VOLUME 79 | ISSUE 26 TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY

SERVING THE STUDENTS SINCE 1933

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THE SIGNAL

Weighing the options for a new athletic conferenceBRIAN CROWEStaff Writer

Georgia State is considering the conse-quences of a possible move from its present Football Championship Series (FCS) confer-ence to a Football Bowl Series (FBS) confer-ence, a move that could lessen the dependen-cy on the student fee that supports athletic programs.

A recent feasibility study, commissioned by the university and per-formed by Collegiate

Consulting, determined that the Sun Belt would be the most suitable FBS conference for Georgia State at this time. Four other conferences were evaluated: the Western Athletic Conference, Conference USA, the Big East and the Mid-American Conference. Conference USA was also judged to be a good fit for Georgia State, but that conference is not interested in accepting new members from the FCS, according to the report.

Georgia State cur-

rently competes in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Factors considered in the study’s recom-mendations included, among others, travel distances for teams and athletic competitive-ness. Comparisons of revenue sources and ex-penses to current mem-bers of the conferences were also considered. Revenue sources in-clude ticket sales, mer-chandise sales, institu-

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s Dr. Kumar’s professor profile

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rnational fashion show

s Student Organizations bring fashion to Georgia StatePage 16

s Softball slips out of slump

Page 19

GRAHAM ROBSON | THE SIGNAL

Continued on page 3

Spring scrimmage showcases Panther’s skills for upcoming season

Page 19

Counseling center woesUniversity responds to Counseling and Testing Center controversy

Sabastian WeeSenior Editor

Georgia State ad-ministrative officials are denying claims from an Inside Higher Ed story that their recent deci-sion to outsource the staff of the counseling center was retaliation against its employees.

The Counseling and Testing Center elimi-nated nine clinical staff positions on March 3, resulting in a layoff of six psychologists. Three of the nine positions were vacant. In addi-tion, the center’s post-doctoral practicum pro-gram was suspended as well.

In an email state-ment from university spokesperson Andrea Jones, these eliminated positions, which would be outsourced to inde-pendent contractors, were the outcome of a Reduction in Force process.

The change would “increase institutional effectiveness in deliver-

ing mental health ser-vices to students,” Jones said.

The March 26 Inside Higher Ed article re-ported that former clin-ical staff members are accusing the university of retaliation for “their complaints that some university policies in-volving the counseling center had the potential to harm students.”

At least one of the three vacancies was the result of resignations from staff members dis-satisfied with the lead-ership and direction of the center, according to the story.

The article also stat-ed that the former staff was placed under a “gag order” and prohibited from speaking to the media.

However, Jones and Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Douglass Covey denied the allegation.

“Employees in a RIF process are still techni-

Continued on page 3

Long road ahead

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tional support, endowments, NCAA and conference support, and—usually the largest item—student fees.

The comparison of student fees reveals a wide gap between Georgia State and the average member of the FBS conferences that Collegiate Consulting eval-uated. The gap is largest when the comparison is made to the typical school in the Sun Belt conference.

Georgia State receives ap-proximately $16.5 million from its student athletic fee -- by far its largest source of revenue and about 72 percent of total athletic revenues. By compari-son, the average Sun Belt school derives only about 35 percent of its athletic revenues from stu-dent fees.

Though Georgia State col-lects 44 percent more in ath-letic revenues than the aver-age Sun Belt member, it relies much more heavily on student fees. Georgia State receives 195 percent more in student ath-letic fees than the average Sun Belt school, according to the re-

port. In fact, Georgia State col-lects more money from its ath-letic fee than the average Sun Belt athletic department col-lects from all revenue sources combined.

On a per student basis, Georgia State assesses an ath-letic fee of $263 per semes-ter for six credit hours and up. The Sun Belt Conference school with enrollment levels most similar to Georgia State, the University of North Texas, charges $10 per credit hour.

University President Mark Becker says he recognizes the concerns regarding student fees.

“Georgia State is committed to not increasing student fees for the coming year. We are do-ing everything we can to keep student fees under control,” Becker said.

Future years might make for a different story, though.

“If we stay in FCS we are certain to need a series of future increases in the student athlet-ic fee to meet our NCAA obli-gations (e.g., Title IX compli-

ance), and what the feasibility study shows is that if we move to FBS there would be new rev-enues that could offset much of the increases that would other-wise have to come from student fees,” Becker said in response to a question about the possible impact on student fees if a con-ference switch was made.

According to the report, a move to a FBS conference could generate more external reve-nues for athletic programs, im-prove the university’s national recruiting profile and increase the amount of television ex-posure the athletic programs receive. The report also notes the advantages Georgia State has to offer a FBS conference, including its large student en-rollment and its location in the ninth largest media market in the country.

Of course, a move to a FBS conference hinges on a key re-quirement: an invitation. At this time, Georgia State has not been invited to join the Sun Belt or any other conference.

cally our employees,” Covey said. “And as long as you’re an employee, you are to act in the institution’s in-terest and to support the mission ... There’s nothing unusual about that. But I would not characterize any-thing that has done with done with these employees as a gag order.”

These former employees will receive their full salary and benefits for three months after their last day in the position, Covey said.

“RIF is not a matter of getting rid of employees who were not per-forming well,” Covey said. “It’s a matter of retiring a position because we’re going to use our resources differently.”

Like the Inside Higher Ed arti-cle, The Signal has been unsuccess-ful in reaching these former staff members.

In an email sent to members of the American Psychological Association, counseling center di-rector Dr. Jill Lee-Barber respond-ed to the Inside Higher Ed story, saying that the decision to place the post-doctoral practicum on “inac-tive status” due to “an imbalance of clients being assigned to trainees.”

The practicum, a Georgia State institution for over 15 years, typical-ly serves 15 to 20 students per year.

The university estimates that the new model would save $160,000 in benefits packages, Jones said.

“I think people have misunder-stood (the new model),” Covey said. “We are not backing away from any of our extended services. All of the outreach programs we used to do will continue to happen. It’s just the in-office appointment intakes that will be contracted.”

In 2011, the center saw 4,000 in-dividual appointments, 1,000 group appointments and 1,100 psychiatric appointments, according to Jones’s statement.

Covey assured all services would remain within the counsel-ing center and there would be no reduction in the number of student appointments or any new fees.

“At this point, we anticipate we’ll have more flexibility and bet-

ter services at no increase in cost, which is our main goal,” Covey said.

Most of the center’s care was previously provided by supervised trainees, as opposed to the 45 per-cent of clients being seen by li-censed providers, he added. The new model will allow up to 80 per-cent of clients to be seen by licensed providers.

The counseling center, along with the director, would have two full-time associate directors that would receive full benefits, Covey said.

Previously, the facility housed an interim assistant director and as-sociate director. Covey noted that the new positions would harbor new responsibilities like risk man-agement, mandated assessments and 24-hour on-call services.

“The program is going to evolve as the needs change,” Covey said. “My guess is we’ll see greater em-phasis in some areas ... but there’s certainly not going to be any reduc-tion in services.”

The center is now fully staffed with independent contractors, Covey said. While the university is set to stay with the new hybrid model, they are exploring options to find a single-source independent provider.

Covey said there have been no issues with the transition, or a dis-ruption in service to students.

“Dr. Barber actually received a note from somebody about how well the transition was handled,” Covey said.

Lee-Barber said in her state-ment that she “personally contact-ed the clients that were receiving individual therapy from the affected staff members to inform them of the change and to coordinate the trans-fer of their care to another therapist within our center prior to their next scheduled appointment time.”

She also noted that fewer than 35 students were affected in the transition.

Lee-Barber could not be reached for comment on this article.

FBS move could lessen reliance on fees

The Good News:

Potentially lesser reliance on fees

More external revenue

Larger recruiting field

More national coverage of the team

The Bad News:

Potentially increased fees to offset federal Title IV

requirements

Tougher FBS competitors

No invitation to join an FBS conference

Student Judicial Board: Signal “theft” no code violationCHRIS SHATTUCKNews Editor

The Student Judicial Board said last Thursday students have the right to destroy as many Signal newspapers as they would like under the univer-sity code of conduct.

The board does not usually weigh in on issues before being presented with actual cases, according to the Dean of Student’s Office, and the jus-tifications for its interpretation of the code have been contested by the Student Press Law Center.

While the group’s chief justice, Allison Renyi, characterized the dis-posal of the newspapers as improper and suggested alternative methods of expressing displeasure with the pa-per, she said the actions were protect-ed because the papers were free and

their disposal represented a form of symbolic speech.

“It’s not theft because it’s open, it’s distributed, to all students and it’s accessible to everyone,” Renyi said. “As one student, while it would be grossly unfair of me, I could take ev-ery single one of the papers because, as a student, those papers are mine.”

The board’s ruling last Thursday was based on an incident involving the trashing of approximately 250 copies of The Signal three weeks ago. The SJB is a division of the Dean of Students Office, the same office tasked with investigating the disposal.

However, the SJB’s finding should not impact how the case is investigat-ed, Renyi said.

“The SJB doesn’t have anything to do with the investigation process because it’s strictly with the univer-

sity,” Renyi said. “So while we work with each other, when it comes to in-vestigations and violations and any-thing of that nature, there is a great separation between the organizations that allows us to function.”

Rebecca Stout, associate vice president and dean of students, said her office would continue to inves-tigate the March 13 disposal of the newspapers independent of the SJB. She also said she did not know how the SJB could make a statement on the case without having it first in-vestigated by the Dean of Student’s Office.

“The SJB does not have the juris-dictional authority to make any de-termination about code of conduct charges. That is fully the respon-sibility of the Office of the Dean of Students,” Stout said.

The board merely has the author-ity to make recommendations to the Dean of Students, she continued.

In her clarification of the ruling, Renyi said the board may have ruled differently if the students involved in the disposal had resorted to physical violence or destroyed papers before they were distributed.

She compared the student’s ac-tions to the burning of an American flag. While the action may be deplor-able, she continued, it’s still protected.

However, groups like the Student Press Law Center have contested that particular interpretation.

“You have a right to burn your own flag; you don’t have a right to burn other people’s flags,” said Frank LoMonte, the SPLC’s executive direc-tor. “You could certainly do that with one paper, [but] what you can’t do is

deprive other people of their papers.” LoMonte also criticized the idea

that there is nothing wrong with throwing away the papers because the papers are free in single copies.

“You’re not welcome to take all the papers you want any more than you’re welcome to go into a homeless soup kitchen and eat all the sandwich’s and drink all the soup,” LoMonte said. “That’s just a misconception.”

Further, he said the thrashings could still be considered vandalism, since the papers were later recovered, even if the university did not classify the actions as theft.

The Georgia State University Police Department is also investigat-ing the matter for potential criminal implications.

Continued from front page

Continued from front page

Counseling center woes

TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012 04 NEWS | THE SIGNAL

MARCH 30

General Classroom BuildingA report was filed for Theft. The complainants, two GSU staff members stated, on 03/13/12 at 4:30 p.m. they noticed all of the GSU Signal newspapers were being taken off of the displays and being discarded into the recycling receptacles. The case is being handled by Investigations.

MARCH 29

Sparks HallOfficers arrested a GSU student for Possession of an Ounce or Less of Marijuana and Obstruction of Police. At 1:30 p.m. officers made contact with the individual and observed a small bag of marijuana. The individual then began fighting with officers and ran from the area. After a brief foot chase officers apprehended the individual. A G.C.I.C. check also confirmed an active warrant. He was arrested, processed and transported to Fulton County Jail. General Classroom BuildingA report was filed for Burglary and Vandalism. The complainant, a GSU staff member stated, at 9:30 a.m. he noticed small wood chips by the base of multiple doors on the 8th floor and one door on the 7th floor. The case is being handled by Investigations. Library NorthA report was filed for Theft. The complainant, a GSU student stated, at 11:45 p.m. she noticed her wallet containing various items was missing and confirmed multiple unauthorized transactions were made with her debit card. The case is being handled by Investigations. Law LibraryA report was filed for Theft of Lost or Mislaid Property. The complainant, a GSU student stated, at 12:45 p.m. she left her laptop computer unattended and when she returned she noticed the computer was missing. The case is being handled by Investigations. University CommonsA report was filed for Odor of Marijuana. The complainant, a GSU staff member stated, at 7:24 p.m. she smelled an odor of marijuana. When officers arrived they made contact with the resident who confirmed he had been smoking marijuana. The case is being handled by University Housing. Classroom SouthA report was filed for Criminal Trespass. The complainant, a GSU staff member stated, at 5:55 a.m. he noticed a door was damaged. The case is being handled by Investigations.

