The Signal Vol. 85 No. 6

SEPT. 26 - OCT. 3, 2017

VOL. 85 | NO. 6

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Georgia State students vouch for a smokers' section on campus.

NEWS PAGE 4

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY VANESSA JOHNSON & COVER DESIGN BY SALINNA PHON | THE SIGNAL Georgia State’s “smoke free campus” policies get sticky as students agree there is a need for designated smoking areas.

THE LEGACY LIVES ON

CATERING TO ALL

STOP BALLIN' ON A BUDGET

A TEAM'S HERO

Ndaba Mandela spoke to Georgia State on carrying his grandfather's legacy.

Smoking students deserve a space to take a break, too.

Learn where and how to make an extra buck or two around Georgia State.

Meet the men's soccer team's secret weapon, senior forward Rashid Alarape.

NEWS | PAGE 6 WWW.GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

OPINION PAGE 8

News 3

ARTS & LIVING | PAGE 16

OPINION 7

SPORTS | PAGE 21

Arts & Living 9

Sports 19

NEWS

2

GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

BLOTTER SEPT. 18

SEPT. 20

Fight Club

A non-Georgia State affiliate was arrested for simple battery on another non-Georgia State affiliate at the corner of John Wesley Dobbs and Courtland St.

Popping bottles

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Christina Maxouris

A non-Georgia State affiliate was arrested at the corner of Edgewood NE and Piedmont NE for driving under the influence.

signaleditor@gmail.com

executive editor (atlanta) Open executive editor (perimeter) Open Editorial NEWS EDITOR Syrina Merilan

Keep your hands to yourself

SEPT. 19

Stop bothering me

A Georgia State student reported a harassing and intimidating person in the Student Center.

It’s just a dime

A non-Georgia State affiliate was arrested for possessing an ounce or less of marijuana at Broad St. NW. Where’s my stuff?

A Georgia State student complained of theft or lost property valuing $500 or less in the Aderhold Learning Center.

signalnewseditor@gmail.com ASSociate NEWS EDITOR Open signalassociatenews3@gmail.com OPINIONS EDITOR Open signalopinions@gmail.com ARTS & LIVING EDITOR Camille Bolos signalliving@gmail.com

A Georgia State student reported an attempted rape at the Piedmont North Building A.

You don’t even go here

A Georgia State student complained of a person trespassing at Piedmont Central.

ASSociate ARTS & Living EDITOr Sophia Marchese signalassociateliving2@gmail.com SPORTS EDITOR Open signalsport1@gmail.com ASSociate SPORTS EDITOR Open signalassociatesports1@gmail.com copy editor Alaa Elassar, Sydnie Cobb signalcopyeditor@gmail.com

SEPT. 21

I will shank you

Three Georgia State students were arrested for causing visible bodily harm to another at the corner of Piedmont NE and Ellis St. NE.

Production design editor Khoa Tran

ILLUSTRATION BY ERIK REID | THE SIGNAL

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Associate design editor Salinna Phon signalprod2@gmail.com

PHOTOGRAPHY photo EDITOr (atlanta) Vanessa Johnson

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

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A Georgia Tech police car was set on fire after a vigil-turned-protest on Sept. 18, 2017 in remembrance of Scott Shultz, a Georgia Tech student who was shot and killed by campus officers.

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PHOTO BY ETHAN MITCHAM | THE SIGNAL

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OFFICE INFORMATION Suite 250, Student Center West • P.O. Box 3968 • Atlanta, GA 30303 • Phone: 404-413-1620 • Fax: 404-413-1622 • Web: www.georgiastatesignal.com

NEWS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

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A closer look at Atlanta mayoral candidates’ LGBT and affordable housing stances STAFF REPORTER

A

fter a divisive presidential election, Georgia State students and Atlanta residents now have the chance to elect a mayor representative of their greatest concerns.

The election is set for Nov. 7 and looks to have a lengthy ballot of candidates to succeed current Mayor Kasim Reed.

From the nine candidates left campaigning, an Aug. 27 WSBTV poll pointed out the five top runners. The poll shows Mary Norwood, former city council member, with 27 percent of the vote, Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell following with 10 percent, City Councilwoman Keisha Lance Bottoms and City Councilman Kwanza Hall tie with 9 percent of the vote and Sen. Vincent Fort garnered 8 percent.

LGBT CANDIDATES AND RIGHTS

Norwood remains the only candidate with resolutions for the LGBT community featured prominently on her official campaign website. These resolutions include plans to review HIV criminalization laws, increase LGBT representation within the Atlanta Police Department, and protect LGBT youth from homelessness. As mayor, she aims to provide college students and LGBT youth with access to internships in the city government.

“Board appointments, hiring practices, and mentorship programs open to all individuals. Go a long way to provide high profile persons as role models for gay youth,” she said.

At an LGBT forum held on June 23, Mitchell showed his support for the community by citing his recent and outspoken criticism of North Carolina’s transgender bathroom bill, according to the Center for Civil and Human Rights.

Hall recruited the first openly gay Chief of Staff, Jay Tribby, who has served with Hall for 12 years, according to the Center for Civil and Human Rights. The Councilman is committed to the LGBT community and plans to advocate for equality at the state and federal level by continuing Atlanta’s “stronger track record on LGBT issues.” However, he feels he needs more input from the LGBT community, to finalize any of his plans.

“I need to hear more from LGBTQ students about issues I can help with, but I can commit to maintaining Atlanta’s 100% Human Rights Campaign Score and advocate in partnership with our LGBTQ community for equality at the state and

federal level,” Hall said.

At the June 23 forum on LGBT issues, Bottoms also noted the economic benefits of a more inclusive Atlanta, which attracts more special events and conventions to the city, according to the Center for Civil and Human Rights.

According to the center, Bottoms emphasized Atlanta’s need to maintain an inclusive reputation apart from the rest of the state of Georgia. “‘I think that has to be a very, very clear message from the mayor at all times, that we are an inclusive city,’” Bottoms said.

Fort claims a long-time, proven record of support for the LGBT community. He’s worked with the community to pass the first hate crime law in Georgia in 2000, although the law was later struck down by the Georgia Supreme Court for its ambiguity, according to NBC News.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND GENTRIFICATION

Many of the mayoral candidates have plans for increased affordable housing, or an increase in units available to Atlanta residents with incomes below the median household income, currently around $58,000 in the state of Georgia, according to Forbes.

Norwood said Atlanta has the opportunity to “champion a new vision for the city” with over $3 billion dollars of public and private money set aside for the development of public transit and transportation technology. These funds are intended to increase the overall connectedness of Atlanta, as well as citizen access to community amenities over the next decade.

“As mayor, my goal for transportation, transit, and infrastructure investment and expansion is to enable an Atlanta resident to walk, bike, drive, or catch light or heavy rail, to pleasantly and reliably commute from their home to their school or workplace within 30 minutes,” Norwood said.

Hall has said that he plans to provide Georgia State students with affordable housing options in the Downtown area through stronger development agreements.

“I made sure that when we authorized the city to sell Underground that the developer knew that the city expects affordable housing to be a part of its redevelopment. There is more potential for housing in this area,” Hall said.

Other candidates, like Fort, have a stronger focus on gentrification. Fort said gentrification is a threat to both the poor and middle class.

“The city has forgotten about the working class and has focused on the millionaires and billionaires of the city,” Fort said. “Many of the people running have been on city council, or worked for city hall and have been watching during the greatest explosion of gentrification in Atlanta’s history.”

Hall has claimed gentrification as a main priority and stressed his past actions on gentrification and the need to protect legacy neighborhoods.

“As many of our intown neighborhoods are experiencing much needed renovation and renewal, it is reassuring that we already have a series of ordinances and processes, including the various boards and the city’s own planning process that includes significant neighborhood and NPU participation,” Hall said.

PHOTOS BY VANESSA JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL Signs line the streets of houses in Old Fourth Ward delineating their pick for mayor in the upcoming election.

Norwood also has plans to address the issue of gentrification in Atlanta. She referenced the new Atlanta City Design that articulated the future of Atlanta and accentuates its uniqueness.

“This blueprint identifies specific ways that we can be quintessentially ATLANTA - not copy someplace else - but imminently more aesthetic, connected and well-developed throughout all sectors of our city, not just those areas that have received the bulk of development over the last 40 years,” Norwood said.

Keisha Lance Bottoms spoke on her past actions on gentrification that she took while serving as an Atlanta City Councilmember. Bottoms’ proposed legislation for Displacement Free Zones (DFZs) which could cap rental rates or property taxes.

“While redevelopment is important for many of our underserved communities, it is equally important that we as a city establish inclusive means by which we are able to preserve the historic fabric of these neighborhoods, beginning with our residents and small business owners,” Bottoms said in the interview with Atlanta Daily World.

One solution Mitchell proposes for gentrification is to require developers to set aside a certain amount of their housing to be affordable to people with low-to-moderate incomes.

“Together we will implement inclusionary housing zones by requiring developers to set aside a percentage of housing that is affordable to people with low to moderate incomes,” Mitchell stated on his campaign website.

POLLING PERCENTAGES OF PROMINENT CANDIDATES

27

PERCENT

MARY NORWOOD A city council member and longtime civic activist

10

CAESAR MITCHELL A city council President

PERCENT

9

Source: WXIA-TV ATLANTA

PERCENT

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS A city council member

8

PERCENT

VINCENT FORT A state senator

9

KWANZA HALL A city council member

6

CATHY WOOLARD A former city council member

PERCENT

PERCENT

NEWS

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GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

Smoking ban: a dive into the side unheard

Students express the need for their own designated smoking areas STAFF REPORTER

E

very day, Georgia State students find a smoking hub to congregate around and share their dose of nicotine.

Georgia State’s Tobacco and Smoke-Free Campus Policy states the use of tobacco products is prohibited on all property owned, leased or used by Georgia State, including but not limited to all internal and external areas; parking garages and parking lots; and in Georgia State owned and/or leased vehicles. Such use is also prohibited within 25 feet of all Georgia State buildings.

According to Major Brian Lawson from the Georgia State Police Department (GSUPD), there are certain restrictions the campus officials have against regulating the smoking on campus.

“Smoking on campus is not against the law and is a university administrative policy. However, out of courtesy, we do respond to locations where smokers gather and ask them to adhere to the University’s non-smoking policy,” Lawson said.

“Since smoking on campus is not a violation of Georgia law, our department cannot force smokers to disperse or cite them for smoking.”

Georgia State admits around 32,000 students per academic year, many of which are tobacco smokers. Several students feel that having a complete ban on cigarette and tobacco smoking is not effective, nor is it representative of all students.

"You're not going to stop people from smoking. It's a city school, and we have a lot of commuters. I'm here from 1:30 (p.m.) until 8:00 at night. I'm going to have to smoke a cigarette," Georgia state student, Sara Grana said.

A DESIGNATED AREA

Georgia State student and non-smoker Eric HowardGraham said smokers should have the freedom to do what they want, but non-smokers shouldn’t have to face the consequences.

“I mean everybody deserves to have their freedoms or whatnot, but at the same time, I don’t want to have to smell cigarettes all day,” he said.

Georgia State junior and non-smoker Ryon James said smoking on campus wouldn’t be as big of an issue if they had their own designated area.

“Although smoking is free for the public, people should be more considerate of where they are smoking. People are smoking on campus while walking to class, and I know from personal experience that getting cigarette smoke in your face as a non-smoker isn’t a good feeling,” James said. “But as far as banning it completely, I don’t think we need to do that. I think the school should get together and create a place for the smokers to go where non-smokers won’t be affected by it.”

However, getting rid of the smoking restrictions may not be possible according to Associate Vice President of Public Relations for Georgia State Andrea Jones.

“This is a community policy, not one that is enforced specifically by university police. We recommend that community members remind each other of the smoking ban on campus and if they see repeated violators, let the dean of student’s office or Human Resources know. Signs are posted around the university,” Jones said.

Georgia State student and smoker Sophie Fernandez believes that the bigger issue is that there aren’t enough places to dispose of the cigarettes.

“It would probably be good for them to put up ashtrays since they’re so concerned about keeping our campus clean,” Fernandez said.

Grana agreed with Fernandez and wants a campus where she can properly dispose her cigarettes in efforts to keep the campus free of messy residue.

“Saying ‘smoke free’ campus isn’t going to stop people from smoking.. We’re just going to find new places to smoke. And litter,” Grana said. “I think it would be very beneficial for them to designate areas and provide ashtrays to help keep out cigarette butts.”

Georgia State students find a convenient place to smoke in between classes.

PHOTO BY UNIQUE RODRIGUEZ | THE SIGNAL

NEED YOU FOR MY SANITY

Many people do not understand or have never considered the difficulty that comes with battling a nicotine addiction. Georgia State senior Kale English, now smokefree for 2 years, compared his want for a cigarette to needing air to breathe.

