Vol. 90, No. 1

A of the

A Changing paper for a

PHOTO BY: TRENT LEGASPI | THE S IGNAL

EXECUTIVE

PRESIDENT & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Adam Duffy signaleditor@gmail.com

MANAGING EDITOR

Vacant signalmanagingeditor@gmail.com

MARKETING MANAGER

Vacant signalmarketingmanager@ gmailcom

EDITORIAL

NEWS EDITOR

Vacant signalnewseditor@gmail.com

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Vacant

OPINIONS EDITOR Luiza De Abreu signalopinions@gmail.com

ASSOCIATE OPINIONS EDITOR

Vacant

ARTS & LIVING EDITOR

Desmond Leake signalliving@gmail.com

ASSOCIATE ARTS & LIVING

EDITOR

Grace Braswell

SPORTS EDITOR

Malikai Collins signalsport1@gmail.com

ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

Vacant

COPY EDITORS

Annalise Ray signalcopyeditor@gmail.com

PRODUCTION

PRODUCTION EDITOR

Rose Degefa signalprod@gmail.com

ASSOCIATE PRODUCTION

EDITOR

Vacant

PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTO EDITOR

Trent Legaspi signalphoto2@gmail.com

ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR

Vacant

DIGITAL DIGITAL EDITOR

Caitlin Whisby signalmanaging@gmail.com

ASSOCIATE DIGITAL EDITOR

Vacant VIDEO EDITOR

Vacant signalvideoeditor@gmail.com

ASSOCIATE VIDEO EDITOR

Vacant

PODCAST EDITOR

Vacant

THE SIGNAL BUREAUS

ALPHARETTA BUREAU CHIEF

Vacant

CLARKSTON BUREAU CHIEF

Vacant

DECATUR BUREAU CHIEF

Vacant

DUNWOODY BUREAU CHIEF

Vacant

NEWTON BUREAU CHIEF

Vacant

ADVERTISING

STUDENT MEDIA ADVISER Vacant BUSINESS COORDINATOR Wakesha Henley whenley@gsu.edu

PERIMETER STUDENT MEDIA ADVISER Zoana Price zprice@gsu.edu

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MISSION STATEMENT

The Signal shall provide, in a fair and accurate manner, news of interest and significance to the Georgia State community and serve as a forum for the expression of ideas of members of that community. Furthermore, The Signal shall provide an opportunity for students to pursue experience within a professional newspaper environment.

The Signal shall also provide truthful and ethical advertising of interest to the Georgia State community.

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Requests for coverage and tips should be subwmitted to the Editor in Chief and/or the relevant section editor.

SUBMIT LETTER TO EDITOR

Letters must be submitted to the Editor in Chief via e-mail and must include the text of the letter in the body of the message. Letters should be 400-500 words maximum.

The Signal will allow longer letters, but only in rare circumstances. Letters must include the full name(s) of the writer(s) and include their year and major. If the writer is a faculty member, they must include their title and department. Letters will be fact-checked prior to publication. The writer may be obligated to make changes to the letter for publication. Letters will be edited for grammar, clarity, length, factual accuracy and adherence to The Signal’s policy. The Signal reserves the right to modify and/ or reject letters at the discretion of the editorial staff.

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Opinions and Letters to the Editor expressed in The Signal are the opinions of the writers and readers. It does not reflect the opinions of The Signal OFFICE INFORMATION

The Signal Student Center West, Suite 250 P.O. Box 3968 Atlanta, GA 30303 Phone: 404-413-1620 Fax: 404-413-162

A Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

Hello Panthers,

I would like to start by welcoming you all to Georgia State. Whether you are a part of the largest incoming freshman class in university history or are returning this semester, you have joined a community of over fifty-thousand students across six campuses. As the Editor-in-Chief of Georgia State’s student-run newspaper, The Signal, I am charged with being the leader of an organization that considers itself the voice of the student body. However, in recent years we have not used that voice, we have been muzzled. The lockdowns decimated what was once a thriving paper with years of history and passed down knowledge. An empty campus meant an empty office, which meant an empty newspaper. The students who ran it were forced to move on with life, as were the students who knew it to be a fixture of campus life. Eventually, memory of The Signal faded into a shell of its former self. Even as things started to return to normal and the paper began printing again, a myriad of problems hindered the paper’s ability to operate the way it should have. However, when I joined The Signal a year ago, I knew we could be better than ever if we had the will for it. Going into this semester, my confidence got shattered when our student media advisor left and changes made to student organizations as a whole left us waiting with our hands tied. This resulted in me being named Editor-in-Chief only a week before the start of classes, condensing what should have been a summer’s long transition into seven days. This all goes to say that I hope you will forgive the delay in this paper reaching your hands. I also give you a promise that this newspaper will continue to serve as the voice of the students, to shout when you whisper, and to speak out when forces inside this university and out would attempt to abuse their power. All I ask of you Panthers is that you read the contents of this newspaper and become active members of your university. I look forward to attending this wonderful school with you all this year. Go State!