MARCH 28

General Classroom BuildingA report was filed for Criminal Trespass and Burglary. The complainant, a GSU faculty member stated, at 7:10 p.m. he noticed a door was damaged and observed an unknown individual in the room. After making contact with the individual he ran from the area. There were no items reported missing. The case is being handled by Investigations. Library PlazaOfficers issued three Non-GSU individuals Criminal Trespass Warnings. At 8:35 p.m. officers observed the three individuals loitering in a parking deck and then observed them again in the plaza. When officers made contact with the individuals they confirmed they were all Non-GSU and had no reason to be in neither the parking deck nor the plaza. They were issued a C.T.W. and were escorted off campus without incident.

CHRIS SHATTUCKNews Editor

Ben Williams, the Student Government Association’s vice president of student life, said last week he misspoke regarding who previously trashed copies of the paper.

“I realized after reading The Signal that I may have misspoken when talking about the individuals who had approached me about SGA taking a stance on the issue,” Williams said in a March 27 email.

As reported in last week’s issue of The Signal, Williams previously said at least two girls came to him and admitted to trashing the papers inside the General Classroom Building. They said they came to him to get the SGA to take a stand on the issue, Williams previously said.

“Two of the girls who threw away the Signals came to me and they wanted to know what SGA’s position on the asser-tion made by The Signal that a crime was

committed and censorship occurred,” Williams said in an executive board meet-ing of the SGA on March 22.

However, Williams now says that wasn’t exactly accurate.

“The individuals who came to me did not explicitly state they were involved in throwing away papers, though I know in my presentation of the situation I did not draw that distinction and may have stated they were involved, which is an error on my part,” Williams said in the same email.

Based on William’s statements, The Signal filed an official complaint with the Dean of Students last Thursday and a re-port with campus police last Friday, al-though police initially refused to file a re-port, saying no crime had occurred because the papers were ultimately recovered.

During his officer report before the SGA Senate on March 29, Williams pub-licly criticized The Signal’s reporting on a wide variety of issues. In a private inter-

view, Williams also recognized his hostil-ity toward the institution.

“I fully agree that there is a lot of ani-mosity from myself towards The Signal. Not necessarily people within it but over-all towards the entity,” Williams said. “As important as it is to hold SGA accountable and all student organizations accountable, making sure everyone is getting equal and fair treatment, I think The Signal needs to be held just as much accountable,” Williams said.

While he said he thought investiga-tive reporting and holding the university accountable was important, he said The Signal should be doing more to highlight the positive aspects of the Georgia State community.

“For me, what I think The Signal should be doing is doing a lot of work to showcase what’s going on with student organizations and a lot of positive things,” Williams said.

SGA vice president backtracks on statement

Girls and Crime:Dr. Margaret Zahn discusses policy and delinquent girlsTERAH BOYDAssociate News Editor

Dr. Margaret Zahn spoke last week at the Andrew Young School’s Women in Criminal Justice Forum on delinquent girls in America.

Zahn, a professor of sociology and crim-inology at North Carolina State University and previous president of the American Society of Criminology, boasts an impres-sive history of criminology research. A mil-lion dollar grant from Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) was given to Zahn and a team of other researchers to analyze crime trends in American girls and the possible reasons behind the trends.

Her results baffled many.The study identified many risk factors

for all children, including low bonding, family dysfunction and living in disadvan-taged neighborhoods. Girls were at further risk for additional tolls from trauma from sexual assault.

Recent studies show a shift in the types of crimes children are committing, accord-ing to Zahn. Young women committing simple assault are on the rise, for example. However, crime is on a slow decrease for both boys and girls, with crimes committed by boys decreasing faster than girls.

“Domestic violence legislation led to unintended consequences,” Zahn said.

Procedure now requires an arrest to

be made if law enforcement is called to re-spond to an alleged domestic violence situ-ation. Domestic conflicts between mothers and daughters are on the rise, but usually the girl is arrested.

“They don’t take the mother. She’s got to watch the other kids,” Zahn said.

Zero tolerance laws have also led to an increase of the arrests of young women. Without adequate help, disadvantaged girls have nowhere to go but jail, she said.

The OJJDP’s study also looked at a number of programs to see if they actually kept young girls from engaging in criminal activity.

Zahn’s team examined the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing program (MTO) by looking at the effects of children after they were placed in a more advantaged neighbor-hood. For the first six months, every child seemed to stop criminal activity.

After that six-month period, criminal activity in boys escalated.

“Boys are more opportunistic, they found better things to steal,” Zahn said.

She also hypothesized that many boys went back to their old neighborhoods and did not develop relationships in their more advantaged environments. However, girls seemed to benefit drastically from the pro-gram. Female crime rates not only signifi-cantly dropped but most graduated from college.

Gender specific and coed programs for at-risk youth were also compared.

The findings were presented to organi-zations in California that focused on aiding at-risk girls.

“I was out in California the day they re-leased the results, and the staff was sitting crying,” Zahn said.

Many gender-specific programs fund-ed the research in order to show how each gender responds to bonding through coun-seling differently and that rehabilitation is more easily achieved if each sex is ad-dressed differently.

“For gender-specific programs there were some positive outcomes in terms of increasing educational efficiency, better re-lationships and higher self esteem,” Zahn said.

The girls in one program, Women in Need Growing Stronger (WINGS), actu-ally committed more crimes after leaving the program. Coed programs yielded more positive results.

Zahn says her research is just a start, and much more needs to be done to ex-amine policy and how it affects youth. She also suggested that research look-ing into trauma, ethnicity and even social media are needed to find crucial policy improvements.

“We need to take a look, not only at the risk factors of boys and girls but the orga-nizational practices on a really personal level.”

COURTESY OF ANDREW YOUNG SCHOOL OF POLICY STUDIES

TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012 05NEWS | THE SIGNAL

Professor Profile: Dr. V. Kumar

ALEX OSIADACZStaff Writer

Dr. Viswanathan Kumar’s in-novation distinguishes him as a leader in marketing at Georgia State.

Kumar serves as the Richard and Susan Lenny Distinguished Chair of Marketing as well as the executive director for the Center for Excellence in Brand and Customer Management at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business.

At the Center for Excellence, Kumar says he and his associates are currently researching social media marketing and have been successful in measuring return

of investment rates across sever-al online campaigns. The Center for Excellence has received sev-eral research awards and grants, including the Gary Lilien Practice Prize last December.

He and his team regularly build marketing models to in-crease product and company val-ue. Proctor and Gamble commis-sioned Kumar to build a model for detergents in developing mar-kets, while the Georgia Aquarium is currently looking for Kumar to make their cause profitable.

“[The] Aquarium gave us a problem to solve. I have talents readily waiting here so let’s go do this and publish it,” Kumar said.

While many regard Dr. Kumar

as a “marketing legend” today, his journey in life began as an engi-neer. He says his first experience with marketing was through an elective course at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology. While at IIT, he was exposed to the works of Philip Kotler, the “Father of Marketing” and one who Dr. Kumar points to in a pic-ture tacked to a board in his office.

Since his professional career began in the 1980s, he has accu-mulated dozens of awards, in-cluding the Robert B. Clarke Outstanding Educator Award and the SIG Lifetime Contributions Award from the American Marketing Association.

The culmination of his 25

years as a professor and exper-tise in the field of marketing has resulted in the Paul D. Converse Award: the equivalent to the Nobel Prize in marketing. He will accept the award at the end of April and says he is proud to be doing so as a Georgia State faculty member.

“This university administra-tion . . . has gone above and be-yond to make sure that the infra-structure . . . and the resources are there,” Kumar said.

“I work for my doctoral stu-dents. I am there as a resource working for them . . . and if you this outward focus, things will fall into place,” Kumar said about his teaching philosophy.

He also makes three points crucial for success: to research, to disseminate and to mentor.

First, Kumar advises to re-search problems that are inter-esting and important, whether in marketing or life and find a way to implement a solution.

Second, he supports recre-ating studies and educating the masses. “Whatever I do, I try to disseminate that knowledge,” Kumar said.

Finally, he claims hands-on mentoring is important. His pro-gram has produced eight award-winning doctoral dissertations and requires abstract thinking as well as dedication from both stu-dent and mentor.

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UNIVERSITY RELATIONS

FROM THE EDITORIAL BOARD

reflects the majority opinion of the Editorial Board of The Signal, but not necessarily the opinions

of individual editors

OPINIONSwww.gsusignal.com/opinions

All media professionals in Georgia are now anxiously waiting for Gov. Nathan Deal to sign the major rewrite of the state’s sunshine laws.

Sunshine laws guarantee access to data that is formally held by the state. These types of laws establish the legal process for citizens – including media professionals – to request the information from the government.

The Signal has put in a few Open Records Requests through the sunshine laws this year – most notably more than 350 pages worth of documents for our investigation into the Greek community and hazing. Open Records Requests come at cost. It is lawful for the government en-tities who retrieve the information upon request to charge for time and material. With a hefty request, it can add really fast. Our request for the hazing documents cost us more than $800.

Thankfully, the new law will reduce the cost of most of these documents down from 25 cents to 10 cents per page. Both The Signal and our budget thank the legislature for that one. After all, if you make the price of these documents so high that the media cannot afford to pay for the request, you are in essence making the informa-tion hard to access.

The bill also will give governmental officials more severe penalties for breaking sunshine laws. We sincerely hope that this provision is enforced.

After the trouble that we had earlier this academic year with the Student Government Association having illegal closed-door meetings, we hope that they will review this new bill after it is signed by Gov. Deal so as to familiarize themselves with what they can and cannot do.

We are very happy that the General Assem-bly saw it fit to tough up the state’s sunshine laws. Georgia recently was ranked dead last in list compiled by the State Integrity Investiga-tion. The project gave the state different grade ratings based on their transparency history. For example, the grade the state received for public access to information was a big fat F. The state also failed in ethics enforcement, legisla-tive accountability, redistricting and lobbying disclosure.

It appears as though the General Assembly would like to remedy this low score through beefing up sunshine laws. It is definitely a step in the right direction to a more transparent and accessible government.

Georgia steps backwards again

In true Georgia fashion our wonderful lawmakers up on the hill passed one of the strictest pro-life bills in the nation, exac-erbating our already wonderful reputation as one of the most backwards backwoods states in the nation. House Bill 954 promises tighter restrictions on abortions after 20 weeks and could have doctors who per-form them face felony charg-es. Supporters of the bill assert that fetuses can feel pain after 20 weeks, and performing an abortion after that stage is un-ethical. This is an oversimpli-fied justification to say the least.

Supporters of the bill, which has come to be known as the “fetal pain” bill, are basically saying that abortion after 20 weeks should be banned be-cause hurting babies is wrong. I don’t think anyone is here to dispute the fact that hurting ba-bies is wrong, and I’ll go as far to say that abortions aren’t per-formed with the intention of hurting babies. They seem to be missing the point.

Originally there was no mention in the bill about excep-tions for abortions performed on the premise of medical com-plications. Doctors had to fight tooth and nail to make sure this was included. There are cur-rently no exemptions for cases of incest or rape. Oh Georgia, I should have known. We have now become the flagship state in the war against women’s re-productive rights.

Why is this what we are fo-cusing on in Georgia with our legislature? It seems to me that telling what women can and can’t do with their body is not only not government’s busi-ness, but it is hardly the most pressing issue for Georgians to-day. Its as if the legislators up on the hill are frightened that Georgia will descend into hell-fire and madness at the tips of the claws of bloodthirsty baby-murdering women.

Justifying banning abor-tions after 20 weeks across the board by saying that it’s be-cause fetuses can feel pain is

ridiculous. Women don’t get abortions so that they can cause their fetuses to feel pain; it’s much more complicated.

Using explanations like that is not only oversimplify-ing, but also divisive. It makes doctors out to be baby torturers and women as criminals. This is what causes the real crimi-nals to take action and seriously cause pain. Here in Atlanta we should especially not forget the dangers of accusing doctors of harming babies. After all, Eric Rudolph set off bombs right here in Atlanta because of his anti-abortion agenda.

Rhetoric may be a power-ful tool when trying to rally the masses to your cause, but it is important not to forget how passionate people can be when it comes to babies. Don’t worry, Georgia GOP, you can rest easy knowing that you did your part to stop the evil baby murders, while women in Georgia will stay awake wondering if there’s anyone in Congress with their interests in mind.

