The SpecTaTor VALdOStA StAte UnIVeRSItY’S IndePendent StUdent newSPAPeR VALdOStA StAte UnIVeRSItY’S IndePendent StUdent newSPAPeR March 1, 2012 www.VSUSPeCtAtOR.COM VOLUMe 83 ISSUe 23 The SpecTaTor Previous question early voting is now going on. Go online to cast your vote in “the Spectator” primary. Vote online at www.vsuspectator.com! So what do you think about gas prices increasing? 33% 58% That’s outrageous, I refuse to buy gas now Well I guess I will be biking/walking Doesn’t matter, still have to drive 9% Question of the Week Weather at VSU Today Friday Saturday 81 H 66 L 81 H 66 L Partly Sunny thunderstorms 51 L thunderstorms 81 H With Super Tuesday growing ever nearer, time is running out for georgians to voice their pref- erences for who will appear on november’s presidential ballot. Super Tuesday refers to the Tuesday in february or March when the greatest number of states hold primary elections. Advanced voting for georgia’s presidential preference primary is ongoing until 7 p.m. on March 2 at the Lowndes County Election Office. The Elections Office, located at 2808 n. Oak St. in Valdosta, welcomes voters from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through friday. There is no voting over the weekend or on Monday as the official election date is March 6. Legally, no votes are allowed to be cast on the Monday before an election. On Tuesday, voting hours are also 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. but ballots must be cast at voters' registered polling place. Those registered to vote in Lowndes County may vote in person at the Elections Office this week or at their registered polling places on Tuesday. Absentee ballots are also available for those who wish to vote but are registered in another county. These ballots can be filled out at the Lowndes County Elections Office and mailed or faxed to the voters' home coun- ties. Voters may also request to have an absentee ballot sent to them by mail. The deadline to cast an absentee ballot is friday. due to the unpredictability of mail routes in other counties, Tiffany Linkswiler, absentee manager and admin clerk at the elections office, recommends that absentee ballots be cast by noon on friday. According to Linkswiler, peak voting hours are currently be- tween the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. "...[B]ut every day is getting progressively busier," she said. Kathryn grant, senior general studies major, feels that it is ex- tremely important for students to get out and vote. “Voting mat- ters,” she said. “…i know that people have, many people have, gotten to the point of thinking that their vote doesn’t count, but particularly at local elections and even nationally there are a lot of examples of a small handful of votes having swayed the elec- tion.” not all students share her sen- timent, however. To Matt Stone, junior mass media major, the pri- maries just are not that impor- tant. “…[i]t doesn’t really elect the president,” he said. “it just decides who’s gonna run for it.” Primary voting open early Plans for the new Health Sci- ences building are back under- way according to the SgA meet- ing on feb. 27 in the UC Magno- lia room. SgA Comptroller drew Mc- Call announced that thanks to letters written to legislature, the Health Sciences building for VSU medical field majors is now back on the budget. “The letters were necessary because four schools from At- lanta got funding that was meant for VSU,” McCall said. The Health Sciences building will be located next to the South georgia Medical Center. new business was dominated by the plans for an SgA cookout. The publicity chairs of SgA pre- sented a cookout in hopes to use some of the funds from SgA as well as create a bonding experi- ence between the SgA and the students here at VSU. SGA: Building back on budget, cookout planned Internet privacy act proposed J. Daniel Young/THE SPECTATOR Several students gathered in Student Union Rotunda for the CAB event to make street signs tuesday at 7 p.m. For more information about CAB events, their website can be seen for more details: valdosta.edu/stulife/cab/Upcomingevents.shtml. Inside This Issue - OPInIOnS: “A new gunbill could mean disaster for students on campus” - FeAtUReS: “derby dames are dangerous” - SPORtS: “gSC tournament starts tonight in fla.” On the Web Check out the web for more stories, a map of voting locations and Valdosta derby photos. Valdosta Venom Roller Derby Check out pages 6 and 7 for coverage on the Valdosta Venom roller derby. www.vsuspectator.com Zaxby’s opens 199th Ga. location Georgia Hall revokes resident visitation rights There's a new chicken in town, in Lake Park that is. Zaxby’s recently opened their 199th store in georgia, just off of Exit 5 with a brand new kitchen and dining room design. This location is a kind of sister store to the one currently being built on St. Augustine Road in Valdosta. Both stores stand on previous Hardee's locations. "When we had the fire at Baytree Road, we needed to try and decide on a new location and we really liked the Hardee's building in Valdosta," Wes Kennedy, Area development Manager for Zaxby’s, said. "it was a two-store deal, basi- cally. if we wanted that one, we were going to get this one too, so it was really kind of a diamond in the rough that we lucked into." details for the design, interior and exterior, were released last week. "The bold, new restaurant de- sign will enhance Zaxby’s opera- tional efficiency by showcasing a new, open kitchen design, allow- ing multiple equipment options and additional storage capacity," the press release reads. "The 90-seat restaurant will feature an open, inviting atmos- phere with spacious seating and bright graphics. The unique inte- rior includes a redesigned drink station to provide improved cus- tomer access and convenience, and a high-performance heating and air-conditioning system that reduces humidity and provides a comfortable seating area and kitchen." Walking in, patrons will notice that the interior of this restaurant is much roomier than the typical Zaxby’s design. instead of the tight aisles and minimal floor space found at the store on inner Perimeter Road, the Lake Park establishment is very open. The new kitchen design in this store is a center-line kitchen where the "make table" is in the center of the kitchen. The St. Augustine location will feature the same interior design, but with a box-kitchen, also known as a galley-kitchen, where the "make tables" are placed around the perimeter of the box- shaped kitchen. in keeping with the brand's farm-like theme, the restrooms-- located at the front of the restau- rant, near the counter--are la- beled "hens" and "roosters." A glance at the high, black-painted ceilings will reveal fluted goose- neck light fixtures and a view from the underside of a corrugat- ed tin roof. The building's exterior features tin awnings and red siding remi- niscent of a barn as well as a silo emblazoned with the company logo and topped with a working weathervane. The design of this store, Kennedy said, is partly homage to the historic Baytree Road store that was destroyed by an acci- dental fire in March of last year. "if you'll notice the tin awning roofs and the silo and in the din- ing room they've got kind of the same material lights hanging over the table and if you remem- ber back at Baytree Road Zax- by’s we had the old tin buckets and the tin awnings," he said. Zaxby’s created 45 to 50 new jobs in the Lake Park area by hir- ing locally to staff the store and plans to do even more to better the local area. "Zaxby’s is really…specifical- ly, starting to dip their toes into really trying to become more of a partner in the community versus a business," Kennedy said. He added that the company is interested in hosting fundraisers for local schools and organiza- tions such as girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and churches. The company currently has over 540 locations in 12 states. Menu items range from en- trees such as chicken wings and fingers to sandwiches and "Zal- ads" and "Zappetizers" from fried mushrooms to "Tater Chips." Operating hours for the Lake Park store, located at 1220 Lakes Blvd. in front of Mill Store Plaza, are Mon. to Thurs. 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., fri. and Sat. 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sun. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Visitation privileges for all georgia Hall residents have been temporarily revoked for reasons that have yet to be clarified. According to Leighia Ham- mond, associate director of Hous- ing, the suspension of visitation rights is in response to numerous reports of vandalism and damage that have happened within the past few weeks. Housing and Residence Life are working to ensure that stu- dents are made aware of the rea- sons for their recent visitation loss. “We are in the process this week of meeting with the resi- dents in a series of three meet- ings to be sure we can reach them all, and assuming things go well, look to reinstate visitation after that point,” Hammond said. She also mentioned that Bon- nie Brackett, Complex director for georgia Residence Hall, and Shelli ivey, Residence Hall di- rector for georgia Hall, have been teaming up with all georgia Hall Resident Assts., as well as georgia Hall Council to find so- lutions to control visitation, in- cluding a hall watch program. Hammond said that once they can find a proper solution for this issue, reinstatement will take place. ivey stated the suspension was not a consequence, but a necessi- ty due to hall traffic. “The main reason we decided to not allow visitation was to limit the amount of people com- ing in and out of the building,” ivey said. Amber Smith M AnAging E diTOR [email protected]Autumn Sullivan S TAff W RiTER [email protected]Joe Adgie S TAff W RiTER [email protected]Amber Smith M AnAging E diTOR [email protected]Amanda Usher A SST . O PiniOnS E diTOR [email protected]Check the WebSpectator for the full story. See SGA , Page 2 While internet privacy is a huge concern, both here at VSU and elsewhere, the Obama Ad- ministration has released what they call a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, which intends to give people the right to control how personal data is collected and used. According to a press release put out by the Administration, the Bill of Rights, which is intended for the personal data of internet users, is intended to insure that users of the internet, referred to as “consumers” in the document, are given the ability to control how this data is used, and that this ability is easily available to the consumer. “This initiative seeks to protect all Americans from having their information misused by giving users new legal and technical tools to safeguard their privacy,” the press release reads. See PRIVACY , Page 2 See HALL , Page 2
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Transcript
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The SpecTaTor
VALdOStA StAte UnIVeRSItY’S IndePendent StUdent newSPAPeRVALdOStA StAte UnIVeRSItY’S IndePendent StUdent newSPAPeR
March 1, 2012 w w w . V S U S P e C t A t O R . C O M VOLUMe 83 ISSUe 23
The SpecTaTor
Previous questionearly voting is now going on.