Thank you, Adam Duffy, Editor-in-Chief at The Signal

To

DAVID HOFFMAN Staff Reporter

Students very rarely get their money’s worth out of their college tuition. It’s a common struggle between all of us. Students spend thousands of dollars in fees and tuition each year, yet often don’t realize how many services they have ac cess to. These services are unadvertised to students, therefore often go unused. With the amount of money students are spending to at tend GSU, they may as well take full advantage of what the school has available.

GSU’s Student Government Association, or SGA, has made it its goal to eliminate this problem. By educating students on the benefits available to them, the SGA believes that they can promote more students to take advantage of the university resources they’ve helped fund.

Their most recent event on September 16th proved to be a huge success. Student representatives from SGA set up a table in unity plaza right outside of Student Center East. Members of the SGA then spent the day sharing information with students about resources on campus, and how to obtain said resources. The event also offered pamphlets and promotional items from multiple uni versity departments.

Senator Myla Williams, the head of this event, had this to say.

“The purpose of the event is to inform students of what re sources are available to them on campus that they may not know about...I personally felt like this was important because we pay for a lot of different items in our student fees just in general and we rarely use them”

One of the main focuses at the event was healthcare. Geor gia State students have a wide variety of healthcare options at their disposal. The school hosts multiple events throughout the year that offer free STI and HIV testing. Students can also obtain free COVID-19 testing and vaccinations at any time. The student health clinic also offers a variety of other services that students can make appointments for through their healthcare provider. These services

Student

SIGNAL EDITORIAL BOARD

Ira Livnat was confirmed as the 93rd Executive Vice Presi dent of SGA on Thursday, September 15th, but he had al ready been fulfilling the duties of the position for over a month.

When the former EVP of SGA Devi Patel unceremonious ly resigned earlier this semester, the line of succession would have named Speaker of the Atlanta Senate Jordan Madden as EVP. How ever, Madden decided against assuming the position and instead recommended Livnat who was at the time a senator from the Col lege of Law and the Speaker Pro Tempore. Livnat accepted the po sition and became acting EVP. This decision was unanimously wel comed by the members of SGA, save for one senator.

Senator Colin Hinze was a senator from the College of Arts and Sciences when he filed an appeal to the SGA Judiciary on September 2nd. This appeal laid out Hinze’s grievances with Livnat’s appoint ment as EVP, questioning whether or not Madden was constitution ally allowed to decline the position of EVP and whether it was ac ceptable to have the role be appointed to a senator.

The judiciary would ultimately decide on the matter by the 11th of September. In that decision, the SGAJ stated that while the by laws of SGA did not make it clear what to do in this situation, forc ing Madden into a position he did not want would be “inequitable, and undermine the democratic spirit.” They also decided that since the Speaker of the Senate has sole discretion to select candidates for senate vacancies, the same rule would apply in a vacancy within

include wellness checkups, general vaccinations, allergy injections and mental health counseling.

The event also discussed the GSU Recreational Center. The rec center offers students a wide array of programs. These programs range from swim lessons to outdoor hiking retreats. Students can also rent out recreational equipment like tents and sleeping bags from the rec center at an extremely cheap rate. Classes led by profes sional instructors are offered weekly on activities like belly dancing and yoga. Students interested in competitive sports can form their teams and compete against other universities through the rec center. The sports that are available for students to join include badminton, fencing and dodgeball. Students can even take classes to become CPR certified at the rec center.

The SGA is also offering free testing materials to students. Ma terials like blank scantrons and blue books are available for free at the SGA office on the 2nd floor of Student Center West.

