The Signal Vol. 84 No. 28

APRIL 11 - APRIL 18, 2017

VOL. 84 | NO. 28

The signal at georgia State University

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GEORGIA ON HER MIND A conversation with freshman beach volleyball starter Georgia Johnson

SPORTS Page 17

PHOTO BY ETHAN MITCHAM | THE SIGNAL

Georgia State beach volleyball player Georgia Johnson serves the ball over to Lincoln Memorial during the Diggin’ Duals tournament, April 1, 2017

Inside COMPUTER LAB TROUBLE

expanding marta

The power of music

The Atlanta Music Program gives the education of music to children of all ages and status.

First year college pitcher Hunter Gaddis has emerged as the Panther's new ace.

News | Page 5

Opinion| Page 7

A&L | page 9

Sports | page 16

The College of Education is closing their computer lab and students react.

As MARTA’s expansion begins to see more funding, rails should be the focus.

DAILY NEWS AT WWW.GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

News 3

Opinions 7

gad' it

Arts & Living 11

Sports 19

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NEWS

www.georgiastatesignal.com/news

International student applications drop within the US Nearly 40 percent of colleges are seeing declines in international student applications

PAGE DESIGN & ILLUSTRATIONS BY DEVIN PHILLIPS | THE SIGNAL KRISTEN ROGERS & CHRISTINA MAXOURIS Staff Reporter & News Editor

I

nternational student college applications in the United States have dropped, and studies blame the perception of the country’s political environment.

An inter-associational survey released on April 4 by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) shows that 38 percent of responding institutions reported a decline in international applications, particularly in the Middle East. Declines were also noted for students from China and India.

According to Heather Housley, Georgia State’s director of International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS), Georgia State did not participate in this survey, but does participate annually in the Institute of International Education’s (IIE) Open Doors report.

Housley said that undergraduate admissions has not yet seen a decrease in international applicants for fall 2017.

“A major downturn in international enrollment at [Georgia State] would certainly be a blow to our incredibly diverse campus climate, and remove important global perspectives from classroom discussions and campus interactions,” she said.

The report shows that the highest percentage of concerns emanate from the Middle East (79 percent), India (46 percent), Asia, excluding China and India, (36 percent) and Latin America (34 percent).

Nearly 300 U.S. institutions responded to the short survey, representing all sizes, types and geographic diversity of higher education in the U.S. Thirty-five percent of responding institutions reported an increase, while 27 percent reported no difference in applicant numbers.

Sharon Witherell, director of public affairs at the IIE, said that the survey is simply a “snapshot” of the trends highlighted so far, and does not look directly into applicant numbers because of the depth of those reports. However, this benchmark information helps institutions adjust strategies for fall 2017.

IIE’s Open Doors report data from the 2015-2016 academic year shows that there are more than 100,000 students from the Middle East studying in the U.S., and 47 percent of U.S. international students come from India and China.

UNWELCOMING ENVIRONMENT

According to the report, international educators expressed concern that the political climate surrounding foreign nationals in the U.S. approaching the 2016 presidential election might be damaging to international student recruitment efforts.

The survey notes that the most frequently noted concerns of international students and their families include perceptions of rising student visa denials at U.S. embassies, that benefits and restrictions around visas could change, and the perception that the climate in the U.S. is now “less welcoming to individuals from other countries.”

The responses were coded by keyword, then grouped thematically. The comments around the unwelcome climate theme included concerns “around xenophobia, anti-Muslim sentiment, [and] discrimination.”

Concerns in the Middle East grouped around five themes:

immigration, unwelcome, political, unemployment, and economic. The top two were immigration and unwelcome.

The “theme of risk” was specific to China, citing fear, safety, and general unspecified worry.

Concerns also entail the possibility that the executive order travel ban might extend to more countries, and that visa changes could affect the ability to travel, re-entry after travel, and employment opportunities.

In response, six higher education organizations launched an inter-associational survey in February 2017 due to “increased and continued focus on immigration issues,” the report reads.

In addition to AACRAO, the survey effort was led by the Institute of International Education (IIE), NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the International Association for College Admission Counseling (IACAC) and the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC).

The responses from Latin America were also significant, with immigration and an unwelcome climate being their top two concerns as well, stated “the political tension between the United States and Mexico has clearly impacted the desirability of the U.S. as well.”

According to Melanie Gottlieb, deputy director at AACRAO, the primary driver of the survey was to establish if the issues were isolated or a larger trend.

Gottlieb said that responding schools indicated that they are engaging in additional travel, marketing and communication to students in order to counteract the perceptions that international students are less welcome.

“If individual institutions cannot effectively mitigate the negative perceptions, they could see a lower enrollment of international students in the fall,” Gottlieb said. “International students contribute to college campuses in a variety of ways.”

Gottlieb listed several ways in which international students contribute to college campuses, including financially.

“International students often pay a higher tuition rate and receive less financial aid than domestic students, which translates into higher revenue for institutions,” Gottlieb said. “That revenue allows them to support the whole academic program.”

The report says that the data could be an “early indicator of a potential slowdown or decrease in international student enrollments for the Fall 2017 enrollment period, a decline which would have major negative economic impacts for institutions and could potentially result in an increase in tuition for U.S. students.”

Michael Reilly, executive director of AACRAO, said, “Institutions are struggling to reassure students that their studies or travels will not be disrupted by future policy changes during this period of tremendous uncertainty."

Gottlieb added that colleges and universities are “charged with graduating students with the skills necessary to compete in a global marketplace,” and that’s why it is important to maintain a diverse population.

“These skills include cultural competence and the ability to work in diverse teams. One of the ways the institutions do this is by enrolling a diverse population of students, including international students,” Gottlieb said. “If we lose our ability to enroll international students, we lose a crucial, pedagogical and

Overall Number of International Applications for Fall 2017 Nearly 40 percent of institutions reported an overall decrease in international student applications, and 27 percent of institutions reported no change from the previous year.

cultural aspect of the university.”

The Georgia State data from last year’s report shows that current international enrollment entail 3,076 students, including the Perimeter campus. Sixty-eight percent of international students who are enrolled in the Downtown Atlanta campus are graduate students.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ IMPACT

Housley said that not only would a decline in international student numbers impact Georgia State’s budget, but also have a negative economic effect on the state of Georgia.

The state’s 21,000 plus international students contribute $683 million to the state economy and support 9,482 jobs (per the 2016 IIE Open Doors Report). As Gottlieb said, international students often have higher tuition than domestic students and less financial aid, therefore putting greater financial support into institutions.

Housley said that recent federal changes may also impact the fall term’s international student numbers, saying that “new restrictions on visa issuance as well as federal hiring freezes will undoubtedly cause longer visa delays this fall for incoming international students.”

“If visa delays are too long, students may miss too many days and weeks of fall classes and need to delay to spring term,” Housley said. “The recent executive order that included a travel ban for citizens of six countries has been blocked in the courts thus far, and therefore should have no impact on [Georgia State] international students or scholars.”

She said that Georgia State’s ISSS office has received multiple questions and concerns from current and possible future students regarding the current political climate in the U.S. The concerns usually entail how possible actions of the new administration could impact students’ stay in the U.S, and if Atlanta and Georgia State are welcoming of internationals.

“Despite the negative political rhetoric, international education and internationalization is at the heart of American higher education,” Gottlieb said. “I’m confident that this is a short term blip, and long-term, our global position as the leading destination for international students will continue.”

NEWS

4

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

College grants are in danger of being cut Low-income and minority students may have to find a new way to pay their tuition MICHELLE TABRIZI Staff Reporter

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resident Donald Trump’s budget for 2018, coined the “America First” budget, proposes cuts of over $5 billion from federal financial aid programs, such as the Pell Grant, which help low income students and African American students.

Trump proposed cutting $3.9 billion from the program next year, as well as $1.3 billion from this year. The program awards up to $5,920 to students from low-income families to help pay for college, and the grant does not have to be paid back, unlike a loan.

Georgia State student Lillian Teffere, a recipient of the Pell Grant, said the grant helps pay for 75 percent of her college tuition, but she still needs loans to pay the rest. “[The Pell Grant] is the only way I can afford to go [to college], since I pay for school all on my own,” Teffere said. “If I didn’t have Pell Grant, I wouldn’t be able to go to school anymore.”

For Teffere and others who receive the Pell Grant, it is often their only means of getting a higher education.

“I wish funding cuts wouldn’t happen because, other than myself, a lot of people I know need that funding to go to school or have any kind of access to education,” Teffere said.

Another Georgia State student Lauren Jones, also a Pell Grant recipient, said she used to receive more from the grant her freshman year of college, but now she gets “next to nothing” from it.

“If I didn’t have Pell, I would probably just be in more debt, because I would have to pay tuition with credit cards,” Jones said.

She said she believes the cuts are a way to keep low-income people from going to college and to push students who are in need further into debt.

“I feel as though it’s a move to further keep poor people, who are primarily minorities, away from higher education or to just keep them in debt and make the most money off of the poor,” Jones said.

According to Mark Huelsman, Senior Policy Analyst at Demos, a public policy organization that works for equal opportunity, research shows that a majority of those who receive Pell already take out the most loans. The second largest group to take out loans are African-American students. For that reason, Huelsman believes Pell Grant should be expanded, not cut.

“If low-income students who receive Pell Grant receive five sometimes close to six thousand dollars in some cases and they still have to borrow, that means we need to expand Pell Grant,” Huelsman said. “The goal of the Pell Grant was to provide students who couldn't afford college right away a level playing field to students from wealthier families.”