MILES KEENLYSIDEOPINIONS EDITOR

For thousands of years man-kind has contrived her own un-stoppable forces to counteract immovable weights. Yet, for some reason we always forget that one simple truth; you can’t argue with the unreasonable. On March 25th, at The Rally for Reason, thousands of people descended upon the DC area for “the largest secular event in world history.” These hu-manists were met by protestors and the online community from twitter mercilessly attacked them, asking for nothing more than a call toward considered thought - a call to ask questions.

The public school system is under attack by fringe groups calling for the book of Genesis to be placed beside…well…sci-ence; for Thomas Jefferson to be removed from his place of prominence within the curric-ulum and, possibly the most of-fensive, to refer to the Atlantic Slave Trade in euphemistic terms. Why? Because fragile young minds will have ques-tions, and idle parents will have to answer them. Belief does not mean you turn off your mind; belief offers comfort. Here’s an example: during one of the Reactionary Party’s de-

bates this past September the contestants were asked: “who here believes in evolution?” It doesn’t matter who raised their hands or returned them to their pockets, this is an example of a facile question. The question should have been, “who here understands evolution?” You see, gentle reader, it doesn’t matter what they believe. That is until they start selling phi-losophy in a science classroom. I don’t care if someone “be-lieves” in evolution, or say cli-mate change, but do they un-derstand the consequences of poisoning the water and air?

Yet, when a group of people call a potluck in the Nation’s Capitol to discuss propelling our country into a new age of reason, detractors responded as if Almighty God is under at-tack. He isn’t; that’s a personal belief, one that if you believe in, you have places to go and study in solidarity. Spoiler: it’s called church, and before he was re-moved from Texas’ American history books, Mr. Jefferson laid down a precedent for dis-cerning what’s appropriate in a state (or state funded) assem-bly. He called this “the sepa-ration of church and state,” which is actually in place to protect the first amendment

rights of those who would so casually oppress others. Ironic, right? You know, in the event a Catholic say (looking at you Santorum) decided to tell ev-eryone to be Catholic.

But don’t let those mean scientists into your kids’ head , America. We don’t need mod-ern medicine, equality, suffrage or clean air. We’ll stomp out anything that doesn’t match up to a third-edition text, which hasn’t been significantly updat-ed in 1,500 years. Why don’t you start your own rally? You could call it: “Marching Backward.” The first speech can be dedicat-ed to slave trade, and how the preacher man said, “it’s ok by the book!” Clearly you’ll have to do something about those pesky Quakers, Methodists and the Northern Baptists.

The Rally for Reason should have been an opportunity for dialogue and turned into mud-slinging. We should be able to debate and decide what’s ap-propriate in a public forum. I just wish science and unbiased history were more important to Americans. Science put the first man on the moon. History allows us to learn from previ-ous mistakes. Unchecked be-lief stops conversation, because one can’t argue with belief.

The Road to NowhereJAMES MCDOUGALDOpinion Columnist

TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012 ARTS & LIVING| THE SIGNAL08 ARTS & LIVING| THE SIGNAL

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YOUR VOICE YOUR OPINIONS

YOUR VOICE YOUR OPINIONS

“I think it makes [Georgia] a safer place because guns aren’t that hard to get, so if your in that situation you should be able to save your life.”

Simon Yang – Finance

“More dangerous, be-cause it’s basically giving you the right to kill some-body and just because you feel threatened doesn’t necessarily mean that you are threatened.”

Melinda Bostic – Accounting

The first issue of The Signal is free to the Georgia State community. Any additional copies are can be paid in room 200 University Center. For pricing, contact signaleditor@gmail.com

“I would have to say I’m torn between the two. Because some people will exaggerate deadly force laws and use it to cause harm instead of defend them selves. I’m an armed service member, so I do believe in it because you do have those who are intentionally trying to harm you and you need to protect yourself in order to be safe. I don’t want to say I’m biased but I’d have to [support] deadly force laws.”

Travis McGuire – Economics – Marine Corps

“I’d say in general, more dangerous because people can justify their actions, and how do you say that one person’s justification is better or worse than another’s? It just complicates the situ-ation and I don’t think people should feel that it’s their responsibility to be controlling using force.”

Dani Purvis – Psychology – Behavioral Science Lab

“I don’t think its nec-essary, because I feel like it can be taken advantage of. It’s got good intentions, but good intentions never really turn out how you want them to. I don’t agree with it at all, even without the Trayvon Martin case, I wouldn’t agree with it.”

Alexis Okeke – Political Science, Pre-Law and Women’s Studies

Georgia has a “no duty to retreat” law that autho-rizes citizens to use deadly force in self defense that is similar to Florida’s “stand your ground” law. Laws like this have been a controversial topic in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting. Do you think laws like this make Georgia a safer or more dangerous place to live?

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PICTURE of theWEEK

MILES KEENLYSIDE | THE SIGNAL

Being among a mix of thousands of Panthers is what makes Georgia State exciting and challenging for blind student Ben Schuler.

“You can’t let it [blindness] hold you back,” Schuler said, a junior psychology major. According to Schuler, he does not allow his blind-ness to dictate where he wants to go in life, or use it as an excuse for not accomplishing goals and tasks.

“Just because you can’t see doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world,” Schuler said.

Living in a near-campus apart-ment, Schuler does not expect any-one, including his roommate. to do treat him differently. When he was 18, Schuler attended the Louisiana Center for the Blind in Ruston, La. This training leaves Schuler feeling that Georgia State’s campus may be overly accessible for him.

“I think that sometimes it’s overdone,” Schuler said. “When I’m walking in downtown Atlanta, I don’t listen for that chirping sound [of the crosswalks]; although, I re-alize others [who have not had his special training] might benefit from it, but the main thing you listen for is traffic.”

However, Schuler has had a difficult journey arriving at this point in his life. He was born with Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), a potentially blinding eye disorder that primarily affects premature in-fants, which caused him to have to get multiple eye surgeries for years to come. The turning point that eventually made him completely le-gally blind was an accident he had while riding his BMX bike.

“I got into a really bad crash, hit my head and my face was pretty smashed up,” Schuler said. “My ret-inas were already weak from being reattached.”

After his accident, he noticed a gray area at the top of his vision.

Schuler began to use a mag-nifying glass in addition to wear-ing glasses to read anything. When he realized that he had completely gone blind, it was the morning of a 10th grade final exam.

“I couldn’t see anything that was on the paper,” Schuler said. “At first I said ‘let me try another magnify-ing glass,’ but I knew that that was it [the final step in being completely legally blind],” he said.

This rapid process surprised Schuler.

“It was almost like a curtain fall-ing,” Schuler said. “I went from be-ing able to do my work on my own to having someone read everything to me, which was a struggle and some-thing that affected my grades, be-cause there weren’t enough people to read to me.”

But at Georgia State Schuler does not have to worry about not having anyone to read his schoolwork to him. Within the Margaret Stanton Office of Disability Services, visually

impaired students can utilize audio or electronic formats of books and documents and screen reading soft-ware or personal readers.

According to Rodney E. Pennamon, the director of the Office of Disability Services, there is noth-ing more frustrating than not be-ing able to participate in the same activities as everyone else because of a disability. It is the Office of Disability Services’ goal to provide equal access for disabled students in order to level the educational play-ing field.

In addition to the digital voice recorder Schuler uses to tape lec-tures, he also utilizes screen reading software, Job Access with Speech (JAWS), to get most of his school-work done.

JAWS allows him to access the

Internet, email, uLearn, Microsoft Windows, PowerPoint, Facebook and many other computer pro-grams. The program uses audio technology to read open programs and keyboard commands instead of relying on the mouse navigation.

When he first became blind, schoolwork was not as easy for him as it is today. Having no knowledge of the skills he would later learn, he had no sense of how to function nor-mally in society. His high school had limited resources to help him, and he would go home in search of help.

“I would get home from school and my dad would get home from work around 7 p.m. – us both be-ing completely worn out - and the last thing he wanted to do was to sit there and read 35 math problems to me,” Shuler said.

Now the Office of Disability Services provides Schuler with a personal note-taker for math class and a reader who sits with him to help with and read math problems.

According to Office of Disability Services, their number one service utilized is testing. Schuler finds it easy to take exams there because of the screen reading programs, the graduate assistants that read docu-ments to him and the quiet place for studying that the Office of Disability Services provides.

Despite Georgia State’s numer-ous helpful services, Schuler is still determined to be as independent as possible as he was when he became blind at the age of 16.

“In high school I was trying to avoid situations in which my blind-ness would be called to attention,

but unfortunately for me it was a lot of situations,” Schuler said.

Now Schuler admits that he un-necessarily made it difficult for him-self, and he should have gotten a cane.

“Honestly, I didn’t want to be perceived as different, and I was afraid of how people would react,” he said.

Individuals that are blind or vi-sually impaired work for indepen-dence and self-sufficiency, accord-ing to Pennamon.

It is not crossing the street with-out being able to see traffic or com-pleting homework assignments that include a book he must read that is difficult for Schuler, it is bat-tling people’s beliefs that he is desti-tute because of his blindness that is problematic.

“One of the most challenging as-pects is getting other people to re-alize that just because you’re blind doesn’t mean you’re different,” Schuler said. “People see you with a cane, make a snap judgment just off of that first impression of seeing a blind person, and then they under-estimate your abilities.”

At an urban university like this one, this happens to Schuler often.

“Sometimes when I’m cross-ing the street people grab my arm,” Schuler said. “Sometimes I just have to think to myself that they don’t know, because I didn’t know when I was 16 what I’d be able to do.

He attributes much of his suc-cess to The Louisiana Center for the Blind, where he learned to not only quickly read Braille, but to cook and grill for himself, do his own laundry and to travel by cane.

There he learned that being blind was not the end of the world, and that it was not an acceptable ex-cuse to hide from the world, accord-ing to Schuler.

Schuler recommends that blind people network with other blind people in order to realize the dif-ferent possibilities they are capable of and to be able to talk to empa-thetic people about issues they may encounter.

“For me, seeing blind people who were going to graduate school, getting their PhD’s, having career and families and raising kids was a life changing experience,” Schuler said. “It changed my perspective on blindness and changed what the word ‘blind’ meant to me.”

LIVING&ARTS

Behind the Eyes of GSUINTISAR SERAAJStaff Writer

One of the most challeng-ing aspects is getting other people to realize that just because you’re blind doesn’t mean you’re different.”

“

GRAHAM ROBSON|THE SIGNALGeorgia State student Ben Schuler wants to change the way blind students are seen in society and on campus.

Community unites through Inman Park restaurant weekTHADDEUS MORGAN AND ZACK KRAIMERAssociate Arts Editor and Associate Living Editor

Inman Park showed that it is diverse in more than just one way with the wide variety of food offered during Inman Park Restaurant Week. Fourteen restaurants came together during the last week of March to of-fer meals made for tan-talizing the taste buds of the community for a dis-counted price.

This area boasts not only a good mix of ages but of cultures and age groups. This diversi-ty in the community is something that paral-lels with the variety of food offered as a part of Inman Park Restaurant Week, according to Herman Allenson, gener-al manager for Barcelona Restaurant and Wine Bar, one of the more recent participating restaurants that joined Inman Park

Restaurant Week.“The thing I think

I love the most about Inman Park is that I feel like it’s such a diverse neighborhood,” Allenson said. “You’ve got the people who have lived here for 30 or 40 years, you’ve got the young 20 and 30-somethings that have moved in and there [are] a lot of transplants. I like that because you meet new people from different places, different cultures [and] different backgrounds.”

And the restaurants cater to the cultural dif-ferences in Inman Park during restaurant week, with an array of food in-cluding Spanish, Asian-inspired, contemporary American, Creole and Southern.

One of the restaurants participating in the event,

The Albert, served up a varied menu featuring fresh takes on Southern classics. A hoecake (ba-sically a cornbread-pan-cake hybrid) topped with ham-studded pimento cheese and red pepper jelly was a highlight, as was the creamy crawfish salad.

Barcelona, on the other hand, offered two different three-course deals for restaurant week, which included a savory cut of filet mi-gnon, prawns for dessert, or a choice of desserts, salads and tapas for the same price.

The Albert was pock-et friendly for students - a three-course meal was only $15. The pric-es at other restaurants increased in $10 incre-ments until they reach $35, which includes fan-

cier places like the brand-new Barcelona.

And although restau-rant week was meant as a promotion tool to bring people out to get food at reduced prices, over the years it has managed to do more than just that.

“It’s a marketing plan,” said Randy Parks, general manager of Wisteria Restaurant. “But there are a lot of new fac-es that come in because of restaurant week and a lot of different oppor-tunities for people to try food that they haven’t had before.”

