October 17, 2013 WWW.VSUSPECTATOR.COM VOLUME 85 iSSUE 9 Inside This Issue - OPiniOnS: “Campus markets aren’t cheap” - FEATURES: “Bryan welcomes 15,000 to farm” - SPORTS: “Murray holds the torch” On the Web www.vsuspectator.com PoPcorn - Sigma iota Chapter of alpha Phi Omega is selling popcorn for $1 at the Student Union display table a, from noon to 3 p.m. Search for the manateeS - Come to the mandatory pre-trip meeting, at 6 p.m. at the Student rec Center pool, to learn about the kayaking trip in Wakulla river, fla. those who go on the trip will join the search for manatees. Lunch will be provided. the trip is set for Oct. 19 at $30. Women’S Self-defenSe claSS - in reocgnition of Domestic Violence awareness Month, Health Promotions is offereing raD, the self- defense class for women, for free to students, faculty and staff. the class meets in the Student Union Ballroom a at 5 p.m. the class will be offered until Oct. 22. Today at VSU Weather 88 H 65 L Today 85 H 63 L Friday 62 L 82 H Partly Cloudy Saturday Check out John Preer’s story on the controversial SPLOST tax. Luke Luke Bryan’s Bryan’s Farm Tour Farm Tour comes to comes to Valdosta, Valdosta, pg. 4 pg. 4 PM Showers Sunny Find Us Online vsuspectator.com TWiTTER: @vsuspectator FACEBOOk: The Spectator Today in History Capone goes to prison October 17, 1931 Gangster al “Scarface” Capone was sentenced to 11 years in prison for tax evasion and fined $80,000. Capone’s arrest ended the reign of one of the most notorious criminals of the 1920s and 1930s. He was transferred to alcatraz island after being accused of receiving special treatment and manipulating the system in prison. Capone was released early in 1939 for good behavior. Capone gained momentum as a gangster by helping run Johnny torrio’s alcohol, gambling and prostitution businesses. after torrio’s retirment in 1925, Capone took charge. Source: History.com Sept. 24-25: Ted cruz, r-Texas, threatens to use shutdown bill to weaken healthcare law. Sept. 30: Senate rejects house provisions curbing healthcare law. house reworks shutdown bill, delaying healthcare law for a year. Oct. 1: Partial federal shutdown begins, around 800,000 workers furloughed. Oct. 2: Democratic Senate ignores measures to open select parts of the national gov’t, citing that the entire gov’t must reopen. Oct. 4: republicans connect shutdown fight to need for congress to renew federal borrowing authority by oct. 17. Oct. 11: Bipartisan Senate group works to reopen gov’t and prevent the U.S. from defaulting. Oct. 12: John Boehner, r-ohio, tells republicans negotiations have stalled. Oct. 15: house GoP efforts fail after Boehner does not gain republican support for alternative plans. Oct. 16: harry reid, D-Nevada, and Mitch Mcconnell, r-Kentucky, announced deal on reopening the gov’t through Jan. 15, extending debt limit to Feb. 7. GOVERNMENT REOPENS After 16 days House announces deal to end shutdown. Infographic by: Jennifer Gleason & Will Lewis Source: aP Stabbing victim in recovery Police continue to investigate last Thursday night’s assault between Nevins and West Hall. the VSU student that was stabbed last thursday night is recovering and was released from Shands Hospital on Monday. antoine Bray, sophomore vocal performance major, was questioned by officials from the Georgia Bureau of investigation and VSUPD on tuesday about the assault. “i know that (the GBi) have interviewed him,” Major anne farmer, VSUPD, said. “i know that Will Leschber went with (agent Callahan) yesterday to his home, where he’s from, to interview him.” Bray said that his recovery is going well since the inci- dent. “i’m doing pretty good,” Bray said. “the recovery is going well. (it’s) just a gruel- ing process. i’m not gonna know when i’m coming back (to school) until the doctor tells me.” Bray also said that he was not allowed to comment on the investigation. at 9:28 p.m. last thursday night Sgt. Heidi Bertsch, VSUPD, was dispatched to the area between reade Hall and Georgia Hall to respond to a stabbing. Witnesses reported seeing Bray running towards the two residence halls after the inci- dent. Officer Caleb reid was the first to respond to the scene and immediately began to ad- minister first aide. Sgt. Leschber credited reid’s ac- tions with helping to save Bray’s life. VSU utilized its campus alert system to notify students of the assault. “there has been a stabbing in VSU pedestrian mall area,” the alert read. “VSU Police on the scene. anyone with in- formation should call 229- 259-5555 with information.” Special agt. Steve turner, GBi, said Bray was stabbed near nevins Hall, before be- ing found by Georgia Hall. Bray was transported from