According to Huelsman, the cuts continue a pattern of making college unaffordable for low-income and minority students.

“I think that cutting student aid continues us down a path where college because less and less affordable for the people who traditionally have been underserved by higher education generally,” Huelsman said.

Huelsman said it’s important to remember that the budget cuts are just proposals that still need to be approved by Congress, and is not likely, even impossible, for the proposal to pass members of both parties completely unchanged.

Marcella Bombardieri, senior policy analyst on the Postsecondary Education team at the Center for American Progress, said the cuts will be taken out of the grant surplus.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY LAHAR SAMANTARAI | THE SIGNAL

President Trump’s budget blueprint includes cuts to the Pell Grant and other financial aid programs.

While this means the impacts will most likely not be immediate, according to Bombardieri, it could put students at risk in the coming years.

“There is a very serious risk that raiding the surplus now will mean that students will lose financial aid in future years. The next time that there is an economic downturn, it's likely that more people will go back to college, and the government would need to dip into the surplus to serve all those students," Bombardieri said.

“Also, it's important to note that the surplus did not appear out of thin air, students really paid for it already through a number of cuts to federal financial aid benefits that were made a few years ago.”

And while Bombardieri admits that Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), a program Trump has proposed cutting entirely, as well as work study, which will receive a number of cuts, are both flawed programs, she does not believe it is a good reason to remove them or reduce funding.

“Those programs both have some design flaws and could be improved upon. But they still provide vital support to students with great financial need,” Bombardieri said. “The fact that they aren't perfect is no excuse for cutting them.”

Bombardieri warns of the impact these cuts could have on students in need.

“The Trump budget blueprint would have devastating consequences for low-income and minority college students and those who aspires to get a college degree,” Bombardieri said.

“While the President has said he wants to make college more affordable, this is a deliberate attempt to make it harder for poor and minority students to get the education they need to build middle-class lives.”

WHAT DOES PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP'S BUDGET PROPOSE?

According to CNN

$30 BILLION

Defense Spending and Funds for Border Security

$3 BILLION

Education Programs

$66 MILLION

Senior Corps

$434 MILLION

Senior Community Service Employment Program

$314 MILLION

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

$439 MILLION

AmeriCorps

FIND OUT ABOUT TRUMP'S OTHER BUDGET PROPOSALS ONLINE AT GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

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the signal at georgia state university

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

5

NEWS

One less computer lab on campus Last Week Students say they were left out of the decision for a service they use daily

Local

Thunderstorm causes five days of flight delays

Thunderstorms on April 5 has caused for Delta Airline cancellations and delays.

According to AJC, more than 3,300 flights have been cancelled through Sunday.

One of the major issues that caused the large amount of cancellations is because the thunderstorms lasted longer and Delta was not prepared for the severity of the storms. Delta also had security concerns to address, before allowing fights to continue. According to David Marcontell, general manager of aviation consulting firm Cavok, a pilot is supposed to have a mandatory nine hours of rest before continuing to fly and that causes flights that are already delayed to have to wait longer.

Georgia State students use the computer lab located on the second floor of the College of Education building.

CHRISTINA MAXOURIS News Editor

T

he College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) has decided it’s doing away with their second-floor computer lab after budget cuts, but some students in the College feel they were purposely kept out of the loop.

The College’s Administrative Officer Matt Gillett said the budget “redirection” left them with two choices — to lay off people, or to take away the computer lab, otherwise known as the Instructional Technology Center (ITC). And the latter came as the more attractive option as the computer lab, he said, is a duplicate service anyway.

But computer lab student employee Brandon Simpson said that is not the case. “[The students that come here] don’t want to be in the crowded library. It’s more silent than the library, people can rent out equipment,” he said. “It’s the most used space in the College of Education.”

As for the money, he said the computer lab is well worth it.

“How are you going to take away a space that’s costing a lot of money, [when] it’s costing a lost of money for good reason?”

But Dean of the College, Paul Alberto, said the university’s budget redirection left their College with no other choice. It’s up to the Georgia State president to determine where to put how much money, and how to prioritize, and according to Dr. Alberto, that left the College with a loss of $700,000.

“When you’re trying to get $700,000 sometimes you pick things that people don’t like. In this case, [closing the computer lab] is saving us somewhere close to $200,000 and this is the fourth year in a row I’ve been making cuts at a budget time,” he said. ‘It’s not like we haven’t done lots of other things before we came to this.”

Taking away the computer lab, Dr. Alberto said was the only way to keep everything else at the College running.

“No staff was let go, no faculty was let go, no programs were closed,” he said.

But despite the tough decision, Keionna Lamar, student employee at the lab said she feels like there’s a disconnect between the administration and the students, because faculty don’t realize how much students use the space.

“I don’t understand how money is a problem

since it’s utilized on a daily basis. I don’t understand how the administration can take away something the students utilize so much,” she said.

According to Simpson and former Early Childhood Education major Nija Nelson, the space is vital for students’ success within the college.

The College of Education computer lab provides 1-1 assistance with education-specific projects, videos, and sessions and has been in place for close to 25 years. “{Students are here] five days a week to pass their classes. They use this place for study sessions with their study coaches,” she said. “I don’t know what I would have done if this space didn’t exist.”

And often times, the computer lab serves as the only place older students can turn to for basic things like checking their email, and having someone patiently walk them through technological services they may not be familiar with.

Lamar said that collaboration and convenience are what make the place so special.

“It’s sad. Grad students are ticked off about it — it’s hard to get a room reserved in the library, and even worse a computer. And elderly students were upset as well,” she said. “We offer patient help and assistance with knowing how to print, and getting their e-mail.”

All three employees said they first heard about the decision about a month ago.

“It’s been a topic of discussion for a while,” Lamar said. “It was about a month, a month and a half ago when they made the decision.” But even that decision wasn’t shared with students. E-mails went out to employees, but the students of the College of Education were not notified.

On April 7, two hours after The Signal spoke with Gillett, students received their first notification.

Addressed to the CEHD students, the email said the ITC will be closed permanently starting May 5 after necessary fund redirects.

“It was determined that many of the services offered by the ITC were duplicated elsewhere on the downtown campus, and therefore the decision was made to close in order to redirect the center’s budget - which is funded fully through state funds - elsewhere.”

The email stated that originally the space was created to “provide the college’s external partners, such as schools systems, assistance with instruction in new technologies.” However, according to administration, that’s no longer needed.

CEHD student Sarah Roberts started a petition

PHOTO BY JADE JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

as soon as she heard about the decision. She put up flyers in all floors of the building, and gathered 191 signatures in a petition she left at the computer lab front desk, as well as feedback to an online survey about the computer lab’s usage.

She said she feels students were not properly informed about a decision that will have such a big impact on their academic lives.

“The dean, Dr. Alberto, seems to be doing everything he can to silence the students. It’s as if he’s sticking his fingers in his ears so he won’t have to hear from us. As a tuition-paying student, I only ask to be informed and heard concerning decisions that affect the services so many of us use for studying,” she said.

Roberts said student employees were instructed by administration to take down the flyers, and take the petition off from the ITC front desk.

“They were told to take down the posters, until they asked permission, because that’s what it says in the [Georgia State] guidelines. We would have been fine with them putting up one of their posters on the ITC. But they didn’t, and so they were shown what is down at the lobby, which is the Georgia State policy,” Dr. Alberto said. “If they had come to us we would have let them put up one flyer by the ITC.” Roberts found out about the ITC shutting down from a professor, and then started asking around.

“The professor said it was because of “budget cuts” and because it wasn’t utilized enough. The lab is often so full that it is difficult to find a seat,” Roberts said.

“This is nothing we’re trying to hide,” Alberto said. “We do that [communicate the decision] through the departments and the department chairs who’ve been in this discussion for months.

Each department would communicate with their students differently. I can’t tell you what each of them did.”

And as for the budget cuts, Roberts is not buying it.

“I know they say they don't have enough money to keep it going but it keeps running through my head, ‘Why did they buy all new computers and new smart boards if they didn't have the money? What’s going to happen to all of those new computers?’” she said.

As for the future of the space, Dr. Alberto said he will be in discussions and taking suggestions from department heads, but it will continue to be College space and used for College purposes.

National

President Trump gives first check to National Park Service According to , President Donald Trump donated his first check, valuing at $78,333.32, to the National Park Service, in order to keep his campaign promise to not retain all of the yearly presidential salary. Trump’s secretary, Sean Spicer presented the money in the form of the large check made out to the Department of the Interior.

While this seemed like a nice gesture, it may be useless due to the amount of money it may lose under his proposed budget plan. According to Learning English, Trump’s will cut $1.5 billion dollars from the department, which is or 12 percent of its total budget.

Global

U.S. Missile strike satisfies everyone else but Russia Many world leaders praised and agreed with the United States’ decision to launch a missile strike in Syria, after the chemical attack. Russia, however, was not too satisfied with this move. According to Global News, the attack killed seven people and wounded at least nine. President Vladimir Putin said in a statement that he considered the strike a splinter in the U.S.’s relationship with Russia. “This move by Washington … has dealt a serious blow to Russian-U.S. relations, which are already in a poor state,” Putin said.

Renan Levine, assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto, Scarborough said that the strike might be a stunt to prove that Trump does not have any ties with Russia.