“I felt like I would literally die if I didn’t have my cigarette. I still want one every day. Quitting was the top hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, and I also beat a heroin addiction,” English said.

For Grana, what started off as a stress reliever ended up escalating quickly into an addiction.

“It’s not that I smoke because I want to. It started as a way to relieve stress and eventually became an addiction. I don’t promote smoking.

It’s definitely not healthy, and my grandfather even passed away because of it. We know the consequences, but it’s still an addiction, so why not help us combat it?” Grana said.

The Georgia State Student Health Promotions Department has a way to assist smokers who want to quit. The Freshstart program is designed to help smokers quit smoking and develop coping skills to combat the psychological and physical side effects of smoking cessation.

Five Steps on How to Stop Smoking

1. Stay Busy: Get out of the house for a walk. Chew gum or hard candy.

Relax with deep breathing.

2. Avoid smoke triggers: Throw away your cigarettes, lighters, and ashtrays if you haven’t already. Avoid caffeine.

3.Routine: Change your routine to avoid the things you might associate with smoking.

4. Stay Positive: Quitting smoking is difficult. It happens one day at a time.

5. Ask For Help: You don’t need to rely on willpower alone to be smokefree.

Tell your family and friends when your quit day is.

According to smokefree.gov

PAGE DESIGN BY TYPHANIE HALL | THE SIGNAL

NEWS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

5

Baseball field may limit parking

Georgia State commuters may have one less place to park

LAST WEEK LOCAL Senator said Atlanta Suburbs need more access to transportation

Turner Field’s Blue Lot houses multitudes of cars for free each school week.

KYLIA HAYES Staff Reporter

G

eorgia State recently turned Turner Field into its new Georgia State Stadium, and they are planning to use part of its parking lot to create new developments, such as a baseball field, housing, and retail.

Georgia State student Kobe Lawson is a commuter who feels parking should be left alone because parking, to her, is far more important than a new field.

“I would most definitely prefer parking than a new baseball field. What is wrong with the one that they have now? The parking in Atlanta is terrible, and it would mess up so much, especially with traffic, if they took away the parking to build a baseball field,” Lawson said.

But Mike Holmes, spokesperson of the athletic department, said the department is in need for a new baseball field, after having to continuously go to Panthersville for each of their games.

“Our baseball team is long overdue for a new facility to call their own. The team has been playing out in Panthersville basically since its inception.

Among the issues is the distance away from campus, as it takes 15 to 20 minutes to get to the facility. The facility is not conducive to the type of program we want to build at Georgia State,” Holmes said.

Georgia State student LaShonda Welch is a commuter who has used Turner Field parking for the past two years and is unhappy with the new development because the alternative costs too much.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to get rid of Turner Field parking because a lot of students, including me, do not have to funds to pay for parking every day that we come to campus,” Welch said. “I personally parked on campus 2-3 times a week for more than a year and it really added up. Parking at Turner Field helped me save money that I needed for other school expenses.”

According to Welch, some students would rather have a place to park rather than a baseball field that they cannot use.

“I would rather have parking. No offense to our

PHOTO BY AZAM LALANI | THE SIGNAL

athletic students, but I don’t want to fight every day for a parking spot whenever I come to class,” Welch said. “Being that our campus is built in the middle of the city and has been increasing yearly, I don’t believe Georgia State has enough parking for everyone.”

Holmes addressed the concerns saying students have nothing to worry about because parking will also be built in addition to the new field.

“In regards to parking, as part of building a new college baseball stadium which will seat approximately 1,500 to 2,000 fans, there are also plans to build a new parking garage to accommodate the students who commute and use the Georgia State Stadium parking lot,” Holmes said. “We understand that approximately 2,100 cars park on the property every day, and we have no plans to displace any of those individuals.”

The new development does not have a set timeline, so Holmes is not sure how long students will be without parking during the development.

“We have not set a timeline to begin or end construction just yet. Once the plans are finalized, we will have a better idea as to the length of time it will take to finish the project.”

Georgia State maps the justice disparities Minorities are not the only ones suffering from a lack of legal representation STAFF REPORTER

T

he Center for Access to Justice at Georgia State College of Law's Joshua Weitz and Chad Wigington, created an online map to reflect data from statistical and census surveys.

The State Bar of Georgia provided the number of lawyers by county in 2016. The surveys shed light on attorney representation, legal services, homes with no household vehicle and more disparities varying from county to county.

Weitz saw the disparities in the legal system while on jury duty. He noticed how the prosecution had different resources than the defense. With that, he and Wigington reached out to Georgia State to get the map in the works.

The map shows counties that have legal services lawyers, active lawyers, no English spoken in the household, within half a mile of public transportation, home internet access, no household vehicle and population at or below poverty level.

The disparities were found not only in minorities, according to Darcy Meals, the center’s Assistant Director.

“If you look at the map itself and pick any given metric, there are a lot of things that make creating obstacles to have justice for people, it’s not just minorities. A lot of the time, geographically where you are in the state matters more than what race or ethnicity you are,” Meals said. “You could be in the metro Atlanta area which has the highest number of active lawyers but you could be a racial minority and have the most access potentially to lawyers given where they live.”

The map shows fewer lawyers outside of metro Atlanta. There are five counties in Georgia that do not have any lawyers at all and there are 59 that have between one and 10 lawyers.

“Legal services lawyers in Georgia are encompassed by the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, which covers metro Atlanta and Georgia Legal Services Program which covers other counties. For each of the Georgia Legal Services offices, there is counties to be served,” Meals said. “For example, the Piedmont office has nine lawyers and serves 15 counties.”

There are many who do not have access to

justice resources and also do not have the funds to get the proper representation, because they do not fall under the poverty level, according to Meals.

“For a couple of the threshold questions, you have to be at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty level, which excludes many people who still could not afford an attorney. So let’s say one doesn’t qualify for the legal services attorney because of their income, and then they happen to also be in a county with not a lot of active lawyers, ones that are can’t handle your situation, or any at all. So then what does one do?” Meals said.

This puts people in a bind to then represent themselves in court. Georgia State student Katherine Avery said this lead to citizens of those counties being more careful because representation is not readily available to them.

“It seems really unfortunate for people who live in counties that do not have attorneys, because they are in situations that are beyond their control.

Many people who live in those certain counties that do not have access to the attorneys readily at hand may be more careful in the decisions they make,” Avery said.

On Friday, Sept.

22 Georgia state Sen. Brandon Beach announced that Cobb, Gwinnett and Fulton County are suffering, because they have an aversion to transportation. “We have to get Gwinnett and Cobb in the (regional) transit system. We have to bring them into the fold,” Beach said, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. He commented on businesses that have moved from those areas, because of lack of access to transportation.

NATIONAL Six shot and one dead after shooting in Tennessee church

In a church in Nashville Tennessee, a gunman shot and wounded six and killed one on Sept. 23.

According to Fox News, the shooter was also shot by the Tennessee police and and taken to a hospital, after opening fire on Burnette Chapel Church of Christ at 11 p.m. The Nashville Fire Department wrote on Twitter, "This is a mass casualty situation.

All of the wounded have been transported to area hospitals. The majority are older adults." Most of the victims were over the age of 60 and their injuries are unclear.

GLOBAL Earthquakes devastates Mexico citizens

An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 struck the West coast of Mexico on Sept 24. According to Global News, 307 people have already died in an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 on Sept. 19 in Mexico’s capital. Since the first quake, thousands of aftershocks have taken place around mexico. “At the moment the greatest damage has been to the Ixtaltepec bridge, which should be rebuilt, and structures with previous damage that collapsed,” President Enrique Pena Nieto tweeted.

NEWS

6

GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

Ndaba carries on his grandfather's legacy Nelson Mandela’s grandson speaks to the Georgia State community STAFF REPORTER

N

elson Mandela’s ideas and mission are alive today in his grandson, Ndaba Mandela, as he speaks to college students across the United States about achieving their true potential and becoming successful in what they want to do.

On Thursday, Sept. 21, Ndaba Mandela spoke to Georgia State students and staff about his foundation, Africa Rising, HIV/AIDS awareness, and SAGE as well as delivering a message to students as part of the Georgia State Spotlight Program Board Distinguished Speakers Series.

Ndaba Mandela’s main inspiration for his activism as a public speaker is his grandfather.

He referenced his grandfather’s discipline, compassion and activism as main sources of inspiration for why he is dedicating so much time to spreading his message.

“My grandfather was very disciplined, and he had a lot of compassion for people, no matter where you came from, he treated everyone with dignity and respect,” Mandela said. “And of course, he was somebody who fought for the rights of the rest of the nation, so he has taught me, and inspired me, to also give back and not just focus on myself, but to what I can give back to my community.”

Through his speeches, he wants students to be inspired and know that they are the masters of their own destiny, that they should dream big and stop at nothing to achieve that dream. “[Students] are the masters of their own destiny, they should dream big, they should follow their dreams, and the real true key way to finding success is finding your passion. That is the one way in which we will be able to achieve our greatest potential and be able to make our dreams a reality,” Mandela said.

Mandela is the chairman of Africa Rising, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting socio-economic change in Africa. Right now, it is focusing on technological education and entrepreneurship in Africa.

Mandela cited that over nine million kids a year graduate from college and there are not nine million jobs waiting for them, so it is up to them to create their own jobs, hopefully in Africa. It also exists to celebrate African culture and the African dream.

“We need to be able to give a voice to what is the

African dream, and we are currently embarking on a campaign called the African dream, where we are going to be giving a voice to people to be able to share...what their dream is for the African continent and how do they see the African continent progressing,” Mandela said.

Mandela also wanted students to fight for causes and do what makes them feel passionate. He wanted students to see the benefits of failure and to focus on how to learn from it.

“When you fail, ladies and gentlemen, is when you learn the most,” Mandela said.

Not only should we not fear failure, Ndaba Mandela told the audience, but we should dream big. He feels that by dreaming big and persisting through failure, you will succeed.

"Martin Luther King was a dreamer, JFK had a dream, Nelson Mandela had a dream.

They all started off by saying, I want to create a world where there's no prejudice and bigotry, and they fought for their dream.”

— Ndaba Mandela “You can achieve that dream as long as you work hard and surround yourself with people who encourage you, people that believe in you. Because the longer you wait, [the more] you'll come across hurdles and speed bumps and people that will tell you that you're playing games, that you’re just a dreamer,” Mandela said. “Well, guess what? Martin Luther King was a dreamer, JFK had a dream, Nelson Mandela had a dream. They all started off by saying, I want to create a world where there's no prejudice and bigotry, and they fought for their dream.”

Mandela has been focusing on college campuses as his main audience for these speeches, having been to Manhattan College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Suffolk University, and Rowan College, before coming to Georgia State as his final stop.

He believes that college campuses are important audiences for his message, because he makes a case for people to invest their time and effort in Africa. He sees many misconceptions about what Africa is like, and he wants people to see it for what it is, a place ripe with opportunity and pride for Africans and African Americans.

“I want people to understand that Africa is one of the most beautiful places you can visit, and I encourage young people to visit the great continent. It’s important to me, and the work that we do as a foundation, that we break down the misconception that people have on Africa,” Mandela said.

FACTS ON NDABA MANDELA BORN: December 19th, 1982 in Johannesburg, South Africa EDUCATION: Bachelors of Political Science and International Relations from University of Pretoria in 2008 WORK: Founded Africa Rising a year after working as a senior political consultant for the Japanese in South Africa.

FUN FACTS: He enjoys listening to music and hanging out with friends and family during leisurely time.

Ndaba Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela, addressed the Georgia State student body September 21, 2017.

PHOTO BY VANESSA JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

EDITORIAL

8

GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

EDITORIAL

They’re still gonna smoke!

No designated area? No problem!

W

ord on the street is smoking can be addicting, starting with the chemicals and down to the awesome 15 minute break when we get to breathe in deeply, sip some coffee, and start up a chat with a friend. Ask around and you’ll find that tends to be the most addicting thing about being a smoker: getting to take a break.

And now, look around the Georgia State campus; a cement playground engulfing the better part of Downtown, bustling and hustling to the sounds of students flying by, paperwork in hand, while you yourself are class-hopping, work-juggling, phone-driven from one day to the next. It almost sounds ridiculous that in that gray circus, smokers are not given one area where they can smoke a cigarette without scoffs from the non-smokers and having to look over their shoulders for a cop who might be having a particularly boring day.

Come on, Georgia State! You’re not going to change our habits or cure our addictions, so it’d be

nice if you gave us some options…or at least one.

One designated area where we can kick back, light our 15-minute delight and be accommodated with an ashtray or two. That way, there will be no students complaining about our smoke in their face as they’re hurrying by plaza, there’ll be no (in utopian thinking always) cigarette butts on the floor, and no awkward standing under the Courtland Bridge trying to avoid eye contact with Georgia State Police.

