the spectator 10/16/2014
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The Spectator, Valdosta State University's Independent Student Newspaper.TRANSCRIPT
October 16, 2014 Volume 87 Issue 8
Inside This Issue - OPINIONS: VSU students deserve transparency from University
- FEATURES: Vsu student experiments with mixed genres , gets signed to label
- SPORTS: VSU basketball holds first official practice
On the Web www.vsuspec tor.com
Study Smarter - If you wat to rid yourself of those bad study habits you haven’t kicked since high school, go to the Student Success Center today at 3:15 p.m. They are giving advice and tips on how to study smarter.Sunday’s Best - The Mass Choir at VSU is looking for talent from the VSU community. Closed auditions will be held in Student Union Meeting Room 1 at 7 p.m.
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Today
Saturday
Friday
Sunny
Sunny
Check out Kenzie Kesselring’s story, “American history cannot be
changed” on the web!
Yoga poses may improve
quality of sleep for students
See page 4 for more
Weather
Today at VSU
This Day in History
Find Us Online
Sunny
Lia ArmisteadStaff Writer
Kenzie Kesselring aSSt. OpiniOnS editOr
John PreerfeatureS editOr
El Camino
On this day, in 1958 , Chevrolet
intoduced the El Camino to the world.
The new car-truck hybrid was inspired
by the Ford Ranchero.
Source: History.com
Source: Weather.com
VSU steps up in OctoberOrganizations across campus strive to ‘Save the Ta-Tas’
One in every eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime, mak-ing the disease the second leading cause of death among women in the U.S., according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
VSU organizations do many things each year in October to help make people more aware of this disease.
The Zeta Tau Alpha sorority is one such group.
“We feel that our philan-thropy affects so many wom-en, and many of our sisters have been personally affected by breast cancer,” Zeta Tau Alpha member Isabella Lugo said.
At the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Zeta changed the color of the Front Lawn fountain to pink.
On the first of October, the sorority held a bake sale at its philanthropy table on the Pedestrian Mall, encouraging students to write the names of those suffering or those who have suffered from breast can-cer on a pink ribbon.
Each ribbon was pinned to a banner that was held up at the Oct. 11 Blazer football game against West Georgia, saying, “Who Do You Think Pink For?”
The game against West Georgia was a pink-out game, where students were encouraged to “Think Pink” and wear as much pink as possible.
Men are also getting in on the breast cancer awareness action.
The Real Men Wear Pink event, sponsored by the Col-legiate Men of VSU, was held Oct. 8.
Big Man on Campus, a male beauty pageant, was held Oct. 9.
The 15 participants in Big Man on Campus competed in the competition wearing pink ribbons attached to their shirts or even painting big pink ribbons on to their bodies to show off while walking down the runway.
“I think it’s so funny and so different to see guys up on stage in a pageant,” senior Hannah Poff said. “But what makes it even better is that they’re doing it for a good cause and raising money for breast cancer organizations each year.”
According to Lugo, the Big Man on Campus event raised over $9,000 in donations for the Breast Cancer Foundation.
The Women of Diversity organization hosted an event called “Kicking Breast Cancer Away,” which was a kick ball tournament to raise funds and awareness.
“There’s so many of us, and the campus is so diverse, so it’s really important to have these events so we reach a broad spectrum of people,” said Mercedes Harbert, a VSU student who works with Women of Diversity.
The organization also hosted an event with the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity and the Zeta Phi Beta sorority where participants donated bras and played bra pong in order raise breast cancer awareness. VSU isn’t the only local institution working to bring attention to breast cancer. South Georgia Medical Center is trying to ensure all women are annually checking for signs of breast cancer.
SGMC is hosting a free breast cancer screening Oct. 23 in the cancer center after a
successful screening day on Oct. 9.According to Angela Royal,a cancer nurse at SGMC, participants have to be at least 40 years old and have not had a mammogram in the last year.
Those with lesser income are sent to The Breast Test and More program, which is state funded and run by the Health Department and pro-vides free mammograms.
Other women who go through SGMC for screenings will receive a free mam-mogram also if there are any abnormalities discovered.
The next day of free screenings will be held Oct. 23 at Health Care South in Valdosta. Prior to the screen-ings, participants should call 229-433-1074 to register.
