May 1, 2014 WWW.VSUSpEcTATOR.cOM VOLUME 86 iSSUE 14 Inside This Issue - OpiNiONS: Pipeline a risk to Valdosta - FEATURES: E.T. unearthed in New mexico desert - SpORTS: Tennis freshman earns F.o.Y . honors On the Web www.vsuspectator.com Weather 78 H 61 L Today 65 H 56 L Friday 55 L 75 H Few Showers Saturday Check out LaMarcus Wilkerson’s story, “Sanfoka celebrates graduates ,” on the web! Congrats, Congrats, Grads. Grads. Check out this Check out this semesters grad semesters grad tab inside tab inside Rain Showers Find Us Online WEbSiTE: vsuspectator.com TWiTTER: @vsuspectator FAcEbOOk: The Spectator This Day in History Bake Sale - Golden Key International Honors society will be hosting a bake sale on the Pedestrian mall today from 10 a.m-1 p.m. Everything will be one dollar. Odradek - The 2013 edition of the odradek will be unveiled today in Psychology Auditorium Room 1204 from 7-9 p.m. Students will read their work. copies of the issues will be available along with refreshments afterwards. Today at VSU Reach the peak On this day in 1963, James Whittaker became the first American to reach the peak of Mt. Everest. Whittaker did this with Nawang Gombu, his Sherpa climbing partner. 40-hour work week On this day in 1926, Ford Motor Company became a pioneer in the fight to adopt a five-day work week for its work- ers. Ford was one of the first companies in America to do so and started implementing the policy the following August. Source: History.com Seniors display artwork in Fine Arts Gallery Carlin Morrison/THE SPECTATOR The Senior Art Exhibit opened April 19 and will run until May 5 in the Fine Arts Gallery. The exhibit features the artwork of 17 VSU se- niors. Fall break in, Dead Day out After months of deliber- ation, the issue of VSU’s aca- demic calendar for the year 2015-2016 has been resolved. The final decision was made by VSU President William mcKinney last week. The calendar will include a four-day finals week for the fall and spring semester, a three-day Thanksgiving break and a two-day fall break. There will be no dead day during finals week either se- mester. In the controversial issue concerning the placement of Spring Break, dr. mcKinney sided with the Student Gov- ernment Association over the recommendation of the facul- ty senate. Spring Break will be march 14-18. The faculty senate’s pro- posal would have put Spring Break from march 28-April 1. The occurrence of Spring Break would have fallen on the twelfth week of the se- mester, which would be in sync with the lowndes coun- ty School district. doing so would cater to faculty, staff and students with children attending lowndes county schools in regards to taking family vaca- tions and getting child care for smaller children. Also, students training to be teachers do not get to en- joy Spring Break due to working with students who aren’t on their Spring Break at the same time. Then, when the school dis- tricts do get their break, VSU students have to resume their classes. The SGA argued that the proposal put an unnecessary strain on students because it would occur late in the se- mester. They proposed that the break be moved to either march 7 or march 14. dr. mcKinney approved of the faculty senate proposal, with exception of when Spring Break would fall. The Jimerson administra- tion passed the torch to the Barker administration on monday night. SGA President Tyler Barker was sworn in at a ceremony in the Student Union, which also served as the final SGA meet- ing until August. Before he was sworn in, however, outgoing SGA Presi- dent Will Jimerson had some final thoughts for his past year in office. “We started the semester way back in August at our first senator orientation at the University center, where I re- vealed the organization’s strategic plan that aligned with VP oshodi’s platform ‘Working for You from the In- side out’ and my platform ‘Student Involvement: Reten- tion, Graduation, Progres- sion,’” Jimerson said. “We have reached our potential and desire to grow into all that we are destined and de- sired to be.” Jimerson pointed out the various objectives that the SGA had and matched during the season. Some of these ob- jectives involved bridging a gap between the SGA, the stu- dent body and the