Now, we understand that there is a no smoking policy on campus and we are not dismissing that and racing to be the devil's advocate. But take a look around the plaza, stairwells, parking garages…you can’t dismiss the fact that people are going to smoke regardless of whether or not a policy is in place because you simply can’t arrest someone for smoking.

Having a designated smoking area is really a win-win when you think about it. Smokers get to enjoy a cigarette without disrupting non-smokers who don’t have to hold their breath or flail their

limbs through the air every time someone lights one up. It’s also a win for the campus. Let’s face it, those cigarette butts don’t throw themselves away and the people smoking them usually don’t do the campus the courtesy either. Designating a smoking area and having ashtrays will lighten up the litter overload on the grounds of our university.

We’re not claiming that this will solve all of the campus smoking problems, or that it will ease every complaint of each and every student (what would, anyway?). But it would help with some of the grievances that have been expressed by both smokers and non-smokers. Smoking on campus is going to continue to be a part of some students’ every day 15 minute class break routine, so why not try to accommodate the most people as possible?

It’s just called catering to all your students, instead of just the ones with the healthy lungs.

With all due respect, I see that rhetoric as merely a conservative white, male preservationist stance.

I do not deny the under-representation—we’ve all seen the challenges facing the STEM fields— and I do “get” why some small, mostly white colleges are having trouble diversifying their faculty.

But, I’ve caught wind of this complaint GSU, a university that, according to your piece, is among the ((nation’s?)) “top 25 universities when it comes to diversity” but currently has only one tenured UR professor for every 170 ((minority)?) students.

I don’t think we have a good excuse.

A university or department is not “hiring for race” when it aggressively recruits talented, driven, accomplished underrepresented individuals because it sees the value of their color or sexual orientation offers their institution; they are hiring because they need those people.

3) When universities downplay the need for diversity, this is what happens: The handful of “minority” faculty are overwhelmed not only with the stresses faced by tenured-track faculty, they also juggle additional tasks such as a) speaking Spanish (or another language) with students who are most comfortable using that language when sharing sensitive concerns with faculty; b) serving as faculty advisor to way too many organizations because those groups (minority and other) want a

minority advising them; c) managing the stress of being under the spotlight that comes with being the only—or one of just a few—UR faculty in a department.

4) I have been either a PTA or teaching assistant/full-time student since the fall of 2015 and, since then, have received close to a dozen requests to serve as faculty to advisor to a student organization. Unfortunately, I have had to decline because of GSU policy that does not allow non-faculty to advise student groups (and, usually, recommend the only tenured professor I know in our department, a woman who, I am sure, is overwhelmed with requests from many more student groups who seek the viewpoint and support of an UR faculty member).

There is much more I could share but I must admit that because I don’t feel diversity is a priority at GSU I fear a backlash for daring to share these views! As mentioned, I’m just a graduate student and teaching assistant here, not an established scholar.

It’s hard to feel empowered when you see so few people like yourself at the helm.

Thanks, again, for reporting on this critical concern. I hope this sparks more debate and, eventually, change at GSU.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR DEAR EDITORS,

I

want to thank The Signal and Syrina Merilan for a great piece Tuesday about the lack of faculty diversity at GSU, ironically one of the most diversity universities in the southwest. I’d also like to thank Dr. James Ainsworth, chair of the faculty senate’s cultural diversity committee, and Dr. Debora Constable, an assistant accounting professor on the Clarkston campus, for articulating the views and concerns of many “minorities” in academia.

As a veteran Chicago Tribune and AJC staff writer alum who recently transitioned to GSU Ph.D. student/media writing instructor in the Department of Communication, I’d like to offer my perspective: 1) Black, Latino, Native American, covered Muslim women, gays, trans-gendered and other underrepresented (UR) professors on campuses like GSU are not just role models for students in their own image; they are role models for ALL students.

All students need to see us at the lectern; all students need to know that people of color and other UR groups are capable and can teach.

2) Diversity opponents are quick to point out that people “will sue” universities that “hire for race.” They contend it is hard to find “qualified” UR professors.

SINCERELY, JANITA LORRAINE POE

ARTS & LIVING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

www.georgiastatesignal.com/artsandliving

WE BUILT THIS CITY SCENIC LOCATIONS IN ATLANTA THAT HAVE PHOTOGRAPHERS OBSESSED AUTUMN BOEKELOO Staff Reporter

F

rom the towering skyscrapers above to the streets full of liveliness down below, Atlanta is a photographer’s paradise. During the day, the buildings stand still as life moves constantly around them, creating the perfect picture of the everyday hustle in Atlanta. At night, the conglomeration of lights from hotels, businesses and sporadic cars on I-75 glimmer throughout the city like a sea of diamonds. If you are searching for a place to take breathtaking photos of the city skyline, or you want to experience the overall inspiring sensation of the city, exploring Atlanta is crucial. So tell your friends, grab your camera, gas up your car and head for the jaw-dropping locations the city has to offer.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

From parking garages to MARTA stations, there are a ton of different ways to catch a view of the Atlanta skyline.

PHOTOS BY VANESSA JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

ARTS & LIVING

10

GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

WE BUILT THIS CITY 1

JACKSON STREET BRIDGE Jackson St NE, Atlanta, GA 30312

3

THE SKYLOUNGE 110 Marietta St NW, Atlanta, GA 30303

Located only eight minutes by car from Georgia State, Jackson Street Bridge is a wellknown tourist site to take stunning landscape photos of the Atlanta skyline. “The Walking Dead” fanatics know this view of Atlanta from the renowned scene of the main character Rick riding a horse on I-75 towards downtown. If you are a ride-or-die fan, you definitely want to have your picture taken at this famous location.

Jackson Street Bridge is also a popular location for proposals, pre-prom photoshoots and even wedding ceremonies.

Rating: Easy Jackson Street Bridge is a road in Atlanta, so the difficulty is miniscule. Although, it is simple to walk onto the bridge from a nearby street it can be unsafe if you are not paying attention.

Be mindful of traffic approaching and stay on the sidewalk to insure safety from passing vehicles.

Parking: Jackson Street Bridge has parking accessible on the streets nearby. It is not an actual business or tourist attraction, so there are no parking decks or parking spots made specifically for the bridge.

Recommended time: Sunrise or Sunset

The SkyLounge rooftop is known for its elite, professional atmosphere and extraordinary 180-degree view of Atlanta. Outside the completely windowed walls, you will see marketable destinations like the CNN Center, the Skyview Atlanta Ferris Wheel and The Westin.

Rating: Moderate Accessibility to the SkyLounge is only available to guests 21 and over because it is a bar. The staff recommends calling prior to coming in case of a private event happening.

The SkyLounge also has a strict code of conduct and dress code requirements that must be followed for entry.

Parking: The SkyLounge sits atop the Glenn hotel, so a small fee of $5 is expected to ride the elevator up to the top for pictures. Parking is available for $6 down the street at 98 Cone St. NW and for $10 at 104 Marietta St. NW. More public parking options can be found online at Park Whiz.

Recommended time: Any time of day

KING MEMORIAL TRANSIT STATION PLATFORM 377 Decatur St SE, Atlanta, GA 30312

In comparison to The SkyLounge, the raved about Westin hotel also holds a restaurant at the top of the building. The infamous spinning restaurant, The Sundial, holds a superb view of the city and is an old-time favorite of Atlantians.

Rating: Easy The Sundial can be entered from taking the elevator in the Westin lobby to Level 72 of the hotel. However, if you are afraid of heights I do not recommend this location. The elevator opens to an all-window view of the city and takes you up 72 floors to the Sundial. Unlike the SkyLounge, The Sundial is open to all ages.

Parking: Parking for the Sundial is located at the Central Parking Systems deck at 218 Peachtree St. NW. Additional parking is available at 171 Carnegie Way. It is $8 to ride the elevator to the top of the hotel and parking prices vary.

Recommended time: Any time of day

2

Another close option to Georgia State is the King Memorial Transit Station. A part of the Marta railway, this historic location has a gorgeous view of the Equitable, portions of Georgia State and miles of skyscrapers in the distance.

Rating: Easy The station is a simple scenic location to access from Decatur Street. You do not have to ride the train to enter this location.

Parking: Parking is an ongoing issue at The King Memorial Transit Station. There is no public parking and it is recommended by the Marta Guide to only utilize open spots for quick drop-offs and pick-ups. However, the station is only a 15 minute walk from the Georgia State Atlanta campus and is free to enter.

Recommended time: Day time

4

THE SUNDIAL 210 Peachtree St NW, Atlanta, GA 30303

5

MOUNT WILKINSON Mount Wilkinson Pkwy, Atlanta, GA 30339

Located in Vinings, Mount Wilkinson, more commonly known as Vinings Mountain, is an essential spot for a complete Atlanta skyline photo. 981 ft. up, you will get a complete view of downtown Vinings and the entire skyline of Atlanta in the distance. While the skyscrapers are miles away, the shining lights from the buildings are visible at night over the trees.

Rating: Easy While this location is about a 25 minute drive from Georgia State, accesing the mountain is simple. Townhomes and apartments sit on the mountain so a variety of roads are accessible for picture-taking.

The mountain does not have designated parking spaces for commuters. This location is a quick place to take a few pictures of the skyline, jump back into your car and continue on. This is not somewhere you would typically spend an entire day.

Recommended time: Night-time 6

GEORGIA STATE “M” DECK ROOFTOP Gilmer St SE, Atlanta, GA 30303

Our very own Georgia State car deck rooftops provide an aerial view of downtown. Students utilize these parking decks everyday without realizing the hidden treasure of parking at the very top. While it is a grueling walk down the stairs you can always opt for the elevator in “M” Deck. This view is an unbeatable advantage to going to a university in a large city.

Rating: Moderate If you are going to an 8 a.m., you are basically guaranteed a top floor spot. However, keep in mind around noon the car decks start filling up and only a few top floor spots are left.

Parking: Luckily, you are already at a parking deck so finding the right spot is up to you!

As for pricing, Georgia State students can access the parking deck for only $7 without any parking permit or budget card, $5 with a Georgia State parking permit and $3.50 with a parking budget card.

Recommended time: Sunrise or Sunset

ATLANTA IS AN ASSET, SO TAKE ADVANTAGE! Atlanta is a city full of astounding views for little or no cost, so take advantage of the nearby locations. Whether you decide to visit all the locations, or even just one, the different angles of Atlanta will leave you planning to revisit these photogenic sites for another photoshoot.

Plan a photography day with friends and pack a lunch, make a roadtrip playlist, and do not forget your camera!

WAKE-UP CALL! Georgia State parking decks are inexpensive and the perfect location for photos.

Freshman Serena Phengphachanh, enjoys the view so much she makes it a part of her daily routine to catch the sunrise at the top of the car deck at Georgia State before her 8 a.m. class.

“It makes me feel more motivated to start my day.”

— Serena Phengphachanh

Georgia State student

“I don’t want the first thing I see to be a PowerPoint. It makes me appreciate waking up a little more and I feel like it gives you a chance to gather yourself and wake up. And it’s just a nice view," Phengphachanh said.

Phengphachanh recommends this daily dose of Vitamin D because it will put you in a better mood and your mind will be in an ideal place to start the day. Whether you have an exam or lengthy assignment due, this breath of fresh air is sure to wake your brain up on a positive note.

Having something to look forward to every morning as a commuter or on-campus student will make the gruesome early class a lot less daunting. So sit back, sip a cup of coffee and listen to the calming sounds of the city.

PHOTOS BY VANESSA JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

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2017 MODERN MEDI CONFERENCE been covering these events for CNN. He’ll share poignant stories from his work and tell you how to prepare yourself as a journalist to cover the multiple effects of a natural disaster

Radio as a 21st Century Career

Jarard J, V-103 Radio Host 203 Student Center East From weather updates to breaking music artists to the all important drive-time shifts, radio remains omnipresent, even in a podcasting age. Yet it is a daunting field to break into and stay involved with. How do you get started in radio?

And more importantly, how do you sustain a career in the field? Learn from a pro that went from college fullback to drivetime radio host in one of America’s biggest markets.

Your First (of Many) Publications: Tips on How to Get Into Underground

New South & Underground staff 218 Student Center East Underground is the undergraduate literary journal of Georgia State University’s Atlanta campus. It’s a chance for you to get your first short story, poem or art piece published.

But how do you know if your work is ready to submit at all?

With the help of the graduate students at New South, the staff will give you an inside perspective on what makes a good literary submission and what makes an incomplete one.

You’ll also learn about how you participate in various literary opportunities on campus.

