Vol 90, No. 7

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Panthercards will be free for

11 days

Landmark deal with Panthercard office gives amnesty to the students.

ADAM DUFFY Editor-in-Chief

In a historic deal with Georgia State’s Panthercard Office, replacement panther cards will be free from Nov. 7th to Nov. 18th. This deal comes after the increase in price for new cards from $10 to $25, a 150% increase.

In communications with the Panthercard Office, the department stated that the increase came as a result of the new parking and card systems instituted this year, the cost of which they want to offload onto the students through the increased price. Forcing the student body to foot the bill for something we are already paying for through the money we spend to attend Georgia State.

The new parking system involved the retrofitting of every university parking deck on campus, doing away with the old budget card system to instead have charges be made through your Panthercard. The new Panthercard system went hand in hand with parking. The new cards have a different format and can be used for parking, dining on campus and other kinds of on-campus payments.

This issue first came to the forefront when Ira Livnat, the EVP of the Atlanta Campus SGA, was approached by multiple students complaining about the increased prices. A $25 expense to college students living penny to penny could mean the difference between eating and not eating their next meal.

After a few weeks of talks between Livnat and administrators, a deal was settled to create an amnesty period between Nov. 7th and Nov. 18th. During this period, replacement Panthercards will be free to all students. Also, the university has “committed to exploring the reduction of the cost of replacement cards” going into the spring semester.

This tension with auxiliary services, the department that contains the parking and Panthercard offices, dates back over a year ago. Back then, Livnat reached a deal with the parking department to reimburse students who had been spending extra money to park, unable to get their budget cards due to delays within the parking department.

After that battle, the need for a new parking system was made clear. This event expedited the process that would install this new system.

In a quote from Livnat, where he talks about this success and his continued advocating for the student body, he had this to say. “ I think victory is earned through tenacity. We persisted and so we came out victorious. Many people are afraid to ask, we see the injustices, we see the problem, but many people are afraid to ask. But at SGA that is our job. We succeed because we have no other choice. There’s absolutely nothing spectacular about what I did, anybody could have done it. I hope they see this as an invitation to start.”

As student leaders like Livnat keep fighting for students, it is important to become active participants in these events. Don’t allow injustices to go idly by, reject the notion that you have no control over your university and say something.

If you wish to replace a lost or damaged Panthercard, you may do so for free until Nov. 18th. Go to the Panthercard Office on the 2nd floor of Student Center West to get your replacement.

Why are some Georgia State students sitting out this election?

Even

with a lot of eyes on Georgia, some students still won’t slip their vote into the ballot.

TONI ODEJIMI Staff Reporter

The narrative that comes out during election season is that young people don’t vote. Wherever that be for laziness or a lack of faith in the current candidates, young voters are historically the smallest group of the voting population, and data from the New York Times supports this. With candidates Stacey Abrams and Raphael Warnock visiting the school, Georgia State University still has a population of students sitting this election out. Here’s what these young people who aren’t voting are saying about their choice:

“I just don’t see a reason to. I don’t believe in our government. I think that the systems they have in place, make it to where even if you vote and even if the person you want to get elected gets elected, nothing’s going to happen.” - Timothee

“I’m a permanent resident, so I can’t vote in local elections. I can only vote in presidential elections… I’m not a citizen… but at the same time, it affects me too, because I’m living here so I kinda think it’s pointless that I can’t vote for local elections.”Ana

Oliveira

“I don’t feel like there’s anybody out there that really represents my values that I have so far. Nobody really has caught my interest… I want to vote for somebody that kind of rolls with the times.” - James James

“I think I haven’t really had enough time to research as much

as I wanted to into it. And the semester has just been really so busy for me so I wasn’t able to look at it.” - Althea Llena

“Just didn’t think of it. ‘Cuz the people around me, nobody really vote, you know? … I just follow them.” - Joe

There were two underlying currents in all the students interviewed. They felt like they weren’t represented by either candidate or they didn’t have enough time. The early voting window was opened from Oct 17 to Nov 4. Georgia State University set up voting booths on campus so that Fulton county registered voters could vote. The non-voters also had some words on this effort and what GSU can do more:

“...I would advise them to maybe spread a little bit more information about it and… make people more aware of it happening really.” - Althea Llena

“ Well, I spoke to people on campus to register because they were going around. And then I never got any information from them at all. I gave, like my email, my address and everything. Well, and then it [the date] was like really close to the point where I couldn’t register. Then it passed… So I wasn’t able to at the end.”