Go online to cast your vote in
“the Spectator” primary.
Vote online at www.vsuspectator.com!
So what do you think about gas prices
increasing?
33%
58%
That’s outrageous, I refuse to buygas now
Well I guess I will be biking/walking
Doesn’t matter, still have to drive
9%
Question of the Week Weather at VSUToday Friday Saturday
81 H 66 L81 H 66 L
Partly Sunnythunderstorms
51 L
thunderstorms
81 H
With Super Tuesday growingever nearer, time is running outfor georgians to voice their pref-erences for who will appear onnovember’s presidential ballot.
Super Tuesday refers to theTuesday in february or Marchwhen the greatest number ofstates hold primary elections.
Advanced voting for georgia’spresidential preference primary isongoing until 7 p.m. on March 2at the Lowndes County ElectionOffice.
The Elections Office, locatedat 2808 n. Oak St. in Valdosta,welcomes voters from 7 a.m. to 7p.m. through friday. There is novoting over the weekend or onMonday as the official electiondate is March 6. Legally, novotes are allowed to be cast onthe Monday before an election.
On Tuesday, voting hours arealso 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. but ballotsmust be cast at voters' registeredpolling place.
Those registered to vote inLowndes County may vote inperson at the Elections Officethis week or at their registeredpolling places on Tuesday.
Absentee ballots are alsoavailable for those who wish tovote but are registered in anothercounty. These ballots can befilled out at the Lowndes County
Elections Office and mailed orfaxed to the voters' home coun-ties. Voters may also request tohave an absentee ballot sent tothem by mail. The deadline tocast an absentee ballot is friday.
due to the unpredictability ofmail routes in other counties,Tiffany Linkswiler, absenteemanager and admin clerk at theelections office, recommends thatabsentee ballots be cast by noonon friday.
According to Linkswiler, peak
voting hours are currently be-tween the hours of 11 a.m. and 2p.m.
"...[B]ut every day is gettingprogressively busier," she said.
Kathryn grant, senior generalstudies major, feels that it is ex-tremely important for students toget out and vote. “Voting mat-ters,” she said. “…i know thatpeople have, many people have,gotten to the point of thinkingthat their vote doesn’t count, butparticularly at local elections and
even nationally there are a lot ofexamples of a small handful ofvotes having swayed the elec-tion.”
not all students share her sen-timent, however. To Matt Stone,junior mass media major, the pri-maries just are not that impor-tant. “…[i]t doesn’t really electthe president,” he said. “it justdecides who’s gonna run for it.”
Primary voting open early
Plans for the new Health Sci-ences building are back under-way according to the SgA meet-ing on feb. 27 in the UC Magno-lia room.
SgA Comptroller drew Mc-Call announced that thanks toletters written to legislature, theHealth Sciences building forVSU medical field majors is nowback on the budget.
“The letters were necessarybecause four schools from At-lanta got funding that was meantfor VSU,” McCall said.
The Health Sciences buildingwill be located next to the Southgeorgia Medical Center.
new business was dominatedby the plans for an SgA cookout.The publicity chairs of SgA pre-sented a cookout in hopes to usesome of the funds from SgA aswell as create a bonding experi-ence between the SgA and thestudents here at VSU.
SGA:
Building back
on budget,
cookout
planned
Internetprivacy act proposed
J. Daniel Young/THE SPECTATOR Several students gathered in Student Union Rotunda for the CAB event to make street signs tuesday at 7 p.m. For more information
about CAB events, their website can be seen for more details: valdosta.edu/stulife/cab/Upcomingevents.shtml.
Inside This Issue- OPInIOnS: “A new gunbill could mean disaster for
students on campus”
- FeAtUReS: “derby dames are dangerous”
- SPORtS: “gSC tournament starts tonight in fla.”
On the Web
Check out the web for more stories, a map of voting locations
and Valdosta derby photos. Valdosta Venom
Roller Derby
Check out pages 6 and 7 for
coverage on the Valdosta
Venom roller derby.
www.vsuspectator.com
Zaxby’s opens 199th Ga. location Georgia Hall
revokes resident
visitation rightsThere's a new chicken in town,in Lake Park that is.
Zaxby’s recently opened their199th store in georgia, just off ofExit 5 with a brand new kitchenand dining room design.
This location is a kind of sisterstore to the one currently beingbuilt on St. Augustine Road inValdosta. Both stores stand onprevious Hardee's locations.
"When we had the fire atBaytree Road, we needed to tryand decide on a new location andwe really liked the Hardee'sbuilding in Valdosta," WesKennedy, Area developmentManager for Zaxby’s, said.
"it was a two-store deal, basi-cally. if we wanted that one, wewere going to get this one too, soit was really kind of a diamondin the rough that we lucked into."
details for the design, interiorand exterior, were released lastweek.
"The bold, new restaurant de-sign will enhance Zaxby’s opera-tional efficiency by showcasing a
"The 90-seat restaurant willfeature an open, inviting atmos-phere with spacious seating andbright graphics. The unique inte-rior includes a redesigned drinkstation to provide improved cus-tomer access and convenience,and a high-performance heatingand air-conditioning system thatreduces humidity and provides acomfortable seating area andkitchen."
Walking in, patrons will noticethat the interior of this restaurantis much roomier than the typicalZaxby’s design. instead of thetight aisles and minimal floorspace found at the store on innerPerimeter Road, the Lake Parkestablishment is very open.
The new kitchen design in thisstore is a center-line kitchenwhere the "make table" is in thecenter of the kitchen.
The St. Augustine location willfeature the same interior design,but with a box-kitchen, alsoknown as a galley-kitchen, where
the "make tables" are placedaround the perimeter of the box-shaped kitchen.
in keeping with the brand'sfarm-like theme, the restrooms--located at the front of the restau-rant, near the counter--are la-beled "hens" and "roosters." Aglance at the high, black-paintedceilings will reveal fluted goose-neck light fixtures and a viewfrom the underside of a corrugat-ed tin roof.
The building's exterior featurestin awnings and red siding remi-niscent of a barn as well as a siloemblazoned with the companylogo and topped with a workingweathervane.