ELLIS JONES Editor-in-Chief of Vice Magazine As the first female editor at VICE, Jones has focused on incorporating more female voices at the 20-year-old magazine, hiring more investigative reporters, and giving voice to young literary talent. In the publication's annual photo edition in August 2016, she featured the work of all female photographers.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 28 12:00 - 1:15 P.M. Featured Presentation

Journalism is a Good VICE

Ellis Jones, VICE Magazine Editor-in-Chief Speaker’s Auditorium Ellis Jones had one goal in mind from the moment she graduated from Georgia State: work at VICE Magazine.

Eight years — and many different roles at VICE – later, she achieved the goal and then some, being named the magazine’s first female Editor-in-Chief in February 2015.

Opening up our conference, Jones will talk about the path she carved to the helm of the print publication, including what she learned in Atlanta, how she climbed the ladder and advice on what aspiring journalists and media producers should do to give themselves the best chance for success.

1:30 - 6:00 P.M.

MMC Pitchfest 2017

Briana Franklin, SAG-AFTRA, Brian Egeston, WGA-East and additional speakers 216 Student Center East (walk-in session) Do you know what it takes to pitch your movie idea to someone that could help make it a reality? How about a concept for a play or TV show? If you don’t have an elevator speech or a punchy description for your project, your ideas may never see the light of day. Pitch your ideas to other students and filmmakers, and find partners to collaborate with on each others’ projects. Additionally, representatives from WGA East, SAG-AFRTA, and the Local 479 will be there to answer your questions regarding finding work in the filmmaking industry and collaborating with unions.

BLOCK A: 1:30 - 2:30 P.M. Breakout Sessions

Get the Dirt: Developing Your Investigation Skills for Journalism

Ciara Frisbie, CNN Investigative/Data Freelancer 217 Student Center East From her time as a sophomore student writing for The Signal, Ciara Frisbie has never been shy about asking tough questions or digging for hidden information. From making detailed Open Records Requests to analyzing complex data sets, she applies her inquisitive skills in CNN reports today.

In this session, she will provide advice on how to get started on an investigative project, what you should look for when analyzing a report and show how this work can change how public agencies function.

Every Story Belongs on Every Platform: Develop a Multimedia Storytelling Unit

Sean Breslin & Anna Norris, Weather Company Editors 217 Student Center East

BLOCK D: 5:15 - 6:15 P.M.

Building the Brand: The Key to Promotion It’s not enough to write a story or film a news report.

Today’s journalism requires multimedia storytelling skills so it will appeal to digital audiences, including students.

In this session, a Georgia State alum talks about Weather. com’s approach to storytelling: making its attention-grabbing videos, developing engaging articles with great headlines, creating compelling teases, crowdsourcing video and utilizing its studio to its fullest capacity.

BLOCK B: 2:45 - 3:45 P.M.

Dos and Don’ts from a Professional Podcast Producer

John Asante, Stitcher Senior Producer 203 Student Center East Got a cool idea for a podcast but have no idea how, or where, to get started? Look no further — we have someone who is a senior producer for one of the biggest podcast aggregators in the world. He’s also produced several public radio shows across the country. More importantly, he’s started a podcast from scratch. He’ll talk about how he did it and tell you how you can, too.

Find the Right Moment: Get the Best News Photos You Can

John Glenn, J. Glenn Photography 217 Student Center East You’ve got the camera (or your phone) and you’ve got the assignment: what can you do to get the best photo to go with your story? A photo that will transcend every photo being shared on Facebook and Twitter? John Glenn will distill decades of experience into a series of handy tips on how to get the best news photos. Move beyond simple storytelling into the most intimate moments of a news, sports or arts event to produce emotionally compelling images for your story.

Writing Your First Novel: Advice From Someone Who’s Done It

Nicki Salcedo, author and Decaturish contributor 218 Student Center East Nicki Salcedo is a corporate executive, contributor to Decaturish and mother of four. Along the way, she added one big vitae line: novelist. Where did she find the time? More importantly, how can you find the time to not only write your first novel, but get it published and acclaimed? In this session, Salcedo will share the lessons she picked up through observation, writing clubs and self-discovery. Make the novel in your head a reality!

BLOCK C: 4:00 - 5:00 P.M.

Keeping It Together Part 1: Surviving the Storm

Nick Valencia, CNN Correspondent 217 Student Center East Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have wrought terrible devastation in the southern United States, among other parts of the world. It’s incumbent upon the major news networks to give citizens the information they need to get to safety. But it’s not easy to present the news amidst such chaos, especially when dealing the human element of loss. Nick Valencia has

Reggie Rouse, V-103 Program Director 203 Student Center East Reggie Rouse is the VP in Urban Programming of CBS Radio and the Program Director for one of Atlanta’s hottest radio stations. But keeping the station high on the ratings list isn’t just a matter of telling people the call letters. It’s about creating and promoting a brand listeners can identify with.

In this session, Reggie will share how he does it and you can increase your promotional outreach for your projects too.

Use the Features!: Facebook Videos and Posts as Part of Your Portfolio

Mike Ellis, IBM Editor of Digital Content 217 Student Center East Facebook started as a way to check up on your friends. But now it is an important tool for journalists and media makers.

It offers branding, advertising and video (live and archived).

Mike Ellis’ job is to use Facebook to his client’s advantage.

In this session, he’ll provide real-life examples of videos he’s taken and edited into punchy posts, video clips and more.

Learn how to make Facebook part of your professional portfolio.

Prose, Poetry and Pods: Utilizing Creative Writing and Community Through Podcasting And Beyond Matt DeBenedictis & John Carroll, Lit & Bruised writers and hosts 218 Student Center East Whether wanting to start a podcast or a reading series the architecture of the artistic community around you will hold the narrative needed to start. We’ve got the hosts of Atlantabased literary podcast (Lit & Bruised) here to talk about how they started their show and how they’ve worked to nurture a community through live readings and online content.

BLOCK E: 10:00 -11:00 A.M. Breakout Sessions

Editing Everyone Else’s Work (and Your Own)

Carey Scott Wilkerson, Negative Capability Press Poet and Advisory Editor 218 Student Center East What takes more work: writing or editing? Scott Wilkerson is in a good position to answer that question. He has published two poetry collections, two poetry chapbooks, and has edited a poetry anthology. How does he find the time to do it and, more importantly, how can you find the time? He’ll share his advice on how to become an ace literary editor that can get not only your work published, but help to assemble anthologies of your creative peers.

From SGA to the State: Cover Politics (of Any Kind)

Greg Bluestein, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Political Reporter 217 Student Center East In 15 years, Greg Bluestein has gone from covering University of Georgia student government to being a veteran reporter on the politics of the state itself. What do politics on every level have in common? How can you cover student politics in a way that will develop reporting skills to last a lifetime? Get the answers to these questions and practical

tips on how to tell the story of a efficiently to your readers.

How Augmented Rea Way We Watch Telev

Zach Bell, Turner Studios 216 Student Center East Augmented Reality (AR) is a utilized for years, starting with football field, to now creating i extensions for sports, live perfo Recently the capabilities of AR the way we experience televisio advance. Get an inside perspec is created for broadcast from a made AR shine on MLB, NBA, broadcasts and he’ll walk you t the past , present and the futur television viewing experience e

Let ‘em Know It’s YOU Media Personality

Frank Ski, “The Frank SKi 203 Student Center East What does to take to eventu name on it?: People shouldn’t ju want to hear from YOU. In this from someone that has spent d that media consumers know an person looking to put yourself person with a desire to break o Frank Ski will let you know how distinctly YOU.

FRIDAY, SEP

BLOCK F: 11:15 - 12:15

Entertainment Journ To Know

Jon Waterhouse, Lenz M Relations Manager 216 Student Center East He’s been called Atlanta’s “Po Waterhouse has done a lot of en it’s singing, hosting variety sho and even managing wrestlers. B written about entertainment as share advice on how to go beyo reviews towards building a por writer. Learn how to sniff out t in a way that will engage reader counsel over anyone else’s.

11:15 A.M. - 4:05 P.M. Featured Workshop

IA

Unleash Your Awesome

September Day and Bob Carter, Neighborhood Studios 203 Student Center East Any job in any walk of life involves being able to express yourself eloquently and sound like the best version of yourself! But maybe you haven’t found your best voice yet or are still battling shyness or nerves? These two full-time pros have used their voices to make everything come alive from TV ad campaigns to video game characters to news and traffic reporters to the Kindle. They’ll lead this workshop on finding the Awesome within: Not just putting it into your

SEPTEMBER DAY CARTER AND BOB CARTER Neighborhood Studios

Bob and September record, coach, and produce from their studio location across from Marvel Studios. They are also “Celebrity Dungeon Masters” for actors, musicians, and other creatives who play Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars, and Palladium Heroes Unlimited and even host games at their studio.

arena, even if it means working for several companies along the way.

The MMC Poetry Session

Gregg Murray, Muse/A Journal Editor 218 Student Center East Are you an aspiring writer looking to write your first poems? Or are you hoping to workshop the poems you already have for Underground? Gregg Murray has been a finalist or semi-finalist for several prestigious honors, including the POL Prize, Pocataligo Poetry Contest, and Tebot Bach First Book Award. He’s also the Founding Editor of Muse /A Journal. In this session, he will work with students on their poetry ideas and give advice on how to make a poem idea a reality and make an already-written poem better.

BLOCK H: 1:45 - 2:45 P.M.

Aggregate and Report: Making Data Journalism Work For You

Ada Carr, The Weather Company Assistant Editor 216 Student Center East Statistics in news reports are not plucked from the sky. Furthermore, good data journalism doesn’t happen overnight. It requires learning a variety of technologies, finding the important info for the story you’re trying to tell and knowing the best way to communicate these numbers: Graphs? Charts? Something else? This session will be led by an editor who aggregates information for a 24-hour information network. It’s a demanding job, but the ability to perform it can get you your first professional journalism gig.

Climbing the Ladder of TV News

Jasmina Alston, WBMA Reporter and Alex Osiadacz, WTLV/WJXX First Coast News Reporter If you want a career in TV news, this is your session! Two GSTV alumni are three years into their professional journeys and will answer important questions for your journey into this world. Do you know what to expect in salary and job duty expectations? How do you find a reporting job when you graduate? What are the elements of the job you won’t learn at school? All this and more from two Panther Reporters turned affiliate reporters in Birmingham and Jacksonville respectively.

Decatur Book Festival and Beyond: Build and Engage a Literary Community

any political paperwork

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a tool that television has h a simple yellow line on a illusions, holograms, and set ormances and even elections.

R have begun to revolutionize on and is continuing to ctive on how AR content Turner Studios pro. He’s , NCAA and recent ELeague through the process. See re of how AR is making the even more immersive.

U: Develop Your Own

i Show” Host t ually host a show with your ust want the content, but s session, you get insight decades developing a persona nd love. Are you a bombastic across the airwaves or a shy out of your shell? Either way, ow to develop a persona that’s

voice but in everything you do. You’ll test your vocal range and expand your comfort zone…and there will be prizes too.

It will be informative, it will be laid-back, and best of all, it will be fun!

Alison Law, Writer, Publicist, and Marketing/ Social Media Consultant 218 Student Center East Are you an aspiring writer that is still a bit too shy to read at an open mike and looking for advice to put yourself out there?

Keeping It Together, Part 2: Presenting Breaking News Credibly

Ellen Eldridge, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Breaking News Reporter 217 Student Center East Being the lead reporter for breaking news could mean covering something as procedural as a city hall meeting. But it often means covering traumatic events: murder, assault and abuse. Ellen Eldridge will talk about her time at the AJC. She will give insight on how she gets the information necessary to tell these stories while keeping her humanity intact. Learn to be on top of events as they unfold, no matter how severe.

Putting Your Life to the Page: Writing Compelling Nonfiction

Molly Brodak, author and Iowa Poetry Prize winner 218 Student Center East Every person has a unique experience they can bring to the page. But how do you decide what is worth writing about? Should you write a memoir or should you write essays about your life experience? What are some good writing habits to develop for this genre? Molly Brodak is a poet who wrote a memoir (Bandit: A Daughter’s Memoir). She’ll tell you how she did it and pass along lessons that can help you create your own captivating nonfiction.

BLOCK G: 12:30 - 1:30 P.M.

Cover GSU Sports, Cover Any Sport

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nalism in 2017: What

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op Culture King.” Jon ntertaining things, whether ows, impersonating celebrities But more importantly, he’s s a career. In this session, he’ll ond writing one or two movies rtfolio as an entertainment the fun events and cover them rs and having them trust your

Sam Crenshaw, Peach State College Sports Founder, and Ben Moore, PantherTalk.com Publisher 217 Student Center East If you’re a young sportswriter, you might think that covering GSU will stop and start with your college life.