Allenson, a native of New York, also said that the restaurant week in Inman Park had a great-er sense of community in terms of the custom-ers and the restaurants that any other restaurant week that he had been a

part of.“Restaurant week

was really big up in New York City, but there’s a lot bigger sense of com-munity in Inman Park,” Allenson said. “I think that there’s a bigger sense of ownership and pride and togetherness as far as the restaurants, at least I can speak to Inman Park for that.”

Inman Park Restaurant Week not only offered delicious dishes to the Inman Park community, but also opened their eyes, and mouths, to the dif-ferent cultures that are all around them. These neighborhood joints rec-ognized that to partake and compete in this festi-val of eats, they really had to step up the innovation, which is exactly what they’ve done.

BRIAN CROWEStaff Writer

The Help was on The New York Times best-seller list for over 100 consecutive weeks, has sold over five million cop-ies and been adapted into an Oscar-nominated film. It was the best-selling work of fic-tion in 2011—nearly two years after its initial publication. The film version catapulted a largely unknown actress to an Academy Award. Not bad for a debut novel that was reject-ed 60 times by publishers and agents.

Kathryn Stockett displayed some of those rejection let-ters during her talk for the Distinguished Speaker Series.

“I saved every one,” Stockett said.

Stockett set the novel in her hometown, Jackson, Mississippi, and based some of the characters on African-American maids who worked for her own family in the 1970s. Stockett’s affection for one maid in particular, the woman who took care of her family for 32 years, inspired her to write The Help. The novel is set in the 1960s, in the early years of the Civil Rights struggle.

The success of The Help has not been without contro-versy. Stockett, a white wom-an, was criticized by some for writing in the voice of African-American maids.

“I’m often asked the ques-tion ‘Weren’t you nervous to write in the voice of an African-American?’ It is still so taboo

for a white person to take on the voice of a black person, or even vice-versa. But the truth is, I wrote with a real openness and abandonment because I didn’t think anybody was ever going to read it,” Stockett said.

A novel about race rela-tions in Mississippi, told large-ly from the perspective of the maids, was not an easy sell. Stockett had trouble even find-ing an agent who would take on the book.

Stockett said some of the rejection she experienced may have ended up in the novel in the character of Skeeter, a young white woman who, after graduating from college, strug-gles with the gender and racial barriers of the era. Frustrated with the injustice all around her, she decides to write a book that will let the maids tell their stories.

“When I first wrote The Help, it was really only two characters, Aibileen and Minny, the African-American maids...Skeeter I added kind of middle of the game [after early drafts were rejected], so maybe it was my own rejections I was putting on the page,” Stockett said.

During her talk, Stockett encouraged students, particu-larly writers, to learn from re-jection, asserting that it’s a part of life, but that it should not stop you from following your heart.

“Do not give up. The only thing I can guarantee you, is that if you do put your man-uscript in the bedside table drawer, that coffin, it will never

be published,” Stockett said.The first-time novelist’s

persistence paid off.Stockett enjoyed the thrill

of attending the Academy Awards ceremony to witness her friend, Octavia Spencer, win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Minny. Stockett says she was not at all sur-prised that Spencer won.

“I was just in the back row kind of nodding,” Stockett said.

Viola Davis received a Best Actress nomination, for her work in the role of Aibileen, but Meryl Streep took home the award.

“I was disappointed that Viola didn’t win, but, good lord, she lost to Meryl Streep. Is that really losing?” Stockett said.

Stockett is working on her next novel, a story about Mississippi women in the workplace during the Roaring Twenties.

“I love that time. The skirts are going up and the cigarettes are coming out, and for the first time women were enjoying a tiny bit of freedom,” Stockett said.

When asked if she would ever revisit the characters from The Help in another novel, Stockett said it was possible.

“I think I might. Not going forward, but moving back in time. As a prequel. What these characters went through be-fore they stepped into the pag-es of The Help... The characters became very familiar to me, and while in some ways I’m just sick to death of them, after a while I start to miss them.”

Rejection then success for author of The HelpKathryn Stockett

GRAHAM ROBSON|THE SIGNALAuthor of the book The Help, Kathryn Stockett, shared her journey to making this best-selling book.

GRAHAM ROBSON|THE SIGNALChef Shaun Whitmer at The Albert serves up wings and waffles.

TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012 ARTS & LIVING| THE SIGNAL10

A passion for public relations and street art alikeANNA NORRISStaff Writer

Spanning multiple park-ing levels, a red fire hydrant marked with the Chinese flag and captioned with “Emergency Only” domi-nates a parking deck near Underground Atlanta on Pryor Street.

“After we put it up there, no one had any idea that it was political,” said Alex Parrish, journalism major and Director of Communications for Living Walls, the City Speaks. “They just thought it was a fire extinguisher.”

Living Walls, the City Speaks is a non-profit organi-zation that promotes street art and urbanization.

Parrish started out as an international economics ma-jor, switching to political sci-ence and then English, final-ly finding her niche in public relations. Parrish said that it came naturally to her, espe-cially because her mother ma-jored in public relations when she was in college.

She uses her experience in journalism to her advantage in her official duties at Living Walls, which include drafting all official literature, sched-uling radio and print fea-tures and coordinating a me-

dia team including photogra-phers, videographers, graphic designers and web developers. She said she is also is respon-sible for event planning and writes for Brooklyn Street Art for every Living Walls feature.

Her duties do not end there, because Living Walls is a volunteer organization and every action counts. Parrish said she does everything from buffing walls and doing laun-dry to mixing paint and gro-cery shopping.

Parrish said she became involved in Living Walls when a friend of hers, an an-thropology major, sparked her interest to go to the first Living Walls conference in 2010. She was able to intern with Living Walls through the Communications department last summer.

“Beforehand, I had many friends who were graffiti writ-ers who had their own take on the city,” Parrish said. “So it was interesting to see the way that Living Walls incorporat-ed street art into a city that I thought was overwhelmed by graffiti writers.

“I like the way it redefines our perceptions of what’s le-gal and what’s illegal. It makes us question ‘What should we value in our public space?’ be-cause it’s something we see

every day,” Parrish added. She also said that Living

Walls eventually wants to manage the artists they coop-erate with.

“We are trying to engage our public space via street art,” Parrish said. “But people ne-glect to notice that we also in-corporate a lot of Atlanta art-ists in our program.”

Living Walls arranges an annual street art and urbanism conference, and has worked with 40 artists from around the world, including local Atlanta street artists. Three of the murals painted during the 2011 Living Walls Conference are within walking distance of Georgia State campus.

Towering over Underground Atlanta and di-rectly visible from Classroom South, a silhouette of a man praying spans an entire wall of the Comfort Suites Hotel. Across the street from the fire extinguisher is a mural of two people holding broken and flaming Twin Towers. These murals were painted by Sam3, Escif and LNY, respectively.

“Street art has the ability to redirect our attention from corporate statements and money and economic values towards a more varied per-spective on our public space,” Parrish said.

“You can just ask a wall owner to paint a mural, and still communicate with your community and public with-out actually having to have an economic incentive behind it,” Parrish said.

Her background in po-litical science has fostered her appreciation for the art-ists who visit to paint murals, many of whom are involved in global politics and carry

their messages with them to Atlanta.

“They have the ability to absorb cultures, and they trav-el a lot,” Parrish said. “And for me, that means something.”

Parrish said that she is well in tune with the down-town Atlanta neighborhood, and that she has realized the potential in the area.

“Last year when we start-ed painting downtown, I real-

ized how much potential we have in the area,” Parrish said. “This whole area could be re-vitalized as an art community.”

Parrish hopes that one day Living Walls can open up a gallery near campus to pro-vide more of a cultural base. She said that Living Walls tries to reach out to students to help the organization as it grows.

ANNA NORRIS|THE SIGNALStudent Alex Parrish joins her love for art and public relations through involvement in Living Walls.

TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012 11ARTS & LIVING | THE SIGNAL

Atlantans who have not yet visited the new-est animal attractions at Zoo Atlanta will likely hear about them from someone who has. The new features include a sneak peek safari made majestic, along with daring and endearing ges-tures to those who venture beyond the safe, wooden rails of popular zoo exhibits to meet face-to-face with animal friends.

This new addition opened March 31 and stu-dent discounts combined with a proximity to campus provides a non-traditional outing for Georgia State students.

Nearly a year after welcoming the births of two Sumatran tiger cubs, Zoo is ready to an-nounce another addition to its programming schedule this season.

“We’re tremendously excited to open this year’s spring season with Twiga Terrace and Wild Encounters,” said Raymond King, Zoo president and CEO. “These are truly once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Inspiring value for wildlife is at the heart of the Zoo’s mission, and we can’t imagine a better way to help our members and guests get to know the species we care for and protect, in a truly personal way.”

Though in its infancy, Twiga Terrace brings an early crowd of flashing cameras and sound recorders to a quiet corner of the park. A spring sun peeking through canopying trees casts shad-ows on the African Plains exhibit. Just over its railing, three towering giraffes pose, their necks effortlessly suspended in orange, dusty air.

Named for the Swahili word meaning “gi-raffe,” Twiga Terrace is an up-close-and-person-al giraffe feeding encounter. A newly designed, ecologically sustainable platform allows guests to stand eye-to-eye with Zuri, Glenda, Mona, Lily and Abu, the zoo’s giraffe family. Following in the tradition of Boundless Budgies, the popu-lar parakeet feeding experience, guests are also able to purchase romaine lettuce - a regular part of the giraffes’ diet - to feed them.

“They are voluntary animals,” said Stacy Graison, director of education at the zoo. “Our hope is that the giraffes are comfortable and come over to take a bite.”

If the community’s relationship with re-nowned gorilla Willie B. is any indicator, both gi-raffes and the general public will grow extreme-ly fond of each other.

Having joined the zoo family in 1961, “Willie B.” is easily the most recognizable name in Zoo Atlanta history. On May 13, 1988, Willie made his first foray outdoors in The Ford African Rain Forest exhibit. Until that point, he was kept in isolation with a television and tire swing as his only play. His release into the wild was part of a redevelopment plan that shifted the zoo’s ideal to education and conservation. A modernizing move, his new home symbolized the impact of strengthening social community bonds.

Now, the Wild Encounters program brings visitors closer than before. Each encounter al-

new adventures

Inside the cages of

COURTNEY BOYDStaff Writer

“These are truly once-in-a-lifetime experiences”

-Raymond King

Zoo Atlanta’s

Atlantans who have not yet visited the new-est animal attractions at Zoo Atlanta will likely hear about them from someone who has. The new features include a sneak peek safari made majestic, along with daring and endearing ges-tures to those who venture beyond the safe, wooden rails of popular zoo exhibits to meet face-to-face with animal friends.

This new addition opened March 31 and stu-dent discounts combined with a proximity to campus provides a non-traditional outing for Georgia State students.

Nearly a year after welcoming the births of two Sumatran tiger cubs, Zoo is ready to an-nounce another addition to its programming schedule this season.

“We’re tremendously excited to open this year’s spring season with Twiga Terrace and Wild Encounters,” said Raymond King, Zoo president and CEO. “These are truly once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Inspiring value for wildlife is at the heart of the Zoo’s mission, and we can’t imagine a better way to help our members and guests get to know the species we care for and protect, in a truly personal way.”

Though in its infancy, Twiga Terrace brings an early crowd of flashing cameras and sound recorders to a quiet corner of the park. A spring sun peeking through canopying trees casts shad-ows on the African Plains exhibit. Just over its railing, three towering giraffes pose, their necks effortlessly suspended in orange, dusty air.

Named for the Swahili word meaning “gi-raffe,” Twiga Terrace is an up-close-and-person-al giraffe feeding encounter. A newly designed, ecologically sustainable platform allows guests to stand eye-to-eye with Zuri, Glenda, Mona, Lily and Abu, the zoo’s giraffe family. Following in the tradition of Boundless Budgies, the popu-lar parakeet feeding experience, guests are also able to purchase romaine lettuce - a regular part of the giraffes’ diet - to feed them.

“They are voluntary animals,” said Stacy Graison, director of education at the zoo. “Our hope is that the giraffes are comfortable and come over to take a bite.”

If the community’s relationship with re-nowned gorilla Willie B. is any indicator, both gi-raffes and the general public will grow extreme-ly fond of each other.