Robbery hits campus again
A robbery was reported on VSU’s campus between the Student Union and Odum library on Monday night.
According to Cindy Cobb, VSUPD lieutenant, the department has no leads in the case and is unsure if this robbery and other recent ones in the area are related.
The victim was on her way to the library on the path from the Student Union Monday night when she had her purse snatched by a man heading toward Drexel Park.
The female victim re-ported that the robber was an African-American male wear-ing army shorts and a brown and beige shirt. The robber was also wearing green, white Jordan’s, had a piercing in his right ear and appeared to have his hand in his pocket, pos-sibly holding a weapon.
“We don’t have enough of a description to say that it’s the same guy,” Cobb said, regard-ing the possibility that this robber is the same that has committed previous robberies around campus.
Students received a text message and email from VSU on Monday night, informing them that a robbery took place near the University Center instead of near the Student Union.
Garrison Muelhausen, a senior mass media major, expressed his concern over the lack of video cameras on campus.
“My question is, why aren’t there any more cameras over there [at the University Cen-ter], and why aren’t there any in the mall way?” Muelhau-sen said.
The VSUPD has released no other information at the time of publication.
Ebola webinar toeducate students
Perhaps the most infectious quality of Ebola is the fear that seems to spread just as indiscriminately as the virus itself.
In response to the epidem-ic, the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents will host a one-hour webinar on the USG’s website.
The webinar is called, “Ebola: Guidance for Uni-versities & Colleges,” and is set to begin at 9:00 a.m. on Oct. 23 and will be conducted by Dr. Pat O’Neal, director of the Health Protection for the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Dr. O’Neal is responsible for the oversight of emergen-cy medical services, trauma, emergency preparedness, epi-demiology, infectious disease and environmental health.
Those interested in attend-ing the webinar should visit the USG’s website to register.
The only way to participate in the webinar is to register in advance.
Further details about the webinar and specific discus-sion topics will be available upon registration.
Although the number of confirmed cases of Ebola in the United States is still in the single digits, precautionary steps are being taken to quell mass hysteria and educate the public about facts surround-ing the deadly virus.
In a recent announcement, President Obama assured the American public that the chances of a stateside outbreak are still “very, very low.”
Although an Ebola specific protocol has not been estab-lished for most universities in the state, this webinar should
provide them with a uniform procedure for handling a person who is a confirmed carrier of the virus as well as a protocol for quarantining the infected.
Many experts in the field of epidemiology are urging the public to focus on more prevalent viruses, such as the flu.
With flu season quickly approaching, preparations for a virus that has been in the U.S. for more than a few weeks should be the prior-ity of citizens worried about contracting a viral infection.
However, Americans don’t seem to fully trust the presi-dent’s reassurances.
In a recent poll done by the Harvard School of Public Health, 40 percent of Ameri-cans were fearful of contract-ing the virus.
“There’s so many of us, and the campus is so diverse, so it’s really important to have these events so we reach a broad spectrum of people.”
Mercedes Harbert Women of Diversity
Kayla Stroud/ THE SPECTATOR
www.vsuspectator.com
PAGE 2 | VSUSPECTATOR.COM
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The sudoku grid consists of eighty-one squares in a nine by nine grid. To solve the sudoku, each square in the grid must contain a number between one and nine, with the following conditions: · Each row of nine cells must contain each of the numbers from 1 to 9 once and only once. · Each column of nine cells must contain each of the numbers from 1 to 9 once and only once. · Each of the nine 3 by 3 boxes of nine cells must contain each of the num-bers from 1 to 9 ANSWER ON PAGE 4
Fall Volunteer Fair
Oct. 1611 a.m.-3 p.m.Student Union Ballroom C
This event is hosted by VSU’s Office of Volunteer Services and will feature a dozen local nonprofit organizations shar-ing how students can make a difference as community volunteers. For more infor-mation, contact Michelle Leeper at 229-333-5674 or at [email protected].