The design of this store,Kennedy said, is partly homageto the historic Baytree Road storethat was destroyed by an acci-dental fire in March of last year.
"if you'll notice the tin awningroofs and the silo and in the din-ing room they've got kind of thesame material lights hangingover the table and if you remem-ber back at Baytree Road Zax-by’s we had the old tin bucketsand the tin awnings," he said.
Zaxby’s created 45 to 50 newjobs in the Lake Park area by hir-ing locally to staff the store andplans to do even more to betterthe local area.
"Zaxby’s is really…specifical-ly, starting to dip their toes intoreally trying to become more of apartner in the community versusa business," Kennedy said.
He added that the company isinterested in hosting fundraisersfor local schools and organiza-tions such as girl Scouts, BoyScouts and churches.
The company currently hasover 540 locations in 12 states.
Menu items range from en-trees such as chicken wings andfingers to sandwiches and "Zal-ads" and "Zappetizers" fromfried mushrooms to "TaterChips."
Operating hours for the LakePark store, located at 1220 LakesBlvd. in front of Mill StorePlaza, are Mon. to Thurs. 10:30a.m. to 10 p.m., fri. and Sat.10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sun.11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Visitation privileges for allgeorgia Hall residents have beentemporarily revoked for reasonsthat have yet to be clarified.
According to Leighia Ham-mond, associate director of Hous-ing, the suspension of visitationrights is in response to numerousreports of vandalism and damagethat have happened within thepast few weeks.
Housing and Residence Lifeare working to ensure that stu-dents are made aware of the rea-sons for their recent visitationloss.
“We are in the process thisweek of meeting with the resi-dents in a series of three meet-ings to be sure we can reachthem all, and assuming things gowell, look to reinstate visitationafter that point,” Hammond said.
She also mentioned that Bon-nie Brackett, Complex directorfor georgia Residence Hall, andShelli ivey, Residence Hall di-rector for georgia Hall, havebeen teaming up with all georgiaHall Resident Assts., as well as georgia Hall Council to find so-lutions to control visitation, in-cluding a hall watch program.
Hammond said that once theycan find a proper solution for thisissue, reinstatement will takeplace.
ivey stated the suspension wasnot a consequence, but a necessi-ty due to hall traffic.
“The main reason we decidedto not allow visitation was tolimit the amount of people com-ing in and out of the building,”ivey said.
While internet privacy is ahuge concern, both here at VSUand elsewhere, the Obama Ad-ministration has released whatthey call a Consumer Privacy Billof Rights, which intends to givepeople the right to control howpersonal data is collected andused.
According to a press releaseput out by the Administration, theBill of Rights, which is intendedfor the personal data of internetusers, is intended to insure thatusers of the internet, referred toas “consumers” in the document,are given the ability to controlhow this data is used, and thatthis ability is easily available tothe consumer.
“This initiative seeks to protectall Americans from having theirinformation misused by givingusers new legal and technicaltools to safeguard their privacy,”the press release reads.
House for Rent2 Bed / 1 Bath $525 / mo1203 1/2 Williams St.Walking Distance from
University Center Move in Special
1/3 off first month with$500 Deposit
Call: 229-292-4400
For Rent
Wanted
PLAY SPORtS! HAVe FUn!
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Maine camp needs fun loving
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All land, adventure, & water
sports. Great Summer!
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apply: campcedar.com
Services
Check us out atwww.vsuspectator.com
march 1, 2012Page 2 | VSUSPecTaTOr.cOm N E w s
Thursday, MarCh 1Midterm
This is the last day to with-draw without receiving a failinggrade in the course. All with-drawals must be done before11:59 p.m. and count towards theuniversity’s five withdrawal poli-cy for undergraduates.
The policy can be viewed atvaldosta.edu/academic/With-drawalPolicy.shtml.
Game Board Night
Odum Library 1481, 8 p.m.Join natural High for game
Board night. Bring your favoritegame or play one of theirs.
Snacks will be provided. formore information, call 259-5111
shrM presents “Employer
Liability”
University Center Cypress
Room, 6 p.m.The Society of Human Re-
source Management will host aguest speaker’s discussion aboutemployer liability. This event isopen to the student body.
Vsu h.E.r.O. Meeting
Student Union Meeting Room
2, 7 p.m.VSU H.E.R.O is looking for
dedicated, loving and dependablemembers to become a part ofone of the newest organizationson campus.
Lasa Carnival
Student Union Ballrooms, 7
p.m.
The Latin American StudentsAssociation will be hosting acarnival with music, food andactivities. The event will go onuntil 10 p.m.
softball Tournament
registration deadlineAlpha delta Pi will host its
2nd Annual diamonds in thedugout Softball Tournamentwith all proceeds benefittingRonald Mcdonald House Chari-ties. Both men's and women'steams are welcome. The registra-tion fee is $220.
at 7 a.m. with the 5K beginningat 8 a.m. and the fun Run start-ing at 9 a.m. The entry fee onRace day is $25 but prior regis-tration for VSU students is $15and $20 for all others.
for more information and de-tails on registration, contact Bon-nie Rainey at 244-6931 or JuliaBaun at 247-7329.
suNday, MarCh 4Ladder Golf Tournament
Front Lawn, 2 p.m.This event is hosted by Alpha
Sigma Alpha and Phi SigmaKappa. Registration for a team
of two is $20. All are welcometo enter. There will be raffles andfree food.
for more information aboutthe tournament or registrationcontact Jenna Rogers at [email protected].
OThEr EVENTs
Volunteer service FairThe Office of Volunteer Ser-
vices invites organizations to do-nate prizes to be given away atthe fair on March 29, make sheetsigns to help advertise the eventor get involved in many otherways.
A black male, 5 feet 7 inchesto 5 feet 9 inches tall, wearing ablack hoodie, a baseball cap,and blue jeans, was witnessedjiggling car door handles in theSustella Parking Lot. The sub-ject was last seen walking to-wards Azalea Trail.
TuEs., FEB. 28 Possible marijuana posses-
sion was reported on the thirdfloor of Converse Hall.
A TV was reported lost orstolen in the past weekend fromPatterson Hall.
COrrECTiON:
Last week’s police briefs list-
ed a voice recorder stolen fromthe media center on feb. 17.
While the voice recorder wasmedia center property, it wasactually stolen from a student in
Police Briefs SGAContinued from Page 1
The cookout is scheduled forTuesday in the Palms Quad from1 to 3 p.m., and will be co-host-ed by SgA and the CollegiateMen of VSU.“We want to build Blazer
pride,” Samuel Logan, senatorand publicity chair for SgA,said.
Logan estimated the prices forthe food and sunglasses whichare to be handed out during thecook out.
The cost of food came toabout $2,247.50, at $8.99 a per-son. The sunglasses were esti-mated to be .93 cents each, com-ing to $282.50.
Both figures were voted uponby the SgA members after twoshort intermissions.
At first the pricing for foodwas determined by the prices ofSam’s club, however it was an-nounced that all functions occur-ring on the campus, requiringfood, have to be purchased viathe catering service here at VSU.
“This new requirement hasbeen incorporated because it’s acontract with the in-house cater-ing service which ensures busi-ness for the catering service,”Logan said.
The amount of food pur-chased was determined by theamount of students that showedup to past SgA events.
Because of lack of attendance,less food will be ordered thistime.
“it would be better to run outof food than to have excess,”said Logan.
it is estimated that at least 400students will attend the event.
All SgA members are requiredto attend and to wear black andor red VSU shirts.
Advertising for the cookoutwould be left to word of mouthand a sheet sign.
in other news issues with resi-dence hall laundry rooms wasdiscussed.
One of the senators brought tothe attention of the floor thatthere are a lack of functioningwashers and dryers in the resi-dence halls.