- Sophie Hart

“I don’t think there’s any way to…incentivize because I feel like with the current state we’re in right now… there needs to be a big change. But the fact that young Americans like us don’t rec-

ognize stuff… is kinda a bad thing.” - Saran Punmaneeluk

Young non-voters aren’t a monolith. James doesn’t believe that either party truly represents the policies he supports. He’s trying to find a place to lay his head, he can’t afford his rent. James is living paycheck to paycheck while dealing with the pressure of student loans and doesn’t think that voting will truly support his values.

What about Llena, who didn’t have enough time within her busy schedule to sit down and do the research to make the most informed decision about this election?

Hart fought to cast her ballot in, but with poor communication from the organizers, missed the early voting sites that were on campus. Difficulties with casting ballots have been recorded with SB 202 put into place, a Republican-backed bill that restricted ballot boxes to just office hours and criminalized handing out water to voters.

Young non-voters aren’t just sitting out because they’re uninterested. Sure, some of them are. But others are fed up with the current justice system. Some of them can’t find time to carve away to vote in an election. It’s not just one issue that’s causing young nonvoters to sit out in critical elections, it’s a multitude of them.

PHOTO BY: TRENT LEGASPI | THE SIGNAL

When Will Enough Be Enough?

Gun Violence: When Will It End?

KADIATOU DIALLO Staff Columnist

When will enough be enough?

I’m sick and tired of seeing so many people die because of gun violence. How many more people will have to die at the hands of a bullet before our supposed leaders take necessary action? How many more children have to die before they reach puberty until we see America has a problem?

Gun violence is so normalized it becomes commonplace, even uneventful, to hear about. . I remember growing up and hearing that other kids my age were being murdered in other states or even counties. A child shouldn’t have to worry if they will be able to come home when they go to school. We shouldn’t lose the people who mean the most to us. We shouldn’t have to keep losing the people who inspire us. We shouldn’t have to lose our very own.

Following the St. Louis shooting, I felt compelled to see statistics reflecting our shooting culture in the US. As of 2022, America has witnessed 531 mass shootings and 257 school shootings (World Population Review). In Georgia, we’ve seen 1,623 deaths from gun violence. Are these statistics not horrifying enough?

As of April of this year, Georgia no longer requires an individual to have a permit before purchasing or carrying a weapon (Giffords). You must be wondering how this translates to universities. Well, here is Georgia State’s policy: you must have a license, and you can carry a weapon in a concealed manner, except in the dorms. This policy is meant to add a layer of ‘protection’ to the individual while ‘protecting’ their fellow panthers (GSU). This policy still makes me anxious, not knowing who may or may not have a gun.

Whether or not one should have guns isn’t the focus–as it’s your constitutional right. Instead, it’s on the overzealous gun violence we’ve seen in the past year and past decade. Have we learned nothing? America needs better gun control and policies in place to protect its people. How is it normal that a child can walk into a store where they sell groceries and purchase a rifle? If so many shooters are saying they aren’t mentally well, why don’t we require mental wellness checks? How is it ok that we can now carry

Why are we in Africa?

The colonialism of AFRICOM

TERRANCE DAVIS Staff Columnist

Colonialism and its effects are present in every nation and every part of the world. Its shadow casts over all aspects of life and its presence and effects on the world are impossible to ignore. The fact that I am writing this in English is evidence of that. The continent of Africa is no exception. One could argue that much of the collective legacy of Africa is inextricably tied to the practice. The effects of colonialism are endless and include the deaths of millions, stunted technological and economic development to this day and dependence on monocultural economies through natural resource extraction. Attempts have been made at bringing stability and growth to Africa with leaders like Patrice Lumumba, Thomas Sankara, and Kwame Nkruma, all of whom delivered extensive public services to their population. All three of them were also the victims of western-backed regime changes.