campus to South Georgia Medical Center and later transferred to Shands Hospi- Will Lewis M anaGinG e DitOr [email protected]is VSU safe? the SGa asked that ques- tion during Monday night’s meeting while discussing ways that campus safety could be improved. this was in response to the stabbing incident that took place late thursday night. the stabbing was not the first violent incident to occur at VSU this month. exactly one week before, on Oct. 3, an armed robbery was reported on campus where an individual was forced to withdraw money from his bank account at gunpoint. these incidents and more have the SGa – and students as a whole – wondering about the safety of their cam- pus. “Students have been saying that they don’t feel safe on campus,” Senator edgar James said. He got this infor- mation from students at the Happening back in august. “i talked to two or three parents who picked their children up, and even though (the students are) adults, they still feel that they are their babies, and they’re considering taking their child from VSU.” James remarked that the statistics paint a different pic- ture from what has happened over the last two weeks. “i’ve looked at the statis- tics, and crime at VSU is a lot lower than any other uni- versity in the state of Geor- gia,” James said. Despite these remarks from James, a look at the Daily Beast’s College Safety rank- ings tell otherwise. the most recent rankings, published in 2010, placed VSU as the 324th most dan- gerous college campus in the nation – and the ninth most dangerous in Georgia. “One of the concerns that parents had is that they need more ... patrolling,” James said, which set off some de- bate about the cost of pa- trolling and the effectiveness of existing patrolling. “Students were mostly con- cerned with once we try to get more officers, will it cost more money for students, will it be a financial concern, because you’re hiring more people with the university,” Senator Candicee Childs said. “there were also con- cerns because this is happen- ing at, what, nine or 10 o’- clock. that’s pretty early in the evening, so a lot of peo- ple were wondering where were the officers, or where they were on campus at time. Where was the security at?” One senator discussed how more officers could help with escorts. tori Baldwin was in the Odum Library during the lockdown. She discussed her options to get back to her res- idence at Langdale Hall, which involved going through the pedestrian mall, or “the other way, which is a little shadier, less lighting.” “i asked if there was any I’ve looked at the statistics, and crime at VSU is a lot lower than any other uni- versity in the state of Georgia. - Senator edgar JameS “ ” Joe Adgie S OCiaL M eDia e DitOr [email protected]SGA explores safety concerns See SGA , Page 2 Von Kennedy / The SPecTaTor Thursday night VSUPD received the call of a stabbing on campus. Officers taped off main campus from West Hall to Palms Quad, investigating the report and patrolling as students walked across campus throughout the night. See BRAY , Page 2 a V aldosta man was arrest- ed Wednesday in connection with an Oct. 3 incident in which a VSU student was kidnapped and robbed at gun- point on campus. Police remain in pursuit of other suspects involved in the incident. Michael Humphrey of Val- dosta was arrested and charged in kidnapping and armed robbery and is being held at Lowndes County Jail. all of the charges are felonies. Humphrey is not af- filiated to VSU in any way police said. according to VSUPD a student whose name is being withheld by police was ab- ducted at gunpoint at the ath- letic field house on West Mary St. around 11p.m. according to the V aldosta Daily times, the victim re- ported being held at gunpoint by two black males. an attempted kidnapping by suspects meeting the same description was reported that same evening. the victim was then taken to his apartment and robbed. after the victim’s apart- ment was robbed one of the suspects forced the victim to accompany him to the Bank of america atM at the Uni- versity Center. after the victim was forced to withdraw $1,000 from his Allison Ericson S taff W riter [email protected]Suspect arrested, others sought in ATM robbery See ROBBERY , Page 2
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October 17, 2013 W W W . V S U S P E C T A T O R . C O M VOLUME 85 iSSUE 9
Inside This Issue- OPiniOnS: “Campus markets aren’t cheap”
- FEATURES: “Bryan welcomes 15,000 to farm”
- SPORTS: “Murray holds the torch”
On the Webwww.vsuspectator.com
PoPcorn - Sigma iota
Chapter of alpha Phi Omega is
selling popcorn for $1 at the
Student Union display table a,
from noon to 3 p.m.