administra- tion; increasing the visibility of the SGA; and improving clarity of the internal and ex- ternal workings of the SGA. A new order for SGA Joe Adgie SocIAl mEdIA EdIToR [email protected]LaShawn Oglesby STAFF WRITER [email protected]For the first time, President mcKinney will give the State of the University in a speech on Friday. mcKinney will discuss what VSU has done in the past year and plans for the university in the future. “Because Valdosta State University’s accomplish- ments, your accomplishments at our university, are deserv- ing of recognition and ac- knowledgement, I have decid- ed to change things so that the entire VSU community-- its faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends--can share in our successes and more im- portantly, understand the pos- itive momentum of our achievements,” dr. mcKinney wrote in an email. “This posi- tive momentum is not an ac- cident, but rather represents quite clearly that we are pur- posefully moving our great university forward in to a very bright future.” The speech will be given in Whitehead Auditorium in the Fine Arts building Friday at 1:30 p.m., and will be streamed live at useduca- tiontv.com. In addition, mcKinney an- nounced that the annual con- vocation will change and will no longer feature a speech from the president. The long-awaited move of the ATm from the University center to the Student Union has been in talks again, with the latest goal to have it ready by the start of classes in Au- gust. "The ATm is going to move to the Union,” Presi- dent William mcKinney said. “my hope is that when you come back in August that the ATm is at the Union. “It will be a Bank of Amer- ica ATm, just like the ATm at the Uc now, but it will be in a secure location." mcKinney and his staff aren't yet sure about where the ATm will be placed, or whether it will be inside or outside of the union, but it should be a sign of good news to all students that the university is looking to im- prove some of its safety is- sues by relocating the ATm. The students themselves should feel relieved knowing that they can conveniently get money without the concern of traveling far away to the iso- lated and, at most times, se- cluded location of the Uc. "I think the move for the ATm would be a good move to the Student Union,” Ian Kerstanski, sophomore mass media major, said. “It's a lot closer and a lot more conve- nient, and people don't have to drive all the way to the Uc, where there's not really a lot of parking spots." Zach Blake, sophomore pre-nursing major, agrees that the ATm move is good for the university. "I feel like if it was moved to the Student Union, I would definitely use it more often," Blake said. "It would be more convenient to the university, and all the dorms and all the apartments around here. It would cut down on time (too). Right now, it's kind of out there in the middle of nowhere, (but at the Student Union) it's more open and there's more people around." dr. mcKinney admitted jokingly that the ATm issue has been frustrating. "one of the other things I learned from this process: it takes a lot longer to move an ATm," dr. mcKinney said. McKinney to give the State of VSU ATM relocation to start Joe Adgie SocIAl mEdIA EdIToR [email protected]Neil Frawley STAFF WRITER [email protected]Check out the rest on the web! Check out the rest on the web! Check out the rest On the web!
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Transcript
May 1, 2014 W W W . V S U S p E c T A T O R . c O M VOLUME 86 iSSUE 14
Inside This Issue- OpiNiONS: Pipeline a risk to Valdosta
- FEATURES: E.T. unearthed in New mexico desert
- SpORTS: Tennis freshman earns F.o.Y . honors
On the Webwww.vsuspectator.com
Weather
78 H 61 L
Today
65 H 56 L
Friday
55 L75 H
Few
Showers
Saturday
Check out LaMarcus Wilkerson’sstory, “Sanfoka celebrates graduates ,” on the web!
Congrats,Congrats,
Grads.Grads.Check out this Check out this
semesters gradsemesters grad
tab inside tab inside
Rain
Showers
Find Us
Online
WEbSiTE:vsuspectator.com
TWiTTER:@vsuspectator
FAcEbOOk:The Spectator
This Day in
History
Bake Sale - Golden Key
International Honors society
will be hosting a bake sale
on the Pedestrian mall
today from 10 a.m-1 p.m.
Everything will be one
dollar.