All of these problems continue to plague the region as many of the colonial practices have not ended, but have merely been adjusted. Western powers have always had some sort of vested interest in the continent since at least the 19 century. While the United States’ “partnership” with Africa is relatively new, its interest and control of the region have undergone an unmistakable intensification, especially with the introduction of AFRICOM (United States Africa Command). Ostensibly, the purpose of AFRICOM exists to aid in the development and peacekeeping of the notoriously destabilized continent. It is important to know that AFRICOM is one of the United States’ seven geographical combatant command systems. AFRICOM is the newest of which, founded in 2008, and unsurprisingly, the command is in charge of Africa. The command has military relationships with 53 of the 54 countries in Africa and has set up over 40 military bases in the region.

Despite its stated goal, the African continent has not seen any real development or upward mobility since 2008. Instead, the miserable conditions of many of the nations in Africa have intensified, with the US government taking advantage of corrupt leadership in the region, who are installed by the United

guns without a permit? Why are we having teachers buy bulletproof vests for their classrooms?

Why is all of this normalized? It has gotten to the point where most of us have become so desensitized to gun violence that jokes are made about it. So many shootings and deaths for so many years, and yet the cycle repeats itself. Lawmakers and citizens alike turn a blind eye to this issue, but hey, This Is America, right?

This is why I urge all of us to try and take action to stop this senseless gun violence. Let’s all be wary of who represents us following these midterm elections. Let’s not forget to vote to see the change we want for our nation and its people! This is a change we can make right now!

States and other western powers. In the case of Libya, the NATO-backed removal of Gaddafi claimed the need to end the human rights abuses of the Gaddafi government in Libya. In the 11 years after the intervention, we see the United States standing to the side as thousands of Libyans are killed due to civil war and sold into slavery. Outside of Libya, AFRICOM has overseen everything from a coup in Guinea in 2021, to drone strikes in Somalia.

AFRICOM’S benefits to the people of Africa are questionable at best, not only due to the condition we see the continent in since its introduction but because its very structure facilitates the domination of the countries it involves itself with. The primary method of engagement with this part of the world for the US is through the use of increased militarism, arming these corrupt governments against their own people in the form of the 1033 program which transfers millions of dollars to militarize the police forces of these countries.

The primary focus on pushing the military in these countries ensures that conflict is always present in some way. More damagingly, it pushes the idea that African countries are not deserving of their own national sovereignty. The United States’ concern for the African continent begins and ends with how much influence it can exert over it. This was confirmed by AFRICOM Commander General Stephen Townsend who stated that military relations with Africa would be beneficial in mitigating Chinese and Russian influence in the region, ensuring that the United States has a monopoly on Africa’s resources, wealth, and, freedom. The power structure of the United States seems to believe that the nations of Africa are too poor and underdeveloped to operate on their own. The truth of the matter is that all of these respective countries have been ravaged by colonialism and have had their collective potential robbed from them for centuries. To say that these countries are underdeveloped only distracts from the fact that they have been over-exploited.

PHOTO BY: COLIN LLOYD ON UNSPLASH.COM

ARTS & LIVING

Running water ran away from Piedmont Central for a day

Residents of Piedmont Central face the dilemma of no running water for a day.

AMIRA DANIEL Staff Columnist

What would you do if you lived in a multi-million-dollar building with no running water for one day?

Amid a stressful period of midterms, students at one of Georgia State’s on-campus residences, Piedmont Central, had one more stressor to add to their list. Mid-morning on October 23, 2022, around 1,140 residents in the six-year-old freshman housing facility were left without running water for nearly a full day.

“Water is so customary that you don’t think of it, but now you have to pee and walk to a whole other building… It’s ridiculous… It affected my day a great deal.” Said first-year GSU student Laura Vickers.