Search for the
manateeS - Come to the
mandatory pre-trip meeting, at
6 p.m. at the Student rec
Center pool, to learn about the
kayaking trip in Wakulla river,
fla. those who go on the trip
will join the search for
manatees. Lunch will be
provided. the trip is set for
Oct. 19 at $30.
Women’S Self-defenSe
claSS - in reocgnition of
Domestic Violence awareness
Month, Health Promotions is
offereing raD, the self-
defense class for women, for
free to students, faculty and
staff. the class meets in the
Student Union Ballroom a at 5
p.m. the class will be offered
until Oct. 22.
Today at VSU
Weather
88 H 65 L
Today
85 H 63 L
Friday
62 L82 H
Partly
Cloudy
Saturday
Check out John Preer’s story on the controversial
SPLOST tax.
LukeLuke
Bryan’sBryan’s
Farm TourFarm Tour
comes tocomes to
Valdosta,Valdosta,
pg. 4pg. 4
PM
Showers
Sunny
Find Us
Online
vsuspectator.com
TWiTTER:@vsuspectator
FACEBOOk:The Spectator
Today in
History
Capone goes to
prisonOctober 17, 1931
Gangster al “Scarface”
Capone was sentenced to 11
years in prison for tax
evasion and fined $80,000.
Capone’s arrest ended the
reign of one of the most
notorious criminals of the
1920s and 1930s.
He was transferred to
alcatraz island after being
accused of receiving special
treatment and manipulating
the system in prison. Capone
was released early in 1939
for good behavior.
Capone gained momentum as
a gangster by helping run
Johnny torrio’s alcohol,
gambling and prostitution
businesses. after torrio’s
retirment in 1925, Capone
took charge.
Source: History.com
Sept. 24-25:
Ted cruz,
r-Texas,
threatens to use
shutdown bill
to weaken
healthcare
law.
Sept. 30:
Senate rejects
house provisions
curbing healthcare
law. house reworks
shutdown bill,
delaying
healthcare law
for a year.
Oct. 1:
Partial federal
shutdown begins,
around 800,000
workers
furloughed.
Oct. 2:
Democratic
Senate ignores
measures to
open select parts
of the national
gov’t, citing that
the entire gov’t
must reopen.
Oct. 4:
republicans
connect
shutdown fight
to need for
congress to
renew federal
borrowing
authority by
oct. 17.
Oct. 11:
Bipartisan Senate
group works to
reopen gov’t
and prevent
the U.S.
from
defaulting.
Oct. 12:
John Boehner,
r-ohio, tells
republicans
negotiations
have stalled.
Oct. 15:
house GoP
efforts fail after
Boehner
does not gain
republican
support for
alternative plans.
Oct. 16:
harry reid,
D-Nevada,
and Mitch
Mcconnell,
r-Kentucky,
announced deal
on reopening the
gov’t through
Jan. 15, extending
debt limit to Feb. 7.
GOVERNMENT REOPENSAfter 16 days House announces deal to end shutdown.
Infographic by: Jennifer Gleason & Will Lewis
Source: aP
Stabbing victim in recoveryPolice continue to investigate last Thursday night’s assault between Nevins and West Hall.
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PagE 2 | vsusPECTaTOR.COm N e w s OCTOBER 17, 2013
The Classifieds
OCT. 9:
A light purple and white
Schwinn Ranger bicycle was
stolen in front of Patterson
Hall.