We have two panelists that prove quite the opposite. Sam Crenshaw calls GSU games for ESPN3 and roams the sidelines for the Georgia State Sports radio network. Ben Moore founded and maintains a website dedicated to 24/7 coverage of all things Panthers. They’re here to talk trends in sports journalism — in print, in video and on social media — and how you can cover GSU to reflect those trends. In the process, make yourself a hireable commodity in the world of sports reporting.

Finding New Opportunities: Stay Hired

Chante LaGon, The Home Depot Copy Manager Journalism majors are not immune to the worldwide trend of people changing and diversifying career tracks. Chante LaGon is an embodiment of this: she continues to hone her skills online and on the air, whether podcasting in her spare time or managing online copy for The Home Depot during the day. In this timely session, LaGon will share her considerable skill set — from copy writing to digital media — and offer advise on how students can stay in the professional

D.W. PINE

Creative Director of TIME

Pine is a 1992 graduate of Georgia State. He worked at The Signal for three years as sports editor, news editor and as Editor- in-Chief from 1989-1990. He began working for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 1987, and covered GSU basketball as a beat reporter for three years.

Being a writer is more than just locking yourself in a room with a keyboard and banging out your first drafts. It’s about interacting with other writers to improve each others’ work and create a sense of community. As an associate program director for the AJC Decatur Book Festival, Georgia State alum Alison Law knows a thing or two about bringing writers together. She’ll share her advice on events to look out for and steps you can take to develop your circle of writing allies.

BLOCK I: 3:00 - 4:00 P.M.

Making Freelance Work… and Making a Living

Abby Carney, Edible Queens Editor 217 Student Center East Make your own hours! Be your own boss! Freelancing can be exciting…but there are pragmatic concerns too. What city will you live in? How do you make a personal budget? And most importantly, how do you get people to come to you for your work? Hear it first hand from a Signal-writer-turnedNew York-freelancer whose work has been published in the Washington Post, Teen Vogue, Forbes and more.

Your Film, Your Vision, Your Time

Dontell Antonio, The Hopeless Journey Director 218 Student Center East In August, the Plaza Theatre marquee carried Dontell Antonio’s name, touting his new independent film, The Hopeless Journey. It was the culmination of years of work to make his vision come true, but he had a lot of bills to pay along the way. In this session, he’ll talk about his journey and the making of this film. Plus, he’ll give advice on how to maintain your creative dreams, find a way to fund your project while picking up work along the way.

4:15 - 5:30 P.M. Keynote Presentation D.W. Pine, TIME Creative Director Speaker’s Auditorium The covers of TIME reflect American— and world— history of their eras. In the 2010s, the designs have transcended traditional print, telling stories across various social media platforms and the web. That’s why it was big news when fake TIME covers were found on the walls of President Trump’s many golf clubs, heralding the success of The Apprentice. Our keynote session features former Signal Editor-in-Chief turned award-winning Creative Director, D.W. Pine. He’ll discuss the fake cover furor, what goes into the new age of TIME design and how his images of Trump influence, provoke and inspire.

2017 MMC SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

For 18 more speaker biographies, go online to modernmediaconference.com/speakers

ABBY CARNEY Editor of Edible Queens JOHN GLENN Former Atlanta Press Club President, Chairperson of Visual Task Force of National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), founding member of the Associated Press Photo Managers group

John Glenn is a photographer, past president of the Atlanta Press Club, a founding member of the Associated Press Photo Managers group, former visiting coach at the Poynter Institute and chairperson for the Visual Task Force of the National Association of Black Journalists.

GREG BLUESTEIN Atlanta Journal-Constitution Political Reporter

Greg Bluestein is a political reporter who covers the governor's office and politics for The Atlanta JournalConstitution. He covered the presidential campaign in 2016 for the AJC and continues to write about national and state politics.

He joined the newspaper in June 2012 after spending seven years with the Atlanta bureau of The Associated Press, where he covered a range of beats that included politics and legal affairs.

He graduated from the University of Georgia with degrees in journalism and political science and lives with his wife and two daughters in Dunwoody.

MIKE ELLIS Weather Company and IBM digital video editor

Mike Ellis is a digital video editor for the Weather Company and IBM. His background as a videographer and non-linear video editor covers a wide range of video projects such as creating compelling 30 minute video segments for TV, short documentary style videos, event recap videos, creative commercials, web promos, interviews, short stories and all manner of sports videos and highlights.

ZACH BELL Turner Studios CG Artists

Zach Bell is a CG Artist for Turner Studios. He has spent the past 10 years creating dynamic graphics packages, visual effects, concept designs and realtime graphics for all of the Turner networks. His specialty is in Augmented Reality and his work is featured on Eleague, Inside the NBA on TNT, MLB Postseason on TBS, and throughout the NCAA March Madness/ Final Four coverage on TNT, TBS, TruTV, and CBS.

She's a generalist freelance journalist and writer (for hire) with a focus on culture features and profiles.

You can find her bylines in publications including Forbes, the Washington Post, Texas Monthly, GOOD, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue, Refinery29, Mic, Roads & Kingdoms, and others. Carney graduated Magna Cum Laude from Georgia State in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism. While at Georgia State, Abby was a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.

NICK VALENCIA Atlanta-based CNN Correspondent REGGIE ROUSE Vice president of Urban Programming for CBS Radio and WVEE-FM (V-103) and WAOK-AM (1380) Program Director

At WPGC in Washington, D.C., Rouse produced the top rated Donnie Simpson Morning Show and was promoted to Assistant Program Director and then to Operations Manager. During that time, he also co-created and was the executive producer of the nationally syndicated urban radio show, “Live in the Den with Big Tigger.”

Rouse joined V-103 as programming director in 2005. He attended Syracuse University, and is a member of the Omega Psi Phi and Prince Hall Masons social action organizations.

As a general assignment correspondent, Valencia has been on the frontline of some of the biggest breaking news stories including coverage of Hurricane Harvey along the Texas coast. In 2015, his reports included coverage of the Baltimore riots after the death of Freddie Gray and the historic removal of the confederate flag from South Carolina's Capitol.

Valencia is fluent in both English and Spanish and also reports for CNN en Español, CNN International and HLN.

NICKI SALCEDO CIARA FRISBIE CNN Investigative Freelance Journalist

Ciara Frisbie is starting her second year as an investigative freelance journalist for CNN’s data team. Before graduating from Georgia State in 2016 with a degree in broadcast journalism, Frisbee racked up awards for her investigative work with the Georgia News Lab, where she uncovered information that resulted in a Georgia Ethics Commission investigation.

Author and Decaturish contributor

Nicki Salcedo is a two-time recipient of the Maggie Award of Excellence and a Golden Heart Finalist.

Her books include All Beautiful Things, 2014, and Intersections, 2015. She is a regular contributor to the online news outlet Decaturish.

Nicki is a graduate of Stanford University with a degree in English and Creative Writing. She was born in Jamaica and raised in Atlanta. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and a Past President of Georgia Romance Writers. She lives in Atlanta with her four children, husband, and a cat. Nicki thinks everyone should write and loves connecting with readers.

DONTELL ANTONIO Atlanta-based videographer

He is the director, producer and writer of the film, The Hopeless Journey, recently screened at the Plaza Theatre, among other locations. This film is designed to address issues such as drug use, prostitution, STDs, suicide, and sex trafficking.

Born in Chicago and raised in the twin cities in Minnesota, he discovered his talent and passion for video while attending the Art Institute of Atlanta. He has directed music videos for Sy Ari Da Kid, K Camp, DB Tha Rasta and others.

ANNA NORRIS Social media editor at The Weather Company, an IBM Business

As part of the Digital Video Team, Anna produces and posts creative and engaging social videos to The Weather Channel's Facebook page as well as the animal-focused vertical page, Crazimals. Anna also works closely with weather.com's editorial content team to ensure breaking news gets out on Facebook quickly and efficiently.

JOHN ASANTE Senior Producer at Stitcher

He is committed to highlighting the voices of people of color and underserved communities. Much of his career has been spent analyzing big ideas and telling vivid stories for a variety of programs — from live call-in talk programs and game shows, to podcasts and daily news magazines.

Previously, John's work has been heard on WNYC's The Takeaway, WNYC's There Goes The Neighborhood, and various NPR shows, including Ask Me Another, Talk of the Nation, Tell Me More, and Morning Edition. In his spare time, John hosts and produces Play It Back, an independent podcast all about stories when music plays a pivotal role in our everyday lives.

ARTS & LIVING

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

15

Fall Event Guide

Atlanta’s best come together to celebrate the season SAVANNAH ELDER Staff Reporter

A3C FESTIVAL

$70

SAT.-SUN. OCT. 7-8

Georgia Freight Depot Park, 65 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

More than 200 performing artists from around the globe will be at the A3C Festival for a mashup of old and new school hip hop. Featuring artists like Nas, A-Trak, Ghostface Killah, DJ Drama & Don Cannon, Kodie Shane and more. Food trucks will also be in attendance for guests inside the venue.

ELEVATE

FREE

SAT.-SAT. OCT. 14-21

Multiple Locations.

The ELEVATE public art festival will host local, national and international artists and speakers who have uniquely captured a vision for their viewers and Downtown Atlanta. Seven new murals in South Downtown will be created for ELEVATE by artists Ernesto Torres, Lydia Futral, Muhammad Yungai, Jo Di Bona, Gyun Hur, Corey Barksdale and BlackCatTips. Multiple events will be featured throughout the week to celebrate ATLiens artistic visions.

Along with art workshops and panels taking place each day at the Watershed Auditorium (72 Marietta Street), here are the highlighted events taking place across Downtown Atlanta.

SAT., OCT. 14 LEFT OUT art installation opening from 4:30-8 p.m. at Gallery 72, 72 Marietta Street.

A tribute to American soldiers through art, video filmed by soldiers from the battlefield, testimonials, interviews, poetry, and photos.

The Rose Smith Exhibition of 30 photographs by Rose Smith will be seen on kiosks—including two kiosks in Broad Street Plaza.

FRI., OCT. 20 TGIF Performance Showcase from 7-10 p.m. in Woodruff Park, 84 Walton Street N.W. An evening of music, dance and spoken word.

SAT., OCT. 21 ELEVATE Block Party from 6-11 p.m. in Woodruff Park, 84 Walton Street N.W. Groove to Afro-Latin R&B and Techno by members of WERC CREW, Morph and Choloteca.

W

e’re not sure if fall is even happening in 2017—or ever again for that matter (we see you, global warming)— but that won't stop Atlanta’s annual fall festivals and events from popping up around our neighborhoods. Each aims to highlight Atlanta’s best —from food to art to community, there are good times waiting for everyone.

ATLANTA PRIDE FESTIVAL AND PARADE

FREE

SAT.-SUN. OCT. 7-8

Piedmont Park, 10th Street & Charles Allen Drive N.E.

The Southeast’s biggest celebration of love gathers thousands of LGBTQ supporters into the streets for Atlanta’s Pride weekend. On Saturday, The Annual Trans March kickstarts the festivities at 1:45 p.m. at the Charles Allen Gate at Piedmont Park, followed by The Annual Dyke March at 6 p.m.

On Sunday, the Atlanta Pride Parade will begin at the Civic Center MARTA Station. The parade will fill Midtown’s streets and the procession will eventually circle back to 10th Street to the Charles Allen Gate entrance of Piedmont Park, where that party officially ends and the festival begins.

LITTLE 5 POINTS HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL

FREE

Little Five Points, Euclid Avenue N.E.

SAT., OCT. 21, 12 - 11 P.M.

Atlanta’s most eclectic neighborhood invites all the creeps, freaks and normies back to the small dwellings of Little 5 Points for the best Halloween festival in the city.

The festival will have live music stages, an artist market and local food vendors. The floats get more detailed and wild with each year, so expect a mad rush of people to the streets for the parade at 4 - 6 p.m.

ATLANTA BLACK THEATRE FESTIVAL

$72.50 - $200

WED.-SUN. OCT. 4-8

Porter Sanford III Performing Arts Community Center, 3181 Rainbow Drive.

The Atlanta Black Theatre Festival delivers 40 plays in four days, including single acts, solos, youth theater and full-length plays. Playwrights and artists from around the world will provide live performances, reader’s theatre series and more at this creative conference.

ATLANTA FALL WINE FESTIVAL

$35-60

SAT. NOV. 11 1-5 P.M.

Historic Old Fourth Ward Park, 680 Dallas Street N.E.

As the seasons change, so do the winds of wining and dining. Beer and wine connoisseurs will lead tastings and teach the flavors of the season to guests as everyone searches for the standards of fall. This event is 21+.

Here are some of the most anticipated happenings for fall 2017: FALL FESTIVAL ON PONCE SAT., OCT. 14, 10 A.M.-5 P.M. SUN., OCT. 15, 11 A.M.-5 P.M.

FREE

Olmstead Park, 1451 Ponce de Leon N.E.