The event did face some contention in the days leading up to it. After nearly a month of planning, members of GSU faculty recom

mended that the event be postponed due to President Blake’s inves titure ceremony occurring the same day. This is what Senator Wil liams had to say in response: “Despite the investiture happening we still thought that it was important for students to be able to receive whatever resources they wanted to receive as soon as possible”

It is extremely important that students make use of the resourc es this university has to offer. Not only to better our own lives but to ensure that these services remain around for those who will come after. If you have any further questions about all the benefits you can access through Georgia State, go to the SGA office or scan this QR code.

the executive board. The only part of that typical process that had not been fulfilled was a two-thirds affirmative vote. Thus, the SGAJ charged the senate with holding that vote to confirm the nomina tion.

Hinze filed this appeal on the 2nd of September, but nobody else in SGA was informed about it until Wednesday the 14th. This purposeful concealment gave other members of SGA less time to prepare for the meeting the following day which would decide if Livnat should be EVP.

On a day’s notice, a couple of senators prepared materials and statements to support Ira’s position as EVP. Mainly, Senator Tan janae Walker wrote up the legislation that would put Livnat’s ap pointment as EVP to a vote. The bill was co-sponsored by Speaker Madden as well as Senator Myla Willams.

With their talking points prepared, the senators gathered in Student Center West at 7 pm the following day, the room filled with tense students reacting to their updated agenda and preparing to defend their position passionately.

After the beginning formalities, the first item brought forth was the new legislation, labeled 93-CSO-CL-ATL-18. When discussion began, Livnat was made to leave the room while the senate deliber ated. Hinze spoke first, reaffirming his issues with Livnat’s appoint ment, and even recommending another person for the position.

Williams spoke after Heinz. She passed out portfolios contain ing pieces of legislation, email threads and other correspondence all

involving Livnat to affirm her stance that he is the correct person for the job. Among them was a statement from Student Body President Anthonio Prince in which Prince expresses his support for Livnat’s appointment.

After Williams’ introduction, other senators within the room began to speak out in support of Livnat, speaking to both the quality of his character as well as the volume of his work within SGA over his past 5-years of involvement.

Ultimately, deliberation would conclude after about an hour with Speaker Madden sharing some final words in support of Livnat. A motion to vote was put forward, and after the numbers were in, Livnat was confirmed with a vote of 13 yes, 1 no and 2 abstentions.

After the meeting concluded, Livnat had this to say about the night’s events, “I think the drama and the theatrics come with the territory. Unfortunately, it’s an occupational hazard, you have to be comfortable being in the crosshairs and being under scrutiny. –There’s a lot of love in SGA, and there’s a lot of support. Occasion ally, some people lose their way but I’m confident that they’ll find them again.”

Senator Hinze resigned the next day.

Had Livnat not been confirmed on that day, it would have un done a month’s worth of work. It also would have made it impossible to appoint the over a dozen freshman liaisons that were sworn in by Livnat during the last half of the meeting.

SGA helps educate students on what’s available to them.

PHOTO BY: TRENT LEGASPI | THE SIGNAL

The

OPINIONS

a Club Today!

GABBY MILLER Staff Columnist

It is a new semester at Georgia State University. Students are bustling around, try ing to get the supplies they need for the upcoming semester. We are coming back to familiar-looking faces and familiar-looking classrooms. trying to find a new sense of normal to go with this semester. But college is much more than the academic aspect of things. When people talk about their college experience, they talk about the wacky clubs they got to join.

College clubs are an excellent way of meeting people that do not take the same classes as you. In college, it is hard to make friends just by going to class and then back to the dorm, as making friends in the classroom is not always a guarantee. In our classrooms, it is so easy to show up and not talk to people. College clubs provide a better atmosphere when it comes to meeting new people. In a club setting, it is easier to talk to other people.

Clubs are also an excellent way to meet like-minded individuals. Georgia State offers various clubs that could pick one of your interests. Joining a club could make your semester less predictable in a good way. Clubs have different activities they are doing for the semester. When students think of their upcoming semester, they most commonly think about the var ious classes they are going to take.By joining a club, it could be more about that.

Going to college is more than just focusing on getting a degree. Going to college is about experiencing new things while in an academic setting and clubs can give students a chance to experience life in a way they have not even thought of before. It is so easy to follow a lin ear routine while you go to college. You might expect to just go to school, go to work, and go home, but college is not supposed to be 100% academic all the time.