NEWS

6

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

Families save with tax deductibles

Protesters set up Tent City for CBA

KOFI STILES Staff Reporter

S

aving for college can be difficult for many families, but Georgia’s Path2College 529 Plan offers an effective method to help families pay for school.

The 529 Plan allows parents or other members of the family to invest up to $4,000 a year for a child’s college fund and receive a tax deduction for the investment amount. The investment will build up with interest and can be withdrawn from the Path2College account when a family's children are set for college.

“As long as you pull the money out for qualified education expenses that are post-secondary, which is tuition, room and board, books or anything required for attendance at a postsecondary Title IV institution, then all of your earnings come out tax free,” a spokesperson for the consulting team of Path2College said.

While the savings plan comes with market risk, Path2College offers a way to avoid losing out from the investment.

“If you put the money in the Fixed Guaranteed Account, that’s paying a fixed rate of return, then there is no risk,” the spokesperson said.

Shainesh Singh, Microbiology Professor at Morehouse School of Medicine, fathers a student at Georgia State but didn’t rely on savings plans to put his child through college.

“I thought the [529 Plan] was not wise, you have to have a cash flow where you can pay [for college]. I don’t have a the philosophy of saving for something I may or may not see,” Singh said.

One of Singh’s children forewent his college education. From this experience, Singh refrained from saving up for college.

“The money you are keeping aside, you need today. If [my child] wants to go to college and he’s really serious, he might get his own scholarship so you don’t need the money [from an investment],” Singh said.

Other Georgia State families couldn’t save for

KERRIE HEAD Staff Reporter

T

PHOTO BY HANNAH GRECO | THE SIGNAL

Claiming college students on your taxes can save you a lot of money.

college due to financial woes. For business major Chris Sananikone, the 2008 recession prevented his family from saving up enough money to send all their kids to college.

“Initially my dad was into stock investments so he started investing in long term stock, eventually 2008 hit and it didn’t go too well. Later he had to invest [the money he got from earlier stocks] into other assets to increase his income revenue. So basically my parents didn’t really save anything for me,” Sananikone said.

Executive Director of Path2College Mitch Seabaugh said the plan is set up to benefit lower income or higher income families equally.

“There is no difference with regards to your income level, it’s an opportunity to save money

and have your money work for you in the investment field so that when it’s time to go to college you’ll have some money there,” Seabaugh said.

For Seabaugh, having savings opportunities offered by plans like Path2College has been crucial in the success of students.

“There are many stories of individuals who have had the opportunity to go to the school they wanted to go to—to attain the degree that they wanted—and because they saved some money, it made it possible,” Seabaugh said.

Read more online at georgiastatesignal.com

This year’s ‘religious freedom’ bill for adoptive parents ANGIE ROSETE Staff Reporter

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new bill provision, which would allow private adoption agencies who receive state funding to deny services to anyone they feel doesn't align with their "mission statement," is being pointed out by LGBT as a direct attack on same-sex couples.

House Bill 159 (HB 159) was introduced in the Georgia House of Representatives by Rep. Bert Reeves to help update Georgia's adoption policies and help facilitate the process. However, a provision added by Sen. William Ligon would turn down certain people that want to become parents.

Section 4 of the bill states that "a childplacing agency may decide not to accept a referral for foster care or adoption services under a contract with the department based on the child-placing agency’s mission as evidenced by its written policy, statement or other document.”

"If you want to take down barriers so that more children can find forever homes, you don't place unsupported restrictions on people (…) and I don't believe that religious liberty bills are consistent with how the framers of the constitution defined religious liberty," Dr. Sarah Cook said a Georgia State psychology professor.

Tent City

Dr. Cook is an adoptive mother of two.

As a former social worker, Dr. Cook said she has witnessed how kids are often moved around when in foster care and that this often leads to traumatic experiences.

“The emotional consequences of multiple placements or disruptions are likely to be harmful at any age, and the premature return of a child to the biologic parents often results in return to foster care or ongoing emotional trauma to the child. Children with attachment disorders and an inability to trust and love often grow up to vent their rage and pain on society,” according to research done by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

If HB 159 were to pass with this amendment, Dr. Cook believes it will keep more children in foster care as a result of the rejection of many foster parent applicants.

"The research [on same-sex parenting] is pretty clear that children who live in households with gay and lesbian parents are no more less well-adjusted than living in a household with two parents of different sexes," Dr. Cook said.

Instead, Dr. Cook stressed the importance of having parents that can provide emotional stability and predictability to a child's life.

Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver is one of the sponsors of HB 159, but said she is also against the new amendment.

"In the General Assembly, we frequently (...) update statues, modernize them, bring them in

compliance with new statues, and we're happy to support the expert lawyers in adoption who are bringing this bill to the capital," Rep. Oliver said.

She said she anticipates that the additional provision will likely be taken off in order to get passed. Rep. Oliver also mentioned how Governor Deal has expressed opposition to this addition to the bill.

The state legislative session concluded without the signing of HB 159 as the members of the senate refused to vote. This means the bill is on hold, but may be eligible for voting next year.

Sen. Ligon, the one who proposed the added amendment to HB 159, said that he feels that his provision is simply “preserving the status quo.” He compared it to how private Christian schools and other faith-based schools have mission statements that allow them to cater to specific groups.

“For the last 100 years or more, faith-based organizations have provided child-placing services in the United States and what we’ve seen happen in some of the states is that these agencies have gone out of business because the state would not allow them to operate with their mission,” Sen. Ligon said.

Read more online at georgiastatesignal.com

he ongoing battle for a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) continues as Atlanta residents and student protesters have set up camps outside of Turner Field indefinitely to urge Georgia State and the project developers to acknowledge and sign the document.

Georgia State Police Department (GSUPD) said the protesters will be allowed to stay until Aug. 31, when the Georgia State Panthers will start using the stadium.

After years of negotiations amounting to no CBA, the demonstration, gaining attention as “Tent City,” is an effort for residents, housing groups and student organizers with United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) to address the various issues coupled with the redevelopment of Turner Field and the gentrification of the surrounding community.

After a community march held on April 1, residents pitched tents outside of Turner Field. These residents plan to occupy the space until the CBA is signed.

“We want [the CBA] signed, sealed, and delivered,” Ryann Flynn, a student with USAS said.

In response to the protests, Georgia State President Mark Becker is calling the demonstration “a publicity stunt,” claiming that the university and the project development team are working to address the concerns of the neighborhood communities.

USAS organizer, Grana said that because of the little acknowledgment the Turner Field Community Benefits Coalition has received from President Becker, the coalition and its allies have taken protests a step further.

Throughout the past week, USAS posted videos on its Facebook page of residents’ testaments regarding why this particular kind of demonstration was chosen.

“We are galvanizing our residents because we believe that no development that can be redeveloped should be without community input, and we have not been able to have some community input as of now,” resident Alison Johnson said in one of the videos.

“The housing market is going up so that means [the students’] housing cost is going to go up, and that’s not fair,” resident Bertha Darden said in another clip.

OPINION

www.georgiastatesignal.com/opinions

The next step in MARTA’s expansion To ensure economic expansion, MARTA’s rail services require investment

ILLUSTRATION BY PHILIP DURAL | THE SIGNAL

A

WESLEY DUNKIRK Associate Opinions Editor

Wesley is a sophomore at Georgia State majoring in English. Outside of his passions for writing and reading, Wesley rows crew with Georgia State and follows the American political scene.

Tweet Wesley @wesleydunkirk

fter years of contentious debate, Atlanta’s transit options are finally being moved in the right direction.

In November, Atlanta residents voted to approve a sales tax referendum which would raise $3.5 billion over the next 35 years to support efforts in expanding the Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) throughout the Metro Atlanta area. For Atlanta to continue its expansion as one of the largest economies in the southeast, having an expansive and reliable form of public transit is necessary.

As businesses begin to move into the Atlanta area, Atlanta residents need efficient methods of transportation to reach those businesses.

MARTA offers those methods. Now that it has been decided that more money will be added towards the expansion of MARTA, there is a new debate regarding which aspects of MARTA the money should be spent. While there are many complicated areas of MARTA that could use the additional money, the conflict will mostly surround whether more money should be spent on either the rail or bus services.

The MARTA bus system helps transport thousands of people everyday. It is easy to access and can take commuters to places throughout Atlanta that the rail line cannot access. Joey de St Aubin, Georgia State student and intern in MARTA’s long range planning department, does not speak for MARTA but spoke to The Signal regarding information MARTA has made him aware of. De St Aubin said that MARTA is currently exploring multiple options for bus expansion.

“MARTA is [...] looking into increased bus service, which includes increasing the frequency on select routes to match rail frequencies, adding new community circulator routes to serve people closer to their homes, and a possible bus rapid transit line along Northside Drive,” de St Aubin said.

MARTA busses help connect areas that could be difficult to access for those without a vehicle.

The many benefits offered by MARTA’s bus service make it easy to create an argument that expanding the busses is the best option for those making the decisions on what the sales tax referendum money

should go towards.

For Georgia State students, buses can help in many cases but are often not as important as rail lines. There is a MARTA rail line on the Georgia State campus that sees heavy traffic from Georgia State students. Traditionally a commuter school, Georgia State benefits greatly from the MARTA rail line on campus. Other areas within Metro Atlanta should be able to experience this benefit as well.