Odradek - The 2013
edition of the odradek will
be unveiled today in
Psychology Auditorium
Room 1204 from 7-9 p.m.
Students will read their
work. copies of the issues
will be available along with
refreshments afterwards.
Today at VSU
Reach the peakOn this day in 1963,
James Whittaker
became the first
American to reach the
peak of Mt. Everest.
Whittaker did this with
Nawang Gombu, his
Sherpa climbing partner.
40-hour work
weekOn this day in 1926,
Ford Motor Company
became a pioneer in the
fight to adopt a five-day
work week for its work-
ers. Ford was one of the
first companies in
America to do so and
started implementing
the policy the following
August.
Source: History.com
Seniors display artwork inFine Arts Gallery
Carlin Morrison/THE SPECTATOR
The Senior Art Exhibit opened April 19 and will run until May 5 in the Fine Arts Gallery. The exhibit features the artwork of 17 VSU se-
It’s weird to write some-thing in the first person.Working with The Spectatorhas caused me to grow in-creasingly comfortable withthe third person omniscienttone of a narrator, but now Iam casting that tone aside as Iadopt something more per-sonal.
Working to inform the stu-dent body has been one of themost rewarding and enjoyableexperiences I have had sincecoming to VSU. The Specta-tor has taught me responsibil-ity, punctuality and how to be“a half-inch taller than mycompetitors.”
I have dealt with the frus-trations of writing my crown-ing achievement, only to re-ceive an email the next daythat I made a blatant typo, orby being brushed off bysomeone dodging an inter-view.
Despite all the frustrationsand disappointments, I haveenjoyed working with someof the friendliest and mostdedicated students I have everknown.
On May 10, I will stepacross a stage and cross intothe professional world. TheSpectator will still be herethough, and it will continue topublish quality news and in-formed opinions.
Olivia Mclean
Managing Editor
As this semester comes toan end, I realize how fasttime really goes by. Just fouryears ago, I was a freshmanat VSU, completely undecid-ed on what I wanted to study.By the end of my sophomoreyear, I decided I wanted to bea journalist and began takingclasses in that field.
Writing for The Spectatorfor the past year and a halfhas made me a better writer,but in addition to that, it hashelped me form a bond withpeople who have an interestin journalism.
Because I studied some-thing that I have a genuine in-terest in, I am looking for-ward to venturing out into thereal world. I hope to somedaywrite for a major magazine,truly loving my career choice.
Rebecka McAleer
Multimedia Editor
To those of us at The Spec-tator, this letter is the mostheavily-pondered piece wewill ever write. I havethought long and hard aboutwhat to say. How do you sumup four years with this news-paper in 300 words? It’s notjust a job. It’s a lifestyle.
In my seven semesters onthe editorial staff, I have seenso many people come and go.I have worked for six differ-ent editors-in-chief. I haveheld two different official po-sitions, and countless unoffi-cial ones.
I’ve learned many lessonsat this job, not all of which Iwas thrilled to learn. Some-times you have to learn thingsthe hard way, the ugly way,the slog-through-the-mudway. You have to learn tokeep smiling, because it’spossible that if you don’t, noone else will.
With this, I bid ValdostaState University and TheSpectator adieu. Here’s hop-ing I never stop learning.
Joe Adgie
Social Media Editor
So one part of my journeyhas come to an end, and an-other is beginning soon. I amleaving Valdosta State, andThe Spectator, to go out intothe world of professionaljournalism.
These two years and twomonths that I have spent atThe Spectator have probablybeen the most rewarding peri-od of my entire life.
To the writers of The Spec-tator, you are the voice of thestudents. Use this voice well.
To the readers of The Spec-tator, thank you for picking usup on Thursdays. I hope wemade you smarter and moreinformed.
God bless you all, and as
the old Vera Lynn song goes,“I know we’ll meet again,some sunny day.”
Hillary Straba
Features Editor
Two years ago, I arrived inValdosta from the great coun-try of New Mexico.
