work to help democracy
starship memorial
$300k Grant
The Secretary of State’s office is looking for poll workers to work at polling stations across the state. Page 4
Students hold vigil for “fallen” Starship food delivery robot. Page 3
Nearly $300k grant to be used for computer science education Page 6
thegeorgeanne
STATESBORO EDITION
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2020
gamediagroup
thegeorgeanne.com
GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY
VOLUME 95 , ISSUE 6
Voting Checklist
Prevent Voting Twice
Check this list of requirements to make sure you are eligible to vote in upcoming U.S. elections.
How to prevent voting twice in the upcoming presidential election.
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Campus Life
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Seen At S uthern #PETSBORO Max Max’s owner: Lizette Cruz, BA of Interdisciplinary Studies TAMARA TANKSLEY/staff
On this wonderful fall day, September 23, Cherelle Payne and Jasmine Mears are outside of the Russell Union talking about the times they got stung by wasps.
#EaglesMaskOn
TAMARA TANKSLEY/staff
On September 22, the first day of fall, Molly Christopher and Adi Parker are talking and drinking coffee from the Daily Grind at Sweetheart Circle.
Lisa Montalvo EDSCO Faculty How has COVID-19 impacted your daily routine at GS? Just by having to social distance from friends and wearing this mask.
TAMARA TANKSLEY/staff
On September 21, Ansleigh Page is watching one of the ducks while waiting on her friends to go to the dining hall.
By: Chase Taylor
Page designed by Adrienne Prophet
Front page designed by Kayla Hill
@TheGeorgeAnne 9-24-20
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Students hold vigil for “fallen” Starship food delivery robot BY MITCH SMITH
Print Managing Editor Mitch.Smith@thegeorgeanne.com
STATESBORO — On Wednesday, Barstool Southern posted a picture on their Instagram of what appeared to be a Starship food delivery robot flipped over after being
TAMARA TANKSLEY/staff
involved in an accident with a car. Barstool later posted an additional image with the text, “Fly High King” and an image of Starship robot appearing flying at heaven’s steps. The photo also named the robot, marked it’s birth year and year of passing. What followed was a memorial in front of Watson Hall and a late-night vigil that dozens of Georgia Southern students attended. One attendee even held a sign saying, “Defund Cars.” Georgia Southern administrators got in on the fun, too. “My sincerest condolences to the robot family,” tweeted Shay Little, vice president for
student affairs. “We lost one of our own this week @GSU_ DSA” Condolences were also shared on Barstool Southern’s Instagram. @ev.the.crisis wrote, “Baby boy, very active in his community. He will be missed, heaven just got a real one” @wyatt.pb said, “He was like a brother to me” @Jsimpson.912 commented, “2020 gets worse and worse” @annaclairebaileyy wrote, “Rip sweet prince” @daveydlafo said, “I miss him already” The George-Anne reached out to Jennifer Wise, director of communications, for comment on the accident. We have not heard back.
The latest numbers from the Georgia DPH’s COVID-19 Daily Status Report for counties with a Georgia Southern University campus: Bulloch County: 2,836 cases, 27 deaths
Chatham County: 8,277 cases, 149 deaths
Liberty County: 1,091 cases, 22 deaths
Statewide:
309,678 cases, 27,749 hospitalizations, 6,773 deaths
Georgia Southern: 47 cases, 1,079 total
Campus community voices their concerns with the CARES center BY DAVIS COBB
Correspondent Davis.Cobb@thegeorgeanne.com
STATESBORO — In a recent Google Form sent by The George-Anne, students and faculty on campus are speaking up on how the university has handled the outbreak and return to classes. A notable portion of responses have voiced their opinions regarding the new CARES center, which was recently created by the university in response to the pandemic’s spread on campus. “I was tested and was negative,” reported a faculty member. “My more pressing issue is the fact that [the CARES team] is not effective. We have had several instances where the students are not getting information in a timely manner for the faculty to make decisions about class and clinical. In essence, sending students that are potentially infectious to hospital clinical situations.” The CARES Center was developed to provide students and faculty with a way to selfreport confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, as well as answer questions and offer needed advice. However, the responses to it have been generally negative, citing poor response times or unhelpful and inaccurate information. “I didn’t have COVID but I Page designed by Madison Terry
was exposed. I submitted the form and didn’t hear anything from the COVID team until this morning. It’s been 3 weeks. I know they probably have a lot of forms and stuff to do but they should get to you quicker. Maybe they need more staff members to tackle everything. Whatever it is, they need a quick solution.” Said a student. Some students and faculty have also reported more positive experiences with the center, noting not only helpful and speedy assistance, but also providing a kind and courteous experience. “They [CARES] were super helpful when making sure I understood what resources were available,” reported a student. “They double checked throughout the call to make sure I actually understood what was going on. They also did so without making me feel like it was my fault I got sick or that I did something wrong.” The George-Anne provided these comments to Jennifer Wise, director of communications, who said the team members have been working all day and into the night. “The CARES Team is made up of faculty, staff and students who agreed to help in this effort to keep the Georgia Southern community safe. They have responded to a considerable number of
questions and requests since the CARES Center launched about a month ago. Members of the CARES Team spend their days and evenings helping with a wide range of needs that
arise from the reports by our students and employees and should be commended for their role in the decreasing numbers of cases reported over the last few weeks. We care about
each and every report that comes in to the CARES Team and are constantly working to ensure that we are offering the best possible service to our students, faculty and staff.”