“The possible projects include several rail extensions such as the Clifton Corridor light rail line, the Blue Line west heavy rail extension, the Atlanta BeltLine streetcar routes, and a Light rail line to Greenbriar mall,” de St Aubin said in regards to what opportunities MARTA is pursuing to expand on its rail lines.

Establishing a line in the Emory area would allow students at another major Atlanta’s university to commute from their campus to numerous parts of Atlanta. With Emory’s campus being a hub for medical work in Atlanta as well, it would also expedite the commute of many individuals in that field. It is already quite shocking that one of Metro Atlanta’s major universities has gone so long without access to a rail line. However, it is not the only area in need of rail access, though.

Another opportunity for rail expansion that has been given much discussion is expanding the Red Line further north past the North Springs stations. Roswell, Alpharetta and Marietta are all portions of Metro Atlanta that contain many suburban commuters and have much to gain from the addition of a rail line. To continue Atlanta’s economic expansion, an expansive transit service that reaches far throughout the state is imperative, especially in such heavily populated areas that are near the inner city and contain a large number of people commuting to the city everyday.

While busses help numerous people get to specific locations within Atlanta, the best way to ensure that the city continues to make progress toward significant economic expansion is to invest into seriously expanding MARTA’s rail services.

DID YOU KNOW? IN NOVEMBER 2016, A SALES TAX REFERENDUM WAS PASSED THAT COULD RAISE UP TO $3.5 BILLION OVER THE NEXT 35 YEARS TO BE PUT TOWARD THE EXPANSION OF MARTA. (According to bizjournals.com) MARTA REPORTS THAT OVER 500,000* PEOPLE USE ITS TRANSIT SERVICE EVERY DAY. (According to itsmarta.com) POSSIBLE EXPANSION OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDE: • • • • • • • • •

Clifton Corridor light rail line Blue Line west heavy rail extension Atlanta BeltLine streetcar routes Light rail line to Greenbriar mall A station at Mechanicsville on the Red and Gold lines A station on Joseph Boone Blvd on the Green Line Bus rapid transit line along Northside drive Increasing the frequency on select bus routes to match rail frequencies Adding new community circulator routes to serve people closer to their homes

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ARTS & LIVING

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THE ATLANTA MUSIC PROJECT Inspiring social change through music education

PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY ANTHONY ALSTON JR.

Cellists and bassist of the Atlanta Music Project perform at Sylvan Hills Middle School.

SOPHIA MARCHESE Staff Reporter

A

s a nonprofit dedicated to social change, the Atlanta Music Project (AMP) gives children of low-income communities the opportunity to learn music, offering tuition-free training that would be otherwise inaccessible in their underserved school districts.

“It’s a serious issue in Atlanta,” Dantes Rameau, professional bassoonist and AMP Executive Director, said. “If you’re growing up in certain parts of the city, particularly south of I-20… you don’t have access to the same kinds of extracurriculars.”

Many public grade schools rely on local revenues, meaning that the amount of money allocated to a school may heavily depend on the community in which it exists. This leads to programming disparities within and across Metro Atlanta’s school systems.

“Districts with more resources can…provide students with enrichment activities and supportive services [that are] missing in cash-strapped districts,” according to the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education.

Public schools in areas of poverty are less likely to include extracurricular programs — especially music education — simply because it is not financially possible.

That is where the Atlanta Music Project steps in to save the day.

A CHILD’S RIGHT

Despite the lack of musical enrichment programs in our city’s underprivileged schools, AMP believes that music education is not a privilege, but a right, and that it can be used as a fundamental building block in childhood development.

“Music is a discipline [that] requires a lot of individual work—processing what you’re doing wrong and strategizing how to fix it,” Rameau said.

“In fact, that process in itself — figuring out how you’re going to play your instrument better — is a process of self-improvement.”

Programs offered by AMP go a step further than a mere after-school extracurricular. The project encourages confidence and ambition in its students, with rigorous musical training in

orchestral and choral programming.

“Everyone should be given this opportunity,” Rameau said. “It’s too valuable to not be standard.”

AMP understands that music is a powerful tool with an ability to shape principles and behaviors universally.

THE MUSICAL ROAD TO SOCIAL CHANGE

“There’s no better teacher of personal responsibility and grit than a music instrument,” Rameau said. “The instrument won’t sound so great unless you work at it…And if you work at it intentionally, you will get results.”

The Atlanta nonprofit provides its students with instruments of their very own and two hours of thorough instructions, led by AMP’s experienced teaching artists, every three to five days.

Most of the project’s enrolled students have no prior exposure to musical instruction whatsoever.

In fact, most of the children have never even laid hands on an instrument.

“One of the most valuable things … about teaching with the Atlanta Music Project is watching the growth and development of the students,” Teaching Artist Keeyen Martin said in a recent GPB News article. “A lot of them [have] little to no knowledge of music…and over the course of a semester or over the course of a year, they evolve to a young musician.”

The initiative opens up new doors of opportunity for these youngsters, allowing them to tap into their creativity and express their inner artist that may have otherwise remained idle.

Students are taught either under the program’s orchestral unit or the choral program, known as AMPlify. Since many students have no prior music training, neither of AMP’s general programs require the children to audition.

“If a child shows commitment to showing up, we will accept them,” Rameau said. “But some kids are quite good…They work hard and they want to pursue music seriously — for them, we have an audition based program called the AMP Academy.”

The academy provides advanced, top-quality music training to AMP’s most dedicated students.

It’s designed for the project’s existing musicians who want to further cultivate their craft with private instructions and two required solo

performances per year.

TO PLAY AND TO STRIVE

AMP is the birth child of Venezuela’s El Sistema, a globally acclaimed music program founded by José Antonio Abreu in 1975. Abreu’s initial motive was to improve the lives and futures of impoverished children through intense classical music training.

In 2009, Abreu was awarded the TED Prize, which helps progressive leaders with their intended social change. TED not only contributed $100,000 to Abreu’s mission, but the organization also granted him one “wish to change the world.”

Abreu’s wish was to implement El Sistema’s work internationally, specifically in the United States, by introducing a training program for 50 young musicians that showed advocacy for social justice and passion for their artistic craft.

Basically, Abreu wanted to create a fellowship of post-graduates to help spread his mission around the world—and fortunate for our city, Rameau was one of Abreu’s fellows.

The Sistema Fellows Program integrated classes, internships, and a two-month study in Venezuela—all of which helped Rameau better understand El Sistema’s philosophies and practices.

After graduating from the one-year program, he brought his knowledge to Atlanta and cofounded the Atlanta Music Project.

AMPED UP FOR SOCIAL ACTIVISM

The City of Atlanta’s Department of Parks and Recreation graciously partners with AMP by providing centers in which after-school orchestral instruction takes place.

The students are transported from their public schools to the recreational centers. They are provided with homework help before music lessons and then given a warm meal before parent pick-up in the evenings.

In addition to contributions from the city, AMP encourages all Atlanta residents to get involved.

Atlantans with unused or lightly used musical instruments are urged to contribute to AMP’s instrument donation program, which is compensated with tax deductions.

For those interested in hands-on contributions, there is an AMP Street Team that donates time

AMP TESTIMONIAL “AMPlify has given [my son] a lifeline. When everything else failed, this choral program helped him thrive through music.”

-Shiba Whitaker Mother of 2nd year AMP student (According to AMP)

and energy towards students’ concerts and performances. The team of volunteers ensure that each event goes according to schedule.

The AMP Music Mentor program is a great opportunity for Atlanta’s young adult musicians that want to assist in teaching the project’s students. In exchange for their time, mentors are rewarded community service hours for high school graduation.

MAKING A [NOTE]ABLE DIFFERENCE

Mentors aren’t the only ones with graduation on the mind. Rameau said that for some students, commitment can take them from the very beginning all the way to a college scholarship.

AMP offers scholarships within the project as well, teaching the importance of long and short term goals.

In 2016, two students were granted a new pair of Allen Edmonds performance shoes through an in-house scholarship. Violinist Cierra Butler and cellist Danielle Liburd were awarded for their excellence on a submitted essay.

“It’s amazing to realize what options these kids would not have had if they weren’t given the chance to be a part of the Atlanta Music Project,” Rameau said.

AMP lessens the effects of unequal public school funding and instills the value of responsibility and hard work. The project demonstrates the El Sistema core value that “every child has limitless possibilities and the ability to strive for excellence.”

By enriching students’ lives with music education, the Atlanta Music Project levels the playing field for the city’s youth, no matter where they grow up or how much their parents earn.

A little Haiti developing in Georgia A peak inside some aspects of Haitian Culture SYRINA MERILAN Associate News Editor

W

hen living in a city, it is almost certain that one will bump into people from all different backgrounds.

This, of course, is a predominant truth within the Georgia State population. Georgia State has the privilege of being one of the most diverse universities in the south.

This campus has such a large variety of students and provides multiple international organizations, such as the African Student Association (ASA), the International Students Association (ISAC) and the Latin American Student Association (LASA), to make all students feel welcomed.

However, with all the international organizations representing different communities offered at Georgia State, one is left out: the Haitian American population.

The lack of a Haitian organization at Georgia State does PHOTOS BY TARILYN JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL not represent the entirety of the Atlanta population. The (Above) A Taste of Haiti’s committee poses for a photo at Haitian Ministry Theophile Church In Christ, Inc. city’s diversity seems to include more Haitian American (Right ) Authentic Caribbean dish from Paulee’s Place II in Marietta, Ga. individuals through organizations like The Haitian-American Youth Reaching Out and the Haitian-American Chamber of WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES IN BEING HAITIAN IN Commerce.