Students waste money andtime trying to dry clothes due tomalfunctioning machines.
it was proposed that moneybe spent on the maintenance onthe machines, however SgAVice President derika Powerssaid that the SgA could not cov-er such an issue, but it could bereported via work orders.
“if students call the numberon the washer they will give youyour money back,” ShaquandraMesidor, SgA senator, said.
Last on the list, the issues ofsmoking and dress code returnedas two topics which could poten-tially gain headway with thefloor in the future.
The ban on smoking, though,is more popular than the dresscode for campus.
“The smoking ban has re-ceived more support than thedress code,” graham davis,SgA president, said. “i think weneed to stop talking about thedress standard because they puta wall up for it.”
Both these policies, if takenthrough the steps with the floor,will be voted upon by the stu-dent body when presidential vot-
ing commences.
PrivacyContinued from Page 1
The release of the Bill ofRights has come at a time whendiscussion about privacy hasbeen brought to the forefront,expecially considering google’srecent decision to consolidate theprivacy policies of all of theirwebsites.
google, which hopes for apolicy that reflects their “desireto create one beautifully simpleand intuitive experience,” hascome under fire for this, withcritics expressing concerns abouta user’s information being com-bined across all google-run web-sites, citing the lack of clarity inthe new privacy policy abouthow this personal informationwill be used.
VSU users, many of whomare on facebook, have expressedconcerns about how this data hasbeen used, and some have con-trolled what they put on the site.
“i am comfortable, because idon’t put detailed stuff on there,”Keating Conroy, marketing ma-jor, said.
Some VSU students were alittle more aware.
“i am conscious with every-thing that i put on a social blog-ging network,” Jamal Wilson,mass media major, said. “iwouldn’t put anything thatwould compromise myself, ormy image, or my family, in anyway.”
VSU student Megan Morris-sey also felt online conscious-ness was important.
“i don’t really put too muchstuff on facebook,” Megan Mor-rissey, theater major, said. “i’veheard stories online, just thingsgetting into the wrong hands, soi just put out the basic informa-tion.”
facebook’s privacy policy,which appears in a link on thebottom of the front page, ex-plains what the site does with thepersonal data collected, and how
the personal data is used.The page also explains that
facebook does not share infor-mation unless given permission.
“Your trust is important tous,” the page reads.
The press release stated thatenforcement of this Bill ofRights would be the domain ofthe federal Trade Commission.
“fTC enforcement is criticalto ensuring that companies areaccountable for adhering to theirprivacy commitments and thatbad actors do not disadvantageresponsible companies,” the re-lease reads. “The Administrationexpects that a company’s publiccommitment to adhere to a codeof conduct will be enforceableunder existing fTC authority,just as a company is bound todayto follow its privacy commit-ments.”
The Administration intends towork with Congress in an at-tempt to enforce this Bill ofRights.
Comic by: Garrison Muelhausen /THE SPECTATOR
Hall
Continued from Page 1
The thought to stop the use ofelevators came up but was de-cided against.
ivey said that some studentsare handling the action worsethan others.
Taylor dixon, a freshman un-decided major, said that she be-lieves that it is a punishment thataffects the whole hall when itshould only apply to a certainfloor that has displayed miscon-duct.
“i feel that if i’m going to be
punished for what others do,then i also want to be rewardedfor what others accomplish,”dixon said.
She goes on to briefly de-scribe the types of vandalismthat have taken place recently.
She mentioned that the fireextinguisher was set off twice,bulletin boards were set on fire,both directional and room num-ber signs were torn off of thewalls, and buttons were removedfrom the elevators’ panels.
Only parents and family mem-bers are permitted to visit at thistime.Jennifer Gleason and Megan Harris
also contributed to this article.
Red tape and warning signs ofan asbestos hazard kept studentsoff of the sidewalk at the Collegeof Education Wednesday after-noon.
The tape labeled “dAngERASBESTOS” stretched from thesidewalk running along the edu-
cation building to the doors byEinstein’s Bros. Bagels.
Construction workers who arereplacing roofing and carpetingin the building said that asbestoswas found inside, so they arereroofing to eliminate the threat.
donnie, a member of the con-struction team, said any asbestosfindings within the roofing couldbe easily confused with the roof-ing felt beneath the shingles usedto prevent leaks.
“it ain’t nothing but your reg-ular 15-pound felt,” donnie said,after pulling up the roofing.”
interim President dr. LouisLevy noted that the administra-tion is always mindful of healthconcerns on campus.
“We are always careful aboutthe safety of our students, ourfaculty, and our staff,” dr. Levysaid. “it is my understanding thatwhen replacing some carpet in aclassroom in the College of Edu-
cation, asbestos was identified.” dr. Levy said the project to
eliminate the threat of asbestoswill continue through the springsemester, and should be finishedby graduation.
The Physical Plant and facili-ties Planning department, whichis responsible for most mainte-nance on campus, and the Col-lege of Education stated thatthey were unaware of any as-bestos threat when contacted.
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Editor-in-Chief: Stephanie Turner Managing Editor:Amber Smith Business Manager: Lori Paddockadvertising Manager:John PickworthCirculation Manager: Morgan McfarlandOpinions Editor: Mikayla BeyerFeatures Editor: Ariel felton
sports Editor: Chad Stone Photo Editor: J. daniel YoungMultimediaEditor: Jacob McWhorter Web designer: RebeckaMcAleerCopy Editor: Shambree WartelCartoonist: garrison Muel-hausenFaculty advisers: dr. PatMiller, dr. Ted geltnerreporters/Photographers:Trevor Smith, Maya Kellam, d,
LaBrit Bulluck, Kat grigoriadis,Megan Harris, Sharleece Bellagosi, denisePleasant, Taylor Kelly, Jerry ingram, Kristin Hunt, Ritsuki Miyazaki, Jessica ingram, Star Reese,Courtney Perry, Jennifer gleason, Joe Adgie,Shaundi Mcdaniel, QuashaRoss, Kyara Thompson, Au-tumn Sullivan, Alex fletcher,Jamie Baker
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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Online at www.vsuspectator.com
Spectator Staff
People Poll:
Who is the best actoror actress of your generation?
Tayo ikuesan
junior
education major
“The best actor of my generationis Will Smith. He made us laughas children, and he made us cry
as adults.”
Jamal Peterson
junior
graphic design major
“i think that Johnny depp is thebest actor of my generation
because directors can give himany role and he can play it.”
Kayla Barber
sophomore
mathematics major
“i think Halle Berry is the bestactress of my generation and ithink that Robert downey Jr. is
the best actor of my generation.”
Marcus shine
junior
management and marketing
major
“i think Will Smith is the bestactor of my generation and be-cause i’m also a fan of comedy,
i will say Zach galifanakis is thebest comedy actor because i love
‘The Hangover’.”
Tusdai downs
freshman
biology major
“i would say that Angelina Jolieis the best actress of my
generation.”
Super Tuesday draws nearer
as candidates get narrower
Rant of the WeekRants of the WeekRaves of the week
“Valdosta State University is a great school and environment that pro-vides numerous opportunities to the students. i really apprreciate thestudent activities emails weekly that keep the students informed ofwhat is happening on campus.” -Will Jimerson, sophomore, international business major
“One thing that i really love about VSU is their ministries. Since com-ing here, i have gotten involved in campus outreach, an interdenomi-national ministry, which has provided so much growth and vision, aswell as genuine friendships in my life.”-Emily Vaught, sophomore, communication disorders major
“Valdosta State University is a wonderful environment with greatscenery. i love how the school is set up and the people around cam-pus. Activities and classes are great. The SifE program is excellentand a great way to help the Valdosta community and the people.”-dominick Maddox, junior, marketing major
“With some classes only 50 minutes long, it would be nice to seemore timed parking spots. in and out without the hassle of the parkingdeck.” -stephanie Clark, sophomore, history major
“While super-section courses will never be viewed as the most solemnof places, the complete lack of respect of those around you is astound-ing. When the level of your voice, your phone and/or your conversa-tion drowns out my ability to think, there is a problem. Even while thelecture is going on, these inconsiderate people continue to disrupt acourse i paid to take.”-darryl Taylor, sophomore, computer science major
“The wifi on campus is horrible. They took away wifi access for cellphones with no notice. Hallnet only works about 10 percent of thetime”-Bridgette render, sophomore, marketing major
the halls run out residentsA
t the airport, we expect tobe monitored. We expectto have to show multiple
kinds of i.d. We even expect tohave to walk through a metal de-tector to make sure we don’thave any weapons on our person.To get on an airplane, this behav-ior is standard. it should not,however, be standard procedureto get to a room in the middle ofthe night.