Pops in the Park Performance
Oct. 166-8 p.m.Fine Arts Amphitheatre
The 2014 Pops in the Park event, sponsored by VSU’s Music Scholarship Alliance, will feature saxophonist Kenyon Carter and vocalist
Tania Myers as well as VSU’s Jazz Ensemble, New Jazz Ensemble and Faculty Jazz Combo.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $8 for students and senior citizens, and free for children ages 12 and under. Proceeds from this event will fund scholarships for students in VSU’s Department of Music. To purchase tickets, call 229-333-2150.
Extreme Black Out Rave and Laser Show
Oct. 176-9:15 p.m.Student Union Ballrooms
This event, sponsored by CAB, will feature a recre-ational dance hosted by DJ Capone, a laser light show, a fashion show and student performers.
Upcoming Events
Police BriefsOct. 15
A student reported that his blue mountain bike was stolen Sunday night from the Lowndes Hall area.
Oct. 13
A non-student reported that his bike was stolen from the Fine Arts Building area while
he was out of town.
A student reported that his backpack, containing books and a graphing calculator, was stolen from Nevins Hall.
Oct. 10
A car parked in the Oak Street lot was reportedly broken into.
CorrectionThe article titled “Board of Regents comes to VSU, long
hiatus over” that ran in the 10-9 issue of The Spectator erroneously reported the year the BOR considered coming to VSU. It was in fact 2001.
If you must smoke, take your “butts” off campus.
The tobacco ban has been in effect for a little over two weeks now, and the ban depends on the VSU community to let people know tobacco use is not allowed on campus.
The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents put in place a tobacco ban that was implemented by VSU on Oct. 1.
In keeping with the ban, VSU prohibits all forms of
tobacco use on any properties owned or in the possession of the USG. The ban applies to all students, faculty, staff, and
campus visitors.VSU wants to help stomp
out tobacco use by having Freshstart Series, a collection of workshops given by the American Cancer Society that is comprised of four onehour group sessions over the course of four weeks. This series began Monday in the Student Union.
According to Dr. Denise Bogart, director of human resources, VSU has been trying to take steps to be a tobaccofree campus for around two years.
VSU’s Campus Safety Committee and Student Government Association hosted a Tobacco Use Policy Forum at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 9 to give background information about the new tobacco ban.
The big question at the forum was how do students tell other students who are using tobacco products to put them
away? “VSU is not asking stu
dents to challenge others; this is only an educational program for everyone and hopes to be a positive educational experience,” Dr. Bogart said.
After attending other school policy meetings, such as at the University of Georgia, SGA Vice President Nicholas Buford is optimistic about VSU’s new tobacco ban.
“Other schools have had the ban enforced for months now, and we hope that this transition is as positive as possible for our school as it was for them,” Buford said.
There are cards that have been made for students and faculty to hand to others if they ever see them smoking on any part of VSU campus.
The question on ticketing policy violators came up during the tobacco meeting and was explained by Sherolyn
Hopkins, assistant dean of students for conduct.
“VSU does not want to have to make the steps to start ticketing because it may cause friction in the community here on campus.” Hopkins said. “If problems start to arise, we will have a tiered process, just like the alcohol policy.
“First a letter will be given to the violator, then a reference to the Drug and Alcohol Center, and if there is still an issue, measures will be taken
from there to possible ticketing,” Hopkins said.
According to Hopkins, a tip to help students that may see others neglecting the new ban is to report a specific location that they commonly see violators instead of reporting a specific person.
“A person or location can be reported to student conduct, housing, the VSU police or any other faculty or staff, and monitoring will be taken from there,” Hopkins said.
VSU rolling out anti-tobacco measuresKristin Whitman
Asst. sports [email protected]
Alexis Waters/THE SPECTATOR
OCTOBER 16, 2014 VSUSPECTATOR.COM | PAGE 3
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Opinions expressed in The Spectator other than editorials are the opinions of the writers of signed columns and not neccessarily those of The Spectator and its staff. All rights reserved. Reprints by permission of the editors. Views in this newspaper are not neccessarily those of the Valdosta State University administration, faculty and staff.
Our point of view...
This editorial was written by a member of the editorial staff and expresses the general opinion of The Spectator.