Eventually, I was acceptedas a citizen both of this coun-try and of VSU, and after afew semesters I found my
place on campus—the Eng-lish Department and theSpectator.
I have worked with manygreat professors in the depart-ment, but there are a few whostand out. I would like tothank Dr. Byron Brown forhis excellent guidance, Dr.Kendric Coleman for believ-ing in my ideas and helpingme navigate the unchartedwaters of Toni Morrison’s
anti-feminism, and Dr. TedGeltner and Dr. Pat Miller forrecruiting me for The Specta-tor.
I did not expect to likeVSU, but I am thankful forthe wonderful people I havemet, especially my Spectatorfamily.
As I trade the front lawnfor the Golden Gate, I justhave one thing left tosay…the snacks were great.
Spectator prints free classi-fieds for stu dents of Val -dos ta State Uni ver si ty only.These must be no more than40 words, or a $8.00 chargewill apply. Clas si fieds forfac ul ty, staff, stu dent or ga -ni za tions, stu dent-ownedbusi ness es and the gen er alpub lic cost $8.00 for up to
40 words. Ads should besent to Spectator or de liv -ered to our of fice in 1238Hopper Hall. The dead line isMon day at 5 p.m. If paymentap plies, it should be sub mit -ted in a sealed en ve lope atthe time the ad is placed. Adsmust be ac com pa nied by thename and phone num ber of
the per son sub mit ting the ad.Ads must be re sub mit tedeach week, as nec es sary.Spec ta tor ad dress is: 1500 N. Patterson St.,Valdosta, GA 31698. Ouremail address is s p e c @ v a l d o s t a . e d u .Spec ta tor re serves the rightto reject any clas si fied ad.
All ads are sub ject to stan-dard ed it ing pro ce dures.Spec ta tor is not re spon siblefor mis takes due to a sub mit -ted er ror. The cat e go ries forclassifieds in clude: For Sale,For Rent, Sublease, Want ed,Room mate, Services, Per-sonnels and Help Wanted.
Roommate Needed Immediately: $375 Rent -Includes all utilities. 1bedroom in a 3 bedroomhouse. Available NOW: Leasethrough July. Email Ashley for info: [email protected]
The Classifieds
PAge 2 | vsusPectAtor.coM N e w SMAY 1, 2014
THE SPECTATORSummer & Fall 2014Summer & Fall 2014
RecruitmentRecruitment
Or Email: Aimee Napier, Advertising Sales Manager, [email protected]
Xchange Ministries pre-sents “Our Father,” an orig-inal stage play by “InvisibleMe” Drama at 8 p.m. in theBailey Auditorium. Admis-sion is free.
The play explores thethemes of faith, sibling ri-valry and life’s uncertaintywhile following the lives ofa family whose musicalband is falling apart.
May 5
Sign-up for CAB’s annualAtlanta Braves Game be-gins May 5 at 8 a.m. in theStudent Life office. Thegame will be held in At-lanta on July 6 and will beagainst the Arizona Dia-mondbacks.
Tickets are limited. Formore information, contactAlisha Stabler at [email protected].
May 6
Last Rites Study Session,sponsored by Phi Beta, willbe held from 7 p.m. to 2a.m. in Odum LibraryRoom 1160.
Students who attend willbe able to buy 25-cent cupsof coffee and get in somelast-minute studying beforeexams.
Upcoming Events
April 28
An iPhone 5 was reportedstolen from Jennett LectureHall.
A student reported his pur-ple JanSport book bag stolenfrom the lockers next to thebasketball court in the Stu-dent Recreation Center.
April 26
A driver was pulled overfor going the wrong way ona one-way street by the Col-lege Street parking lot.
April 24
A student reported thatsomeone had keyed her sil-ver Altima while it wasparked in the Oak Streetparking lot’s overnight sec-tion.
Police Briefs
Senior editors say goodbye
Happy ‘Tator Day!