JAELYNN GILLIS/staff
To contact the editor, email gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu
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How to Prevent Voting Twice In the Upcoming Presidential Election BY SHAKAILAH HEARD Correspondent
Shakailah.Heard@thegeorgeanne.com
STATESBORO — Double voting may become a major problem in the upcoming presidential election in the State of Georgia since about 1,000 Georgians did just that in the primary elections, according to the Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger Tuesday. Double voting is when voters mail in absentee ballots and go in person to the polls to vote. This is a rare case and is considered a felony in the state of Georgia. “A double-voter knows exactly what they’re doing, diluting the votes of each and every voter that follows the law,” Raffensperger said during a press conference at the state Capitol. “Those that make the choice to game the system are breaking the law. And as secretary of state, I will not tolerate it.” Calie Peterson, a junior political science major from Georgia Southern, is skeptical. “I do not think a lot of people will double vote in the upcoming election. I think it is a very small problem used to further voter suppression,”
said Peterson. Peterson explained in a previous research she did about Voter ID laws and Jim Crow Laws, she learned voter suppression played a large role. “Throughout my research, a lot of scholarly articles claimed that voter fraud, in the US, is not very common. Especially after seeing the measures taken after the primaries, I doubt people will double vote on purpose,” said Peterson. To avoid double voting, the voter can verify that the ballot was received and check the status of it on the Georgia My Voter Page. There you can check if your ballot was received and accepted or rejected. After logging on, look for the Absentee Ballot Information Request box on the website. If the absentee ballot was rejected the voter can contact the county registrar to find out why. “Experts have said all year that increases in voting by mail that are expected as a result of the coronavirus disaster would contribute to more mistakes by voters,” according to National Public Radio.
DALIS WORRELL/staff
Get paid while helping democracy BY EDEN HODGES
Correspondent Eden.Hodges@thegeorgeanne.com
STATESBORO — The Secretary of State’s office is looking for poll workers to work at polling stations across the state as voter-turnout numbers are expected to break records this November. The demographic that normally works polls is mostly made up of the elderly and retired, but since these people are the most at-risk to COVID-19, young poll
GRAPHIC COURTESY OF PIXY.ORG DESIGNER
Page designed by Jaelynn Gillis
workers are needed now more than ever according to a recent article from NPR. Students can apply online here by listing the University System of Georgia as their organization and can expect paid training and payment of up to $140 a day according to the Poll Worker FAQ page. Poll workers will be assigned a polling location according to where they are most needed to guarantee Election Day will run smoothly without any long lines.