Tatyana PhelpsCopy Editor
Elan WaiteEditor-in-ChiEf
Publicize all cancers and diseases
MCT Campus
VSU students deserve transparency from universityKnowledge is
power. In the case of the students
at VSU, being informed of things that go on at our campus will give us more knowledge and power to make better, safer and more informed decisions. A little thing we like to call transpar-ency requires the administra-tion to be completely open with students.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Our job at The Spectator is to deliver news to students, faculty and staff at VSU. However, it becomes a little difficult to do so when the adminis-tration won’t share certain information with us or give us complete details on events or issues that occur.
We have experienced a bit of difficulty with transpar-ency at VSU. Recently, a well-known employee was replaced with no warning whatsoever. The Spectator, along with VSU students, received no explanation. Therefore, we weren’t able to deliver you the full story of what happened and why.
As a student news organi-zation, we fail to completely execute our job when we can only provide our readers bits and pieces of stories.
This isn’t a problem within all departments. Some are extremely open to providing us with details and the facts that we need to produce the news. Others are completely against talking to us and don’t give us anything to work with.
When the administration is open with students and informs us of the things that occur on campus, it allows us to develop informed opinions and act accordingly based on those opinions.
The editors at The Specta-tor believe that students at VSU have the right to be notified of the events and problematic situations that occur at the university. By attending VSU, we put our trust in the administration that they will be upfront with us and honest in a timely fashion. That trust is lost when students are left in the dark about the things we have a right to know.
Not only would adminis-tration transparency benefit us as a news organization, but it would also benefit students. When we are able to provide the campus with accurate and complete in-formation, it makes students more informed, more aware and more protected.
President McKinney signed a free speech docu-ment at the end of the Spring 2014 semester in favor of free speech, free press and the rights of college media.
“You will really have to search far and wide for a more staunch defender of first amendment rights than me,” Dr. McKinney said in November of 2013.
We hoped that what Dr. McKinney stood for on that momentous occasion would percolate into future semes-ters.
Be proud of your labelsRaven-Symone complains to Oprah about African-American, gay labels
Today’s society is obsessed with labels. We either crave them or despise them. We in-vest in them and rebuke them. Be it the materialistic labels we work for or the social labels we cannot avoid, labels are evident and prominent.
When Raven-Symone, a popular child star from “The Cosby Show” and “That’s so Raven,” told Oprah Winfrey
during an interview that she didn’t like labels, it started a buzz on social media. She included being labeled gay as something she did not like, which for the most part was not commented on. What real-ly got people talking is when she included being labeled as African-American.
What is a little upsetting about Raven’s comment was that after saying she didn’t want to be labeled as an African-American, she promptly labeled herself as
an American. It shows it is not the idea of labels that she doesn’t like, it’s the labels she’s been given.
The idea of a color blind society is a nice thought in theory, but what does it rob the individual of? In a time where being African-American is synonymous with mainly negative stereotypes, it’s important to embrace your culture. As an African Ameri-can woman, I’d like to think that every time I do some-thing positive or accomplish a goal, I help my race progress.
That does not just go for me and my race, but for all people of all races. I identify myself as African-American. I embrace my “label.” I don’t let it define me. Instead, I work to redefine it.
Raven’s desire to stay away from labels is not uncommon. This topic is one discussed in many circles. Talented, hu-morous, accomplished: These are more labels affiliated with Raven-Symone and some-where there is a little girl who wants to identify with her as a strong African-American.
During the month of Octo-ber, all anyone sees is pink in honor of breast cancer aware-ness month. Why is it that we never see tons of dark blue for colon cancer, light blue for prostate cancer, yellow for bone cancer or purple for pancreatic cancer?
People do not need to acknowledge breast cancer any less. It continues to be a very serious problem, taking the lives of more than 40,000 women in America each year, according to nationalbreast-cancer.org.
However, it seems as though breast cancer gets more attention and recogni-tion than any other cancer or deadly disease. Only women are recognized for getting breast cancer while the men who get it are left in the shadows.
There are so many other illnesses that claim the lives of both men and women but get no kind of attention. Heart disease, for instance, kills more than 600,000 men and women each year. It is also the leading cause of death in both men and women, accord-ing to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
When is heart disease awareness month? What color represents heart disease or any
other disease or cancer for that matter? Believe it or not, there’s a color, a month or a day of awareness for most diseases or cancers. The only problem is that breast cancer awareness gets so much at-tention that it overshadows all the rest.