Check us out on
the web at
vsuspectator.com
may 1, 2014 VSUSpectator.com | page 3OpiniOns
Opinions expressed in the spectator other than editorials are the opinions of the writers of signed columns and not necessarily those
of the spectator and its staff. all rights reserved. reprints by permission of the editors. Views in this newspaper are not necessarily
those of the Valdosta state University administration, faculty and staff.
1500 N. Patterson St., Valdosta, GA 31698Letters must include name, year in school, major, job title or other appro-
priate identification and phone number for verification.Letters should be no longer than 300 words in length. Letters are subject toediting for style, length, grammar, and libelous material. Not all letters arepublished. Letters should be typed and turned in with a disk, or e-mailed as
an attachment by tuesdays before 5 p.m.
Online at www.vsuspectator.com
Editor-in-Chief: will Lewis Managing Editor:Olivia McLeanBusiness Manager: Kristen VarneyAdvertising Manager:aimee NapierCirculation Manager: sara turnerOpinions Editor: elan waiteFeatures Editor: Hillary straba
Sports Editor:alex tostadoPhoto Editor: Carlin MorrisonMultimedia Editor: rebecka McaleerWeb Designer: John PreerGraphic Designer:Galen ColesCopy Editor: John stephenSocial Media Editor: Joe adgie
Faculty Advisers:Dr. Pat Miller, Dr. tedGeltner, Keith warburgReporters/Photographers:stephen Cavallaro, JessicaCooke, allison ericson, ericJackson Jordan Hill, tyraMills, isaiah smart ,taylorstone, alexis waters, Christo-pher webb, Lamarcus wilker-son, Jordan Barela
Spectator Staff
Money isn’t everything.
after graduating, students
might feel that they have to
begin making money right
away. while a college degree
may create this assumption,
don’t be deceived. the value
of an opportunity to gain ex-
perience and build on your
future outweighs any dollar
amount. Unpaid internships
are a great way to achieve
this.
Get beyond the notion that
a degree equals a job, and a
paying one, too. this isn't our
parents’ generation. the job
market is flooded with degree
holding post-graduates with
good enough GPas and
enough extracurricular activi-
ties that make it hard for em-
ployers to distinguish one
from another.
so, employers need other
ways to determine the people
actually worthy of a job from
the sea of all seemingly wor-
thy candidates. the best
method is to give out unpaid
internships.
in doing so, it allows em-
ployers the chance to see who
really wants to work and who
the employer can really trust
to be a valuable asset to the
company.
You might think, "well that
makes sense, but i could still
show that while making mon-
ey, too." while that may be
true, if an employer has 20
people showing up for an in-
ternship and the employer
only expects to hire maybe
two of them, it doesn't make
sense for the employer to
throw money at people he or
she doesn't intend to hire.
But consider this: the em-
ployer can afford to pay the
two candidates that get hired
more than other workers be-
cause he or she didn't pay the
other 18 people for a full
year. the employer may be
able to give those people
$15-$20 per hour. Now add
in the factor that the employ-
er trusts you as a valuable
member of his or her staff
and that you have as good of
a first job as you're ever go-
ing to find.
the point of this is not to
say that you shouldn't take a
paid internship if you get
one. Obviously, money is
good and you should try to
get a good paying job as
quickly as you can. But at the
same time, i'm also saying
you should do what feels
right and not let money be
the reason you turn down an
awesome opportunity that
leads to something more
worthwhile for you.
think about why you
chose to come to VsU. think
about why you chose your
major, and the path that
you've dreamt about as
you've worked through all
those frustrating late nights in
the library and spent all your
money on coffee, not for the
enjoyment, but because you
needed it.
Now think about what you
want when you graduate. Do
you really want to put all that
to waste by taking the first
job you get, even though it's
not in your best interest? You
wouldn't pick your college
like that. You wouldn't pick
your degree like that. so do
you really want to choose the
next 30-45 years like that?