The Fall Festival on Ponce is a two-day, outdoor local arts and crafts event that supports the historic Olmstead Park's restoration. A celebration of community and tradition is the focus of this family fun weekend. Falloriented games and activities will be held for children, and an artist market will be available for everyone to enjoy.

TASTE OF ATLANTA

$25-85

FRI., OCT. 20, 12 - 6 P.M. SAT., OCT. 21, 12 - 5 P.M.

Historic Old Fourth Ward Park, 680 Dallas Street N.E.

Foodies unite for this glorious three-day food festival featuring the culinary talents of 80+ Atlanta restaurants.

Taste savory creations from local and national celebrity chefs, including the makers of our favorite foods and brews like Woody’s Cheesesteaks, DBA Barbecue and so much more. Learn tips and tricks in the kitchen at any of the four live cooking demonstrations, while routing through the palates and tastes of Atlanta’s best flavors. Live music, performances, kids’ activities and more await.

CABBAGETOWN CHOMP & STOMP

$5

SAT., NOV. 4 11 A.M.-6 P.M.

Cabbagetown Park, 650 Gaskill Street S.E.

Just as the air begins to chill, the annual Chomp & Stomp Chili Cook-off and Bluegrass Festival comes back to us. More than 70 local chefs and restaurants will compete against one another in the quest for a chili cookoff win. Guests will be able to sample the chefs creations with their designated spoons purchased at the event. The spoon lines may be long, and you may be hungry, but there will be ample opportunities to gorge as long as you’re there early. All proceeds benefit Cabbagetown parks, green spaces and the community center.

CHASTAIN PARK ARTS FESTIVAL

FREE

SAT., NOV. 4 10 A.M.- 5 P.M. SUN., NOV. 5, 11 A.M.- 6 P.M.

Chastain Park, 4001 Powers Ferry Road

The 9th annual Chastain Park Festival highlights fine arts and crafts from approximately 185 artists. Artists and artisans will be traveling from across the country to showcase their works and all proceeds will benefit charity.

The event will feature a children’s area, gourmet food trucks and local acoustic musicians amongst the scenery of Chastain Park.

ILLUSTRATION & PAGE DESIGN BY SALINNA PHON | THE SIGNAL

ARTS & LIVING

16

GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

10 ways to make a quick buck College-broke guide to making money

JOSHUA ASRESS Staff Reporter

C

ollege students come from all walks of life, but if there is one thing that bonds all of us together, it is our lack of funds. We all work so hard to get a career that will take care of all our financial needs, but in the meantime, we are stuck with depressing bank account statements and five-digit tuition fees, leaving us all in dire need of a quick buck or two. If you are college broke and need some fast cash, here are 10 ways to make some money:

1. ONLINE SURVEYS

Online surveys are a popular and quick way to make some side cash.

From TV shows to corporate products, creators and brands need to know how their products and services are being received and are willing to compensate for your input.

Get paid to try out and review new products and answer surveys.

The cash reward vary from survey to survey, but filling out these surveys consistently you can earn up to $250+ monthly.

Survey Junkie, Inbox Dollars and Swagbucks are some examples of the sites that offer these deals.

2. SELL YOUR OLD “JUNK”

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, but instead of throwing old possessions away, you can sell them. This method is pretty common, but most people don’t realize how easy and lucrative selling items you don’t need or want anymore can be.

There are people out there willing to buy everything from used clothes to old DVDs and videogames to old cellphones and gently used textbooks.

Websites like Gazelle (cell phones, iPad), Bookscouter (textbooks), threadUP and Poshmark (used clothes) are good sites to get started selling your stuff, in addition to the more well-known sites like Amazon and eBay.

3. CLINICAL DRUG TESTING

Desperate times call for extensive measures. Participating in clinical testing is a sure-fire way to put some money in your bank.

With pharmaceutical companies steadily putting out new medications, there is a constant demand for people willing to try them. Drug tests have the potential to pay upwards of hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on the duration and type of test.

Check out Center Watch and Clinical Trials if you are interested in participating in studies of this nature.

Even though the human-testing is the final drug testing process and, for the most part, safe make sure to be fully aware of any risks involved.

4. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH STUDIES

We’ve all seen the flyers posted in the plaza and campus buildings asking for participants to be involved in a local research study. Along with the varying criteria, the flyer also mentions compensation for your time, which includes

PAGE DESIGN BY DEVIN PHILLIPS | THE SIGNAL

travel expenses if necessary.

Most of these studies take place on the Georgia State Downtown campus or near it and vary in time and difficulty. These research studies have varying requirements depending on what they need from the participants. Some studies require students to be 21 years of age, while others might need participants to have an illness of some sort or sleep a certain amount of hours everyday.

I participated in one myself and took three different tests each lasting three hours at Georgia Tech and was compensated $100, easily worth it.

5. EXCEN RECRUITER

The Experimental Economic Center (EXCEN) at Georgia State uses controlled experiments with human decision makers to support the research and the teaching of policy applications. You can apply on their website and subscribe to emails that let you know when you can attend these economic experiments at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.

Questions are simple to answer. Sessions that last from 90 to 180 minutes could be putting $10-$12 dollars in your pocket every hour.

Sign up instructions are on the EXCEN webpage and are easy to follow and get started.

6. TEST WEBSITES

Sharing your thoughts on the websites you browse can get contribute to some extra money in your pocket.

Large companies from Wal-Mart to Apple need feedback on their websites and are willing to pay for it. You can be earning about $10 per test in about 15 minutes.

Getting started includes signing up with User Testing, visiting a website or app and then following the instructions to provide feedback. The $10 payments go to Paypal.

7. FOCUS GROUPS

Joining a focus group allows you to get paid for your opinion on subjects such as a new flavor of chips or a cereal box design.

Companies that need feedback will pay you to look at their products or services in order to improve the development of it.

You’ll most likely get paid $50-$75, but some focus groups will pay you $250 to $300 for your time, and it can be a fun way to raise that sinking account balance.

Some focus groups to check out are Focusscope, MindSwarms and Shugoll Research.

8. BE A MOVIE EXTRA

Have you ever wanted to be in a movie or a meet a star?

Then you should consider becoming a movie extra. Extras earn about $50 a day and could potentially earn more than that without doing much more than standing in the background.

ProjectCasting and CentralCasting are the sites to look at if you are interested in being an extra.

9. DONATING SPERM/EGGS

Eggs Although the time and mental cost can be

high, egg donation can get you a good chunk of change.

It’s not for everyone, but donors can earn upwards of $6,000-8,000 in Atlanta. Not everyone is chosen due to the extensive background checks and personality tests, but it is an effective way for eligible women to help their financial situation.

Emory Reproductive Center and Northeast Assisted Fertility are only some of the places in Atlanta you can go to apply to donate your eggs.

Sperm For men, donating sperm seems like an effortless way to get paid; however, the process is more difficult than you would expect.

There are specific requirements that sperm donors must meet to be eligible to give sperm. A few requirements include standing above 5’7, having post-secondary education or being enrolled in a four-year university during time of donation, only having women as sexual partners and more.

Sperm donation isn’t a one-time deal either. If sperm banks want your sperm, they have you sign a contract that mandates you donate a few times a week for 6-12 months.

Xytex Sperm Bank would be the most convenient to donate to as it is the closest sperm bank to Georgia State students living on campus, but there are other clinics and banks that buy sperm.

10. SELLING PLASMA

Donating your plasma to local centers is an easy way to get paid if you are a eligible and qualified donor.

If you have the time, donating two to three times a week can prove to be very lucrative, potentially earning $400 monthly.

Octapharma Plasma and CSL Plasma Donation Center are the two closest centers to campus. If you live off campus or looking for donation centers not in Atlanta, just google your city and “sell plasma.”

Call around first because fees vary by location.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

ARTS & LIVING

17

MOVIE REVIEW

Bible up, 'mother!' goes all in A creation and destruction story line for the masses CAMILLE BOLOS

Arts and Living Editor

I

f you go into “Mother!” assuming it is going to be an “It”-esque horror movie, you are sadly mistaken (despite the opening scene of Jennifer Lawrence burning alive).

I’ll save you the googling and tell you that “Mother!” is one giant allegory for God, Mother Earth and creation, a.k.a mankind, masked as an unnamed couple living in an old victorian house surrounded by nothing but nature.

Lawrence plays the overly loving wife to Javier Bardem, a moody poet with writer's block.

Every character either refers to each other with pet names or not at all, only when the credits role do you see the names of any of characters.

Lawrence, who plays Mother (Earth), and Bardem, who plays Him (God), are phenomenal, as always. Michelle Pfeiffer, who plays Woman, and Ed Harris, who plays Man, represent Adam and Eve and make a compelling couple adding to the intensity with their two sons who represent Cain and Abel.

Kristen Wiig even makes a jarring appearance a little over half-way through the movie.

The film starts with the house coming back to life from a fire that is said to have happened when Bardem was a child, destroying everything except a stone with glowing CGI effects that he shows off to his visitors (Pfeiffer and Harris) but won’t let them touch. Bardem welcomes his guests with open arms, catering to their wants, in return dismissing Lawrence’s needs despite her slaving away to rebuild his beloved childhood home. That is a recurring theme throughout the entirety of the movie— which is the biblical point, but hard to watch

nonetheless.

Somewhere between the stone crashing, the first violent death and the collapse of the sink, you realize that this isn’t your typical melodramatic allegory film—shit’s about to get real. Bardem’s writer’s block lifts and a sea of adoring fans come out of the woods, literally.

From there the anxiety continues to build throughout the movie as you watch Lawrence try to navigate through the destruction and horror.

Keep your eyes peeled during these scenes, there is a lot to take in and very few moments you want to miss.

Each scene is carefully constructed with a deeper meaning and representation that goes beyond just the face-value of insanity that Bardem succumbs to and madness that envelops the house. Knowing your creation story and various Biblical references comes in handy, so you can understand what’s happening instead of thinking Lawrence must be having some terrible dream.

There was a minor detail that the movie failed to explain: the yellow powder that Lawrence drinks throughout the first half and her ‘visions’ when she touches the walls. The Daily Beast suggested that it was a reference to Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, The Yellow Wallpaper. It’s about a young woman who goes insane because her husband confines her in a room for developing postpartum depression—back when they didn’t know what it was. Which could tie into the fact that Lawrence never leaves the house and when she tries, Bardem stops her.

Darren Aronofsky wrote and directed a good depiction of the creation story and the destruction of mankind. Given the state of affairs our world is in, I’d say it’s an appropriate time for the movie.

GRADE

A

VERDICT If you are not Bible savvy—heck, even if you are—do yourself a favor and get familiar with the plotline of this film. In this case, the more you know the better the experience will be for you and the less confused you will find yourself.

A

riel Pink’s music is unmistakable. It is music made from another time.

Pink developed a sound some say he pioneered called hypnagogic pop - exhausting terminology that basically means music built out of nostalgia, and in this specific case, the 80’s. Big synths, sweet rock songs, ballads and catchy melodies but also with a dark side. Sounds that are undeniably familiar, but because of Pink’s musical signature, impossible to pinpoint.

On Pink’s latest project, Dedicated to Bobby Jameson, the influences dip and dive, but there is a certain haze over the entire album.

Some songs take a page out of The Beach Boys book, others could be Devo b-sides.

Songs that could be found with a smokey, VHS quality music video, and other songs that could be sung on a beach with some four part harmonies.

The album’s opener, “Time to Meet Your God,” is on the Devo spectrum of influences.

An off kilter paced, synth heavy tune that could be accompanied by robotic movements and lots of eyeliner definitely brings the

Deerhoof

A

1. “Feels Like Heaven” 2. “Another Weekend” 3. “Kitchen Witch”

VERDICT

Nostalgia is not what makes this a great album.

For years, Ariel Pink has been a tried and true posterchild for making the type of music where and whenever. Pink’s lofty, soft voice bends and molds to his stylings, and every song has a big hook or almost always a melody that will be stuck in the listener’s head. It is incredibly impressive that Pink has been doing this style effectively for so long. It showcases how good of a songwriter he is. Sometimes sexy, sometimes scary, sometimes poppy and always catchy, Pink has his songs figured out.

INTERSTATE VISION Lomelda

5

Liars

7 8 9 10

SODIUM

TFCF

SATURN OVER SUNSET Midnight Sister

ORC Oh Sees

ONISM Photay

ACROSS THE MULTIVERSE Dent May

THE GOLDEN MILE Flash Trading

RIPE & MAJESTIC TOBACCO

FIVE YEARS OF LOVING NOTES

12

V/A Antidote

13

Cornelius

15 BEST SONGS

MOUNTAIN MOVES

Dasher

14 GRADE

FUNERAL BALOONS

4

11

Ariel Pink brings the catchy tunes Staff Reporter

2

6

A hazy, dark genre trip JALEN JENKINS

Blockhead

3

ALBUM REVIEW

listener in—if for any reason just to see where it goes. By the second song, Pink’s mission statement is heard—taking styles and putting his filter on them to the point where they are not songs that sound like The Cure, but songs that sound like Ariel Pink.