ATLANTA AND BEING HAITIAN IN NEW YORK?

Q&A: HAITIAN CULTURE IN THE CITY

Even with the rise in Haitian organizations in Georgia, there is still a long way to go according to Wildine St. Paul, a Haitian Georgia State students, who used to live in Miami, and Solyncia Powel, a Haitian-American student that used to live in New York. In 2008 to 2012, the Haitian immigrant population migrating to the U. S. (Miami) was around 197,000 and those immigrating to New York were about 158,000. However, the largest population is stationed in the New York and Florida, according to Migration Policy.

HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE HAITIAN CULTURE HERE IN GEORGIA AND IN MIAMI?

St. Paul: Number one is the amount of Haitian restaurants.

There’s a lot more in Miami than here in Georgia. Number two, in Florida we had a specific [television] channel for Haitians.

They had Haitian shows, Haitian movies, Haitian music and a channel just played everything Haitian. That is because the population down there was so large and up here there’s not that many, so the channel isn’t offered in Georgia.

TELL ME ABOUT CERTAIN THINGS THAT ALL HAITIANS DO OR ARE TAUGHT.

St. Paul: I think most Haitians would say church. You spend a good amount of your time in church. Every Sunday. The music, which I guess is in all cultures, but when you hear the Haitian music playing early in the morning, you already know it’s time to clean. [We’re also taught] the importance of school.

WHY IS EDUCATION SO IMPORTANT IN HAITIAN CULTURE?

St. Paul: I’ll speak for my mom. In the beginning the importance of school is insistled in you because they say ‘we came to this country to give you, a better opportunity, a better life,’ therefore the seriousness of school for Haitians are at a much higher level. I would say for foreign people in general it’s at a much higher level and it must be respected.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT HAITIAN REPRESENTATION IN GEORGIA?

St. Paul: I wish there was more representation. Well I do and I don’t. I kind of like that fact that our culture is kind of hidden, because how many Haitian restaurants do you see compared to Jamaican restaurants? How many Haitian songs do you see that are popping. That’s partially because it’s another language, but are people bumping to Selena and they don’t even know what the hell she’s saying. There’s not a lot of Haitian representations in the media or just in general unless you’re in Miami. When I was in Miami Haitian restaurants were right here and Haitian stores were right there. Most people you meet probably know a Haitian or are Haitian. There’s a different type of vibe here in Atlanta.”

Powell: “n New York the amount of Haitian people, I wouldn’t say there’s more, but it’s concentrated in one area. You don’t have to go looking for Haitian people. They’re probably already next to you or live new door or you see them on the train. In Georgia just the black community it’s usually southern black people mostly, not like Caribbean black people, so there's less of a Haitian community here in Atlanta or Georgia in general.

HOW HARD IS IT TO FIND A HAITIAN RESTAURANT IN GEORGIA?

Powell: have yet to find one, so I’m going to say it’s impossible.

IF THERE WAS A HAITIAN ORGANIZATION WOULD YOU JOIN IT?

Powell: “I would join it just so I can feel like I’m still part of a Haitian community, because right now I don’t feel that way. Right now if I run into a Haitian person, it’s like a surprise.”

HOW DO YOU THINK WE CAN INCREASE THE HAITIAN COMMUNITY HERE IN ATLANTA?

Powell: I don’t know if we can really increase it. [We can’t] tell a whole bunch of Haitian people, ‘aye come to Georgia,’ but I feel like Haitian people should make it known that they are Haitian and make more of an effort to get together with other Haitian people so that there’s more of a bond between the Haitian people that already here.

DO YOU FEEL WELCOMED HERE AT GEORGIA STATE?

Powell: I feel welcomed because Georgia State is pretty diverse, so there’s no dominant race or ethnicity in my opinion. It would still be cool if there was more of a known Haitian community.

THE HAITIAN STEREOTYPE

St. Paul put to rest several stereotypes and misconceptions associated with Haitian culture.

1. NOT ALL HAITIANS DO VOODOO

St. Paul: Not every Haitian does voodoo! I am definitely afraid of anything supernatural, so I will not be participating in that foolishness. I do not play with supernatural. I don’t even fuck with the ouija board, even if it might not be true. I’m tired of people thinking we do voodoo. What type of magical person you think I am?

2. NOT EVERY HAITIAN IS DARK SKINNED.

St. Paul: My mom is light-skinned, my sister is light skinned, and I turn light in the Winter, just like black people. Not every black person is dark-skinned, so why do you think that we’re all just sun burnt.

3. NOT ALL HAITIAN AND DOMINICAN ARE FRIENDS. St. Paul: Stop thinking that all Haitians and Dominicans are

GET CONNECTED

HAITIAN ORGANIZATIONS IN ATLANTA The Georgia Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce (GAHACCI) is an organization housed in Atlanta dedicated to shaping the mind of young haitian individuals. The Commerce was created in 2014 and has dedicated fundings to the education of Haitian Americans in the state of Georgia. Although the organization is small, it has still made quite an impact on the Haitian American population in Georgia with distributing $9,000 in scholarships.

The Haitian-American Youth Reaching Out (HYRO) is a civil organization that targets young people and connects them with other Haitian individuals. HYRO focuses on keeping Haitian youth in touch with their haitian heritage, while also making them positively impact the Haitian American community.

HYRO also encourages people who are interested in Haitian heritage, but may not be of Haitian descent, to join to learn more.

HAITIAN CHURCHES Haitian Ministry Theophile Church In Christ Inc. 930 Custer Ave SE, Atlanta, GA 30316

Atlanta Haitian Church of God 3070 Grand Ave SW, Atlanta, GA 30315 friends. We don’t like them and they don’t like us. Stop thinking that just because we share the same island that we come together and sing kumbaya, because they think they’re better than us.

4. READ BEFORE YOU SPEAK

St Paul: Read up on the history of Haiti before you make assumptions. Okay yeah we’re poor, but we weren't always poor.

Before you come at me, know the reason why we’re poor. We won the war between France. France got salty and said ‘now you owe us money for all the years that we took care of you.’ As if we asked them to take care of us. You can and colonized our country. Then we had to pay them and we went into debt and we’ve been in debt since then.

HAITIAN FOODS YOU NEED TO KNOW “Haitians make a whole meal just for a regular day. A big meal in the Haitian culture is a everyday thing,” St. Paul said.

HERE ARE SOME DISHES YOU CAN TASTE TO EXPERIENCE A TYPICAL HAITIAN DINNER. GRIOT Fried pork, which is typically eaten with Pikliz and Bannann Peze.

PIKLIZ: shredded cabbage, carrot, bell pepper (green, orange, red), onion, scallions, scotch bonnet peppers, cloves garlic, teaspoon salt, peppercorns, vinegar (see note), lime juice.

“My family makes it by getting pre made salad and you add a whole bunch of piman in it. Stir it up and I think they put vinegar in it too,” St. Paul said.

BANNANN PEZE Fried plantain that is squashed.

BOUYON I soup that has potatoes, carrots, spinach, plantains, yucca and a type of meat.

“I love Bouyon, but if you’re going to have Bouyon you better have boy (dumplin) in there, because that’s disrespectful to make Bouyon without boy,” St. Paul said.

SOUP JOUMOU Cabbage, turnip, celery, green onion, pasta, squash, potato, and a type of meat.

“You make Soup Joumou on our New Year’s, Jan. 1, but for families that don’t like soup Joumou, you can make Bouyon,” St. Paul said.

DIRI Rice. A meal is not complete without rice. If you marry a Haitian man he will always ask you, “where’s the rice.”

SOS PWA Grinded up beans. Usually served with white rice.

PAGE DESIGN BY TAISJAH WILKINS | THE SIGNAL

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ARTS & LIVING

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

Holistic healing How to the body by working with community gardens and using oils SAVANNAH ELDER Staff Reporter

H

olistic healing began thousands of years ago before scientists were even considered scientists, and definitely before any ideas of modern-day medicine were conjured. The first remnants of holistic healing appeared in ancient Chinese medicine, dating back to 5,000 years ago.

Back then, people thought that the human body contained the ability to heal itself, given the right natural elements and persuasion.

What is holistic healing? Holistic healing is the practice of treating a person - entirely. This means that when a person falls ill in the mind, both the physical body and spirit are considered, and vice versa. Practitioners believe that by doing so, one can fully access the root of the issue and take care of it, rather than examine individual symptoms or pains.

Although both traditional and modern medicine are always both factors at play, alternative methods are more in favor of holistic medicine. Acupuncture, herbal eats (herbology), essential oils and meditation are authentic practices of ancient Chinese medicine that evolved into holistic healing practices and then once again to modern-day trends, according to WebMD.

These are the four beliefs of holistic healing doctors: 1. All people have innate healing powers.

2. The patient is a person, not a disease.

3. Healing takes a team approach involving the patient and doctor, and addresses all aspects of a person’s life using a variety of healthcare practices.

4. Treatment involves understanding and fixing the cause of the condition, not just alleviating the symptoms.

According to WebMD

Holistic medicine: Different ways to heal

When someone visits a holistic clinic, the doctor will most likely introduce suggestions to a patient’s lifestyle to promote better choices and overall enhance the patient’s well-being.