As a university, VSU is respon-sible for their student body’ssafety. We all understand and ap-preciate that, but lately it seemsthe whole campus has been ques-tioning the methods. Shuttingdown an entire residence hall’svisitation rights in retaliation fora single unidentified prankster’s
work, as in the recent events atgeorgia Hall, is completeoverkill. Throughout history, ithas been proven that punishingthe majority for the actions of thefew is not only wrong, but alsoineffective. We are college stu-dents, not 5-year-olds who can’thave a friend over if Mommy’sworking.
georgia Hall residents are notthe only victims. Reade Hall resi-dents were sent an email thatthreatened retraction of studyroom privileges due to residentsleaving their belongings there.did any one person deal withconsequences of study room lit-ter? no. Signs in the laundryrooms across campus declare thatlaundry privileges will be taken
away if students cannot keepthem clean. do these policiessound like preschool to anyone?
it is irritating to be told thatone cannot use school resourcesunder certain circumstances, butthe freshman residence policyadds yet more disturbing light onthe subject. freshmen that do nothave home addresses within 50miles of the university are re-quired to live on-campus fortheir first year. Subsequently,they do not get a choice aboutthe money they pay for housing,whether out of pocket or inscholarships. is it not unjust toforce students to pay for housingand the resources that come withit, knowing full well that thoseresources can be taken away at
the first sign of trouble? Ratherfilling in the loopholes in secu-rity, the university appears toprefer removing resources onthe assumption that the crimi-nals will be punished amongthe flock. freshmen do not payfor security; they pay to ensuretheir risk of being hung out todry at the university’s whim.
A greater increase in housingannoyance could explain whymore and more students havewanted to move off campus bynext semester. if this does notsay something about universitypolicy, we do not know whatwill. next semester, you’llprobably find more studentshitting the road before payingto be treated like criminals.
This editorial was written by Rebecka McAleer ([email protected]) and it expresses the general opinion of the editorial staff.
Garrison Muelhausen/The Spectator
Our point of view...
Your georgian vote isn’t im-portant to current gOP candi-dates Mitt Romney, Ron Pauland Rick Santorum. At leastthat’s what they would have youbelieve.
Today’s Cnn debate was can-celled on feb. 16 because threeof the four gOP hopefuls decid-ed that their campaigning wouldbe better suited elsewhere, in ad-vance of Super Tuesday, insteadof debating in georgia. Romney,Paul, and Santorum had decidednot to participate in the Cnn de-bate, leaving only newt gingrichin attendance. Cnn cancelledthe debate as a result.
Super Tuesday can set thecourse for the rest of this see-saw race for the gOP bid. With10 states, including georgia, andone territory voting during thislarge primary event, the numberof delegates up for grabs couldmake or break any of the candi-dates.
The close call this week inMichigan between Santorum andRomney could be played out ona grander scale when 437 dele-gates come up for grabs nextTuesday. Romney squeaked bySantorum in his home state ofMichigan, pulling ahead by usingnegative ads.
When Santorum won Coloradoand Minnesota on feb. 7, thetrend of an upset started thereand the party base’s continued toshow dissatisfaction with Rom-ney on Tuesday. The sheer close-ness of the Michigan raceshowed Romney to be vulnera-
ble. now that Santorum is starting
to give Romney a run for hismoney, his commentary is start-ing to show how ill prepared heis for the job of president. Call-ing Obama a “snob” for wantingto make secondary educationmore easily available to Ameri-cans, Santorum seems to be ig-noring that the American dreamis still alive and well in thehearts and minds of most Ameri-cans.
in an interview with georgeStephanopoulos, Santorum com-mented that the idea of separa-tion of church and state makeshim “want to throw up.” Com-ments such as that could beharmful to the Santorum cam-paign.
What would happen if Romneywins the gOP and ultimately thepresidential race? Would Santo-rum like it if Romney were tojettison the separation of churchand state and declare Mor-
monism the new state religion?What about islam, or any otherreligious belief?
We were founded on the sepa-ration of church and state for areason, and that would be to keeppeople like Rick Santorum incheck. Unfortunately, georgiansdidn’t have the opportunity toquestion the candidates and callout this type of rhetoric, becauseremember: they didn’t come togeorgia.
MCTthe final four candidates for the GOP presidential nomination stand onstage together as the Super
tuesday primaries draw nearer. the candidates did not take the chance to debate each other recently,
pehaps opting to campaign for more votes rather than express their policies onstage .
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The primary election campaignhas intensified a justified concernabout inequality in America:People at the top are rising muchfaster than everyone else. Evenlow-income Americans considerrelatively high levels of inequali-ty acceptable if they have a de-cent opportunity to improve theircondition. But because they maywork fewer hours and at stagnantwages, their gains are very limit-ed.
Among the poor, surprisingly,never-married mothers havegained the most in recentdecades. Their story shows thebest way to reduce poverty andinequality: by encouraging indi-viduals to work more and by sup-plementing their earnings withtax credits, child-care subsidiesand other benefits for low-in-come working parents.
in 1996, congressional Repub-licans and President Bill Clintoncollaborated on a welfare reformlaw requiring adults on welfare,including never-married mothers,to work.
Many of Clinton’s strongestpolitical supporters predicted thatpoor women and their childrendeprived of welfare would die inthe streets.
The data refute these dire pre-dictions. in fact, according toCensus Bureau data, between1996 and 2000, the percentage ofnever-married mothers in jobsincreased by about a third (to 66percent), while the poverty ratefor these mothers and their chil-dren declined by about a third (to
40 percent).Yet even in the worst recession
since the depression, more areemployed and they are less poorthan they were before the 1996law. in fact, researchers BruceMeyer of the University ofChicago and James Sullivan ofnotre dame have found that ifall the work-based benefits givento low-income workers were in-cluded _ such benefits are mostlyignored by the official povertymeasure _ the incomes of thesemothers and children would beeven higher and their povertyrate even lower.
The reasons for this policy suc-cess are clear, suggesting somelessons for the future. The 1996law created strong incentives,both positive and negative, forthe most uneducated, untrainedand unpromising welfare recipi-ents to join the workforce.
Most politicians did not cave into the intentionally inflammatory"dying in the streets" rhetoric; in-stead, they figured that the pro-gram could hardly be worse thanthe status quo of welfare depen-dency and that many of the poor-est of the poor would end up bet-ter off.
The gains from the 1996 wel-
fare reform and other work-relat-ed subsidies are certainly nocause for smugness. Even after15 years, the law's incentiveshave not yet lifted all mothersand their children out of poverty--not by a long shot. After all,many who have benefited fromthe program are stuck in low-wage jobs, and others still don'twork at all. Many are so disabledthat no program or personal de-sire to work will enable them tohold decently paying jobs. Still,the never-married mothers _ andsingle mothers more generally _have clearly improved their andtheir children's living standardsand prospects, and interviewstudies show that they expresspride in these gains and in theirstatus as workers. Over time,they may be able to progress fur-ther as the economy improves.Poverty is arguably America'sgreatest domestic enemy today.Our first priority should be figur-ing out how to reduce it perma-nently by increasing work andhuman capital among the poor.Welfare reform shows what ispossible. This is not only just; itis also the only enduring way toreduce poverty and inequality.
