seasoned veteran is now bringing his knowledge of the game to Georgia State.

Lappano’s coaching career began in 1981 at Joel E. Ferris High School in Spokane, Washington as an assistant. He would then become the running back’s coach at Idaho from 1982 until 1985.

Since then, he has coached at Washington State, the University of Washington, the University of Wyoming, Oregon State and Purdue at the college level; in the NFL, he has worked with the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions.

Being back at the college level with a wealth of coaching experience, Lappano emphasizes his players are “coachable.”

“My experience here so far has been very good because we have about 17 receivers that are good kids, good character kids and want to be coachable,” Lappano said. “If I’m going to come here and do this at my age and with my experience level, I want to make sure that they’re very coachable. That’s very important to me.”

He was hired as head coach Trent Miles’ wide receivers coach in March after a tenure in the NFL where he spent five years with the Lions. This included being tight ends coach for Brandon Pettigrew and receiv-

ers coach for four-time Pro Bowl Wideout Calvin Johnson. At Georgia State, he’s coaching a group of wide receivers that include sophomore standout Robert Davis.

Regardless of the level, Lappano loves to coach football.

“Coaching is coaching. I don’t care if it’s in high school, at the University of Alabama or the Detroit Lions. It doesn’t matter. I’m a teacher and a coach. I love working with kids that want to be good and want to be coachable,” Lappano said.

There is, of course, a dynamic that separates coaching at various levels apart from each other. In the NFL, the media scrutiny is more intense. Lappano acknowledged that because the talent level in the pros is so much greater, it allows for more scheme in terms of types of plays and time spent on each player.

“You don’t have the time to put together the size of the playbook that you do in the NFL. That’s business,” Lappano said. “You get those guys basically all day. That does not happen with the college student-athlete, so you have to be pretty selective in what you do because you only have so many hours to prepare.”

Lappano has coached various position groups including quarterbacks, runningbacks, defenses and wide receivers—a position in the NFL that is much maligned for being filled with “divas.” He acknowledged that coaching wide receivers is a difficult task, but one position is even harder given the microscope they are put under.

“The quarterback is a tough position to coach because so much is expected of them and it’s a game of quick decisions,” Lappano said. “It’s a game of quick thinking and getting the ball out of your hands as fast as

possible. It sounds easy, but it’s not.”

Lappano coached quarterbacks at the University of Washington in addition to being the offensive coordinator there from 2005 to 2008.

Trent Miles was also in Washington around the same time when he was the runningbacks coach under Head Coach Tyrone Willingham.

In addition, Luke Huard, now Georgia State’s quarterbacks coach, was hired as an assistant QB coach under Lappano at Washington. Ronnie Fouch, now a graduate assistant for the Panthers, played quarterback in Washington before transferring to Indiana State when Miles was coaching there.

Lappano says that his decision to leave the NFL and come to Georgia

State was motivated by his previous experiences working with the current crop of coaches.

“Knowing these guys and knowing that they’re good coaches and good people made it pretty easy for me to come here and work with them,” Lappano said.

This is Lappano’s first time coaching in the Sun Belt Conference. While coaching football may be similar regardless of what level it is at, coming into a new conference to coach can present a learning curve for someone who may not be too familiar with it and its teams.

“To be honest with you, I’m not very familiar with the Sun Belt Conference. I really don’t know that much about it,” Lappano said prior

to the Panthers’ first game of the season. He said after playing Abilene Christian, he would have a good idea of where they stand and could start watching film on the players.

In their recent victory over the Wildcats, the Panthers’ primary receivers had 392 yeards and four touchdowns.

Regardless of the differences that come with the level of football one may be coaching at, the main goal remains the same—winning games.

“The bottom line is to win games.

I came here to help some friends win games,” Lappano said. “I’m looking forward to these guys getting better every week and turning this program around in the right direction.”

PHOTO BY RAVEN SCHLEY | THE SIGNAL After coaching in the NFL, Lappano moved to Georgia State in hopes of bringing positive change to the Panthers.

Sports column

Georgia State intramurals open for competitive play Not all sports have to be exclusive for varsity athletics BRYAN JOHNSON Staff Reporter

M

any students at Georgia State have played sports at some point in their lives either in a youth setting or even at the high school level. Georgia State’s intramural sports programs offer a way for students not involved with varsity sports to have fun and stay active while playing in a competitive environment.

There are a variety of sports open to students both semesters with opportunities to play in racquetball, flag football, indoor soccer, indoor and sand volleyball and arena ultimate frisbee leagues as well as oneday golf, billiards and table tennis tournaments. Intramurals are open to any student free of charge.

“We provide most of the equipment, we obviously provide the fa-

cilities and we provide the officials,” Assistant Director of Recreational Services Andy Hudgins said. “So all the students need to do is form a team from their roommates or classmates or friends who go to Georgia State or a student organization.”

Students can create an account at the Georgia State Intramural Sports website, gsuim.com and after logging in, can click on the link for the sport they want to join. From there they can create their team, come up with fun or silly names, grab a team color and get ready to compete against their fellow Panthers.

For students who are looking for a team, or are just interested in the sport but don’t have much experience, intramurals offers them a chance to sign up as free agents.

They can do this through their account at the intramurals website and be picked up by teams looking for new players, which makes it a

fun and healthy option for building friendships.

“We send a list of all the free agents to all the team captains and hopefully they’ll need some extra players that way,” Hudgins said. “In the past, if there is a large number of free agents, we try to form a team out of the free agents. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t.

We do what we can to try and get people on a team.”

Intramurals aren’t just a chance to stay active and meet new people.