Having joined the zoo family in 1961, “Willie B.” is easily the most recognizable name in Zoo Atlanta history. On May 13, 1988, Willie made his first foray outdoors in The Ford African Rain Forest exhibit. Until that point, he was kept in isolation with a television and tire swing as his only play. His release into the wild was part of a redevelopment plan that shifted the zoo’s ideal to education and conservation. A modernizing move, his new home symbolized the impact of strengthening social community bonds.

Now, the Wild Encounters program brings visitors closer than before. Each encounter al-

lows behind-the-scenes experiences with the majestic, daring and endearing - an elephant, Komodo dragon and giant panda.

“You’ll learn everything there is to know about Komodo dragons, elephants and pandas from our educational staff,” Graison said. “It’s a treat for all ages.”

Mzima Springs, a simulated African savan-na, showcases a straw-covered path to a brazen gateway where Kelly, one of two South African elephants who calls the savanna home, stands on the other side. Stretching out her rust-col-ored trunk through the metal bars, she greets onlookers with a two-finger wave.

Katie Ongtingco, Mammals Keeper 3, de-scribed what living in Mzima Springs is like for 29-year-old Kelly and her ally Tara.

“They’re well fed and receive enrichment several times during the day,” Katie said.

From a mere foot away, the thick-bristled, slightly calloused surface of Kelly’s side can be examined. Like the palm of a human hand, her skin is lined and wrinkled, still moist from a morning shower. Her copper complexion is re-ally a mask of Georgia red clay and straw dust, what Carissa calls an “anointing” to keep cool throughout the day.

The fresh smell of damp earth grows pun-gent and continental rhythms purr from speak-ers hidden in underbrush as one steps out from the shaded path into the World of Reptiles.

In a small, enclosed space, visitors meet Slasher, an adult male Komodo dragon. At nearly eight feet long and 110 pounds, Slasher swivels his body in the direction of gathering visitors.

Zoo keepers give visitors the opportunity to feed the anxious lizard an appetizing treat - freshly thawed mice.

“He’s like a big, scaly puppy,” the keeper said. “I love him and he loves me. He also loves big crowds.”

As if meant to affirm, Slasher pulls himself up on the prongs on his cage door and offers his smooth underbelly for a rub.

An apex predator in the wild, Komodo drag-ons are capable of consuming prey as large as deer. The proximity patrons are able to main-tain to them, along with giraffes, elephants and giant pandas, is sheerly impressive. It is what makes the zoo’s latest additions unlike any other in America.

“There are only four zoos in the country that have giant pandas,” Stacy said. “To have the op-portunity to not only see a giant panda, but go behind-the-scenes with one, hear from the keeper team and feed one, is remarkable.”

If Ongtingco and the old adage, “memory like an elephant,” are true, lucky visitors of local Atlanta will never forget the friends they made one afternoon at the zoo.

To learn more about Zoo Atlanta’s Twiga Terrace and Wild Encounters, visit http://www.ZooAtlanta.com.

new adventures

Inside the cages of

SARAH WOODS|THE SIGNALZoo Atlanta brings the Twiga Terrace and Wild Encounters exhibits to visitors for their new addi-tions. Opportunities for visitors include feeding animals like Slasher, the Komodo dragon and giraffes. Visitors can also get up close and personal with elephants and visit Atlanta’s favorite ape, Willie B.

Zoo Atlanta’s

TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012 ARTS & LIVING| THE SIGNAL14

01 Tender OppositesTOPS

02 Django DjangoDjango Django

03 FinJohn Talabot

04 151aKishi Bashi

05 MaraqopaDamien Jurado

06 Young & OldTennis

07 Break It YourselfAndrew Bird

08 Ogni Riferimento...Calibro 35

09 SsssVCMG

10 Open Your HeartThe Men

11 Behold The ProfitBehold The Profit

12 The Bite Marked HeartBrother Ali

13 Jones St.Lyric Jones

14 The ClearingBowerbirds

15 Death and VanillaDeath and Vanilla

16 4Eva N A DayBig K.R.I.T.

17 K.S. ChithraK.S. Chithra

18 VisionsGrimes

19 I Love You, It’s CoolBear In Heaven

20 Black RadioRobert Glasper Experiment

21 Keep It TogetherThe Doozer

22 Mr. MLambchop

23 Jackson PBisco Smith x Peter Jay

24 Love at the Bottom of the SeaMagnetic Fields

25 High NoonFunk Ark

26 Inner HueAnenon

27 EkstasisJulia Holter

28 DispossessionMike Wexler

29 Midnight ArrivalSamantha Glass

30 Bleed Bleed BleedThieves Like Us

RECORD REVIEWS

CINEFEST Upcoming shows

My Week with MarilynShowtimes: Monday - Friday: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m., 7 p.m., 9 p.m.Weekends: 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m., 7 p.m.

We all probably remember the All-American Rejects from their 2003 break-out hit, “Swing Swing” or their more recent track “Gives You Hell.” Kids in the Street is the band’s first album in four years. But within the first minute of the first track, “Someday’s Gone,” it’s easy to see that the All-American Rejects have not grown much during their four-year hiatus.

Their musical style doesn’t sound more developed and neither do the lyr-ics (“I see you walk into the room and you kill everyone/cause I know/My some day’s gone now/Bye bye”). It seems that The All-American Rejects are still writing songs about high school heartbreaks and petty arguments.

The next few songs follow suit with lyrics that seem forced. The tracks sound like they were written for a much younger audience, with very basic music and lyrics

like “You’re a pretty little flower/I’m a busy little bee/Honey that’s all you need to see” in “The Beekeeper’s Daughter” or “If only I could find/yeah just a reason to believe/That there’s nothing that’s up your sleeve/Even though you’re wearing that tank top” in “Fast & Slow.”

The band is trying too hard to be witty or amusing, and you can hear that strained effort in every track. Even though their lyr-ical content is questionable, these songs will get stuck in your head.

“Heartbeat Slowing Down,” even though it’s another love song, stands out from the other tracks along with “Walk Over Me,” which also stands out because it’s fast-paced and has more of rock and roll vibe than any of the other songs on the album. The track provides more of a rage with fast-changing tempos and dynamics much less predictable than other tracks.

The title track, “Kids in the Street,” has some cool sounds but it is mostly just more

evidence of The All-American Rejects’ lack of musical maturity.

The album doesn’t present much that we haven’t already heard from The All-American Rejects. It could have been more interesting if the band went at least a little out of their teenage pop comfort zone, but better luck next time.

KENDALL HARRISStaff Writer

The All American Rejects, Kids in the street

Most 53-year-olds are worried about hot flashes and loss of libido, but with her new album MDNA, Madonna shows that despite her age, her sex is on overdrive and she’s hotter than ever. Filled with dance anthems and “eff yous,” MDNA proves that the Queen of Pop still reigns supreme and she won’t let any Gagas or Rihannas steal her crown.

You have to admit, Madonna is no Aretha Franklin or Celine Dion. However, with the assists of super producers like Benny Benassi, William Orbit and Martin Solveig, she was bound to create a very elec-trifying, ‘80s-inspired pop record decked with auto-tuned vocals and catchy lyrics to keep heads bobbing and fists pumping.

Warning: this album is not for the faint-hearted or angry Lady Gaga fans. The ma-terial girl appears to be quite furious on

most of her songs like “Some Girls” and “I F***ed Up.” She is known for being an open book on her albums and in “I Don’t Give a F***,” featuring Nicki Minaj, she shares details about her nasty divorce. In the un-forgettable track, “Gang Bang,” she sings, “Bang bang/Shot you dead/shot my lover in the head/Now my lover is dead/And I have no regrets/ He deserved it.” The song continues and by the end, she chants very explicit lyrics about meeting her lover in hell.

To balance out her anger she fills the record with the usual but never boring dance tracks such as “Girl Gone Wild,” “I’m Addicted,” and the cheerful “Give Me All Your Lovin’,” which she performed dur-ing halftime at the SuperBowl with Minaj and M.I.A. The album reaches a little bit of a slump towards the end with the ballads, but the song “Masterpiece” succeeds in re-taining attention as she serenades listeners and gets in touch with her vulnerable side.

Whether you say she’s keeping up with the joneses or trying too hard, you can’t deny that she is consistent in being true to herself while satisfying her huge fan base. With her twelfth studio album, Madonna assures us that she’s not going anywhere soon and remains a force to be reckoned with.

NICOLE HOLMANStaff Writer

Madonna, MDNA

Wildly eclectic pop and R&B artist Macy Gray has not been on top of the mu-sic world for more than a decade now, but on her sixth studio album, she continues to make it known that she won’t go away qui-etly, if at all.

Covered, which was released on March 27, is a collection of remakes of rock, pop and indie music songs, each being trans-formed to the point that they bear little re-semblance to Gray’s original work.

The concept may seem like a transpar-ent endeavor by an aging artist to create a buzz and remain relevant, but Covered ac-tually turns out to be much more than that.

Gray leads off the album with a version of the Eurythmics’ “Here Comes The Rain Again” followed by Radiohead’s “Creep.” It is a clever choice on her part and she effort-lessly introduces huge songs from artists of a different genre to a completely new fan base.

Gray continues to unleash her creativ-ity with her take on “Teenagers.” This song by My Chemical Romance depicts angry teens’ rage against a two-faced cruel world.

Since her audience is usually past their locker and cafeteria phase, she puts her own unique spin on it. Gray makes it her own, and it is completely revamped and turned on its head as Gray switches the lyr-ics to take on the point of view of a parent.

She also made a quirky collaboration with actor Idris Elba on Colbie Caillat’s “Bubbly” and a flash of love to Kanye West’s “Love Lockdown.”

Gray gives “Smoke Two Joints” by The Toyes a dancehall feel, while her version of “Nothing Else Matters” has a blues/rock feel. Gray’s inclusion of this tune shows that the raspy-voiced artist is someone who is willing to elevate the unappreciated rea-son for doing a cover album to a completely higher status.

This album is a further extension of Gray’s wild and arbitrary side. Like Gray’s own music, this album features a diverse

group of songs that are all representative of Gray in a way.

Macy Gray flips the script on the tired covers album and, instead of cashing in on familiar classics; she uses her release as a means to open musical ears to great mu-sic that would not have otherwise been discovered.

YUTI JOSHIStaff Writer

Macy Gray, Covered

The Woman in Black MadmanShowtimes: Monday - Thursday: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m., 7 p.m., 9 p.m.Weekends: 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m.

Friday, April 13: 7 p.m.

TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012 TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012 15ARTS & LIVING | THE SIGNAL

REEL REVIEWSWrath of the TitansMILES KEENLYSIDEOpinions Editor

The Last ReefALICIA JOHNSONArts and Living Editor

“The Last Reef,” a documentary fea-ture shown in the Atlanta Film Festival, uses bright imagery and a worthy topic to draw viewers into the film. This film focused on the Bikini Reef in the Pacific Ocean and its effort to rebuild itself af-ter an atomic bomb explosion that de-stroyed it in the late ‘40s.

This is not the typical movie and a dinner topic, but this is what makes it all

the more intriguing and worthy of a spot at the festival.

The directors of the documentary, Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, focused on the similarities between reefs and cities. They also addressed the harm that humans and carbon dioxide have on the food chain below the sea. Despite its educational and informative nature, this documentary uses the reef scenes as a way to excite viewers.

In fact, it becomes easy to forget the differences between the sea and land and embrace it with this documentary.

Whether a whale shark is gliding across the screen or a clown fish is put-ting symbiosis to practice and taking

shelter in the tentacles of an anemone, it becomes captivating to watch.

Cresswell and McNicholas excelled by making the topic seem very relatable and relevant to viewers. Narration by Jamie Lee stressed the “city-like” aspect of reefs and the potential to ruin not only the sea creatures but also our own food chain on land.

The true skill of this documentary is its ability to deliver all of this materi-al without seeming preachy or without lecturing to viewers. Bright colors, jux-taposing images of New York City and the reef and great musical scoring com-plimented the overall message of the film.

It becomes pretty obvious quickly that a lot of research and time went into this film. This becomes confirmed with the extensive credit list of various crews around the globe to make the documen-tary happen.

By the end of the documentary, a compelling feeling of change and hope stays with viewers, along with a state-ment by Lee, in an assumed effort to leave a lasting impression on viewers, “The Last Reef is in our hands.”

As corny as that may seem, “The Last Reef” brings whatever issue may lie with the reef and the magnitude of the problem to viewers in a fresh and mov-ing way.