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Sudoku Answers
march 1, 2O12 VSUSPecTaTOr.cOm | Page 5o P i N i o N s
History could repeatPeter H. Schuck
Ron HoskinsMCT
A new gun bill could
mean disaster for
students on campus
You may have heard about HB981, a bill introduced a couple ofweeks ago in the georgia Assem-bly that relaxes restrictions onthe possession of concealed handguns on all school campuses,both public and private through-out the state.
You’ll want to read it for your-self because it’s really importantthat you understand the facts. i’llbriefly highlight just the mainpoints but before i do, you needto know that the likelihood ofthis bill passing isn’t far-off.
for almost three years, i’vebeen researching bills similar toHB 981, all intended to allowguns into schools in georgia. itwas from an article on the frontpage of The Spectator in early2010 where i first learned abouta legislation like this. i rememberstanding in West Hall, next to thepaper stand by the door, staringat the headline, paralyzed. Sincethen i’ve made a point of learn-ing as much as i could in an at-tempt to find an explanation towhy guns in school is a goodidea. i still haven’t found one buti understand more clearly now alot of things that were very con-fusing before.
The politics of guns is part ofthis conversation and that in-cludes the national Rifle Associ-ation, self-described as “the old-est civil rights organization inAmerica.” They’re widely ac-knowledged as being a powerfullobbying group and have closeties to many members of thegeorgia Assembly. The Republi-
can Party is another piece, a po-litical party that has taken a veryclear position on Second Amend-ment rights. in contrast, democ-rats have not taken a formal posi-tion, leaving gun policies up toindividual party members to de-cide.
The interpretation of the Sec-ond Amendment, contained inThe Bill of Rights, is anothertroublesome issue. This too is anarea of strong debate. What’s in-teresting about HB 981, and pre-vious bills like it, is that the law-makers who have been workingto forward this agenda for sometime have not asked students orfaculty what they thought. Con-sidering the implications of whatintroducing a lethal weapon oncampus means, you’d think theywould.
Since 2010, there have been atleast four shootings where the as-sailants were either students orfaculty; Tucson, University ofAlabama, Virginia Tech (2011)and this week Ohio. There werealso numerous school shootingsbefore that, including the infa-mous Columbine High SchoolMassacre, which claimed thelives of 13 people and ended inthe suicide of the two gunmenwho engineered it. Shootings oncampus are the heart of this de-bate and where opinions are moststrongly expressed and divided.Those in favor of carry on cam-pus suggest that guns are a nec-essary means of defense in theevent of a violent outbreak.However, campuses have histori-cally been low crime areas. VSUhas its own police force, trainedto react to scenarios like thoseexperienced on other campuses.After all, students aren’t police.
Those who think guns on campusposes enormous public safetyrisks include national associa-tions and governing bodies thatoversee educational institutionsand campus police forces acrossthe country. nearly all collegesand universities currently havepolicies that prohibit or severelyrestrict the possession of firearmson campus. The Journal of Amer-ican College Health, the Ameri-can Psychiatric Association, thenational institute of Health, Thenational Study of Student Haz-ing and the Report of the Vir-ginia Tech Review Panel com-missioned by the state of Virginiain the aftermath of the deadliestshooting by a single gunman inUS history, are just a few exam-ples of a large body of expertisethat takes a very strong positionagainst guns on campus.
Talking about this issue isn’texactly easy nor is it a simpleconversation. People often havereally strong feelings making ithard to communicate them toothers who don’t seem to agree.it’s important to get the facts andlearn about HB 981 and legisla-tion like it. Along the way talk topeople, ask questions and try andunderstand another point of vieweven if you completely disagree.i found it hard at first, but nowcan agree to disagree. What’s im-portant, i think, is that we starttalking now because this bill orothers like it isn’t going to goaway. A series of open forums totalk about guns on campus arebeing planned now. Stay tunedfor more info. The bill can beread in full atwww1.legis.ga.gov, along withmany other impending bills.
Kathryn GrantS P E C TAT O R C O R R E S P O n d E n T
Xxxxxday, Xxxxxxxx, 2005XX tHe VALdOStA dAILY tIMeS
Derby dames are dangerous
Picture the women you seeevery day—teachers, singlemoms, nurses.
now picture those samewomen, skating around a rink atfull speed, determined to knockeach other out of the way.
That’s exactly what the ladiesof the Valdosta Venom roller der-by team are all about.
Lisa gray, a skater known asRX Queen, is a single mom andworks in a hospital.
ginger Corriell, or BernieWreckster, is a seamstress.
Jessica Williams, also knownas Hardbody Rock, is the teamcaptain and during the day servesas a social worker.
Melissa Johnson, the ownerand founder, also known as JinxLaRue, works in the legal field.
growing up in the rink, Jinxwas no newbie.
“i was a rink rat,” Jinx said.“That’s the proper term. Everyfriday, Sat-urday, Sun-day—Wednesday,i even wentto the Chris-tian skatesjust to get inextra skatingwhen i wasyounger. ilived there.”
Jinx was able to find love in asport that already fit her person-ality. The sport also brought to-gether women from all differentwalks of life.
“This sport typically is full ofmisfits that don’t really fit intoone type of genre,” said Jinx.“Women that would probablynever meet under any other cir-cumstances get a chance to cometogether with one commonbond.”
no matter their race, prefer-
ence, background, or experience,the sport brought a special bondto all those that play it.
“i haven’t been on skatessince i was six years old,” saidLaurie Mellors, Pissed-Off JamShaft, a player originally fromnew Jersey. “Once you get thehang of it, it’s a lot of fun.”
Originally Jinx wanted thename of her team to be the Val-dosta Vixens, but a team in VeroBeach already had the name.
Because roller derby does notallow team name repetition, Jinxsettled for the next best thing,the Valdosta Venom, with a kingcobra as their icon.
The interesting nicknames aremeant to represent each differentpersonality.
Corriell chose the nameBernie Wreckster to serve as amix between retro and pin up toportray her personality and look.
“You will know your nick-name once you find it. it willjust fit,” said Jinx.
Although the team has yet toplay, they practice hard. Theladies all carpool to a skate rink
in douglasfor twohour prac-tices.
“icoach thesegirls my-self,” Jinxsaid.
Most peo-ple think
there’s nothing to the game otherthan to aim and hit, but duringthese practices, Jinx drills hergirls on the techniques and skillsthat go into this sport.
during practice, the teamworks on different drills, like theshopping cart. in this drill, threeskaters line up and hold on toone another. The skater first inline eventually breaks off andmust skate around the rink onefull turn before catching back upwith her two teammates. Thiscontinues until everyone has had
a turn.The girls also practiced “T-
stops’, angling their skates into aT to make a sudden stop.
Other than skating, the girlslearn how to hit, fall, and blockto avoid major injuries.
during practice, the ladiesalso practiced different ways tofall—single knees, double knees,and six points, when knees, el-bows, and hands hit the floor.
Bruises and bumps come withthe sport, but if you don’t knowthe techniques and methods onthe basics you can harm yourselfseverely.
Roller derby is a full contactsport and can be a bit aggressive,a little less aggressive than hock-
ey or football.Half way through a practice,
Jinx yells, “Yay! nobodypuked!”
The ladies of Valdosta Venomgave insights on their pre-gametechniques.
Some may rough each otherup while others, like Pissed-OffJam Shaft, sit back and listen tomusic until it is time to play.
Some even paint their faces tolook tougher while others stretchand get in their zone.