OCT. 10:
A student was stabbed on
the pedestrian mall.
OCT. 11:
A black “Adventure Time”
backpack, carrying a Mac-
book Pro laptop was stolen
from the Student Union. A
BOLO was called for a black
male and was closed about a
half hour later.
OCT. 13:
A Volkswagen Jetta was
vandalized in the
Georgia/Langdale parking
lot.
OCT. 13:
A car was pulled over on
the ramp between the 1st and
2nd floors of the Sustella
deck.
OCT. 14:
A sign in front of a local’s
house was vandalized.
OCT. 15
Four black males, who
were not believed to be stu-
dents, were sitting outside of
a room in Centennial Hall.
Robert Sadler, 21, of Valdos-
ta, was arrested and charged
with giving a false name to
an officer and misdemeanor
obstruction of an officer. Two
criminal trespass warnings
were issued.
A window was shot out
with a BB gun at a local’s
house, possibly happened
from the sign vandalizing in-
cident. Window was replaced
by local’s father.
Police Briefs
police escort because I was
by myself, and they said that
all police were tied up with
figuring out the scene that
they couldn’t escort anyone
anywhere,” Baldwin said,
“even to the parking lots.”
These ideas and more will
be discussed by SGA execu-
tives and President William
McKinney’s cabinet in a
meeting on Thursday.
In other SGA news:
The budget, before the
meeting, stood at $19,468.78.
Three monetary things were
voted on during the meeting,
and all three were confirmed
by the SGA Senate:
-$75 to the finance commit-
tee for a bake sale. This bake
sale is intended to raise mon-
ey for Relay for Life.
-$250 to the Miss VSU
Pageant. This will purchase
co-sponsorship of the event
program. Alicia Stabler, who
represented the pageant dur-
ing the meeting, asked for
$220 but got $250 as the
SGA saw the event as benefi-
cial to the community and to
the individuals taking part in
it.
-$228 to a memorial week-
end for Marcus Holmes. This
will purchase wristbands
with Holmes’ name on it.
SGA
Continued from Page 1
tal in Gainesville, Fla.
VSUPD partnered with VPD and the GBI
to establish a perimeter around the scene and
gather clues. The Valdosta Crime Lab worked
with police through the night.
Buildings around campus were closed down
as police combed the area for a suspect. Resi-
dence halls remained on shutdown until 11:58
p.m.
The on-scene investigation was concluded
and the scene was cleaned at approximately
2:30 a.m.
Agent Michael Callahan, GBI, was selected
to head up the investigation with the assis-
tance of VSUPD.
Bray maintained a steady stream of updates
on his Facebook page before being released
from the hospital Monday.
Turner declined to comment on any
progress made in the investigation and on if a
suspect had been named.
The violent assault has caused students to
question how safe they are on campus.
“It was a scary thing to know that we are an
open campus and to know that people do
come on campus and attack people was a
scary thing,” Kirstie Douglas, senior account-
ing major, said.
“I do feel like our security needs to be bet-
ter, like, the motion sensor lights need to actu-
ally work properly,” Christopher Duncun,
sophomore accounting major, said. “They turn
off when people walk by them.”
According to Thressea Boyd, director of
VSU Communications, there have been no
major changes regarding security on campus.
“Valdosta State’s highest priority is the con-
tinued safety of the campus community and
safety processes and procedures are under
continual evaluation,” Boyd said. “Students,
faculty and staff are encouraged to be aware
of their surroundings and report suspicious
activity to the VSU Police.”
Farmer emphasized the importance of vigi-
lance on the part of the student. The buddy
system, she said, is essential to remaining safe
on campus.
She also addressed the availability of uni-
versity police for escorts in and around cam-
pus.
In order for students to get an escort they
should call from one of the many campus call
boxes, or phone the non-emergency police
number.
VSUPD also offer student safety tips to
anyone who comes to the office with concerns
about their well-being at school.
Any students with information regarding
the stabbing should contact VSUPD at 229-
259-5555.