While it is important to do your school work, college is also about learning how to bal ance life with extracurriculars. Clubs can help you find a solid study group or a new crowd to hang out with. Clubs help create better memories while you are attending college giving students “an active campus life.” Clubs create the campus life portrayed in movies and the different college pamphlets.

While going to college can be an intimidating experience when first getting started. Clubs can help people see that they do not have to do it alone. People from all around join clubs to find a sense of belonging. It is important to open yourself to new experiences in col lege. Clubs can help create these new experiences.

Clubs are an important experience for students to face. It can help open up a new way of life never before thought possible. If you just let it, it can change your college life forever.

Mental Health

LUIZA DE ABREU Staff Columnist

Asthe school year begins, students find themselves suddenly bombarded with as signments and responsibilities after a summer of fun and relaxation. It can feel like such a stark change, going from sitting in the sun and adventuring for months on end to being stuck in a classroom all day and doing homework all night. The drastic switch can negatively impact one’s mental health.

Mental health struggles among college students in the United States is a growing concern that not many people talk about. According to the American Psychology Association, about 41.6% of college students today suffer from anxiety and 36.4% struggle with depression. Men tal health issues among college students has been steadily increasing every year and struggling with these issues can negatively impact your studies. Studies suggest that depression and anxiety can cause decreased focus and lack of motivation, which can cause your grades to slip severely.

There is a huge stigma surrounding mental health and speaking about it openly. However, with almost half of all college students finding themselves struggling with these issues, it should be a more comfortable topic of conversation and finding help doesn’t have to feel difficult.

Georgia State has a counseling center on campus that offers six free counseling sessions for all students. This is a great option for someone who doesn’t have health insurance and can’t afford to seek therapy elsewhere. In addition to the physical counseling center, there are many online options for those who don’t feel comfortable taking the full leap into in-person therapy sessions.

Togetherall.com is a website where students can support each other through mental health crises. The site is monitored by licensed therapists and also has many helpful articles on man aging stress and coping with bouts of depression. Bewell.gsu.edu is another important online resource. It is a digital magazine with a well of knowledge and resources about overall health and wellness.

The Director of Counseling Services, Dr. Mikyta Daugherty, states on the Georgia State Counseling Center website, “I want Georgia State students to know that they are not alone in their struggle, and I want to promote spaces that encourage a willingness to seek and accept support from each other.”

If you’ve been struggling with your mental health, you can call the Counseling Center at 404-413-1640. If it is an emergency, you can ask to speak to a crisis counselor.

Something incredibly important to remember is that you don’t have to go thrugh this alone. Don’t suffer in silence. There is no shame in asking for help. In fact, it shows quite a bit of strength and maturity. There are resources here to help, so take advantage of them. Mental health should be the number one priority. The only way to thrive in one’s studies is by taking care of oneself.

PHOTO BY: HUNTER LASERNA | THE SIGNAL

PHOTO BY: OWAIS KHAN | THE SIGNAL

ARTS & LIVING

Ken

is Beautiful Chaos

DESMOND LEAKE A&L Editor

It’s the first day of cool temperatures in Atlan ta, and what better way to celebrate the coming of fall by going to a sold-out Ken Carson show. Ken Carson is one of the forerunners of the underground scene currently, and one of the rising stars of Playboi Carti’s Opium label alongside Destroy Lonely and Homixide Gang. Fol lowing the release of his sopho more album “X,” Ken would go on to announce the X-Man Tour, with fellow Opium signees De stroy Lonely and Homicide Gang as openers.

To say that Ken Carson fans are dedicated is an understate ment. An hour before the concert started, there was a line of at least 200 people, most of whom were dressed in all black, in clear imi tation of Carson’s preferred color scheme. As soon as doors opened the energy completely shifted.

“MOSH PIT! MOSH PIT!” someone screams, and the crowd responds by opening the pit be fore any music even begins to start playing. The energy in the room was infectious as these si lent mosh pits slowly began to spread their way across the crowd, egged on by the horde of iPhone’s trying to capture these moments.