“it’s really amazing how bigthe fan base and the type of peo-ple that are in to watching,” saidAshle’ Suttles (foul Pacino),“guys love it.”
foul Pacino also explains how
older men walk up to her to seewhen their next bout (game) is.
no matter the distance, otherleagues go out and support eachother as well. Even rivalriesseem to get along after it is allsaid and done.
“You could have two girlsgunning for each other duringthe bout; you could have twogirls beating the crap out of eachother on the track, at the afterparty they are hugged up sharinga beer and loving each other,”said Jinx.
With go Waiter being Valdos-ta Venom’s main sponsor themonthly dues are kept low atonly $35 a month. This coversthe cost to rent rinks for prac-
tices. Boys can be officials or volun-
teers in the all-female sport, andit only requires the will to gain
knowledge of the sport andmonthly dues of $25.
The male refs get to pick nick-names too.
Ben Skender, VSU student,goes as Skender Bender while inthe rink.
gear, consisting of skates,pads, a helmet and mouth guard,depending on the quality andquantity, can be rather pricey,about $200 or more.
Valdosta Venom has rink prac-tices every Sunday and en-durance practices a couple oftimes a week starting feb. 26.
There is no experience neededand all shapes, sizes and fitnesslevels are welcome.
Everyone is invited to comeand watch a practice.
You can also contact the Val-dosta Venom Roller derby [email protected] or Valdosta Venom – Rollerderby on facebook.
Jinx constantly encourageswhat the team calls ‘freshmeat.”
“What i tell people when theymessage me is to just comecheck out a practice,” Jinx said.“if you think about it too much,you probably won’t stick with it.You either get bit by the derbybug or it’s not for you.”
Valdosta Venom: ‘If you can’t play nice, play derby!’
J. Daniel Young / THE SPECTATOR
the ladies of the Valdosta Venom line up and prepare to run drills at a Saturday practice. the team
expects to starts bouts in the summer.
Check the web for video interviews and exclusive practice footage of the Valdosta Venom ladies!
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Lisa Gray, aka RX Queen grew up skating just like Jinx. “I’ve been
skating since I could walk,” RX said. “My first job was at Sonic.”
FEatUrEs
Melissa Johnson, also known as Jinx Larue, is the owner and founder of Valdosta Venom,
Valdosta’s roller derby team. “It’s emotional! You get a bond with all these girls,” Jinx said.
“I love all these girls—as much as I might bark at them at practice.”
Right: At the beginningof practice the girlsgather up to hear whatthey’ll be learning thatday.Below: Team Captain,Hardbody Rock, andskater Foul Pacinopractice shopping cartsSaturday.
Jinx Larue: “You can see alldifferent shapes and sizes. Youdon’t have to have anyexperience—no skills. We teachyou everything.”
All photos by photo editor, J. Daniel Young
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“glamorous” is just one wordVSU graduate, Lisa Thurmond,uses to describe her new busi-ness.
According to its facebookpage, The Vixen Boutique is ashop that “represents the powerand femininity of a woman.”
Located on 1650-C BaytreeRd., the boutique has been in op-eration since feb. 9, but will pre-sent its grand opening Saturday.
“The Vixen contains today’sfashion, but at an affordableprice”, Thurmond said.
Walking into The Vixen, any-one can tell that it is a uniqueboutique that focuses on the em-powerment of women.
The bright pink walls are cov-ered in photographs of MarilynMonroe and inspiring, encourag-ing quotes, one of them reading, “The secret of having it all, isknowing you already do.”
The boutique sells glamorousstyle clothes, accessories, andpurses and even has a shoe line
coming in soon.Thurmond created The Vixen
with friend and business partner,Joy Kelly, a family and marriagetherapy graduate student.
“i wanted The Vixen to be aplace where a girl could come inand feel like they are the bestgirl they can be,” Thurmondsaid.
Attending VSU for both un-dergraduate and graduate school,the English major turned busi-ness owner, Thurmond, finishedschool in 2010.
While working in retail, shetook a public administrationsclass for her master’s programthat taught about entrepreneurskills.
“After taking it, i knew i hadto be an entrepreneur,” she said.
for Thurmond, finding uniqueclothes was a hassle.
“i’d have to travel to Tallahas-see or Atlanta to get uniqueclothes that not everyone had,”she said “i knew i had to make astore to stop having to travel.”
The Vixen offers affordableclothing for women in college,offering an exclusive experienceby only carrying one size of each
clothing piece.Taylor Thomas, a sophomore
early childhood education major,noted it provided an opportunityfor girls to be more individual-ized. “it helps portray unique-ness,” she said.
Thurmond hopes to make TheVixen into a chain.
“i would like 10 storesthroughout the country, specifi-cally in Los Angeles, new York,and Miami,” she said.
The Vixen Boutique is active-ly involved with the youngwomen of the community.
One program that is offered is“Pretty Prom Princess, a pro-gram that brings underprivilegedgirls into the boutique, at thebeauty glam bar, to get their hairand nails and make-up done forprom.”
freshman nursing major,Hannah Bray thinks that the var-ious programs are great.
“it’s great that their making adifference in girls lives,” Braysaid.“i’ve heard of The VixenBoutique before, and now i real-ly want to check it out.”
Hello guys and dolls, doyou have your cupsready? Because i have
some hot tea for you guys!As if there isn’t enough con-
troversy surrounding him alreadyChris Brown has been accusedof allegedly snatching awoman’s phone outside of a Mi-ami nightclub.
24-year-old Christal Spanntook a picture of Breezy with herwhite iPhone4 while he was inthe car with Young Money rap-per, Tyga.
Breezy put his hand throughthe car window, snatched thephone and said “B**** you ain’tgoing to put that on no website.”
Spann was recorded by TMZcameras saying, “i just want myphone back”.
Spann has filed a police re-port. Authorities are investigat-ing, and if Breezy is arrested hecould possibly serve some jailtime.
The Oscars were this Sundayand, as usual, it was a snoozer.great fashion, but boring show.
Host Billy Crystal was tryingto be comical, but it wasn’t quiteworking.
Jean dujardin of the silentfilm “The Artist,” won for BestActor.
The greatest living actress ofour time, Meryl Streep, beat outViola davis for best actress inher role as Margaret Thatcher in“The iron Lady.”
Christopher Plummer, 2 years
younger than the Oscars, wonbest supporting actor for his rolein “Beginners.”
in what was the most touchingwin of the night, OctaviaSpencer took home Best support-
ing actress for her role in “TheHelp.” She received a standingovation.
Lindsay Lohan is going to behosting Saturday night Live onMarch 3 where LL will host forthe first time since 2006.
LL has told SnL creator LorneMichaels that nothing is off lim-its to joke about, which meanswe can expect jokes about dUi,arrests, court appearances andher crazy dad.
Wendy Williams has a way ofoffending people by just openingher mouth.
The natural community wasnot too pleased with Wendell, ohi mean Wendy.
She said that natural hair was-n’t “formal” for the Oscars. Thiswas during a segment of hershow when she was talkingabout Viola davis wearing hernatural TWA (Teeny Weeny
Afro) as us “naturals” call it. Viola davis looked stunning andsaid her husband actor, JulianTennon, is the reason why shedecided to let the wig go.
"My husband said, 'Be whoyou are,” davis said."Step intowho you are. And i really have.”
Lola Ogunnaike, Vibe Con-tributor, said drake and all hisemotions lost the cover of VibeMagazine for being a “diVA”.
“He was slated to appear onthe cover of ViBE magazine toaccompany this story ‘The darkSide of Aubrey graham,’ but hefouled that up when he arrivedmore than eight hours late to theshoot and refused to wear any ofthe wardrobe provided for him,”Ogunnaike said.
“He brought his own clothes,which was mostly Hermès andleather bomber jackets. But itwas a shoot about spring fashion.