BRAY
Continued from Page 1
Oct. 18
As part of Hispanic Her-
itage Month, the Dept. of
Modern Language and Clas-
sical Languages will host
lessons on how to make
Mexican Salsa. The lessons
will take place in the Turner
Arts Center for 5 to 7 p.m.
There will be a team meet-
ing for the 48-Hour Film Fes-
tival at 6 p.m. in room 1001
of the Mass Media Building.
Oct. 22
Phi Beta Fraternity will
host its first ever Halloween
Party in the Student Union
Ballroom B from 8-10 p.m.
A political symposium will
be held in the University
Center, Magnolia Room at 7
p.m. The symposium will
honor the 50 Years of Inte-
gration.
Oct. 23
VOD Indie presents “No
Soliciting!” at 6 p.m. in the
University Center Theater.
.
Upcoming Events
account he was then released.
The suspect then fled the
scene.
According to Major Anne
Farmer of VSUPD the inves-
tigation is on going.
Farmer would not com-
ment further on the case.
The VSUPD requests any-
one with additional informa-
tion to the crime to please
contact the police department
at 229-333-7816.
ROBBERY
Continued from Page 1
HAPPY‘TATOR
DAY!
it's fall, and it's Saturday.
You wake up, turn on Sports-
Center, open up the fridge
and crack open what will be
the first of countless beers.
You sit down on the couch,
and you lean over to the per-
son next to you and you say
to them, "Happy game day!"
and you clink your beer of
choice.
Beer, tailgating and foot-
ball is one of the most amer-
ican combinations there is in
our nation. Before the game,
beer pours like a golden,
sudsy waterfall. However,
once the games begin, there's
not a drop to be found.
Well, not for most universi-
ties at least. Some universi-
ties do allow sales of alcohol
at their stadiums, but the
nCaa doesn't allow sales at
on-campus stadiums. this
prohibits places such as the
VSU pe Complex and Billy
Grant Stadium from selling
alcohol.
the rule technically doesn't
apply to Bazemore-Hyder
Stadium because it's not an
on-campus stadium, however,
it is owned by the Valdosta
Board of education which
prevents alcohol sales. On
one hand i think it is good
because it is a high school
stadium too, and i completely
agree that it would be in
great distaste to place beer
advertisements in the stadi-
um.
But, at the same time, it is-
n't just a high school venue,
and on Saturdays when VSU
is hosting games i think VSU
fans with proof of age would
enjoy watching the game
while also enjoying a beer.
You might think that if
beer was sold at games it
might cost more than what
students would be willing to
pay, but i don't think it would
completely discourage stu-
dents as well as parents and
alumni from spending the
higher prices.
it would work the way
sales at movie theaters work,
where drink and snack prices
are higher than just about
anywhere else, not because
that's how much the theater
needs to sell it for but be-
cause it's the only place pa-
trons at the venue can get
what they want.
if VSU could pull about
6,000 fans per game, i think
there would be a potential to
make some money. as much
as West Virginia's $520,000
they made in their first sea-
son? probably not, but i think
there is money to be made,
and i think it could help pay
for things at VSU.
Ultimately, it would be
tough for the school board to
allow alcohol to be sold in a
stadium that is shared by a
high school, and unless VSU
was absolutely sure it could
turn a profit high enough to
justify the added security and
potential violence that might
ensue, it is highly unlikely
that Bazemore-Hyder stadi-
um would ever allow it. But i
think it's interesting to con-
sider what the benefits might
be, especially seeing other
universities make the switch
and find success doing so.
fracking, the process of
harvesting the environmental-
ly unfriendly natural gas
called shale that is being
pushed by the government,
plows its way through Geor-
gia.
in March, i discussed a
deal backed by the govern-
ment between British-owned
Centrica and american-
owned Cheniere. the agree-
ment was that Cheniere
would spread toxic chemicals
across america in order to
fuel millions of British
homes.
While the fracking industry
builds momentum throughout
the nation, so does the oppo-
sition. even British activists
are tak-
ing ac-
tion to
deter the
growth
of frack-
ing in
their nation. early this
month, fracking was banned
in france.