This can include diet, exercise, psychotherapy, and relationship or spiritual counseling. Likewise, if a person is experiencing severe nausea visits a holistic doctor, the doctor analyzes every potential factor related to the pain. The history of one’s health, current diet and sleep habits, stress and personal factors and even their spiritual practices are considered. Pharmaceutical drugs may be prescribed to aid symptoms, but these doctors believe the real healing lies within adjustments.

A variety of treatment techniques have been curated for patients to be able to take responsibility for their health. Depending on the practitioner’s training, these will vary, but the goal is putting the patient’s life back into their own hands.

Overall, holistic healing asks every practitioner to interconnect mind, body, spirit and their surroundings together in order to achieve a perceived balance of awareness and being. This directly involves identifies the emotions, pains and stressors of a person, which isn’t easy. Honestly, it kind of asks a lot out of a person with little

to no extensive health-related education, but it’s definitely not impossible to overcome.

For example, if someone (who practices holistic healing themselves) has a headache, instead of popping an ibuprofen, they go sit outside if the weather is pleasant, or take a hot bath if it’s not. While self-medicating is not against the rules, in this instance, it could have been a lack of vitamins or one’s body temperature that was off-put, and since holistic healing strongly recognizes the heavy impact of the environment on the body, other remedies are considered. Another scenario is if a person is feeling anxious, they can interact with certain stones (think amethyst, jade, quartz, etc.) before laying them upon their chakra points.

At this point, if you’re thinking “What?” or “How the hell am I supposed to keep up with those sort of things?” Don’t worry.

Learning these techniques definitely take time, practice and effort, but holistic healing is boundless because it stimulates yourself as a unit, and when someone takes the time to think about what their body is really asking for, that has to be a good thing. To put it simply: it’s all about achieving balance.

Alternative methods for beginners

Holistic healing can include common things too, such as practicing yoga, laying in sunshine and gardening. Yoga increases blood flow, the sunshine gives you essential, natural vitamins, and gardening produces herbs for you to eat, make medicine with or for D.I.Y. house items.

Maybe it seems hippie, but holistic healing works for people and has been for over 5,000 years. So, here are some beginner holistic healing practices for those interested in learning more about holistic healing.

Gardening

Gardening requires the five senses: sight, smell, touch, taste and sound. Not only does gardening serve as a natural way to provide connections within oneself and the environment, but it is also known for revealing healing qualities within the actual physical labor. The labor releases endorphins and serotonin, while your senses buzz activate your entire limbic system (the part of the brain co-piloting emotions, motivation, learning and memory).

If you don’t have a garden, good news! The Atlanta Community Food Bank needs volunteers for their Community Gardens Project. Volunteers participate in the cultivation and preservation of over 100 inner city garden plots.

If you didn’t know this before, these garden plots actually feed people - actual families and communities. Since fast food industries and companies like Monsanto emerged and took over, it has gotten easier to forget where real food comes from: this beautiful earth.

Holistic healing practices are ingrained with ideals like consuming with sustainability and replenishing the places you take from (like the body and the earth). Gardening provides food. Food provides life. So, not only are you helping balance your own health, but you’re also giving back to the community.

Oils • •

•

Use essential oils in the bath by adding three to eight drops to the tub, depending on the oil. Add it just before you get in and soak for at least 10 minutes.

Also, oils are suited as inhalants to treat congestion (try eucalyptus) or stress (try peppermint or sandalwood).

Put four drops in a bowl of hot, almost boiling water.

Breathe in the steam for several minutes.

The easiest and quickest method may be rubbing a dab of oil behind your ear or on your temples. For specific oil types and remedies, visit a holistic shop.

USING CRYSTALS Crystal healing aids those who wish to connect with certain energies and require specific properties to help bring out whatever is searched for.

QUARTZ CRYSTAL activates and aligns the energy centers in your body: clarity, light and healing.

ROSE QUARTZ Stone of love that helps open the heart and connect to an energy of love.

AMETHYST Cleanses the aura and attracts new positive energy into your life.

CITRINE Stone of abundance, happiness, opportunity and light.

TURQUOISE Healing stone to strengthen the entire body.

CARNELIAN Enhances creativity, joy and pleasure, as well as selfexpression.

ILLUSTRATIONS & PAGE DESIGN BY MINH HUYNH | THE SIGNAL

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Movie review

‘Raw’ is great, and not what is expected

Julia Ducournau’s coming-of-age cannibalism movie is as fab as it sounds ALEXANDRA GRAHAM Staff Reviewer

T

his film is one of those perfect movies I can’t help but gush about to anybody who likes anything at all. Period. If you like even one thing in this whole world, be it baseball or your cat or green smoothies, I want you to see this movie.

Unless you’re prone to puking at the sight of blood or dead dogs, in which case at least consider maybe seeing it. Either way, Julia Ducournau has given us a functional coming-of-age/sexual exploration/ family drama about cannibalism, which, I must say, is pretty fricken’ amazing.

The film follows lifelong vegetarian Justine (Garance Marillier) in her first week of veterinary school. It’s rush week, and Justine is forced by her upperclassman sister Alexia (Ella Rumpf) to participate in a weird hazing ritual that includes swallowing a piece of rabbit kidney, which, naturally, leads her to develop a hunger for human flesh.

I went into this film expecting a straight up cannibal horror film, and was pleasantly surprised to find that “Raw” functions as a totally different kind of horror. Sure, you might squirm at seeing severed fingers and whatnot, but the horror here mostly comes from the terror of not understanding yourself, and where that can lead you. Ducournau

focuses on Justine’s relationships with the people around her and her burgeoning understanding of her own self, and her cannibalism works as the vehicle for that understanding.

It’s really quite beautiful, and I think it’s useful to talk about that beauty when talking about the people-eating in “Raw.” Her cravings give us a particularly effective body-oriented entry into the workings of her mind and the problems she’s exploring in that “cusp of adulthood” way - sexuality, family history, the like - which transforms the cannibalism into something very human and resonant. It works perfectly in all the important ways, gripping us while also giving us the tools necessary to dig deep into “Raw”’s emotional concerns.

Mad props go to Ducournau, whose script and direction make clear just how deeply she cares about how characters work. It’s that emphasis on the people, on Justine trying to figure out her new body, her new self and on Alexia’s relationship to all of this, that makes “Raw” the delightful emotional ride it is.

And on top of all this, the gore is fricken’ excellent. Those with weak stomachs should avoid this film; though the people-eating is infrequent, it’s maddeningly gross without being over the top (which makes it even more sickening)! Truly the stuff of every gore-hound’s dreams. I loved it.

GRADE

VERDICT

A+

“Raw” is smart, impeccably crafted and occasionally gutclenchingly gross. So basically, it’s easily my favorite movie of the year.

So as far as I’m concerned, “Raw” is a perfect movie and we are blessed to have it in our theaters right now. Go see it on the big screen. Your iPhone won’t do it justice.

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IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE UYAI

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NATHAN FAKE PROVIDENCE

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SHELTER ZON ZON ZON

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THE BUTTERTONES GRAVEDIGGING

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TREMENTINA 810

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ODDISEE THE ICEBURG

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DAMAGED BUG BUNKER FUNK

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DUDE YORK SINCERLY

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FROTH OUTSIDE

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J.I.D =THE NEVER STORY

album review

Old rockers make tunes for fresh ears Jesus and Mary Chain's first LP in 19 years JALEN JENKINS Staff Reviewer

T

he Jesus and Mary Chain’s first output of new material since 1998 has them right back in stride.

Since their initial success in the early 80s, The Jesus and Mary Chain have dipped up and down in internal band quarrels and popularity shifts from the U.K. to the U.S. However, during that time, they have provided some great pop songs with their own twist and an influence on bands like My Bloody Valentine, Lush, Pity Sex and Dinosaur Jr. Regardless of their history, their new LP, “Damage and Joy,” shows The Jesus and Mary Chain putting out some catchy, moody songs that their time away clearly did not affect. Their simple but unique style, with the mechanized drum machine parts and pop song formula, make for a cohesive and memorable experience.

The album was produced by Youth, and features members of Killing Joke, Isobel Campbell (of Belle and Sebastian fame) and Sky Ferreira as guest vocal parts. This all works perfectly behind the dreamy guitar parts.

They use the male and female verse trade-off formula that’s found in pop songs from the '50s and '60s, and keep it interesting with the stories they tell.

For example in “The Two of Us,” singers trade verses talking about meeting up and getting high, but not with drugs, because they “know how to fly.”

The Jesus and Mary Chain use this formula well, with a tried and true sound while simultaneously using their own twist of fuzzy, delayed guitars and lazy sounding vocals.

One critique that could be made is that in the structure that they use for the songs, they can sometimes be classified as boring. Pop formula isn’t always the biggest showcase for virtuosity or creative songwriting, but The Jesus and Mary Chain are no rookies; they are consistently able to keep the music interesting. That being said, it may be tough to enjoy if simple pop songs aren’t in one’s repertoire, because that’s all some of these songs are.

These songs have a cleaner guitar tone, and less punky and heavy-sounding songs. The main feeling is still there, but their determination to move to a cleaner sound as the band has gotten older and presumably wiser when it comes to deciding what they can do with their sound has worked well on this LP.

joining the signal is only

one click away!

GRADE

B

BEST TRACKS “Always Sad,” “Mood Rider” and “Can’t Stop The Rock”

VERDICT When a band like The Jesus and Mary Chain makes a new album when they have already had so much success, the hard part is not to come up with something new, but to be true to the same sound that made the band so big.