Vickers was one of many at the forefront of this inconvenience – of several students we contacted, she was willing to speak about her experience.

Vickers stated, “It was bad…I was going to take a shower then I couldn’t. We had to drive to my roommate’s brother’s house to shower. Even using the bathroom I had to go to the dining hall to pee, and had to go to my other friend’s room to brush my teeth… they live in Patton, so I had to walk there to brush my teeth… It was a lot.”

We attempted to reach out to a Piedmont Central Residential Advisor. We were informed that they are not permitted to speak to the media on the issue.

“Yeah, [the Residential Advisors] were [helpful] for the most part because if anything they live on the same floors as us so they’re helping us as much as they can and they couldn’t do anything as much as we asked, so they were just trying to be supportive throughout it — which I understand.”

Vickers believes the situation could have been handled better, however she is not upset with how it was handled.

Vickers states there may have been previous signs of something going on with the water, she mentioned that since moving on campus in mid-August, a very loud sound that resembled a car motor came from

Atlanta creators write new comedy series “Sink or Swam”

in-between the walls when the shower would be on.

“I know that turning on your shower you’re not supposed to hear that noise, and it’s not just a little shake, it’s between every room…I don’t know what they could do to fix that, but I feel like that alone should’ve been a tell to at least check the water, I felt like it could’ve been avoided… but then again that’s beyond me.”

“Two days before the water went out people were complaining that the pressure was bad… [the water] wasn’t frigid, but it wasn’t as hot, and then the following day that’s when [the water] was really cold and there was barely any pressure, so they just cut it off,” she said.

The plan was for the water to be off for only a few hours. Residents were informed it would come on in the early afternoon, however they ended up not having water for the duration of the day.

Although the residents were informed that the water would be cut off, residents without cars or guaranteed access to other campus residences were left without a place to go. Although the solutions weren’t what most were hoping for, the residence hall did allow students to use the dining hall restrooms.

One thing Vickers took away from the situation was to not take working water for granted – the full extent of the issue wasn’t felt until she had to go to extra lengths to do what was formerly so easily accessible.

Although the issue of having no water is resolved, remains of the problem still dwell. One floor began to flood after the water came on due to the use of a washing machine. Residents on this floor had to do their laundry on other floors and were not informed when this issue would be fixed. Along with this, a hallway on the first level of Piedmont Central was partially flooded. When we spoke to Vickers, residents were still not able to use the stairs due to this. In an attempt to dry the water, residents may have received an extra gust of wind due to numerous fans placed in the vicinity.

On the hour-long car ride coming home from a work trip in a nowhere town in Georgia back to their home in Atlanta, Patrick Cavillo and Ana Bernot-Reilly revisited the trip, cackling with one another about the almost-comically bad work trip they just experienced. Cavillo, a non-profit clinic worker who travels to different civic groups explaining the cause in hopes of donations, just stood in front of a crowd of elderly women “The Olive Tree,” a knock off Olive Garden, giving a motivational speech for the clinic he works for.

While the two laughed in the front seat of the car reassessing the weird banquet room from 1997, the old folk of the Lion’s Club nodding off and the bad italian food served at the event, the two creators realized the inspiration for their longthought about project stood right in front of them. For about five months, Cavillo and Bernot-Reilly brainstormed ideas for the series the two strived to create. After the comically-bad “Olive Tree,” experience, Bernot Reilly turned to Cavillo and expressed interest in loosely basing the series off his own job interacting with random people that do not care.

Once the idea was thrown out there, the two set off working on putting tangibility to the thought and began writing the script for the series. The two bounced back and forth, building a solid story line and writing a pilot for the show, which then turned into a second episode. After several sleepless nights and creative outbursts, the two co-writers had finished outlining an entire seven episodes of the series they called “Sink or Swam.”

“We kind of created the entire story, and then through that we started putting pieces together,” Cavillo said. She [Bernot-Reilly] wrote the first episode, and it’s a collaborative thing, and the second episode I did. We have an outline for seven episodes.”