If you’re going to go see “Wrath of the Titans,” make sure you see it in 3D, because the computer graphics seem to be the only thing the producers actually spent any money on, besides hiring Liam Neeson. With a name like “Wrath of the Titans,” you’d expect a non-stop battle royale of the ancient Greek pantheon; instead you’ll be inundated with disappointing one-lin-ers from actors with puzzling accents. Our ancient Greek hero Perseus is Australian with Irish Zeus for a father. That’s a little

bit too harsh of a criti-cism though, historical accuracy is never the point of action movies

anyway.Even the most basic relationships be-

tween characters were unbelievably con-trived and the dialogue was so basic it wasn’t even cheesy. Be prepared to be confused at the end when plot lines you weren’t aware of begin to quickly tie them-selves up. I had to go home and read on Wikipedia about ancient Greek mythology before I understood what they were going for.

On the upside, watching Liam Neeson stroll across an ancient Greek mythical battlefield as Zeus smiting souls left and right as he casually chats with his brother

Hades was definitely a redeeming quality of the film.

If I hadn’t seen the movie in 3D, I would have thought that I wasted my money and fallen asleep halfway through this two-hour long “epic.” However, I was entertained by some impressive use of the 3D to give depth and range to some fan-tastic landscapes of antiquity. Zooming up mountains to ancient castle gate-ways to hell and then down through the depths of the earth give you those National Geographic IMAX moments, plus you still get the classic “Terminator 2 3D” mo-ments, except with fire-breathing snake tailed griffin hell-beasts.

When you do eventually get to see a titan, if you’ve made it this far, the depth of the 3D gives you an idea of the titan’s

true monstrous size. Massive explosions on screen and thundering bass fail to dis-appoint, after all isn’t that what everyone sees movies for anyway? Molten lava drips from the giant fearsome gods and cascades down dramatically onto the audience in-spiring lots of “oohs” and “aahs.”

Overall, for relying so heavily on the special effects to carry the movie all the way to the end, the director of the film made it far too long by at least 20 min-utes. The movie clocks in right at the two-hour mark, and there was definitely some downtime in the movie when things just seemed to drag on. If you’re willing to shell out the dough, go see it in 3D for a few cool special effects; otherwise, don’t bother un-til it comes out on blu-ray and you know someone with a 3D TV.

Director: Jonathan

Liebesman

Stars: Sam

Worthington, Liam Neeson,

Rosamund Pike

Release Date:March 30

Director:

Luke Cresswell and Steve

McNicholas

Release Date:March 31

The Last Reef

Wrath of the Titans

TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012 ARTS & LIVING| THE SIGNAL16

BRITTANY SPORNHAUERStaff Writer

International Fashion ShowMore than 200 attended the

International Fashion Show to enjoy ethnic African clothing styles mod-eled by students of various organiza-tions and dancers to compliment the multi-cultural atmosphere.

The International Fashion Show was hosted by the African Student Association and kicked off this year’s International Spring Festival. The International Spring Festival is host-ed by the International Students Associations Council (ISAC), which is comprised of over 16 international student organizations.

Baindu Davis, African Student Association President, explained her thoughts about the show.

“This annual show highlights the fashion Africa has to offer but with a twist!” Davis said.

“We strive to incorporate diversity in the models, as well as the clothes. In diversity though, we find how similar we all are,” Davis said.

As models strutted down dual runways, video of people and ani-mals indigenous to African countries streamed in the background.

Many models sported clothing similar to authentic African garb with face paint to compliment their looks. Others posed in more modern cloth-ing but still with an African “twist,” as Davis would say.

As the show progressed, the shirts came off and energy radiated from the

audience. Women screamed in excite-ment as male models exposed their sculpted upper bodies.

Vivid lights and upbeat music pro-vided by a DJ proved to be a crowd pleaser as he played mixes that incor-porated songs such as “The Thong Song,” originally by Sisqo.

Although the sensory overload was enough to keep spectators enter-tained, the true attention grabber was the amount of diversity displayed by the students involved in the show.

Ar Xiong, senior member of the Vietnamese Student Association, used the show to branch out and meet cul-turally diverse students.

“As I first introduced myself dur-ing the first model meeting for ASA, I wanted to bring some ‘Asian flava’ to the show,” Xiong said.

Xiong learned her modeling tech-niques from a local modeling agency she worked with for a short period of time.

“Modeling is more than just a pretty face; but more so about your confidence, your presentation, your ... swag,” Xiong said.

Although walking typically comes easy to most individuals, being put on the spot can cause some to over-think the task. Many models fear tripping and falling while on the runway.

“I have to think about how I’m go-ing to walk, how to control my arms, how to control the length of my steps and how to control the pace of my walking,” Xiong said.

Although over-thinking may be

a challenge, many models practice walking until it feels natural and a technique is developed.

Along with her soft walking tech-nique, Xiong brought her diversity to the show Friday night.

“Something that I wish others would know about me is I am Hmong (pronounced Mong),” Xiong said.

“I am the first generation college student in my family, and have a lot on my shoulders to succeed because of the lack of education in my fam-ily. But it is a burden that I have come to appreciate and love, because it has taught me the value of education and responsibility,” Xiong said.

Carolyn Abuajah, member of ASA, chose to participate in the Fashion Show to represent her Nigerian-American ethnicity.

“I am a proud Nigerian American woman,” Abuajah said.

Abuajah has been modeling for approximately four years and said that she gains her confidence through applying constructive criticism to her walk and facial expressions.

The confidence Abuajah pos-sessed took over as she walked on stage, never feeling nervous.

“I wouldn’t say that I get nervous, rather overly excited - the butterflies reside in my soul,” Abuajah said.

ASA member Brianna Bradshaw has been modeling for over six years and has modeled in Germany as well as the United States. Bradshaw refers to the Fashion Show as a learning ex-perience she is able to share with oth-

er students on campus.“I think one purpose of this event

is to spread awareness and diversity throughout the school,” Bradshaw said.

She continued to say that students who have never traveled outside of the United States are lucky to “see a

different side of the globe on campus” and be exposed to something new.

The International Fashion Show kicking off the International Spring Festival this year seemed to be a hit and managed to tie education, culture and fun all together in one big event.

Apps offered on iPhones and Androids have become one of today’s many must-haves on a multi-generation-al level. One of the newer apps, Capsule, is garnering significant attention with many iPhone and Android users.

The new app launched on January 19th and is intended to be used as a way to share plans and pictures among friends. Although this may seem similar to social mediums such as Twitter and Facebook, there is one defining factor that separates the medium from others.

Unlike Facebook and Twitter, Capsule is kept private and cannot be viewed by the public. As a matter of fact, personal information is kept anonymous throughout sharing by the use of one phone number and email address per group.

This app is thought to be a result in part to the increasingly public nature of current social media. Capsule combines the ease and efficiency of public social media but in an exclusive manner.

Phillip Woods, a graduate student majoring in political science, says he just started using the app and already enjoys it more than Facebook.

“I have been using the app for about a month now and it is so easy and I feel like there’s more privacy,” Woods said.

“I feel like I don’t have to worry about crazy ex-girlfriends showing up because they read my status, now I can just let my close friends know what the

plan is at the same time,” Woods said.Although Capsule can be utilized for

personal sharing and planning, the app can also be used for business purpos-es as well. Instead of conference calls, Capsule can be used to facilitate virtual meetings among members of a group.

Andrea Thompson, a sophomore majoring in marketing, says she uses it for personal reasons, but her father uses the app for business.

“I would have never thought of us-ing Capsule for business, but my dad is already using it for business meetings,” Thompson said.

Thompson said she thought Capsule made more sense than Facebook and Twitter because of its privacy.

“Honestly, I have always felt like Facebook was for creepers, even though I used to have an account,” Thompson said.

She went on to explain that un-less users know each other, there is no purpose to reading about or rummag-ing through someone’s pictures and life moments.

Woods reiterated this remark by say-ing he thinks Capsule is what should have been created instead of Facebook and even Twitter.

“Capsule just makes more sense, I have no reason to ‘connect’ to people I don’t know,” Woods said.

Although there are thousands of apps that can be utilized for a multitude of reasons, Capsule may soon take the place of Facebook and Twitter in the so-cial networking world.

New smartphone app: CapsuleBRITTANY SPORNHAUERStaff Writer

SARAH WOODS|THE SIGNALThe African Student Association hosted an International Fashion Show.

JAGGY’S TOP SUMMER TWEETS

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Learn more today at transient.gpc.edu.

#SUMMERCLASSES #MULTIPLESITES #ONLINECOURSES

TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012 17ARTS & LIVING | THE SIGNAL

CALENDAR

Model African Union Celebrates Success

SIGNAL SPOTLIGHTS

A particular group of 30 students has been able to dig deeper into seri-ous issues thanks to the Model African Union. Affiliated with the Office of African American Student Services and Programs, the MAU simulates the African Union Conferences, in which diplomats from African countries as-semble to discuss problems and pres-ent their solutions.

The club hits on hard issues that jeopardize the continent and its peo-ple on a regular basis. Panels of stu-dents then discuss possible solutions to problems such as inadequate edu-cational opportunities, gender equal-ity, refugee accommodations, health-care and combating AIDS and malar-ia. One of the MAU’s main endeavors is to create awareness about the prob-lems that impact Africa.

“People are generally unin-formed,” said Benson Nsunwara, a finance major and President of the MAU. “The Model African Union has the platform to put information out there. And the more current informa-tion about Africa out there, the better.”

At the MAU conferences, team members are split into different com-mittees—Social, Political, Economic, Peace and Security, and Executive. Each committee has a representative from every African country. Then the

groups discuss issues related to their committees.

“These different committees have the same general objective of work-ing for development in Africa, but they work from different angles,” Nsunwara said.

This past February, the MAU rep-resented the nations of Equatorial Guinea and Gambia at the national conference in Washington D.C. While there, the team managed to scoop the

Outstanding Delegation award for the Economics Committee.

“The Outstanding Delegation Award is given to the team who had the best understanding of the issues, who did research, was aware, and moved the conversation forward,” Nsunwara said.

The teams also tied with another school for the Leadership Award for the Economic and Social Committees. Leadership Award winners were able

to focus on the topics at hand, manage their time well and avoid bickering with other teams and team members.

As a mark of their progress, the MAU will be attending the interna-tional conference in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, where the headquarters of the African Union is located. Although the actual conference won’t be much different from the others, despite its far-off location, team members will be able to participate in exciting activi-

ties outside of the committee sessions.“There will be welcome speech-

es from African ambassadors, and we’ll have the opportunity to do ses-sions in the actual buildings that are used by officials to discuss affairs,” Nsunawara said.

In the future, the MAU plans on improving their presentations and performances, increasing the number of students they take to conferences, and exposing as many students as pos-sible to the diplomatic experience.

“We’ll accept anyone willing to be a part of the group, regardless of age, color, religion, or gender,” Nsunwara said.

And the benefits to joining are priceless. In addition to learning more about Africa, students that participate in the MAU have “an opportunity to learn diplomacy, discuss and debate ideas for development, sharpen nego-tiation skills, and make friends.”

Aside from being able to talk with like-minded people, Nsunwara cher-ishes the skills he acquired while in the MAU.

“I learned that you have to be in-formed,” Nsunwara said, “people are constantly asking me questions and opinions, so I’ve become more in-formed about political affairs. It’s something to experience and decide if you like it for your future.”

IMAN NAIMStaff Writer

SARAH WOODS|THE SIGNALThe Model African Union of Georgia State use foreign relations and a care for society to combat social problems.

Editor’s note: Publicize your event in this calendar! Contact Alicia Johnson at signalliving@gmail.com with the event name, time, date, location and a brief description.

April 3Environmental Truths:

Screening of “Inconvenient Truth”

Join in re-living the environmental truths of “An Inconvenient Truth” with the Environmental Journalism Class. These videos will be screened, followed by a discussion on the film’s impacts. Join in and prepare for Earth Day.Classroom South, Room 104//5 p.m.

April 5Environmental Truths: Screening of “The Last

Mountain”Join in re-living the environmental truths of “The Last Mountain” with the Environmental Journalism Class. These videos will be screened, followed by a discussion on the film’s impacts. Join in and prepare for Earth Day.Classroom South, Room 104//5 p.m.

April 6Noel Gallagher’s High-Flying

Birds w/Mona Oasis shows were kind of like

hockey games--you say you’re going for the game, but it’s really for the fights. Expect none of that drama here, because Noel is here without his brother Liam, for better or worse at The Tabernacle.152 Luckie St// 8 p.m.//$36.50

April 7of Montreal w/ Kishi Bashi,

Loney Dear Athens’ most revered indie group is coming to the Variety Playhouse. This is sure to be a strange but interesting experience. 1099 Euclid Ave//7 p.m.