On this LP, they are in a fine form, honoring their old sound while keeping it fresh for a new generation of listeners.

scan me!

calendar&games

14

Campus & Downtown Events Wednesday

Thursday The Gatekeepers

Head down to Ponce City Market to fix yourself some dinner, pizza is on the menu! Learn how to toss, knead and shape your own pizza from professionals.

Afterwards, enjoy your tasty creation!

The event is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Jimmy Carter Library and Museum is hosting a lecture and book signing on “The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chief of Staff Define Every Presidency” by awardwinning journalist Chris Whipple. The event is free and will start at 7 p.m.

Friday

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FIND US on youtube: THE SIGNAL AT GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY 6

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Check 3out6 3our6 1 92 9 culture podcast!

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April 18 Stroll over to “Matilda the 2 Park Tavern next to Musical” is making The medieval 3 7 park is 1 at5the Fox 8 Piedmont Park and grab 6 amusement its debut some Easter Sunday Theatre. Matilda is back! Check out 150 8 different artisan tents at brunch! Brunch will a young girl who be served from 10 a.m. the Georgia Renais1 sance festival, 2 while 8 7dreams of a better life to 4 p.m. with a special and takes a stand for appearance from the feasting on turkey legs herself to reach that Easter bunny at noon, and other medieval dream.

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Sunday

April 15 In case you missed the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, Sandy Springs is having an Artsapalooza. The festival will feature art from 150 vendors, food trucks and performances from local musicians. The event is free and will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

April 14 Atlanta Braves opening day to the new season at their new home, Suntrust Park. All fans attending will receive a commemorative ticket. The Braves will be playing the Padres at 7:35 p.m.

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TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

Puzzle 1 (Medium, difficulty rating 0.52)

SPORTS

www.georgiastatesignal.com/sports

GREG FRADY IS A WINNER Coach Frady has won on every level that he has been

Head Georgia State baseball coach Greg Frady in his 10th season holds the record for the school’s winningest baseball coach.

CHRISTIAN CRITTENDEN Staff Reporter

G

eorgia State’s head baseball coach Greg Frady will go down as one of the best coaches in university history. For Frady, winning seems to come natural, and he has done a lot of it in his coaching career.

Frady took the helm for the Georgia State baseball team in 2006, when he was promoted to head coach after being an assistant for the previous two years.

His coaching career began back in 1988 when he was an assistant at Columbia State. Since then, he has coached at North Florida Community college and University of Central Florida (UCF).

While at UCF, Frady was a part of many incredibly successful teams. During his seven years there, the team ranked in the top 25 every season, won six conference championships and made the NCAA tournament four times.

For Frady, the game of baseball has been a teacher. It has taught him many invaluable lessons that he can apply to his everyday life.

“I think one of the best lessons learned is that every day is not going to be a great day,” Frady said. And everyday things are not going to go your way, but the resiliency, the toughness, the positive attitude to get back up every day and make it your special day is something that baseball demands because there is more failure in the game than success.”

GEORGIA STATE’S ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACH Frady is currently in his 10th season as the

Georgia State head coach and he is the all-time winningest coach at the university. During his time as a coach, the Panthers have had six winning seasons and won at least 30 games in each of those six seasons.

During the 2009 campaign, the Panthers won a Colonial conference championship and a NCAA tournament berth. He also managed to navigate the team through three conference changes, and each time, it was more difficult as the competition rose and the conferences were ranked higher.

“We try to do everything everyday here to establish and maintain a continuation of a winning culture based on some things that we’ve done in the past and things that we’re doing today,” Frady said. “But more importantly it has been about having great players. Players make the baseball world go round in a successful way.”

Frady is right - players make the world go round. And he has undoubtedly coached excellent players, which explains why it is so difficult for him to name the best player among the ones he has coached.

“I've had so many really outstanding players, it's hard to categorize that,” Frady said.

Frady coached several major leaguers including Mike Maroth and Drew Butera, who are currently in the big leagues with the Kansas City Royals.

FRADY COACHES THE GERMAN NATIONAL TEAM Besides his role as the Georgia State baseball coach, Frady was also the coach of the German National team. In 2010, he was named the European coach of the year. Frady won over 100 games in international play while managing

PHOTO SUBMMITED BY GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS

the National team. Despite his position there, Georgia State was always his main priority and that is why he was able to balance the two.

“My primary job is to be [a] Georgia State University coach. So I was always here and that was never in sacrifice,” Frady said. “I did it years and it was a fantastic experience, and I really loved it, and I benefited by doing it, but I think I reached a point where I needed to just move on and just focus on Georgia State.”

Frady demands the same excellence from his players in the classroom as he does on the field, and that is one of the many things that makes him such an exceptional coach. He expects nothing less than 3.0 GPA from any of his players.

Coach Frady played baseball at Troy State, where he won a national championship in 1986.

Frady had more fun being a player than he does being a coach.

“Coaching is much more stressful. As a player, you are only responsible for yourself. As a coach you are never thinking about yourself, you’re thinking about everybody else and how to help everybody else and trying to run an organization,” Frady said. “You do enjoy the success as a coach but you have to move on so quickly to get everybody ready for the next that you truly don't get to enjoy the success as quickly as you do tomorrow.”

Frady has over 300 career wins and counting at Georgia State. He was inducted into the 2017 class of the Georgia Dugout Hall of Fame.

Frady has learned a lot through the game of baseball and he aims to take what he has learned and pass it onto his players to keep the success progressing.

BALLIN’ WITH WINS • 2010 EUROPEAN COACH OF THE YEAR • 300+ WINS AT GEORGIA STATE • GEORGIA STATE’S ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACH • 2017 GEORGIA STATE HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE PAGE DESIGN BY TAMMY HUYNH | THE SIGNAL

SPORTS

16

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

Hunter Gaddis provides bullpen help Freshman making the most of his pitching opportunities and is showing great promise CHRISTIAN CRITTENDEN Staff Reporter

H

unter Gaddis brings talent as a freshman to Georgia State's baseball team. At 6 feet 4 inches tall, 202 pounds, Gaddis also brings great size with him to the mound.

In fact, Gaddis genuinely believes that his height offers him an advantage over most batters that approach the plate.

"Oh definitely. Always," Gaddis said of his superiority over most batters in the box. "You get a little bit more reach to the plate and a little bit more of an angle when you throw — so definitely."

Obviously, Gaddis dominated as a pitcher during his high school career, being that he was a 2016 Southeast Region honorable mention selection and 2015 Underclass All-American.

However, it wasn't promised that Gaddis would show that same poise and command on the mound at the Division 1 level.

Gaddis has noticed the difference between pitching in high school to now being a rotational pitcher for the Panthers.

"It's much faster; you gotta execute more, focus more every pitch, you gotta come out every inning with the same energy as the first one," Gaddis said. Overall, it's a lot higher level.

You just gotta pick it up; it's a whole new level you just gotta learn it."

While the Panthers' pitchers as a whole have not necessarily performed well, Gaddis has shown some promise of becoming a solid pitcher for the club.

Gaddis is currently tied for first place on the team in wins with three in the year, thus far, according to sunbeltsports.org.

Looking to add to that number, Gaddis credited pitching coach Chris Bootcheck, who played in seven Major League seasons as a pitcher. Gaddis acknowledges Coach Bootcheck for teaching him the ins-and-outs of what it takes to become a dominant pitcher.

"Obviously he had the knowledge I wanted to learn, so I paid close attention to what he was telling me and tried to put it in my works and use that to make me a better pitcher," Gaddis said about receiving pitching advice from coach Bootcheck.

"He always talked about how when he was

pitching, he went after it--attacked every batter, he didn't care who they were," Gaddis said. "So how he talks to me, how he gets that into me and just drives me to be a better pitcher, too."

In retrospect, Bootcheck applauded Gaddis for his work ethic and his ability to create a spark in the bullpen immediately.

"Well we started him in the bullpen, and early in the fall you could see what he brought to the team," Bootcheck said.

"I'm not really surprised with the success he's having; The stuff was there, his work ethic is there. All of the qualities of a really good player are all there."

Bootcheck went on to say: "I think being so young and doing what he's doing speaks a lot for him as an individual, and he's really helped the teams in a lot of ways - on and off the field."

Although Gaddis has shown a considerable amount of upside to his game in just his first year with the Panthers, he also acknowledged the fact that he must work on tightening up his PHOTO SUBMITTED BY GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS delivery of certain pitches, or his fastball Georgia State baseball player Hunter Gaddis throws a pitch during a game against Western Michigan, Feb. to be exact.

18, 2017 "It's the main pitch. I gotta work on keeping it down more throughout the you know, going out there and just really GADDIS’ HIGH game...more innings," Gaddis said. "Try to get it putting my foot on the gas throwing the ball, PERFORMANCE AS A harder, too. It never could hurt to throw a little executing what coach Bootcheck is calling harder."

FRESHMAN and just going out there and doing my thing."

When asked what is his desired pitch to As for avoiding a sophomore slump, throw, Gaddis considered the cutter, a type of Gaddis intends on using the upcoming off• Has pitched 36.0 innings fastball that breaks slightly toward the pitcher's season to his advantage.

• Has struck out 31 batters glove side as it reaches home plate, to be his "Definitely using the offseason to get favorite. stronger, and go back to keeping my fastball • Allowed only 27 hits "My cutter is my favorite pitch. Bootcheck low, working on the offspeed making sure • Leads the team with only actually showed me earlier this season. It's my things are up to speed and make a jump from 14 runs allowed first year throwing it, so I'm surprised I could now to next year."