They also offer a competitive environment. Each sport offered crowns a champion at the end of league play or the tournament. Teams that compete in multiple sports are offered the chance to win the Frank B. Jernigan Cup, which rewards good sportsmanship, organization and leadership.

Most sports take place at the Georgia State Recreation Center

Monday - Thursday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Outdoor sports such as flag football take place at Panthersville Sundays from noon to 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. The golf tournament takes place at an off-campus golf course and the billiards and table tennis tournaments take place at the Rec Center’s Game Room.

“It’s fun. There are different skill levels that we have and anybody can play intramurals—it’s not just for the elite,” Hudgins said.

Registration for most fall sports is now open and more details can be found in the Recreation Rap-Up that can be found in the Student Recreation Center and around campus.

For more information, visit the intramurals website at recreation.gsu. edu/intramurals

Registration for Phase 1 sports including racquetball and sand volleyball ends Sept. 14.

Registration for Phase 2 sports, including ultimate frisbee, dodgeball and 3-on-3 basketball lasts from Oct 6-26.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2013

STAFF PREDICTIONS

PANTHER OF THE WEEK

GUEST PICKS OF THE WEEK NFL Picker

Student Picker

GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS

Hannah Stefanoff Track and Field Hannah Stefanoff posted the fifth best overall time on Friday at the Powerade Invitational in Chattanooga with a time of 11: 21.14 as Georgia State went undefeated in their team races against competing schools.

Stefanoff is currently in her senior season with the Panthers and has compiled a large list of accolades throughout her career. She came to Georgia State from Ohio and made the state cross country team all four years while in high school.

In 2011, she was named coCAA Rookie of the Year and earned All-CAA honors. She was the top finisher in every meet in her freshman season. Stefanoff also scored a victory in the 5,000 meters of the Yellow Jacket Invite in 2012 with a time of 17:40.50.

This year in indoor track and field, she finished fourth in the 3,000 meters of the Sun Belt Indoor Championships with a personal best time of 9:46.39 and finished fifth in the 5,000 meters with a 5,000 meters with a time of 17:11.77.

Stefanoff has been named to the All-Sun Belt team for cross country two consecutive years.

FOOTBALL

SUN BELT Georgia Southern vs.

NATIONAL Sept. 13 Oklahoma vs.

Georgia Tech

Tennessee

Ryan Simkoff

Ben Moore

Class: Freshman Major: Finance Minor: Undecided

Panther Talk editor

Georgia vs.

Abilene Christian vs.

Troy

South Carolina

Navy vs.

Texas State

Arkansas vs.

Texas Tech STAFF:

committed four turnovers throughout the game.

BRIEFS Football

On Saturday, the Panthers suffered their first loss of the season when Sun Belt rival New Mexico State defeated them by a score of 34-31. Georgia State jumped out to an early 17-0 lead before the Aggies rallied to come back. The Panthers

Cross Country

Georgia State compiled a perfect 8-0 showing at the Powerade Invitational in Chattanooga.

Among the victories for the Panthers included beating No. 9 South Region ranked Tennessee and No.

Air Force vs. Georgia State

Akiem

Bryan

Jeremy

12 South Region ranked Chattanooga. Georgia State’s three seniors, Stella Christoforou, Hannah Stefanoff, and Niamh Kearney had the fourth, fifth, and seventh best overall times, respectively.

Volleyball

The Panthers fell to 2-5 for the season after dropping two out of

Sun Belt Standings STANDING

FOOTBALL

VOLLEYBALL

1st

UL Monroe 1-0 | Overall: 2-0

Appalachian State 0-0 | Overall: 7-0

2nd

New Mexico State 1-0 | Overall: 2-0

UL Lafayette 0-0 | Overall: 7-0

3rd

South Alabama 0-0 | Overall: 1-0

UT Arlington 0-1 | Overall: 0-1

4th

Texas State 0-0 | Overall: 1-0

Troy 0-0 | Overall: 7-1

5th

Appalachian State 0-0 | Overall: 1-1

UALR 1-0 | Overall: 2-0

6th

Arkansas State 0-0 | Overall: 1-1

Texas State 0-0 | Overall: 4-4

7th

Georgia Southern 0-0 | Overall: 1-1

Arkansas State 0-0 | Overall: 2-4

8th

UL Lafayette 0-0 | Overall:1-1

South Alabama 0-0 | Overall: 2-4

9th

Troy 0-0 | Overall: 0-2

Georgia State 0-1 | Overall: 2-5

10th

Georgia State 0-1 | Overall: 1-1

UL Monroe 0-0 | Overall: 2-5

11th

Idaho 0-1 | Overall: 0-1

Georgia Southern 0-0 | Overall: 1-5

GUESTS:

Ryan Ben

three matches at the Jax Marriott Volleyball Classic. They defeated Bethune-Cookman before losing in straight sets to North Florida on Friday. Jacksonville defeated Georgia State in five sets. Junior Eliza Zachary was named to the All-Tournament team.

Join Us for

modern media

2014

CON F E R E N C E

September

19&20 @

THE

Student Center

Georgia State University

Featuring more than 25 guest speakers from major news companies and media organizations from around the country, MMC is a free opportunity for students to network and gain practical experience with seasoned media professionals.

Presenting keynote speakers: Tom Luse, executive producer of The Walking Dead & Chris Holcomb, 11alive’s Chief Meteorologist Featured Workshop: Tim Harrower, author of The Newspaper Designer’s Handbook Registration is free for GSU students | $25 for non-GSU students Register online at modernmediaconference.com @mmcgsu

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hosted by: Georgia State Student Media