April 12National Hospitality

Championship @ The Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality Administration will host the National Hospitality Championship at the Georgia World Congress Center. Formerly known as the Battle for Atlanta, the School of Hospitality is taking this event to the next level for 2012. This event will feature two classes - Meetings & Tradeshow Management as well as Expos, Fairs & Entertainment Management - in addition to the Pineapple Bowl, a competition featuring the Best of the Best in Atlanta.285 Andrew Young International Blvd Hall A-1//8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Tyler Perry’s “Madea Gets a Job”

In the next installment of Tyler Perry’s famed “Madea” series, the title character--you guessed it--gets a job! Find out more at the show presented at The Fox Theatre. This show runs until April 15.660 Peachtree St//8 p.m.//$27-$67

April 16The Ting Tings w/ MNDR

You’ll be shouting, “That’s not my name! That’s not my name!” for weeks after this performance at Atlanta’s Variety Playhouse.1099 Euclid Ave//7 p.m.

Creating Good Jobs: Who, Were, How

This event hosted by the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, features Andrew Young and Jim Clifton. This event will honor Young for his contributions; Clifton will discuss his new book The Coming Jobs War.80 Forsyth St//5 p.m.

April 17Student Veterans Association

MixerThe Student Veteran’s Association is having a mixer in Veterans Memorial Hall inside Dahlberg Hall. Lunch will be provided. This time will be used to meet and converse with fellow veterans

as well as discuss current issues pertaining to student veteran life at GSU. All veterans and veteran supporters are welcome!(Veterans Memorial Hall // 12-1:30 p.m.)

April 19Van Halen

They’re lucky Eddie can still shred, because otherwise they’d never pull off a reunion this convincing. Come watch these legendary rockers at Philips Arena.1 Philips Dr.//8 p.m.

April 30Joe Rogan

The jokes from this famous proponent of THC and hallucinogens are as raunchy as they are truthful. The date of the event is likely no coincidence. 152 Luckie St//10:30 p.m.

Atlanta Mess-AroundOur flagship punk-fest is back again, and it’s better than ever. Punk legends Zero Boys will headline one night of the fest, and local heroes the Carbonas will helm the second. The price is steep, but it gets you access to two daytime shows at 529 and two nighttime gigs at the E.A.R.L. down the street. If you care about your local punk scene, you won’t miss this one. (529 and the E.A.R.L. // 4 p.m. // $45)

April 31Peter Case w/ Jade Lemons & the Crimson Lust, The

Marques, What The?Peter Case will always be revered for his work with the Nerves and the Plimsouls, and that’s exactly what he’ll be playing this time. If you’re at all a fan of power pop, this will be the show of the year. (Star Community Bar // 9 p.m. // $10)

April 39Dick Dale w/ Grinder NovaThe undisputed surf-rock king is returning to the E.A.R.L. to make us think about the opening credits to Pulp Fiction all over again. Seriously, though, there’s a reason why he’s a legend—don’t miss out.(The E.A.R.L. // 8 p.m. // $22)

May 1Black Joe Lewis and

the Honeybears w/ the Preservation

Mixing the best of Mick Jagger and Otis Redding, these soul-stirrers know their craft. If you’re too cool to dance to some tenderly prepared soul music, don’t bother with this one.(The E.A.R.L. // 8:30 p.m. // $12)

May 3Street Violence (last show) w/ Piss Shivers, Saskatchewan,

Gun Party

It’s locals Street Violence’s last show, but don’t make this a sad one—come and party with the

band and make some memories. (529 // 9:00 p.m. // $5 // 18+)

May 5Spindrift, Ocha la Rocha,

Strangers Family Band, Psych Army DJs

If spaghetti westerns are your thing, look no further than Spindrift. Come to this show and relive your favorite Clint Eastwood moments in your head.(529 // 9 p.m. // Free // 21+)

May 18Unknown Hinson w/ Syrens

of the SouthThere isn’t enough room on this page to describe why Unknown Hinson is as cool as he is, or even what his show would be like. Just know that he voices Early on Squidbillies and that he’s toured with Hank III and Reverend Horton Heat, and that this show will be talked about for a long, long time. (The E.A.R.L. // 9 p.m. // $20)

May 23Reggie Watts

Many of his song titles are too profane to be reprinted here, but he’s the funniest rapper, well, ever. If you can stomach it, be sure to make it to this one.(Variety Playhouse // 7 p.m. // $25-30)

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JEREL MARSHALLSports Editor

After a couple weeks of prac-tice, members of the Georgia State football team finally got a chance to showcase their skills for a crowd of 600 fans in this year’s spring scrim-mage held at the GSU Practice Complex this Saturday.

The game pitted the Georgia State defense against the offense. The de-fense earned points for forcing turn-overs, three-and-outs and tackles for loss. Ultimately, the offense was able to come on top 15-10 but, more im-portantly, the game was an opportu-nity to learn about the team.

Since the team first began prac-ticing last month, they have had plenty of things to work on, such as learning the ins and outs of their new 4-2-5 defense and no-huddle of-fense. To make things more difficult, many of the Panthers have been un-able to participate due to injury or suspension.

Quarterback Ben McLane, who will be a redshirt freshman at the beginning of next season, continues to impress the coaching staff and is making a case for himself to be the starter next season.

Offensive coordinator John Bond said he is looking for someone that can manage the offense, make accu-rate throws and help the team to con-vert on down and distance situations.

“I would have to watch the film first,” Bond said. “But if I had to say, I would say Ben [McLane] was the most consistent and, honestly that is what I am looking for.”

McLane connected on seven of his 11 passes to throw for 82 yards on Saturday. Kelton Hill went 3-of-8 for 43 yards and one touchdown. Bo Schlecter threw 10-of-17 for 105 yards.

Bond said he is hoping to name a starting quarterback before the end of the week.

Although there has been a lot of change and the unorthodox style of the scrimmage was probably a bit out of the norm for many players, Bond said the Panthers made several mis-takes that are inexcusable.

“We have too many penalties, too many dropped balls, too many balls on the ground,” Bond said. “We’ve got to eliminate that in order to be the type of offense we want to be.”

Head coach Bill Curry said he was encouraged by what he saw out of the progression of the new no-huddle offense.

“The progress of the no-huddle was really better than I expected,” Curry said. “I thought when we got in front of some people and had the pressure of time that there would be a lot more errors.”

Given the amount of work the Panthers had on their hands, Curry seemed pleased with the progress they have made so far over the past couple of weeks—especially on the defensive side of the ball.

“I was pleased to see the defense fight like this,” Curry said. “This was the fist big scrimmage for a some of our new players.”

Curry said Kyle Vorster, Dillon LiVecche, David Huey and Qwontez Mallory all caught his eye. Mallory said he has his teammates to thank for his progress as he is making the move from linebacker to defensive end.

“Some of the guys that went down that were playing [defensive end] helped me to get into the right position, do what I’m supposed to do and help the team out,” Mallory said.

First-year defensive coordinator Anthony Midget, who was without six of his starters, was impressed by

what he saw from his short-handed defense.

“We really pushed them and they really responded,” Midget said.

The scrimmage isn’t only for players to improve—it also helps coaches get into the groove of things and this was the case for Midget who was just recently promoted from sec-ondary coach and special teams coor-dinator to the defensive coordinator position. Midget said he is still learn-ing but he had a good time.

“I think I did okay,” Midget said. “I think I can get a lot better. It was just exciting to get out here and watch the kids to see all the work put in all spring to kind of come together.”

Hill said he was just happy to hit the field again.

“It feels good, Hill said. “We have been waiting a long time—four months ever since the last Campbell game. Now that we are finally out here, we are getting better.”

The Panthers kicked off their final week of spring practice this morning at 8 a.m.

www.gsusignal.com/sportsSPORTS

Mixing things up in spring practiceGRAHAM ROBSON | THE SIGNAL

The Panthers returned to the turf for a brief spring practice period.

TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012 20 SPORTS | THE SIGNAL

JESSIKA MORGANStaff Writer

The art of riding and directing a 1,000-pound animal may seem pret-ty intimidating, but not for the un-daunted riders of the Georgia State Equestrian Club.

In addition to learning key rid-ing and equine skills, the team walks away with so much more.

“It’s a big confidence builder,” said Equestrian Club president, ju-nior Kaylan Guyton. “I have a couple of friends who don’t ride but know that just being in charge of such a huge animal says a lot. It’s very empowering.”

Both Guyton and Vice President Arrion Williams, a sophomore, own a horse.

“You have to have a lot of pa-tience, got to have a love for it,” Williams said of maintenance.

Getting to know the horse with small tasks such as brushing it, can make a huge difference when it comes down to show time. It’s im-portant to establish a certain rela-tionship before riding the steed.

Although the thoroughbreds have minds of their own, winning is based on how well a rider can control the horse.

“It’s very dangerous,” Guyton said. “That’s where the trust factor comes in with your relationship with the horse.”

In horse shows, the events sepa-rate the participants by division and skill. You can place 1st through 6th at the meets. The Georgia State team

placed 5th in their region earlier this year. Guyton qualified for regionals in South Carolina for her Intermediate Flat Division. Williams placed 2nd in her division at a Berry College horse show and another Georgia State rid-er, Emily Ulm, placed 5th in her di-

vision at the same show. Of course, like other sports, equestrianism has its ups and downs too.

“You get frustrated when you feel like you can control them but realize you’re just a speck on its back and it can do whatever it wants,” Guyton

said. “But at the end of the day, it’s really rewarding once you do get it right.”

The organization travels and competes in shows through the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA), which includes

many other Southeastern schools, like University of Georgia and Clemson University and is separated by regions. Aside from riding, some members just help out with shows or benefits.

The 14th Annual Benefit Show, a major fundraising event arranged by the Georgia State team, was post-poned from this past weekend to a later date. Georgia State wouldn’t have been competing, but they would have been collecting all of the pro-ceeds. The show gives people who own horses a chance to come out and compete, while helping fund the team’s upcoming season.

Georgia State rides in three shows per semester, so they are cur-rently in preparation for their first on Sep. 29. Nearly 20 people are cur-rently in the club and are urged to visit Dream Chase Farms, a barn in Oxford, Ga., to practice and take les-sons bi-weekly.

Although the club has plenty of talented horseback riders, you don’t have to be a pro to join.

“All different levels from be-ginning to advanced can come and join. It’s pretty much to discover the equine world and learn new things,” Guyton said. Additionally, being a small group creates an attractive inti-macy that keeps even past members returning.

Aside from Georgia State’s Recreation Center website, more information about the Equestrian Club can be obtained from their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/gsuequestrian.

JEREL MARSHALLSports Editor

This weekend, Georgia State women’s softball team (23-11, 3-3 CAA) was able to sweep the Towson Tigers in their second conference matchup of the season.

After winning 20 of their first 26 games, the Panthers came into Saturday’s double-header having lost five straight games.

During a rough stretch, the Panthers dropped games to in-state rivals Kennesaw State University and University of Georgia. The team also dropped three straight int their first conference matchup of the sea-son against Hofstra.

The team opened the weekend against the Tigers on Saturday with a double-header at Robert E. Heck Softball complex.

Although junior pitcher Katie Lingmai broke the Towson record for career strikeouts, the Panthers made the day less than enjoyable by earning two victories.

Senior Alana Thomas led the way in the first game with a ca-reer high of nine strikeouts. Lauren Coleman only had one hit on the day, but it was enough to earn three RBI. Coleman’s double in the bottom of the fifth helped the Panthers cruise to a 4-0 victory. Thomas earned her third shutout of the season.

In the second half of the double-header Callie Alford came up big with three hits, two runs and five RBI in four at-bats, much in part to

a three-run homer in third inning. Audrey Mason also recorded two hits and two RBI.

On the second day of action, the Panthers opened the final game of the series by scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Alford earned a run and RBI off her two hits.

Kaitlyn Medlam (4.1 innings) and Erin Collins (2.2 innings) teamed up to pitch the eighth shutout of the season. Medlam also earned her eighth win of the season. Collins served up four strikeouts in her 4.2 innings of relief this weekend.

Georgia State seems to have snapped out of their cold spell and the Panthers are still in good shape for the season. Despite an inconsis-tent March that has saw the team earn seven of their 11 losses, solid pitching has helped the team to stay afloat.

Medlam is tied with Thomas for a team high eight wins and she has earned 66 strikeouts—the fifth most in the CAA—in 63.2 innings of pitch-ing. Medlam’s opposing bat average of .224 is the second lowest mark in the CAA.