The story, quirky, comedic and relatable, describes life’s ups and downs through the eyes of main character J.J. Estrada, played by co-writer Bernot-Reilly. Estrada, a Mexican-American, people-pleasing, motivational speech-pitcher, struggles to make her way through a company run by her rich, white privileged boss, Audrey Jacobsen. The storyline consists of many ups, downs and plot twists, but overall the theme revolves around a heartfelt, fun and dark comedy where audience members rooting for the underdog might be surprised towards the end.

Over the course of the last couple months, the cast and crew of the show have been working hard to raise a decent amount of funding to begin working on the pilot, as well as a little bit extra for things such as a bigger production, more locations and more equipment. The crew started fundraising on Seed and Spark, a fundraising company that focuses on webseries and pilots, and were able to raise over $10,000 for the show, meeting and exceeding their original goal for the series.

The cast, crew and production team of “Sink or Swam,” plans on creating a fabulous pilot in order to pitch to distributors who will then pick up the project and cultivate more funds for the show. As this is Cavillo’s first ongoing project, he plans to work as hard as he can to create the best pilot possible,and then he plans to play the rest by ear.

“I want for people to want to see more,” Cavillo said. “I want to see it gain a following. What I hope to see happen is to make a really good pilot, people follow it, people fall in love with the characters and people want to see more. I want it to be unique, and I want people to say ‘oh this is an interesting story. I want to keep following this.’”

To receive updates on “Sink or Swam,” audiences can check out their website or their instagram, @sinkorswamseries, where the cast, crew and production team will post updates on filming, release, footage and more. Filming for the pilot is scheduled for Nov. 16th through Nov. 22nd.

“Sink or Swam” to be filmed in ATL this November

GRACE BRASWELL Arts & Living Editor

PHOTO BY: SINK OR SWAM

Georgia States dynamic rushing Georgia States loaded backfield

TIM GAGE Staff Reporter

The 2022 Georgia State Panthers have had a rough start to the season. They are 3-5 to begin the year but have gutted out the most challenging part of their schedule and are 2-2 in conference play. The Panthers go as far as their dynamic rushing game duo takes them. The Panthers have rushed for over 200 yards in all three of its wins this season.

They are at their best when the whole stable of weapons in the backfield is rotating and getting multiple touches. The backfield is loaded with talent. Tucker Gregg and Jaymest Williams are among the best one-two punches in the nation, but quarterback Darren Grainger’s ability to use his legs has earned him an honorary spot in the running backs room.

“I’m glad to be a part of that group, they make big plays, and I just want to make big plays for the team, so just to be considered in both of those groups is fun,” Darren Grainger said. “Having a bunch of carries just like them. It is always fun just to go out there and try to win.”

The three rushing threats make it almost impossible for an opposing defense to key in on one guy. The rushing game, paired with the play-action passing game that the Panthers utilize, puts defensive coordinators in a blender.

They can stack the box to sell out for the run, but the Panthers have the talent at the quarterback position to make a defense pay for creeping up with play-action shots over the top of the secondary.

It all starts with the ability to win the battle in the trenches, move the opposing front seven off the ball and create wideopen running lanes for the playmakers to work with. The Georgia state offensive line is at its best when they can go downhill and get to the defenders at the second level.

Tucker Gregg is the lead back for the Panthers. His relentless downhill rushing style makes him the perfect bell-cow back. His combination of toughness, speed and strength helps

him carry a large workload. Gregg has 605 yards on 131 carries, averaging 4.6 yards per carry and eight touchdowns in just eight games this season. Gregg became the all-time rushing leader at Georgia State with 2,165 career rushing yards. He has been an integral part of the success of the Panthers program since he joined the team as a walk-on in 2018.

Jaymest Williams is the number two back on the depth chart, but the Panthers have two starting-caliber backs. Williams has 447 yards on 85 carries, averaging 5.3 yards per carry and two touchdowns. Williams has the speed and shiftiness to create extra yardage and break off chunk plays. The Panthers have the luxury of possessing two dynamic running backs that can take over a game with their running style. The tandem of Gregg and Williams can handle a tremendous amount of carries per game. Georgia State needs workhorses like those two to run the offense the way the coaches envisioned it.