Heart disease is focused on during the month of Febru-ary and is represented by the color red and a heart symbol. What else takes place in Feb-ruary that involves red hearts? Valentine’s Day. So in reality, heart disease still doesn’t get a lot of attention.
What about the other dis-ease awareness in the month of October? October is also AIDS awareness month, Down Syndrome awareness month and liver cancer aware-ness month. Most people probably don’t know this because the only disease that gets the attention is breast cancer. Do NFL players ever wear green during their games in October for liver cancer? No—just pink.
November is the aware-ness month for numerous diseases including diabetes, lung cancer, Alzheimer’s and pancreatic cancer. Of course, there is “No Shave Novem-ber” in honor of the cancer patients who lose their hair, but it doesn’t spotlight any particular cancer that tries to raise awareness in November.
Breast cancer is unargu-
ably a huge issue in the nation and affects many men and women. However, victims of breast cancer aren’t the only ones battling life-threatening diseases. It’s not fair for one disease’s awareness to overshadow the others as if they don’t matter, as if those
suffering from other diseases don’t suffer just as much.
Since there are aware-ness months for all types of diseases, they need to be pub-licized more so that people can be aware of the available fundraisers to improve every-one’s health.
Delete your club-going, bikini-clad, trashy Halloween costume-wearing pictures on your social media profiles.
It’s time to get serious.It’s common sense that
soon-to-be college gradu-ates should have professional social media profiles. Sources and numbers prove that it’s important for professionals to be involved in LinkedIn.
LinkedIn’s manager of corporate communications, Crystal Braswell, says that recent graduates make up the fastest growing demographic on the site — there are nearly 40 million with a profile now.
In a time where our genera-
tion is so involved in social media, it’s time to use it to our advantage. More and more businesses and corporations are looking for employees via social media.
Gone are the days when job seekers can walk into a store and apply for a job. It’s crucial for soon-to-be gradu-ates to keep their social media profiles professional.
By visiting profiles, employers can see what the job seekers are like. They can look into their potential employees’ grammatically in-correct statuses, their drunken pictures and their Throwback Thursdays.
According to Viveca von Rosen, author of “LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour A Day,” 98 percent of recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates, and 85 percent of hiring managers look at applicants’ LinkedIn profiles.
Living in a highly tech-nological time, job seekers should do everything possible to use social media to their advantage. It’s time to post a suit selfie, not a duck face.
Use social media professionallyJordan Hillopinions Editor
Alison Stephen
Jordan Hill/THE SPECTATOR
MCT Campus
Breast cancer should not overshadow other illnesses
Check out ValdostaSpectator on YouTube to hear what students think of Ebola.
Users of social media need to be aware that their profiles can impact their career.
PAGE 4 | VSUSPECTATOR.COM OCTOBER 16, 2014
Hailey NelsonColumnist
Sudoku Answer
VSU student experiments with mixed genres, gets signed to label
Junior mass media major Taylor Ashworth is one half of $unday $ervice, an EDM duo who plans to release their first EP titled “The Beat Don’t Stop” in the coming month. The album is filled with trap
and dubstep music. “Overall, I make EDM music, which naturally has a lot of subgenres and different elements,” Ashworth said. “My creativity tends to lean more toward dubstep and trap as the main genres I create.” 21-year old Ashworth first delved into creating EDM – electronic dance music, for the uninitiated – in the sum-
mer of 2012. He became in-terested after seeing his friend and roommate, Hunter Auld, working with the music. Together, the friends work under the moniker $unday $ervice, a name that Auld came up with on the spot only a few months after the two friends began working together. Ashworth cites Floss-
tradamus, Chicago-based trap music DJs, as his favorite musical duo, though he said he is often inspired by classic rock as well. “I do like the recent influx of EDM in pop music because I couldn’t stand pop music until recently, and it’s cool seeing it go a bit more main-stream,” Ashworth said. Ashworth signed with the
label about a year ago after being contacted online by a manager who had come across his work on Ash-worth’s Soundcloud account. Having been an avid piano and guitar player all his life, Ashworth said he possesses the essential groundwork for any musician of understand-ing melodies and concepts of music.