After a quick DJ set that holds a similar energy, the duo Homi cide Gang comes out and sets the tone for what the entire show is going to be from here on out. It’s a wild set, with the speakers car rying the drowned-out bass of their beats well as they constantly command the audience to open up the pit. It’s not an exaggeration to say that there wasn’t a single moment without a mosh.

After Homicide Gang’s set, Destroy Lonely comes out around 30 minutes later and his set is definitely the highlight of the show. Coming out practical ly unannounced by the DJ aside from the opening synths of his song “JETLGGD,” Lonely in stantly brings the crowd to life with his energy, with a similar all gas no breaks approach. What separates Lonely’s set is the fact that his performance skills seem to be the best out of Opium’s ris

ing stars right now. He’s still in credibly loud, but his delivery is clear, his vocals are focused, and he raps most of his songs with out running out of breath. It’s an incredibly captivating perfor mance, but also only a teaser for what’s to come.

Finally, it’s time for the rea son most people are here. The X-Man himself. The lights dark en, synths and bass start rattling from the speakers, and Ken Car son emerges screaming “GO!” as the opening chorus to his song of the same name and a call to ac tion for the crowd to go absolute ly insane.

Ken’s set has the energy of the last two sets but up to elev en. There are no slow Ken Car son songs per set, so of course the mosh pits return except this time its practically the entire floor area joining in on the anarchy of the pit. The closest thing that there is to a break in the concert is Ken sarcastically asking the crowd “Are you tired?” to which the crowd always responds with a re sounding no.

Ken as a performer is in credibly animated, he’s constant ly screaming his lyrics and run ning around on both sides of the stage to energize the crowd. Aside from performing, he was a man of few words, aside from asking if the crowd was tired the only non-lyric words to leave his mouth consistently were “Open that sh*t up!” The crowd re sponded to his energy in kind by screaming his lyrics and moshing like it was their last day on earth in a concert that is best summed up as the best example of calland-response ever.

Ken Carson’s performances are a chaotic, adrenaline induc ing affair that definitely isn’t go ing to be everyone’s cup of tea but going to this show as only kind of a Ken Carson fan, one starts to understand just why this man can sell out a tour. In terms of en ergy, there are few artists in the rap game that can move a crowd like he can. The X-Man tour, if anything, proves that Ken Carson can hold his own without being constantly tied to Playboi Carti.

GRACE BRASWELL Associate Arts & Living Editor

After a summer of emp ty streets, campus is once again bursting with life as wide-eyed Georgia State students eagerly scramble back onto campus moving into dorms, apartments and houses to prepare for yet another semester of studies. With classes back in session, student living fa cilities such as Lofts, Commons and Pied mont Central are stuffed to the brim, if not overflowing, with students yearning to have a safe and affordable place to live on campus.

What students were not counting on, however, was the extreme competi tion that took place this semester to find a place to live on campus. This semester, a significant number of students did not receive student housing after spending months on a waitlist hoping with hoping to live on campus.

Most of these students live out of the Atlanta area, meaning they are now hav ing to commute to school for long dis tances or switch to online school. This can be a stressor for students considering the rise in gas prices, wear and tear on cars and the fact that online school is just not the same as regular school.

Chloe Clark, a junior at Georgia State, is one of the students who were heavily af fected by the lack of housing this semes ter. Clark has been staying on campus since her freshman year at Georgia State, and she feels as if receiving housing is al ways a struggle each year. However this year, Clark was unable to receive housing after months of watching the waitlist with an anxious heart, praying that the num bers would move down and she would se cure a spot on campus.

“Housing has never been easy for me,” Clark said. “There is always a super long waitlist, and things never seem organized. I am just so frustrated. I don’t even know how to begin to explain it.”

At Georgia State, freshmen are always given priority when it comes to housing, something Clark feels is unfair. Upper classmen need housing as well, and it does not seem right to give housing to fresh men first, according to Clark.

After not receiving housing for this semester, Clark decided it was in her best interest to switch to online classes, a diffi cult conclusion for her to make consider ing she did not work well with the online material provided during Covid-19. This was the price to pay for Clark, however, because commuting about an hour and 30 minutes from West Point, Georgia to Atlanta every day did not make sense to Clark both financially and time-wise.

“I am terrible with online classes, so I am only taking two this semester,” Clark said. “I am unable to continue my col lege experience because there just wasn’t enough housing on campus this semes ter.”