“My first
thought
was it's a
nuclear bomb, we're dead,"
Kim Krajniak said in a 1994
New York times article.
"No words could ever tell
you how frightening it was.
“My sliding glass door
was like an oven. People
were running out in their un-
derwear. it was bedlam.
People running and falling,
kids naked. i felt like an ani-
mal running scared for my
life."
On the morning of March
23, 1994, a texas eastern
transmission gas pipeline
erupted next to an apartment
complex in edison, New
Jersey. the chaos that en-
sued resulted in $25 million
in damage and left 128 fam-
ilies without homes.
Now, texas eastern
transmission’s parent com-
pany, spectra energy Corp.,
wants to build a pipeline
that will cut straight through
Valdosta’s backyard.
spectra energy is engaged
in a joint venture with Nex-
tera energy to construct the
$3 billion sabal trail
pipeline.
the pipeline will stretch
474 miles across the south-
east with 196 of those being
in Georgia. it will also un-
dercut the Green swamp in
central florida, an area that
provides a significant
amount of drinking water to
the florida aquifer.
“My mom and dad taught
us that we are the caretakers
of our land, and i feel if we
don’t protect our land pro-
tect our water and our
ecosystem we’re going to
lose it,” roselyn Beasley
Bridges, property owner in
Mitchell, worth, Colquitt
and Dougherty counties,
said in an interview with the
albany Herald. “every per-
son in this region who turns
on a faucet and gets a glass
of pure, clear drinking water
should thank God. and that,
more than anything, is what
i feel is at stake here.”
transporting natural gas
over land is a serious gam-
ble. since 1994 there have
been 39 fatalities, 188 in-
juries and $1,216,973,783 in
damage due to 1,541 inci-
dents across the country, ac-
cording to the U.s. Depart-
ment of transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Ma-
terial safety administration.
But area residents might
feel safer if spectra energy
has a sparkling safety
record, right?
too bad it doesn’t. the
texas eastern transmission
pipeline has had 21 inci-
dents which resulted in one
injury and over $8 million
in damages. thirteen of the
incidents occurred because
of external corrosion, ac-
cording to the PHMsa.
these are unfortunate sta-
tistics for a company that
claims its “pipeline facilities
are cleaned to minimize in-
ternal corrosion and main-
tain high-flow efficiency.”
with spectra energy’s
spotty safety record and the
nearly 500 miles of precious
ecosystem that the sabal
trail pipeline will cross, the
risks are just too great.
Valdosta does not need to
celebrate the 20-year an-
niversary of the edison
pipeline explosion by allow-
ing the responsible company
to drag another pipeline
through the country.
instead of another
pipeline, it is time the com-
munity made a demand for
less archaic forms of energy.
fracking, a method that
involves injecting fluids un-
der high pressure into the
ground to break up shale
rock, poses a major health
risk to residents in drilling
areas.
a health survey released
by the southwest Pennsylva-
nia environmental Health
Project reported that people
who lived near drilling sites
in washington County,
Pennsylvania, reported ex-
periencing nausea, abdomi-
nal pain, breathing difficul-
ties and nosebleeds—symp-
toms that could be caused
by toxins released in the
drilling process.
fracking is also responsi-
ble for high levels of
methane and other carcino-
gens found in drinking water
near drill sites. Methane
rates can measure as much
as 17 times the normal limit
in affected areas.
so who are we really
helping by allowing this
pipeline?Corporate giants like
spectra and Nextera have alot to gain from transporting1 billion cubic feet of natur-al gas a day, but can theplanet sustain the constantinsanity of milking finite re-sources for profit?
VsU students, find your
voice. write to your local
state representatives, and let
them know that it is time to
usher in a new age of re-
newable energy.
This editorial was written by a member of the editorial staff and it expresses the general opinion of the Spectator.
Our point of view...
Pipeline a risk to Valdosta
Paid internships unneccessary People PollWhat are your summer plans?