Though Ashworth has been offered to play over ten shows at festivals, he is currently keeping his options open. He wants to complete his education and graduate next December before figuring out where his music will take him next. Listen to $unday $ervice’s music at https://soundcloud.com/sundayservice-1.
Yoga poses may improve quality of sleep for students
During midterms we can’t help but feel pressured and stressed out with all the tests and lists of things we have to do. Developing the habit of doing certain relaxation poses before bed can help with bet-ter sleep and establish a clear mindset. Yoga allows us to bring our attention to our bodies and come into a meditative state of relaxation. Remember you don’t have to be good at yoga or be super flexible to do these poses. These three yoga poses are perfect to do before going to bed or after a long study ses-sion. They will help to quiet the mind and ease stress.
Knees to Chest First start from a laying down position either on the floor, bed or mat. Begin by drawing the knees into the chest, holding the legs behind your thighs. If you would like a little back massage, try rocking gently from side to side.
Be careful not to lift your hips off the ground—allow your shoulders to remain on the floor or mat.Laying down Supine Spinal
Twist From knees to chest let your left leg extend long on the floor. Bend the right knee to allow the right foot to rest on the floor. Then using the left hand guide your right knee across your body over to the left side. As you hold
this pose, try to continue to guide your right knee deeper and deeper into the stretch. A tip for this pose is to try and shift
your hips so you are slightly resting on the side of your pelvis also keeping your body in a straight line from the crown of your head to your extended heel. Child’s Pose Starting on all fours, sink the hips back toward the heels and lower your body on top of your thighs. By reaching your arms out in front of you, it will allow you to relax and sink your chest into the floor. If this pose is uncomfortable on your knees try grabbing a blanket to place behind the
knees to reduce knee flexion. Remember yoga is a time to focus on yourself. Try turning off all electronics when prac-ticing these poses. Nothing is more frustrating when you are trying to relax than being bombarded with incoming texts and e-mails. Don’t forget, it’s okay if your mind starts to wander off
into different thoughts about what you have to do the next day or the homework you have this week. It’s com-pletely natural; but let those thoughts pass through your mind and try to bring your attention back to your breath. This will allow you to con-centrate completely on your body and breath.
John Preer /SPECTATORJai’Kel Robinson and Sarah Williams pose as prisoners of war while John Kebil and Dillon Rountree stand guard. The purpose of the demonstration is to raise awareness for POWs
Cole Edwardsmultimedia editor
Soldiers stand guard over POWs during presentation
VSUSPECTATOR.COM | PAGE 5OCTOBER 16, 2014
VSU basketball holds first official practice
Shane ThomasSportS Writer
The late Rodney Danger-field said it best: “No respect, no respect at all.”
On Monday, the Valdosta State Blazers men’s basket-ball team was picked to finish sixth in the Gulf South Con-ference in the league coaches’ poll, a spot lower than last season.
The Blazers went 16-12 last season but finished strong, advancing to Gulf South Con-ference tournament semifinals before bowing out in a heart-breaker to eventual champion North Alabama.
With their season tipping off in less than a month, the Blazers took to the floor for their first official practice Wednesday.
The Blazers will be led by GSC leading shot-blocker Colin Cook and dynamic pe-rimeter weapon Blake Justice, who took to Twitter to voice his opinion on his team’s low ranking.
“More fun bein the under-dog,” Justice tweeted.
Head coach Mike Helfer, entering his tenth season at VSU, admits he puts little stock in preseason rankings.
“Throughout my career, I’ve never looked at the pre-season polls,” Helfer said. “A lot of that goes off what you did last year, who you have coming back. A lot of it has nothing to do with the new guys on every team.
“We always want to play to win the GSC. Everyone starts 0-0 and you’ve just got to try to achieve that goal of win-ning the conference.”
Helfer has retooled with 10 newcomers around six return-ers for the upcoming season and spoke highly of his group.
“When you hang around these guys, the one thing you notice right away is that they’re a very close-knit group,” Helfer said. “Hope-fully, that type of off-court chemistry will carry onto the court and if that happens, you’ve got a little bit of a head start on a lot of teams at this time of year.”
Headlining the list of new Blazers is Toledo transfer Josh Lemons, Savannah State product Jeremiah Hill, Central Community College transfer James Spencer, and versatile 6-foot-10 German import Nils Dejworek.