Although housing at Georgia State can be an extremely frustrating process, there are things Georgia State students can do to secure student housing. Alya sa Johnson, the student assistant of hous ing at Georgia State, started working for student housing about two years ago. Throughout her time working within the housing office, she has accumulated sev eral tips and tricks on how to secure hous ing.

According to Johnson, several of the people applying for housing applied in the

later months of the spring semester. Since housing is so competitive, it is a good idea to apply much earlier than that. Housing applications open Jan. 24, so applying as soon as possible will give students, espe cially upperclassmen, a better chance at gaining housing.

For those that did not get housing in the fall, there will be another application opening Oct. 17 to apply for Georgia State housing in the spring. Students should ap ply as early as possible to secure housing for spring.

“We recommend that students who want to apply for spring apply in Oc tober,” Johnson said. “Once November rolls around, we start receiving an excess amount of applications. It is best to apply either the day of or the week of.”

As for those students who did not get housing, there are other options to look into. Although it can be pricey, there are several apartments and houses around the Atlanta area, and some of these apart ments even take financial aid. Because there are so many students and the com petition is fierce, it is a good idea to have a backup plan just in case student housing does not work out.

“It always is a really frustrating in convenience to not get housing, and we always do apologize for that inconve nience,” Johnson said. “We do not have the capacity to supply housing to all of the student body, so it’s a good idea to look into off-campus housing as well. There is a website called georgiastateoffcampus.com that gives students a lot of options.”

The

signee is one to watch in 2022

GSU’s competitive housing process leaves students without housing GSU housing leaves students with nowhere to stay on campus.

PHOTO BY: HUNTER LASERNA | THE S IGNAL

GSU Women’s Soccer Preview

BANJI BAMIDELE Staff Reporter

The Georgia State Women’s soc cer team seems poised for a run at the Sun Belt champion ship and a possible bid at the NCAA tour nament.

The Sun Belt is filled with brand new additions in James Madison, Old Domin ion and Marshall.

Last season, the team boasted a 9-47 record, with impressive victories against Kennesaw State and Davidson. After a strenuous regular season, the Panthers started their uphill battle in the Sun Belt tournament. In the opening round, Georgia State defeated eleventh-seeded Appalachian State 2-1.

Two days later, the journey to a title would end in the semifinal matchup against South Alabama. A goal in the 50th minute would be the decider and send the Panthers into an offseason surrounded by the retool ing of their approach.

Before building upon the new season commenced, three Panthers were to be honored for their contribution to the team’s success. Forward Brooklyn Fugel earned second-team all-region honors after scor ing seven goals and three assists during her freshman campaign.

Freshman Bree Barley earned thirdteam honors, contributing four goals and an assist. Barley was among the top fresh man in the Sun Belt when it came to shots and shot accuracy.

Lexie Knox also earned third-team honors after giving it her all for the Panthers, logging over 1300 minutes on the field. On the defensive side, Knox contributed to five

shutouts and even assisted twice.

“We are incredibly proud of Lexie, Bree and Brooklyn,” head coach Ed Joyce said. “They are more than deserving of these rec ognitions. Having three All-Region players for the first time, including two freshmen, shows where this program is headed in the future.”

During the offseason, Fugel and senior defender Eva Diez Louis were named to the All-Sun Belt preseason team.

The Sun Belt preseason poll placed the Panthers third in the east division behind two of the newcomers in James Madison and Old Dominion.

One final offseason move occurred when assistant Jack Merchant departed, ac cepting the head coach position at Georgia College. Coach Ed Joyce named graduate assistant T.K. Abderahman as Merchant’s replacement.

Now that all the housekeeping was com pleted, the time came for the season open er against Clayton State. In typical Geor gia State fashion, the women’s soccer team made easy work of the visiting team, featur ing goals from Diez, Anna Diaz and Brooke Hart. The Panthers had 30 shots compared to Clayton State’s one-shot attempt.

Next up, the squad would travel to Murray, Kentucky, and face a familiar foe in Murray State. The familiarity would work in the Panther’s favor with another goal from Diez and junior forward Maddie Johnston.

The Panthers returned home to face a very aggressive Chatanooga squad. The first half was scoreless, as both defenses were staunch and not allowing many shots.