Global fear toward frack-
ing is justifiable. Over the
year fracking has been
deemed a cause of earth-
quakes in arkansas and
texas. early this month,
duke University equated an
increase of fracking to the
rise of pollution in a pennsyl-
vanian water supply, and ac-
cording to Southeastern nat-
uralist, it has been killing en-
dangered fish in Kentucky
since 2007.
fracking has contributed to
a plethora of other environ-
mental damage as well. a
study conducted by environ-
ment america offers a con-
cise outline of the horrors.
Several wells have
emerged throughout the state.
Opposition to the wells has
also been prominent. during
the summer environment
Georgia submitted a petition
of 1,300 signatures to the
Chattahoochee national for-
est in order to protect the
haven from the vile fracking.
according to the food and
Water Watch, 396 measures
have been passed across 21
states to regulate and attempt
to stop the reign of terror in-
voked by fracking. Georgia is
not one of those states, but
with action fracking can be
abolished and our beautiful
state preserved.
Many fracking operations
are conducted by foreign
companies or for foreign
markets. We must not contin-
ue to allow our own people
and land to be exploited to
keep foreigners energized. a
simple plan of action is to
spread the word of the dan-
gers linked with fracking.
an
alterna-
tive to
fracking
that is
break-
ing
ground
is known as waterless frack-
ing. Waterless fracking em-
ploys propan instead of water
to perform fracking process-
es. the new method, while
not completely eco-friendly,
does open new doors to safe
alternatives to fracking.
ocToBer 16, 2013 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
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it is obvious that items
such as produce,
canned goods and oth-
er dinners and snacks in
Sustella and Langdale mar-
kets are overpriced. no mat-
ter how much we complain
about this, prices show no
promise of dropping in the
future. However, there is a
way to save your money.
One might assume that the
markets raise their prices to
increase their own profit.
However, there is a lot more
that factors into the price of
an item than just item cost
and store profit.
“it’s not like i’m paying
$2 for an item and marking
it up 1,000 percent,” pete
Harkness, resident district
manager of V-State dining,
said. “it doesn’t work that
way. One of the problems is
we have other costs involved
in running the business. We
have an added cost that we
have to pay the university
that has to be figured into
the equation.”
Harkness explained that
aside from giving the univer-
sity their commission, the
markets also have to pay
their employees and supply
them with benefits.
another reason prices are
higher than grocery store
prices is because the markets
cannot buy in the same mag-
nitude as other stores.
there are some items in
the on-campus markets that
cost about the same price in
grocery stores. frito Lay and
Coke products have a pre-
sale price that the markets
abide by.
“We’re locked into corpo-
rate pricing,” Harkness said.
“Meaning frito Lay has a
cooperate pricing that they
do with everyone, so we’re
able to pass that same pric-
ing to the consumer; same
with coke.”
Other items, however, are
marked up around 65 per-
cent, which is not affordable
to most college students,
even with Blazer Bucks and
flex accounts.
if you live on campus, you
are required to have some
sort of meal plan. for exam-
ple, Centennial Hall adds
$475 of Blazer Bucks to the
original costs of living there.
One might expect that much
money to last throughout the
semester; however, if you are
doing your weekly shopping
at the markets, then you will
see that your bucks are gone
in a month or so.
Our advice is to only use
your VSU accounts for items
such as frito Lay and Coke
products. for everything
else, hop on the special VSU
bus that goes to Walmart and
the mall to get your bread,
produce, milk, etc. By using
your cash and accounts si-
multaneously for specific
items, you will save money
in the long run.
not only will you save
money by doing the above,
but it may also send a mes-
sage to VSU. as if going to
school here isn’t expensive
enough, we shouldn’t have
to over pay for on-campus
grocery items. therefore,
VSU should consider not
asking for a share from the
markets’ profits.
We can’t blame the mar-
kets for their heavy prices.
However, we can shop
smarter.
express your opinions by
sending the staff a tweet at
@vsuspectator.
This editorial was written by Sarah Turner ([email protected]) and it expresses the general opinion of the editorial staff.