“I like our guards,” Helfer said. “We have very good decision-making guards—we have skilled guards that can do multiple things. I really like our point guard play in terms of knowing when to distribute, when to score, and when to get us into something so I think that will carry over (into games).”
The combination of Dej-worek and Spencer gives the Blazers dual inside-outside threats, a rare dimension in the GSC.
“When you have somebody like Nils who’s 6’10 that can do a lot of different things, that’s always a tough match-up,” Helfer said. “I like all of our bigs. Colin (Cook) has done a great job, especially from the defensive end. James Spencer will add a lot to our versatility of guys that can step inside and out.
“I think when you have that ability, even if you don’t use it all the time, you’re still a threat and other teams have to prepare for it.”
The Blazers opens the 2014-15 season Nov. 14 against the Lane College Dragons as part of the Holi-day Inn Classic.
Follow Shane on Twitter:@ItsaThomasThing
“Everyone starts 0-0 and you’ve just got to try to achieve that goal of winning the conference.”
-Mike Helfer VSU basketball head
coach
Notable Newcomers
Josh Lemons- Sophomore Guard Previous school: Toledo6’1” 175 lbs.
Jeremiah Hill- Sophomore GuardPrevious school: Savannah State6’2” 170 lbs.
James Spencer- Senior ForwardPrevious school: Central Community College6’6” 210 lbs.
Nils Dejworek-Freshman ForwardPrevious school: Futah Prep (Germany)6’10” 220 lbs.
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OCTOBER 16, 2014 PAGE 6 | VSUSPECTATOR.COM
VSU Rugby seeks redemption in second tourney
The VSU rugby team is headed to Milledgeville, Georgia to play in the Dirty Deep Roots Tournament.
It will be a round-robin style tournament including three other teams beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning.
Georgia College and State University will combine with Macon’s men’s team to make Macon Love. G.R.I.T.Z. and Gwinnett will also be in the tourney.
Max Mundel, a member of VSU’s rugby team, is eager to get on the field this weekend to help his team redeem its last tournament appearance.
The team is coming off of a second-place finish at the Black Rose Tournament in Savannah, Georgia last month.
“The competition is not go-ing to be as stiff as in Georgia Southern,” Mundel said. “There were a lot of men’s teams there (that are bigger and have more experience.”
VSU has had a coach come in and offer his help to the young team.
Dr. Renaldo Arroyo has volunteered his time to help the Blazers live up to their full potential.
According to Mundel, Ar-royo came to a VSU scrim-mage at the beginning of the semester and helped referee. The ABAC professor, and former Mississippi State coach, drives down from Tifton, Georgia once a week.
“I don’t think (anybody on the team) contacted him,” Mundel said. “He just
recently moved to Tifton and heard about us through the national championship (last semester).”
Arroyo has more than 20 years of rugby experience.
“(Having an experienced coach) is the factor that we have been missing to get into that top level team,” Mundel said. “You can teach yourself only so much. We can look up everything on the internet, but having that authority figure and that coach with that much experience, is just a huge benefit to us.”
Arroyo has helped the team by is introducing new ideolo-gies to their game plan.
“(He came and talked to us after that first scrimmage) and he was said, ‘I have been coaching rugby for a while and been playing for 20 years.’ We convinced him to come out and help us.
“He is committed and he wants to help us. That’s the rugby mentality. You just want to help new people.”
Alex TostadoSportS Editor
Football coming off big blowout
The VSU football team blew out No. 23 University of West Georgia 40-6 on Saturday, Oct. 11. The Blazers improved to 3-2 on the sea-son and found their first conference win. The Wolves lost their first game, falling to 5-1 and 1-1 in the Gulf South Conference. VSU QB Jake Medlock won the GSC Offensive Player of the Week. Medlock went 10-18 with 231 yards and three touchdowns. Medlock added 145 yards on the ground and another touchdown. Medlock’s 376 total yards was more than the whole UWG team. It is the second time that Medlock has received the honor.
Stella Henderson/ THE SPECTATOR
“(Having an experienced coach) is the factor that we have been missing to get into that top level team.”
-Max MundelVSU rugby team