It wasn’t until Barley connected the ball to the back of the goal in the 58th minute that the Panthers held a 1-0 lead. The advantage would not last as Chatanooga equalized in the 87th minute, resulting in a draw.

The following match against Kennesaw State would result in another draw, with goals from Johnston and Diaz.

The matchup against Georgia would play out similarly to last year’s loss, as the Bulldogs came to Atlanta and netted three goals in a shoutout for the Panthers’ first loss of the season.

The Panthers would bounce back in the next two games beating Jacksonville State and Presbyterian, defeating both teams 3-0 and 1-0 respectively.

The match against Mercer would be the final non-conference game of the sea son and the final prep match before confer ence play. Josepha Vercammen and Callee Maughon both scored, giving the Panthers yet another draw on the season, bringing their record to 4-1-3.

A rematch of last year’s semifinal would be the first game the Georgia State would face in their first Sun Belt conference match. The game was a defensive slugfest, featuring five saves from junior goalkeep er Jaddah Foos, ultimately resulting in the fourth draw of the season.

The Panthers sit at 4-1-4 with confer ence games against Louisiana and Coastal Carolina up next on the trot.

Can The Falcons’ Skill Make Up For Their Lack of Depth?

Skill over quantity, will it work?

SKYLER HILL Staff Reporter

According to a poll, 31 fan bases believe this particular NFL team is NOT anywhere near contention. Despite the overwhelming majority, there’s one fanbase that would beg to differ.

This fanbase believes in their team year in and year out. They stand by their side without any fear of the repercussions. Yet the team always finds a way to push the fans closer and closer to a realm of hopelessness.

Being a fan of this team is no easy task, yet there’s still light at the end of the tunnel, and here’s why.

Yes, you guessed it. The team in question is the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons lack depth at almost every position, but sometimes all you need is a lot of skill and a wee bit of luck. The team doesn’t just have any prototypical skill guys. They have the real deal. Skills as in A.J. Terrell, Kyle Pitts, Cordarrelle Patterson, Drake London and former Heisman-winner Marcus Mariota. All of these guys have shown they possess the special abilities to make plays at the highest level and this year shouldn’t be any different.

Let’s begin on the defensive side of the ball. There’s no Falcons defense without naming arguably the best cornerback in the league, A.J. Terrell. The Falcons took a lot of heat after drafting him over other big name guys like Justin Jefferson. Last season, Terrell made a name for himself after allowing only 29 catches for 200 yards..

Terrell is a top cornerback in the league and last year he upped the stakes. In addition to his great stats, he gave opposing quarterbacks plenty of problems as he forced a league-low 47.5 passer rating into his coverage.

On the other side of the ball, Pitts, similar to Terrell, has the capabilities to be the next face of the franchise. Pitts had one of the best tight end rookie seasons to

date. Pitts followed in the Atlanta legend Julio Jones’s footsteps as he passed Jones to become the only rookie in Falcons’ history to amass over 1,000 receiving yards. Pitts was also 51 yards away from passing Mike Ditka’s rookie year receiving yards. Pitts is set to push the Atlanta offense to another level.

It’s impossible to mention the Falcons without mentioning Cordarrelle Patterson. He’s bounced around the league, but it seems he found his perfect match here in Atlanta. Last year, Patterson kept the Falcons” afloat as he was used at a variety of positions on the field. When lined up at running back, he averaged 4.0 yards per rush and put up 618 yards on 153 attempts. He went on to cross the 1000 all-purpose yard mark for the first time in his career. If he can remain as electric as he was last year, this offense could be a real issue for opposing defensive coordinators.

Offseason acquisitions Marcus Mariota and Drake London are new to the scene, but the film speaks for itself on both guys. We saw Mariotta and London ball out of control throughout their college years. Mariota had a shaky NFL career thusfar, but based on interviews and body language, he seems to be extremely ready for another shot at playing quarterback in the NFL. London is entering his rookie season in the NFL, but the ceiling is high nonetheless. He proved himself at The University of Southern California and Atlanta fans hope that success can translate to the league.

Yes, the Falcons lack many things on each side of the ball. It’ll be a grind all year for the fans, staff and players. Atlanta fans, buckle in and get your popcorn ready because the Falcons may emerge as a threat in the NFC.

PHOTO BY: TRENT LEGASPI | THE S IGNAL

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