He was going on and on aboutwearing his leather bomber, andwasn’t letting it go. He said the[female] stylist was too aggres-sive, that he wasn’t a model andhe wasn’t feeling the vibe. Hehopped in his SUV and left.”
it seems that foolery is ram-pant over at Young Money, fromnicki’s exorcism to drake’sdiva display. i miss good oldAubrey when he was humbleand in a wheelchair.
Well guys, let’s wash outthose cups! As, always i will beback serving tea that is guaran-
teed to be hot.
More hot tea from Maya:dancing with the Stars is returning March 19with a new cast of surprises and unknowns.from Steve Urkel to gladys Knight this cast is awild card. Here are the 12 celebrity contestantsand their propartners:
▪ The View’s sherri shepherd and Val Chmerkovskiy
▪ Actress Melissa Gilbert and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
▪ Extra Reporter Maria Menounos and derek hough
▪ Actor Jack Wagner and anna Trebunskaya
▪ Cuban Actor/Model William Levy and Cheryl Burke
▪ Music legend Gladys Knight and Tristan MacManus
▪ Actor Jaleel White and Kym Johnson
▪ Singer Gavin deGraw and Karina smirnoff
▪ Tennis legend Martina Navratilova and Tony dovolani
▪ nfL receiver donald driver and Peta Murgatroyd
▪ disney Actor roshon Fegan and Chelsie hightower
▪ Singer Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas
Po p
Ad d i c t
Maya Kellam
Drake acts up, Lohan to host sNL
Be sure to check online formore features, including Spec
Tech with Steven Setser!
Like this week’s student profile?
Know a stduent or a member of faculty with anoutstanding talent or interesting hobby?
Contact us to let us know who you’d like to seeprofiled in an upcoming issue!
THE VALDOSTA DAILY TIMES CYANMAGENTA
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FridayBaseball @ Palm Beach
Atlantic - 6 p.m.
SaturdayWomen’s Soccer vs. South
Georgia Jr. - 10:30 a.m.
Baseball @ Palm BeachAtlantic (DH) - 1 p.m.
Tennis @ West Alabama - 1 p.m.
Women’s Soccer vs. VSUMen’s Soccer Club - 3 p.m.
SundayTennis @ Auburn-Mont-
gomery 1:30 p.m.
tuesdaySoftball vs. UNC-Pembroke
(DH) - 1 p.m.
wednesdayBaseball vs. Georgia South-
western - 5 p.m.
Home games in italics(DH) denotes doubleheader
Games this week
The VSU men’s club lacrosseteam picked up one of the mostunlikely players this season andhe wants to quickly make an im-pact on a team searching for theirfirst ever win.
Hampton Raulerson may looka bit different than the otherplayers on the team because hewas born missing his left armfrom the elbow down.
Raulerson, a sophomore politi-cal science major, is not lettingthis stand in the way of his goalof raising the VSU lacrosse teamto new heights in the next fewyears.
The lacrosse team was found-ed in 2010 and played its firsttwo games against well-knownopponents in The Savannah Art
of College and design and geor-gia Tech.
Hampton is one of the fivenew players this season makingup the young nucleus of thisteam along with the four newplayers to join last season.
“Lacrosse as a whole is a rela-tively new idea to South georgiaand many people who come outto play have had no experienceplaying,” Brandon Corley, teamcaptain and cofounder, said.
Corley goes on to say that al-though Hampton’s situation doeslimit him, he has picked up thesport as fast as any of the newplayers and has already provenhe can mix it up with any of theother players out there.
The team is currently 0-5 thisseason after losing to georgiaState, georgia Southern, PalmBeach Atlantic, florida Atlantic,and florida gulf Coast Atlantic.
The team is positive that they
are ready for an upswing despitethe fact they have yet to win agame.
“We’ll change that in March,”Mike Mcguire, a junior commu-nications and public relationsmajor and team cofounder, said.
They showed a lot of promiserecently in their game againstgeorgia Southern on feb. 11. Al-though they lost 7-6, it was ahuge improvement over last yearwhere they lost 24-4.
The team will get its nextchance for victory when theyface Stetson University andMorehouse University on March25 at home on the fields by thetennis courts.
The 18-year-old Raulersonplans on having as much impactas anyone with a competitive dri-ve he has had from a young age.
“i played a little football inmiddle school and i did BrazilianJujitsu for a year and a half,”
Raulerson said.Raulerson brings a lot of drive
and confidence to the field that isevident to his teammates.
“He brings dedication morethan anything,” Corley said. “Hissituation has not stopped him one
bit from picking the game up. Heis always there and willing to dowhat is needed to get the jobdone.”
VSU lacrosse is looking to beon the fast track to a long suc-cessful run with a full team and
coach hopefully within the nextfive years. Some players, espe-cially Raulerson, do not want towait that long.
“Hopefully when i’m a seniorwe are really boomin’,” Rauler-son said.
Xxxxxday,Page 10|VSUSPecTaTOr.cOm march 1, 2012sPorts
The regular season is over andnow it’s time to get ready for“The Best Basketball at theBeach.”
The gulf South Conferencetournament tips-off Thursdaynight in niceville, fla., at TheArena on the campus of north-west florida State College just15 miles from ft. Walton Beach.
The men’s team, due to theirless than satisfying regular sea-son conference record (3-11),have earned the seventh seed inthe tournament.
The women’s team, which fin-ished with a promising (10-4),record, take the third seed.
Lady Blazer forward Brittanyferguson, despite being close toa white sandy beach, is makingsure her team doesn’t get dis-tracted from the objective.
“it’s a business trip,” fergusonsaid. “i’m just hoping to keepplaying. We might get sidetracked because we’re goingdown to the beach and get to stayin a condo. That fun stuff muststay in the back of the mind. Wecan only enjoy it if we take care
of business.”The Lady Blazers face the
north Alabama Lions in thequarterfinals Thursday night.
VSU split the season serieswith UnA this year losing thefirst game76-69 in Birminghamthen a month later beating the Li-ons in the P.E Complex by onepoint, 59-58.
Being played on a neutralfloor should make the tiebreakeran exciting game.
VSU Head Coach Kiley Hillsays that taking care of the bas-ketball will be highly stressedthis weekend.
“That’s been our achilles heelas of late,” Hill said. “Valuingthe basketball is going to be abig piece of the puzzle. When wedon’t turn the basketball over webecome a very good basketballteam.”
nevertheless, the Lions posteda (5-9) gSC record this seasonand undoubtedly are the under-dogs in this matchup.
The men’s team will competeon friday afternoon against theno. 2 seed Christian Brotherswho are ranked no. 8 in divisionii nCAA basketball.
The Blazers were swept by theBuccaneers in the regular seasonand are (0-3) against nationallyranked teams.
Although men’s Head Coach
Mike Helfner just finished his worst season (11-15) in his ca-reer at VSU, he has reached thesemifinals of each of the last fourgSC tournaments, the longestsuch streak in school history.
Both the men’s and women’schampionship games will be tele-vised by ESPn3 and ESPn fullCourt on Sunday.
The Lady Blazers are expectedto have much less trouble ad-vancing to the semifinals, wherethey will run into Alabama-Huntsville or West georgia de-pending on the winner of thatgame.
ferguson could care less who
the following opponent might be and describes every team the Lady Blazers face this weekendas “roadblocks” from winningtheir first gSC title since 1984.
Hill has put together anotherremarkable season to add to histenure, and his team has theireye on the prize.
“This late in the year, it’s notas much physical,” Hill said.“it’s 90 percent mental. You cantake all those records and throwthem out at conference time be-cause at this time of the yearyou’ve played everyone twice. itjust comes down to who is goingto execute and defend.”
GsC tournament starts tonight in Fla.Gulf South Conference Rankings