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Voting Checklist:
BY FERNANDA CAMACHO HAUSER Correspondent
Fernanda.CamachoHauser@thegeorgeanne.com
Check your voter status If not registered, register Check your local assigned polling location Submit paperwork for absentee voting ballot if necessary Research the candidates Candidates campaign pages Campaign Speeches Find out when your polling place opens If voting through absentee ballot, fill out and mail back prior to election day Show up at appointer voting poll at the time and date of election Bring a valid photo ID Post a pic of you with your “I voted� sticker to remind others to vote
DALIS WORRELL/staff
Page designed by Jaelynn Gillis
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Nearly $300k grant to be used for computer science education BY MITCH SMITH
Print Managing Editor Mitch.Smith@thegeorgeanne.com
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded almost $300,000 to Associate Professor of Instructional Technology, Mete Akcaoglu, Ph.D., after his grant proposal was approved. Akcaoglu’s grant proposal was awarded by The NSF’s Computer Science for All program (CSforAll) in order to provide computer based design programs that were not previously available to local students. Specifically the grant proposal was for “Developing and Piloting a Game Design-Based Computer Science Curriculum,” or “Project GAME,”. This grant will allow four regional middle schools in Southeast Georgia to access the Project GAME, and since kicking off in August has included six teachers from Bulloch, Candler, Chatham and Screven Counties. These teachers are able to access and use a cross platform game engine called Unity which is used to create virtual and augmented reality games. Unity has been known to help create some of the most popular
games ever. Some notable titles are Angry Birds Epic, Call of Duty, and Assassin’s Creed Identity. “While many of them may not choose to become a computer scientist, this will impact their thought process going forward and assist them in feeling comfortable approaching other coding and computer software that others would shy away from.” Said Akcaoglu. This is promising for these Southeast Georgia schools as, “Unity is an industry-standard software,” explained Akcaoglu. Akcaoglu also explains that this software can be intimidating to learn, and that will be the main challenge to overcome. Co-principal investigators on the grant team include College of Education’s Selçuk Doğan, Ph.D., assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, Charles Hodges, Ph.D., professor of instructional technology, and College of Engineering and Computing’s Andrew Allen, assistant professor of computer science also spoke on the new opportunity. “The software may be intimidating to learn on your own, and that is why we are doing it together as a community. We
PHOTO COURTESY OF GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Mete Akcaoglu, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Leadership, Technology, Human Development on the Statesboro Campus plan for both the teachers and students for this to be a rewarding experience where we start with small steps that participants can see their progress and celebrate.” said Doğan. “We are also looking to pair programming opportunities where students can work with individuals
that are of their own background to encourage and enjoy the process together.” Said Hodges. “The practical outcome of this research is that students will have learned the fundamentals of computer science and know that this knowledge is not out of their reach,” Said Allen.
Savannah entrepreneurial competition winding up for new applicants BY DAVIS COBB Correspondent
Davis.Cobb@thegeorgeanne.com
In the interest of assisting beginning entrepreneurs in starting their businesses and launching their ideas, Savannahfocused entrepreneurial competition BizPitch Savannah™ is preparing to begin accepting applications for the 2020 contest. Organized and presented by Savannah’s Chaper of SCORE, a network of volunteers who work to help educate and support entrepreneurs and small businesses owners, the project aims to provide three budding entrepreneurs with over $10,000 and professional services at no charge to help them jumpstart their businesses. “We are so pleased to be presenting BizPitch Savannah™
again this year.” Said Michael Siegel, the Savannah SCORE Chapter Chair. “This is a really exciting and fun event that promotes entrepreneurism and the importance of small businesses in our community and gives our contestants a chance to realize their dream of owning their own business.” To be eligible for the competition, applicants must be at least 18 years of age; their businesses must be either a new startup or have received a Savannah-Chatham County business license no earlier than May 1, 2019. In the event they do not have a business, they must agree to locate it within the Savannah/Chatham area. A non-refundable $25 fee must also be paid upon submitting the application. Applications will be available for submission
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online Friday, September 18, and can be submitted through midnight October 2. Afterward, eight finalists will be selected and announced October 14, at which time they will be invited to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges November 6 at The Creative Coast in Savannah. From these finalists three winners will be selected to receive the prize money and free services. “We were so thrilled to have such an opportunity to not only participate in an amazing competition,” said Maria Vaughn and Michael Wedum, Co-Founders of COR Compost and BizPitch Savannah™’s 2019 winners. “But to also receive the wonderful resources given to us to help us jump-start our journey into creating a successful business.”
To contact the editor, email gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu
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Puzzles
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You can register to vote now using your campus address. You can vote early. You can vote by mail. You can vote
on Election Day. Go to voteamerica.com/students
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