• Has only walked 14 actually use it in my pitching."

Another aspect of Gaddis' game that will Gaddis has undoubtedly impressed his likely improve is his tendency to hit batters. batters teammates and coaches with his promising play According to sunbeltsports.org, Gaddis as a freshman. currently has a total of five hit batters.

But what is Gaddis the most impressed with "Honestly, I don't see that as a problem," in his first year as a collegiate pitcher? wish I wouldn't have done it.' But if it's nobody on Gaddis said in a joking manner.

Well, his response was quite humbling.

"I love to throw a heater inside. I don't like nobody out, I don't care. I mean, I'm tryna hit my "I'm pretty impressed with the opportunity people on my plate, either. So, I mean I'ma spot and I missed it — it's all good." that I got this year, to be honest, and I appreciate always throw it inside. I'm not gonna hit my Nonetheless, Gaddis will look to continue to it from the coaching staff and everybody," spot every time. If it hits him, it hits him. If build on what has been a solid freshman year.

Gaddis said with a joyful smile on his face. "And it's in a crucial spot, I'm gonna say 'Dang it, I

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TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017

17

SPORTS

Being a part of a top 10 team

Freshman Johnson talks about being from Australia and her name

PHOTO BY ETHAN MITCHAM | THE SIGNAL

Georgia State beach volleyball player Georgia Johnson spikes a ball passed the Lincoln Memorial University defense during the Diggin’ Duals tournament, April 1, 2017

RASHAD MILLIGAN Sports Editor

I

n the midst of heavy storms on April 5, No 10 Georgia State Beach Volleyball freshman Georgia Johnson powered her way to the GSU Sports Arena for an interview with The Signal. After making her best attempt to dry off her black jacket and black Georgia State Beach Volleyball shirt, Johnson discussed her life growing up by a beach in Australia and her decision process of wanting to pursue beach volleyball as the sport she wanted to play in college. She was coming off of the Diggin’ Duals weekend where her and fellow freshman Olivia Stasevich went 2-1 as a duo and entering the FSU Invite where the pair went a perfect 4-0, against No. 11 South Carolina, No. 13 Florida International, No. 14 FAU, and No. 16 TCU. The Australian native’s major is currently undeclared.

How has your freshman season been so far?

Johnson: It’s been pretty crazy so far. Lots of travel, it’s busy, which is nice because I like it. I like to be busy in a way that’s entertaining rather than be busy in a way that’s boring [laughs]. We’ve had some really good matchups, we got to go to California at the beginning of the season, which was really a good opportunity to play some of the west coast powerhouses.

UCLA, Pepperdine, Long Beach State, etc. We’ve had some really good wins and now we’re focused on the tournament we have in Florida.

Is it cool being on and contributing to one of the top teams in the nation?

Johnson: The seniors and all the past students of the program have definitely built it up to be a really strong program. It’s got a lot of depth, which is nice as well. We’ve definitely got a lot to be proud of and it’s nice to know that all of our hard work is really paying off in a way that’s being acknowledged by a lot of people.

You were talking about playing in California earlier this season, have you ever been to California before this year?

Johnson: Yeah, I have been before in 2014, as a part of a training development tour from Australia. Two Australian beach volleyball olympians came with us. We went to California and then down to Mexico to play some. So it was nice to get to play

there again on the same sand that I played in three years ago.

How is the beach volleyball scene in Australia to where you get recruited by a school like Georgia State?

Johnson: Beach Volleyball is definitely still progressing to be a popular sport in Australia. I started off playing indoor and I picked up beach when I was about 15 or 16. I was really interested in coming over here to do college and I was really after a beach scholarship rather than an indoor scholarship, because it’s so much more fun. The opportunity to come here came around and I was pretty late on the recruiting scene so I was really lucky that there was still a spot here. I just took it as soon as there was an offer basically and here I am.

What are some of the differences between indoor and beach volleyball?

Johnson: Indoor’s a lot more focused on being big and powerful, which is something that I, like in junior ranks, always struggled with. It was nice to transition into beach and know that it’s not all about being able to hit the ball as hard as you can. It’s all about strategy and finesse. That’s probably the biggest difference for me and that there’s much less people on the court.

You get to touch the ball more.

Johnson: Yeah, so much more. It’s definitely a lot more fun. I played middle for indoor, so I could go three points without even touching the ball. So it’s nice to directly be involved with every single point that you play. There’s also that pressure, like you can’t get subbed off, you’re 50 percent of the team, so if you’re not performing the other team can tell. That pressure is something that makes the game interesting.

When thinking about colleges, did your name have anything to do with going to this one?

Johnson: I wish that it did, but it didn’t. I was talking to a few colleges, but Beth Van Fleet, the head coach here, was just incredible in the recruiting process and I knew that this was going to be the best place for me. It was just a big coincidence that they named the school after me.

Do you think you were born to go to school?

Johnson: Yes, definitely. That’s what my parents had in mind

GEORGIA JOHNSON'S ACHIEVEMENTS • Junior Sportswoman of the Year from 2011-2013 • Senior Sportswoman of the Year in 2014 • Competed at the 2014 Asian Youth Championships • Won a silver medal at the U19 Australian Junior Beach Volleyball Championships in 2016 (Also played netball, basketball, tennis, track and field, and cross country) when I was born.

Favorite dance?

Johnson: I always find myself accidentally whipping in corridors, it’s a very bad habit.

Do you think Atlanta made you get into the whip?

Johnson: Yeah, Atlanta has changed me.

Is there anything else you’d like to leave out there for anyone reading this?

Johnson: I just of course, wouldn’t be here without my parents.

They’ve sacrificed a lot for me over the years and with volleyball not being a massive sport in Australia, everything has been self funded through all of my junior stuff, so they’ve definitely made sacrifices to get me to where I am and I’m definitely very grateful.

Did you get to see your parents this year at all?

Johnson: They came to California to watch, which was so exciting. They got to take a week off work and it was just so nice to have them on the sidelines, there’s nothing like having your parents there.

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Earn credits over the summer break by signing up for any of our summer sessions. Enrolling over the summer can boost your GPA, allow you to graduate early, or let you focus on that tough class without distractions.

Whether you’re a current UWG undergraduate or graduate, or returning home to Carrollton from another university for the season, join us for an unforgettable summer experience!

Get started by visiting westga.edu/summer. June and July session courses are available in Carrollton, Newnan and online. The Priority Application deadline is May 15th.

Go West. It changes everything.

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STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION

2017 ELECTION RESULTS ALPHARETTA

CLARKSTON

DECATUR

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

SPEAKER OF THE SENATE

SPEAKER OF THE SENATE

SPEAKER OF THE SENATE

SENATORS

SENATORS

SENATORS

Frederick Severtson VACANT

Rouguiatou Camara VACANT VACANT

VACANT VACANT VACANT

DUNWOODY EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Jesse Calixte

SPEAKER OF THE SENATE VACANT

SENATORS

Leen Al Homsi Sarah Alhakimi Terry Fye

VACANT VACANT VACANT

Christin Smith Duc Le

Valerie Jones Zion Netere David Osayi

Mahad Arif Alana Burrell Million Ghebre

PRESIDENT RUN-OFF ELECTION

VACANT

VACANT

Nafeesa Strickland VACANT VACANT

NEWTON EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT VACANT

SPEAKER OF THE SENATE VACANT

SENATORS

will occur between

COREY GRAY & BRIANA STANLEY

VACANT VACANT VACANT

Clay Gunnels Cortez Johnson Omoruyi Ologbosere

VACANT VACANT VACANT

CAST YOUR VOTE ON APRIL 13 at sga.gsu.edu/elections ATLANTA

* No presidential candidate achieved 51% of the votes cast in the April 3-6 ballot; top two candidates will be in the runoff.

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Yann Mondon

SPEAKER OF THE SENATE Devante Hill

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

GRADUATE & PROFESSIONAL SENATOR

UNDERGRADUATE SENATORS

VACANT

Anthony Jones Alexander Lloyd David Osilaja Ana Pachon Collantes Antrell Vining

Brandon Cain

GRADUATE & PROFESSIONAL SENATOR

GRADUATE & PROFESSIONAL SENATORS

UNDERGRADUATE SENATOR

UNDERGRADUATE SENATOR Noah Samuelson

Luis Aleman Fatoumata Barry Austin Birchell Alondra Cruz-Hernandez Juan Galvis Nashbi Grand-Jean

ANDREW YOUNG SCHOOL OF POLICY STUDIES

COLLEGE OF THE ARTS

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH UNDERGRADUATE SENATOR Erica Aibangee

GRADUATE & PROFESSIONAL SENATOR

VACANT

Jessica Siemer VACANT

SCHOOL OF NURSING

ROBINSON COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

UNDERGRADUATE SENATOR

UNDERGRADUATE SENATORS

UNDERGRADUATE SENATOR

VACANT

Joshua Akinola-King Jonathan Jones Tayler Patton Elizabeth Plasencia Rashad Siam

GRADUATE & PROFESSIONAL SENATOR VACANT

VACANT

GRADUATE & PROFESSIONAL SENATOR VACANT

COLLEGE OF LAW

GRADUATE & PROFESSIONAL SENATOR VACANT

Roberto Contreras-Murillo

Two positions to be determined by the Student Bar Association.

Interested in filling a vacant position? Complete an Orgsync applications via

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