In its familiarity there is a reaching hand, taking the listener to wherever the next song is. Whether it’s a psychedelia tinged 70’s, like the song “Dedicated to Bobby Jameson” or the after school drive-in burger stand fantasy in “Bubble Gum Dream,” at every stop Ariel is there, dressed appropriately, guiding the listener to his state of mind.

These songs have a specific feeling connected to each. “Another Weekend” is a weightless, acoustic song with dreamy pops of synth until it breaks into a wavy bridge crescendoing until it goes back into the verse, “Another weekend out of my life/And I can shake off my worries/Another weekend I can’t rewind/ Another day not working for me.”

As far as the lows for this album, there aren’t many. The album is a Ariel Pink signed journey through moods and eras of sound.

Pink even dives into the punk world with the song “Return of the Iceman,” which is an obvious outlier from the mood of the rest of the album, but on its own stands as a great punk song so it gets a bit of a pass.

1

16 17 18 19 20

MELLOW WAVES

A SAFE PLACE TO BE NAKED S. Fidelty

EUCALYPTUS Avery Tare

SUMMERSET (SIDE B) V/A Lush Selects

FRENCH KIWI JUICE FKJ

ARTIFICIAL BEACH EP Shimano Moki

MURDER OF THE UNIVERSE King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

NOTHING IS EASY, EVERYTHING IS (...)

Futility Music

CALENDAR & GAMES

18

GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

things you don’t want to miss Wednesday

More events and info at georgiastatesignal.com

Friday

Thursday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Atlanta United vs.

Philadelphia Union

Out On Film

Glass Pumpkin Class

Sweet Auburn Music Fest

Candler Park Festival

Netherworld

Fright Fest at Six Flags

September 27

September 28

September 29

September 30

October 1

October 2

October 3

If you haven’t checked out the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium grab a pair of tickets to see Atlanta’s soccer team, United, and experience the magic! Get your tickets online from the United website.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Atlanta’s own LGBT Film Festival starts today and goes on until Oct. 8. Three locations will be showing LGBT films, go to their website for addresses and times!

Fall is here! Get in the spirit with this glass-blowing class and make your own pumpkin!

Available to attend every weekend until Halloween.

Get your tickets at decaturglassblowing. com.

It’s festival season and Sweet Auburn is bringing you two days of nonstop R&B, hip-hop and gospel music.

Located at 320 Irwin St. NE with food trucks and different vendors. It's free all weekend!

Candler Park is at it again hosting 150 art booths, live bands and food trucks! Don’t miss out on the tour of Candler Park homes taking place Sunday 12- 6 p.m., along with the 5k on Saturday!

It’s October Atlanta! You know what that means— the famous haunted house Netherworld is back and better than ever! Go now before those two hour lines start as it creeps closer to Halloween.

Six Flags in October is another seasoned Halloween favorite enjoyed by all. Plan out your trip and book in advance online to save up to $20 on tickets for you and your friends or family!

games

SuD0KU

easy

medium

WORD SEARCH

Word List: Mother ArielPink Scenic Skylounge

Sundial MMC Broke Money Wesworkouts Williams Soccer

JanPoe Mayor Smoking Justice Parking Mandela Pride

HARD

SPORTS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

www.georgiastatesignal.com/sports

The Men’s Basketball Team’s Secret

Workout Westley Allen, a senior at Georgia State, trains members of the team

TOBI ADEYEMI Staff Reporter

T

he season hasn’t started yet, but the Georgia State men’s basketball team has been hooping all offseason. They went through summer workouts, various training sessions, and some of the team even competed in the Atlanta Entertainment Basketball League. With the season right around the corner, some members of the team have added another workout, one that they know will pay off this winter.

“A Wes Workout is a couple of us getting in the gym with Wes and getting some good work in,” Jordan Session said.

Wes is Westley Allen, a senior at Georgia State. A former hooper himself, he played varsity ball at Elberton High School in Elberton, Georgia. He chose not to continue his basketball career at the next level, but that didn’t keep him from the game altogether. He still hoops for fun, and when the opportunity to start the Wes Workouts presented itself, he ran with it.

“The Wes Workouts started off just being cool with Jordan and Jeff,” Allen said. “We’ve all been hanging out for a while, and we all share a mutual interest in the game. One day they just asked me to work them out, and we went from there.”

Westley’s friendship with the team helped start these workouts, but it’s his knowledge of the game that the basketball team loves.

“Wes is a basketball junky man,” Devin Mitchell said. “Just being around him all the time and being friends off the court makes you see it. He’s always watching basketball videos with us, giving us his two cents. He knows what he’s talking about.”

And Sessions agrees that too, admitting out of all his trainers, Westley might be his favorite.

“He knows my game,” Sessions said. “Wes and I have been friends for a long time. He understands what I need to work on, how to talk to me, what I need to do. He’s a great person for my technique.”

These weren’t just words too. When asked, Allen was able to accurately breakdown each of the players he trains.

“Jordan is a big man with skill,” said Allen. “Kind of Draymond-esque, very versatile [and] big, that can handle the ball and shoot it. He’s not great at one thing, but he’s good at a lot of different things. He can go get you 15 and then go get ten boards, great asset on the court.”

He then did the same for Jeff Thomas, a 6’5 redshirt junior.

“Jeff is a shooter with a sneaky athleticism,” Allen said. “We try to work on Jeff ’s ball handling because that’s his only weakness. He can shoot the ball from literally anywhere. Once he gets the handle down pat, the sky is the limit.”

Allen tailors his Wes Workouts specifically for the player and what they want to work out. He’ll have Sessions working on his low-post game on one end of the court, and at the same time, will have Thomas on the other end working on dribble drive moves. The Wes Workouts have only been going on for about a month, but the team is already seeing significant strides in some areas.

“One part of my game Wes has improved is my hesitation step back,” Thomas said. “We always work on my step back, and I’ll be breaking that out this season.”

TOP: Jeff Thomas is all smiles mid-shot during a basketball game.

BOTTOM: Devin Mitchell, a point guard for the the Georgia State Panthers.

For Thomas, the Wes Workouts have been about adding to his offensive repertoire, but for Sessions, it’s about improving his mental.

“His workouts are helping my mental aspect of the game,” said Sessions. “He knows my pace. He keeps me in the attack mode mindset, telling me what I need to hear.”

Devin Mitchell chimed in on that as well.

“The best part of the Wes Workouts is the game speed reps,” said Mitchell. “Just being able to work at a faster pace all the time, that’s what I’m getting the most out of.”

Mitchell, Thomas, and Sessions are the first group of Wes Workout trainees, and what a premiere group to have. He’ll get to witness the fruits of his labor on a pretty big stage, or more accurately, court.

“I’ll be at the home games this season,” said Allen. “ The team says my workouts have helped, and I’m excited to see that against other D1. We are going to see if my Wes Workouts actually paid off once the season gets here.”

And Allen hopes it does. If Sessions, Mitchell, and Thomas all show big improvements this year, it could be a big boost to the Wes Workouts future.

“It would be a big promo for him,” said Sessions. “Anytime people ask me who I train with, I make sure I name Wes because I’m always in the gym with him.”

And Thomas added similar sentiments.

“Yeah, I always promote Wes too,” said Thomas. “He’s always in the gym with us. When you’re in the gym with good basketball players, you’re always going to learn something.”

Allen hopes this is just a start for Wes Workouts. He wants to train more people eventually, maybe seeing a future in basketball training or another basketball-related field.

“I honestly want to get into coaching,” said Allen. “But I can see myself as a trainer too because it's still hands on. You still get to mold young players and young men and help turn them into something great. I want these basketball players to reach their full potential, that’s my whole goal.”

The future for the Wes Workouts is bright, but Allen is focused on his three trainees for now. He has about another month of training sessions before the season starts and plans to ramp it up. So when Thomas busts out a step-back three, think of the Wes Workouts. When Sessions dunks it home off drop step in the low post, think of the Wes Workouts. And when the Panthers win the Sun Belt this year, make sure you think of the Wes Workouts.

PHOTO SUBMITTED BY GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS & PAGE DESIGN BY KAREN KOSASI | THE SIGNAL

SPORTS

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GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

Lessons learned from previous game

The Georgia State Panthers face off against Penn State, September 16, 2017.

CHRISTIAN CRITTENDEN Staff Reporter

T

he Georgia State Panthers came around to their first win this season, beating Charlotte 28-0 on Saturday, Sept.

23, 2017 at the Jerry Richardson Stadium. Our defense brought the first shutout in the program’s history, and gave highlight to some incredible playing on the field.

The win comes as the first one under new head coach Shawn Elliott, and as proof that the Panthers have gathered their lessons, and ready to show what they learned.

THE MISTAKES

About two weeks ago, the football team fell (0-2) after a (hopefully) forgettable 56-0 loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions on Sept 16.

There was some optimism going into the game that they would be able to repeat their performance from a year ago against Wisconsin, but Penn State was an entirely different story. The Panthers did face a tall task going in because they were facing a team that is the reigning Big Ten conference champion. Although it is not the same exact team, they do return quarterback Trace McSorley and running back Saquon Barkley.

Barkley and McSorley made their presence known in the game. McSorley threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns on the day. Barkley only had ten carries on the ground for 47 yards.

His impact came through the air, where he had four catches for 124 yards, including one long 85-yard touchdown, where he just outran the Panthers on to score the touchdown.

The Panthers just weren't able to get anything going at all in their second game. They only had one scoring opportunity during the entire game, and that was a field goal attempt at the very end of the game. Kicker Brandon Wright made a field goal, but Penn State coach James Franklin called a timeout before the snap, so the kick didn't count. Wright attempted the kick again but missed the second attempt wide right.

PHOTO SUBMITTED BY GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS

Against Charlotte however, 14 minutes into play, Wright brought a 25-yeard field goal attempt and offensive lineman Shamarious Gilmore got a touchdown, furthering the Panthers’ lead to 21-0.

“Defensively we played well all night. We never gave them anything cheap. We had numerus true freshmen out there making plays. I am just proud because it was a great team effort,” Elliott said after the game.

McSorley had a QBR of 98.7 during the game.

Defensive back Jerome Smith led the team in tackles with six apiece. Freshman defensive lineman Dontae Wilson registered the Panthers only sack in the game.

The Panthers’ controlled possession time was 38:47 during this game compared to Nittany Lions 21:13. The difference was Penn State scored quickly on its drives, and Georgia State couldn't get a consistent flow going during the game because of turnovers.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE LOSS

READY FOR ANOTHER GAME

Georgia State quarterback Conner Manning struggled against the Nittany Lions defense. Manning was 16-29 passing for 133 yards, no touchdowns, and four turnovers. Three of those turnovers were interceptions, and one was a fumble. Through two games, Manning has yet to throw a touchdown. As a team, the Panthers have only scored one touchdown in the third quarter of a game against Tennessee State.

Turnovers continue to plague the Panthers this season. They have a total of nine turnovers through the first two games. It doesn't matter who you are playing, it will be virtually impossible to win a game when you turn the ball over multiple times.

The Panthers haven’t won a game this season with nine total turnovers to one touchdown.

“We fought hard. You look up at that score and say, ‘What can you be proud of your football for?’ But I saw a lot of positives and a lot of players who took a step forward,” Elliott told georgiaStatesports.com after the game. “We certainly have a lot of work to do, and we have to get better. You can’t give up cheap points. The turnovers can’t happen. But our team will learn from this one; I promise you that,” Running back Taz Bateman rushed for career-high 100 yards during the game, and he owns the Panthers only touchdown on the season. He also added 19 receiving yards on three catches.

“We gave so many cheap points away, and you just can't-do that,” Elliott said. “I would have liked to make them earn it a little bit more. Penn State is a good football team.

Defensively, the Panthers gave up 526 yards of total offense.

The Panthers’ game against Memphis on Sept. 30 has been canceled. Memphis was forced to cancel the game because the American Athletic Conference(AAC) moved rescheduled its Sept 9 game to Sept 30. Their Sept 9 game against Central Florida was forced to be rescheduled as a result of Hurricane Irma.

Georgia State will receive $1.1 million because the teams signed a contract.

“We are disappointed for our fans and our football program with the cancellation of this game, but it is beyond our control,” Georgia State Athletic Director Charlie Cobb told Georgiastatesports.com. “All we can do is search for a suitable replacement, preferably a home FBS game this season.”

The Panthers will start conference play Oct. 9 against Sun Belt newcomer Coastal Carolina. Coastal Carolina is averaging 30.9 points per game this season and 364 yards of total offense per game. The Chanticleers are averaging 274 yards per game on the ground. They like to pound the rock.