On top of their dominant one-two punch, the Panthers quarterback Darren Grainger is a serious threat with his legs and is a massive part of the success of the Panther’s rushing attack. Grainger has 513 yards on 105 carries, averaging 4.9 yards per carry and four touchdowns. He is the team’s second-leading rusher behind Gregg and is a true dual-threat quarterback. His prowess in the passing game and his elite speed and playmaking ability create so many different issues for opposing defenses.

The Panthers are looking for a late-season win streak to salvage their hopes of making a bowl game and ending the year with a winning record. The team has an increasing sense of hope within the locker room. Even though they are 3-5, the team is still .500 in conference play and has a much easier schedule to finish the year. They will look to emulate the 2021season in which they won seven of their last eight games.

Why are the Falcons so slept on?

The NFC South is up for grabs, can the Falcons take it?

SKYLER HILL Staff Reporter

From wild overtime thrillers to games being decided by four points or less to bad refereed games - this season has been a wild ride for the Falcons. The craziest part about it: people are falling asleep on the ride and it’s just getting started.

The Falcons are sitting atop the NFC South through the first eight weeks of the season with a 4-4 record. Sitting under the Falcons are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buccaneers have had a season from hell. Tom Brady can’t seem to click with his offense, especially his offensive line which doesn’t seem to have the chemistry it should midway through the season. The Bucs have one of the highest-ranked defenses in the league, but with their lackluster performance thus far, does Tampa have what it takes to win another championship?

Tied with the Buccaneers are the New Orleans Saints. They also maintain a great defense but have struggled throughout the year to put wins on the board as they sit at 3-5. Go down another level and you meet the Carolina Panthers. A snooze fest. They have a great defense on paper, but it hasn’t translated into wins as they sit at 2-6 on the year.

So there you have it, the Falcons have a one-game lead on the Bucs and the Saints, but why are people still sleeping on them?

In the past, the Falcons have been known to blow leads in just about every game. For God’s sake, people literally dress up as the Super Bowl score when the Falcons had a 28-3 lead on the Patriots only to blow it a quarter and a half later back in 2016. For a more recent example, head back to the divisional rival game back on Sept. 11 when the Falcons faced off against the Saints. They maintained a 16-point lead at one point only to lose the game 27-26 in a heartbreaking loss. The past miscues haunt the Falcons every day and the rest of the league ridicules them for it.

The passing game for the Fal-

cons has been lackluster all year. The team doesn’t have a true franchise quarterback yet the Falcons spent its most recent first-round picks on Kyle Pitts and Drake London. Most would think the team would have a solid passing game as both pass catchers have shown the upper-echelon plays they can make, especially Pitts last year. The ball has often been taken out of Marcus Mariotta’s hand and put into the run game. In the blowout loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Mariotta only threw the ball 19 times. In the matchup against the 49ers, Mariotta threw the ball an even lower 14 times, yet he completed 13 of them and went on to earn the victory. Head Coach Arthur Smith loves his run-first dependent offense and to say it’s not the right way to run this team, just wouldn’t be fair. The team has been competitive all year and has displayed bright spots highlighting the progression made.

So how are the Falcons winning? Well, to put it all on the run game would be a stretch, but it does explain a lot of the reasons the Falcons have seen success this season. The run game has been the main thing keeping this team afloat through the first eight games. The Falcons are averaging 158.1 rushing yards per game ranking them fifth across the league in overall team rushing stats. They also have 1,265 rushing yards on the season. The Falcons ranked 29th in the league in passing game. It’s obvious this is a run first team, but when your quarterback is mobile and your running backs are getting it done, it all works out.

With the halfway point of the NFL season coming up, this is a crucial part of the year for the teams like the Falcons to break away with a lead in the division. The Buccaneers will most likely get their affairs in order and will begin to win games. If the Falcons want to win this division the players have to keep their foot on the pedal.

PHOTO BY: TRENT LEGASPI | THE SIGNAL