This game should be a good test for the Panthers because they do have a pretty good defense. They gave up to 56 points to Penn State, but that is a team in contention for the college football playoff, and if the season ended today, Penn State would probably be in; however, it will be up to the offense to take care of the ball, score some points and stop committing so many turnovers.

The Chanticleers are giving up 29.0 points and 357.5 yards of total offense per game. The defense can keep them in the games, but the offense will have to help its teammates on the defensive side of the ball out.

PAGE DESIGN BY CHRISTOPHER WINLEY | THE SIGNAL

SPORTS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

Rashid Alarape: the clutchest goal scorer in the Sun Belt

Senior forward Rashid Alarape has been a goal-scoring machine TOBI ADEYEMI Staff Reporter

I

t all started with Wake Forest.

Earlier this month, the Panthers faced the number two ranked team in the country, The Wake Forest Demon Deacons. It was a very tight match, the first goal not coming until the 60th minute from Hannes Burmeister.

The Demon Deacons wasted no time and equalized five minutes later, and then the game went into overtime. Overtime against the number two team in the country is the definition of a pressurized situation, but Coach Surrency said the pressure wasn’t on their minds.

“I don’t know that we felt pressure, I think we were more excited about the

Practicing non-stop, Rashid Alarape prepares for his next chance to strike the possible winning goal.

PHOTO BY JULIAN PINEDA & PAGE DESIGN BY PHILIP DURAL | THE SIGNAL

opportunity,” Coach Surrency said. “We’re a very good team. The Louisville match gave us confidence since they were a top 10 team also.”

It’s crazy, the one player that did feel pressure would be the same player to win the game.

“Yeah, that game had some pressure,” Alarape said. “ As the match went on, we kept getting more and more confident. We went into extra time, and I found that moment, I found that space and I took the shot. I’m just happy we achieved our goal and got the win.”

Alarape put in the winner in the 91st minute. His first game-winner and goal of the season. The game-winner would net him his first awards of the season also, earning him both Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week and Georgia State Student-Athlete of the week. Two games later, Alarape would strike again.

The Panthers faced the Winthrop Eagles at home, and Alarape scored Georgia State’s first goal of the night, tying up the match. Both teams would net another goal sending the game into overtime. The first overtime finished scoreless, so the game went to double overtime, and once again Alarape was there.

“Once I saw the opportunity with the ball down the line, like I even saw myself on the halfway line, I was thinking to myself [that] this is it,” Alarape said. “I was able to get in the box and create something. I got fouled, took the pen. Game over.”

His mother, who was in the crowd, didn’t even want Alarape to take the penalty, but nothing was going to stop him. As soon as he was fouled in the box, he got up, grabbed the ball, and put it right on the penalty marker, wasting no time. He scored the penalty just as quickly, his second goal of the match and his second game-winner of the season.

Coach Surrency was extremely proud of the entire team getting this hard earned win.

“We dug deep and had to find a result,” Coach Surrency said. “It wasn’t our best day, but we found a little bit of extra and pulled it out.”

Coach Surrency went deeper into the impact that Alarape is having this year too.

“He has a different mentality to him, maybe because it’s his final year,” Coach Surrency said. “Rashid is incredibly talented, there’s no question about that, and now he’s been clinical in terms of putting the ball in the back of the net.”

Alarape agrees this year being his last is a motivating factor.

“I want to finish my career here with a bang,” Alarape said. “I’m at a point where I realize this is my last year, and I want to finish at the top.”

If he keeps playing like this, the Panthers just might. The very next game, Alarape once again did what’s becoming a regularity this season: win the game. Alarape scored both of Georgia State’s goals in a 2-0 win over Presbyterian, giving him his sixth goal of the season and his third game-winner. The clutch gene runs rampant in the team’s leading goal scorer, but to Alarape it’s something that has to be done.

“I know this might sound cliché, but somebody has to be the hero,” Alarape said. “It could be anyone on the team. It just happens to be me right now.”

And a hero Alarape has been. The Panthers’ now sit at 5-3, and the last three wins have been on the foot of Alarape.

Alarape doesn’t know what the future holds, but he does want to continue his soccer career after Georgia State.

“The plan is to play professionally after I graduate, and

by God’s grace hopefully that’ll happen,” Alarape said.

Before we can catch Alarape in Atlanta United red and black, we get one more final season of him in Georgia State blue and white.

Don’t miss his next game-winner, it’s probably going to happen next game, and it’s free.

21

SPORTS

22

GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

The rise of a basketball out-of-state recruit

Second-best shooter Jeff Thomas sets his expectations for the year JERELL RUSHIN Staff Reporter

G

Jeff Thomas demonstrates his time consuming and hard-earned basketball skills.

PHOTO BY JULIAN PINEDA | THE SIGNAL

eorgia State basketball superstar R.J. Hunter left a mark on Jeff Thomas with his words, “Yo! Don’t let that happen.”

And that’s how Thomas said he first realized, “I’m really in college, and I got to get better.”

The beginning of the men’s basketball year at Georgia State is routinely the birth of one of the best seasons in the Sun Belt Conference.

The Panthers’ 2014-2015 year was the start of the streak.

“It was my first real practice as a college player. I went up for a pull-up and Isiah Dennis came out of nowhere and blocked it out of bounds,” recalled a chuckling Thomas of his first distinct memory at Georgia State.

That’s when R.J. Hunter, son of men’s basketball Coach Ron Hunter, formally introduced Jeff Thomas to D-1 college basketball.

Prior to the 2014-2015 year, Thomas led Norwalk High School to the 2014 Ohio II State Championship. Norwalk, Ohio, a “Tree City” as dubbed by natives, is a town of just 17,013, per the 2010 United States Census Bureau.

At Norwalk, Thomas became a threetime Northern Ohio League first-teamer. At Georgia State, he took a redshirt in 2014-2015 because he would not log major minutes, saving himself all four years of playing eligibility.

Going from a perennial star in Ohio to not seeing the court while living in one of the largest metropolitan cities in the country could have had an effect on Thomas’ confidence.

A year of putting in work behind the scenes is what Thomas was in store for.

“When he arrived, he quickly saw the difference in speed from the high school to collegiate level. Instead of backing down, he continued to work hard to improve,” said Hunter.

Speed and athleticism are often the reasons

for difficult times adjusting to a new level of play, such as a hoisting a pull-up jumper that gets sent off the court. For over a year, Thomas worked on his jump shot because, as an aspiring offense, he would be required to launch plenty of open shots.

Collegiate speed and athleticism would not allow Thomas to postpone the development of a tight handle on the ball any longer.

“I needed that to be right so I can at least handle the ball a little bit,” Thomas admitted, “In high school, I really couldn’t dribble the ball to save my life. But I worked on it and I’m pretty good now.”

The development of a crisp handle on the ball was similar to an overhaul; however, fans saw evident improvements in Thomas’ shot could be seen during the 2015-2016 season.

His first year on the court, Thomas went 7-12 from a three-point land against UTArlington, which tied the eighth-best singlegame three-point performance in Georgia State history.

Thomas returns as the second-best shooter from deep (39.6) out of players who shot 50 or more threes last season. For the upcoming year, Thomas aims to make more significant strides in his game.

As a redshirt junior, Thomas is one of the eldest men on the team and wants to put all the pieces to the puzzle together. If there were key ingredients to a great year for Thomas, they would be keeping up the good shooting, creating his own shots, and driving to the hole to suck the defense in, leading to kick out three-point chances.

“I feel like I can start meeting people at the rim and dunking on a couple of people hopefully,” said a playful Thomas as he slammed a fist into his open palm, treating it as the rim.

Georgia State opens the conference slate on Dec. 29, with a meeting in Mobile, Alabama, against South Alabama. The Panthers will try to build upon a semifinals loss in the Sun Belt tournament to Troy.

Football's six-year safety Bryan Williams is Georgia State Athletics' first sixth-year senior D’MITRI CHIN Staff Reporter

A

fter a devastating back injury that cost the Georgia State safety two football seasons (2013 and 2014), Bryan Williams has become the first sixth-year senior in Georgia State football history.

“I was granted a sixth year of eligibility back in January—it was due to the fact that in the year of 2013 and 2014, I suffered a back injury to my lower vertebra,” Williams said as to how he became a sixth-year senior. “Those two injuries caused me to sit out two consecutive years, so with that being said, I had to basically make a letter and send it to the NCAA, and they granted me the sixth year.”

Williams, 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds, is considered healthy at this point in his career, but during the time of his injury, he recalls being immobile to a great extent.

“I’m just grateful to even just walk because

there were times where my back was messed up, and I couldn’t even walk,” Williams said. “I couldn’t even go to class and stuff like that, so throughout this process, it just made me think of life from a different perspective...You gotta be thankful even for the little things.”

While Williams is indeed looking towards benefitting from this opportunity to play football for another year, he also has aspirations of furthering his education in the field of law. After suffering a significant injury, he is aware that the longevity of playing football isn’t promising.

“I plan on getting into the master program next year, and I’m actually trying to get into law school now. I’m talking to some of my advisors now about getting into that,” Williams said. “Hopefully this will be a good year for me.”

For Williams, this has to be an impressive year for him on the field, simply because this is his last year being able to suit up for the Panthers, but more importantly, to be able to prove why he deserves an opportunity to play

PHOTO SUBMITTED BY GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS

football on Sundays.

“With this being my last year, I have to take every opportunity. I can’t miss no opportunity because I can’t have any regrets. I can’t go back in time and get another year,” Williams said. “Right now, I’m basically grinding like a freshman, trying to get my body back into shape [and] trying to get bigger and faster.”

When asked if Williams had anything else he would like to share with the public, Williams, with a genial smile, said: “God is good.”

Last year, Williams was fifth on the team with 61 tackles and was substantially involved in a secondary that ranked seventh in the FBS in pass efficiency defense and eighth in passing yards allowed. Williams also opened the 2016 season with a career-high 10 tackles with one tackle for loss vs. Ball State. He also has two career interceptions, 11 pass breakups, and 101 tackles.

Williams is also the brother of former Georgia State tight end Arthur Williams, who played two seasons (2010-11) for the Panthers.

SPORTS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

23

PANTHER OF THE WEEK

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS

CHLOE HOWARD

Women's Golf Chloe just signed on to the 2017-2018 season with the Panthers. Coach Cathy Mant announced the signing of the freshman from Plymouth, England back in May, saying she was excited to “welcome Chloe to the Georgia State family,” adding that she was confident Howard would excel in the team. And indeed, Howard did not disappoint. She led the team shooting rounds of 73, and finishing as one of the two top Panthers. Howard made her collegiate debt finishing the 54-hole event at 7-over and tied for 26th.

PHOTO BY GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS

SPORTS BRIEFS men's golf

— Shot a second-round 11-over 299, moving into ninth place at the annual Maui Jim intercollegiate in Carefree, Ariz.

Women's soccer

— Defeated UL Monroe 1-0 on Friday, but then fell to South Alabama 2-1 on Sunday, Sept. 24. The loss brought the Panthers down to 3-7-1 (1-3 SBC).

women's golf

— Shot a 13-over 301, tying for 14th place at the Lady Paladin Invitational.

JERELL RUSHIN Staff Reporter

Miami vs. Duke

PANTHER OF THE WEEK

MIAMI

USC vs. Washington State

WASHINGTON STATE

North Carlina vs. Georgia Tech

GEORGIA TECH

Tennessee vs. Georgia

GEORGIA

Mississippi State vs. Auburn

AUBURN

Clemson vs. Virginia Tech

CLEMSON

SPORTS CALENDAR 9/19 ISSUE CORRECTIONS — SGA story photo attribution should be given to: Unique Rodriguez.

SOCCER SEPT. 26

SEPT. 29

men'S SOCCER COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON

SCAN HERE TO JOIN US!

VOLLEYBALL SOUTH ALABAMA

7 P.M.

Mobile, Alabama

Charleston, South Carolina

SEPT. 30

SEPT. 30

Troy, Alabama

JACKSONVILLE

Jacksonville, Florida

7 P.M.

OCT. 1

SOFTBALL OCT. 1

woMEN'S SOCCER LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE

12 P.M.

GSU Soccer Complex

GEORGIA MILITARY

1 P.M.

GEORGIA MILITARY

3 P.M.

Robert E. Heck Softball Complex Robert E. Heck Softball Complex

CROSS COUNTRY

GOLF

SEPT. 30

OCT. 2

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

WOMEN'S golf

FOOTHILLS INVITATIONAL

Oxford, Alabama

7:30 P.M.

TROY

MEN'S SOCCER

7:30 P.M.

10:30 A.M.

HOST: JACKSONVILLE

Jacksonville, Florida

ALL DAY

illustration of the week:

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEX BROOKS | THE SIGNAL