Thomas and Medlam’s eight wins put them second in the CAA in number of wins, only behind Lingami.

Tomorrow the team will travel to Greenvile, S.C. to take on Furman in a double-header. The team is cur-rently 4-3 while on the road, with all three of those losses coming in the state of Georgia.

Sports Club: Equestrian club takes on competition in stride

Softball picks up the pieces in three game sweep of Towson

GEORGIA STATE EQUESTRIANThe Georgia State Equestrian Club features a mix of horse lovers with different levels of experience.

PATRICK DUFFY | THE SIGNALThe Panthers managed to halt a five-game losing streak by dominating a weekend series against CAA rival Towson.

TOM TERRY III AND JEREL MARSHALLStaff Writer and Sports Editor

There have been plenty of great father-son combinations throughout the history of sports such as Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning; Dell and Stephen Curry and Cal Ripkin Sr. and Jr. Next season, the Georgia State men’s basket-ball team will have a father-son combination of their own—head coach Ron Hunter and Georgia State recruit R.J. Hunter.

While Ron Hunter was helping to orches-trate one of the most successful basketball sea-sons in school history, R.J. Hunter was helping to lead Pike High School to the Indiana high school boy’s basketball state finals.

In his senior year, R.J. averaged 20.3 points, 3.6 assists, 2.2 blocks, 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game. The most impressive part of the 6-foot 6-inch guard’s game is his ability to shoot. R.J. possesses a picture perfect shooting stroke and an array of fakes and escape dribbles.

“He was just kind of a spot up shooter early in his career,” R.J. Hunter’s high school basket-ball coach at Pike High School, Bill Zich, said. “Now he’s got some skills to handle the basket-ball, to create space and he can finish at the bas-ket really well.”

Last year, R.J. had a chance to play along-side freshman point guard Marquis Teague who also played for Pike High School before heading to the University of Kentucky. Zich said that R.J. took it upon himself to be more of a leader in Teague’s absence this season.

Although this season was R.J.’s first time taking on the main leadership role on the high school level, Zich said he handled it fine.

“He was very good at directing traffic and getting us into the things that we needed to get into,” Zich said.

As to be expected from any kid whose par-ent is a coach, R.J. has been playing basketball

all his life and his high basketball IQ is a testa-ment to that.

“At a young age, dad had put a basketball in my hand, and my dad told me this is what I was going to do,” R.J. said.

“He is one of the smartest kids I have coached at the high school level and I’ve been coaching for 30 years,” Zich said.

“I’m really looking forward [to it]. It would be the first time coaching my son at this level at Georgia State. I’m really excited about that, he’s a good player and he’s a good a kid.” Ron Hunter said.

One thing that sticks out about the Hunter’s is their competitiveness. Although both are willing to put in monumental efforts to win, Ron Hunter knows when he has met his match and the days of the duo facing off in a game of one-on-one basketball may be coming to a

close. “[R.J.] can beat me now because I have only

one good hip,” Ron Hunter said with a laugh. “It’s funny, I called him the other day and said that the day I know you’re better than me, I’ll stop playing you. Those days are here, so I’ll stop playing him.”

Ron Hunter is even willing to admit that even if he were still young and healthy his son might give him some problems on the court.

“Talent-wise, it isn’t that close,” Ron Hunter said. “R.J. is much more talented than I was, he’s a really good player so looking forward to [coaching him]. He is a coach’s kid with a lot of talent.”

With his high school hoops career becom-ing a thing of the past, R.J. seems ready to move on to the next level, but he said he is not expect-ing anything easy from his father.

“I’m not expecting any passes,” R.J. said, “I think he’s going to be hard, but it’s going to be good for me.”

Ron Hunter gained many fans last year for bringing an unrivaled amount of energy to the Georgia State sidelines. R.J. is looking to prove that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

“You see [Ron Hunter] coach and run up and down the sidelines? He does that for forty minutes a game,” R.J. said. “That’s the energy I bring to the court.”

R.J. isn’t getting any younger, but that doesn’t mean him and his father don’t have plenty of new experiences ahead of them, and the 2012-2013 season will be a new frontier for the Hunter family.

“As a father, it will be a unique experience together,” Ron Hunter said, “I can’t tell you how excited I am about that.”

VALENTINA LEEStaff Writer

A quick look at the results of the recent golf tournaments the Georgia State women’s golf team has competed in might trick some into thinking that the Panthers are having a bad season.

Within the past month the team has placed in the bottom three in each of their tournaments, except for the two-day Hurricane Invitational where they finished fourth out of 16 colleges.

This past Monday and Tuesday, at the John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate tournament Georgia State came in ninth out of 11 schools. Head Coach Cathy Mant was not pleased with the results.

“We were even par, which was a huge gap,” Mant said, “Putting was an issue too.”

Despite the low placings, the Panthers are still ranked no. 1 in the Colonial Athletic Association and have steadily held that title this whole season.

Mant has stayed on the girls to make sure they executed the proper methods and skills in order to improve. They all have worked on flaws that were important to improve if they want to win the CAA Championships.

“We are ranked number one in the CAA,” Mant said, “And we need to perform. We cannot sit back.”

Although Mant is looking for the team to im-prove, she still seems to have quite a bit of trust in her Panthers. They gave the golfers a responsibil-ity to create their own practice plans to work on their individual game. Mant and assistant coach Lorraine Ballerano have kept tabs on the team but have avoided pressuring them.

“Golf is such a tough sport that you take it so personally,” Mant said, “We don’t need to be hammering on them, because they’re already

hammering themselves.”Along with being on top of the CAA confer-

ence, Georgia State golfer Charlotte Lorentzen, who was the 2010 and 2011 CAA Golfer of the Year, has lowered her stroke average, improved her short game and has won three out of eight events this past year.

“[Lorentzen] confidence has heightened,” Mant said, “Once you win the first tournament you realize you can keep doing it”

Lorentzen has spent a tremendous amount of time in weight training and has constantly been practicing her skills. She is expected to continue to do well and seize another victory in the CAA Championships and also qualify to the NCAA Regional.

“Charlotte [Lorentzen] is the whole pack-age as an athlete,” Mant said. “And as a coach I couldn’t be any happier with having someone like that on my team”

Freshman Lauren Court has also shown signs of improvement. Mant said Court has fluctuated up and down this season, but she has made im-provements in club selection for her short game. She had scored a low 75 this past Monday at the John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate tournament in Stockbridge, Ga.

“[Court] has dabbled in good scoring lately,” Mant said, “We know that it’s there and it’s com-ing and that is exciting to see.”

The team has started to prepare and practice for their next tournament, Knights and Pirates Invitational, in Melbourne, Fla. which will be held April 9-10. They have been practicing on their weaknesses along with additional work on t-shots in the fairway.

“We have been working on short game, such as putting, chipping, pitching and bunker play,” Mant said, “It is essential.”

Lorentzen steadies Panthers through tough schedule

Like father, like son: Ron Hunter set to coach his son TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012 21SPORTS | THE SIGNAL

GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICSCharlotte Lorentzen continues her dominance, and has helped lead the Panthers to the top of the CAA.

GRAHAM ROBSON | THE SIGNAL GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICSRon Hunter is excited to coach one of Georgia State’s newest recruits—his son R.J. Hunter.

W Tennis 3/30 @ VCU L 3-4

Baseball 3/28 vs. Savannah State W 15-3

3/31 @ George Mason W 8-34/1 @ George Mason L 1-3

Softball 3/31 vs. Towson W 4-03/31 vs. Towson W 8-14/1 vs. Towson W 4-0

M Tennis(Sun Belt Shootout)3/31 vs. Troy W 4-1

4/1 vs. Middle Tennessee L 3-44/1 vs. DePaul W 4-3

GSU Sports Scoreboard:GRAHAM ROBSON | THE SIGNAL

Whitney Byrd, a transfer from Auburn at Montgomery, is having a solid first season as a Panther.

TIFFANIE SMITHStaff Writer

After sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, star ten-nis athlete Whitney Byrd did not get discouraged. Byrd proved this by recently earning the Colonial Athletic Association women’s ten-nis Player of the Week award.

Already having a tennis back-ground with her father who used to play tennis for Georgia State in the 80’s, Byrd said it was him who actually taught her how to play.

“My dad used to coach me and I could not escape him when I came home,” Byrd said. “If you watch my whole tennis game, it is my dad playing pretty much. Everything I know came from him.”

With impressive singles vic-tories over South Carolina and William & Mary, Byrd is mak-ing her mark in her first season at Georgia State.

Before becoming a Panther in 2011, she was named a second-team NAIA All-American in 2010 at Auburn Montgomery and was ranked as high as No. 24 in the NAIA rankings.

Although the junior had plen-ty of success at her old school, a coaching change and a recommen-dation from a former Georgia State player—Kir Kemp—was enough to convince her to become a Panther.

“I had a best friend on the ten-nis team when I came here that told me about the program and I still had a scholarship at my oth-er school,” Byrd said. “My coach left my old school so I looked into Georgia State. I contacted coach Miha [Lisac] and said I would love to play for the school and he called me back an offered me a scholar-

ship here.” Byrd, a journalism major, has

recently found a way to combine academics and her love of tennis by creating a blog called “Byrd’s Eye View.” The blog follows the team as they compete against their competitors each game and gives readers a taste of what it is like to play for the women’s tennis team.

“I thought it would be good for people to know what we are do-ing,” Byrd said. “We have a lot of tennis players from other coun-tries and their parents cannot get in touch with them. I thought do-ing a blog as we travel and show-ing what we are doing--it’ll make it easier for their parents to keep up with them.”

As for academics, Byrd seems to stay focused by balancing her work with school and tennis as her coach Lisac is constantly stay-ing on her about the two. She said Lisac puts school before sports and motivates her to be happy with what she is doing.

Before a game, Byrd refuses to go into a match before listening to her music.

“I have to listen to somebody’s iPod that has Drake on it,” said Byrd. “I always bring my iPod be-fore a match.”

Byrd is already thinking about her future as she plans to join a PR firm after graduation.

As for the rest of the sea-son, Byrd is focused on help-ing the Panthers win a national championship.

“Winning nationals has been our goal since the beginning of the season,” Byrd said. “We came so close to beating Georgia Tech, South Carolina and these schools in the top 20. I think we can do it.”

Byrd soars in first season as Panther

TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012 22 SPORTS | THE SIGNAL

DYLAN RICEAssociate Sports Editor

After an offseason in which Braves play-ers and fans alike had nothing to do but reflect on last season’s epic collapse, spring is finally here and both groups are ready to put 2011 be-hind them as they open the season on the road Thursday against the New York Mets.

With largely the same group from last year in tact, the Braves will look to contend in the National League East, which has quickly be-come the toughest division in the league.

Last year’s roster, despite going 9-18 in September, finished within one game of a 90-win season. Bringing back the core group shouldn’t have Braves fans necessarily nervous.

Whether players such as Jason Heyward and Martin Prado, who both took dramatic steps back last season after solid 2010 cam-paigns, bounce back will factor in to the team’s success in a big way offensively.

First baseman Freddie Freeman put to-gether a terrific rookie season, and everyone in the organization is hoping he doesn’t suffer a sophomore slump reminiscent of Heyward’s.

Even all-star catcher Brian McCann’s production and health faltered as the season progressed, and the Braves finished 26th in baseball in both batting average and on base percentage.

There’s no reason to think a player like McCann, with veteran leadership ability and a solid track record, can return to his usual form, but the same confidence doesn’t carry over for Heyward and Prado.

Last year’s team home run leader Dan Uggla got off to a horrendous start last year, but if it wasn’t for his production in the later half of last season the Braves’ collapse could have been even more catastrophic.

Like McCann, his career numbers should put confidence in the heart of Braves’ fans, and the way he knocked the cover off the ball in spring training makes it hard to believe that his opening months of 2012 will be anything like 2011.

The leadoff role will belong to Michael Bourn this season, and the fact that Atlanta was able to hold on to him for another run was great news for the ball club.

While his on base percentage isn’t ideal for the number one spot, his speed definitely is. He might not match last year’s 61 stolen bas-es, but his speed adds an extra dynamic to the lineup that the Braves have lacked in seasons past.

One of the major story lines for 2012 will be Chipper Jones’s farewell tour. It’s hard for fans to imagine a Braves team without the fu-ture Hall of Famer, but the Braves legend and his seemingly 70-year-old knees are finally calling it quits at season’s end.

Already, the third baseman will be missing the first week or so of the season because of a right knee surgery to repair torn meniscus.

The Braves will be lucky to get 120 games out of him this year, and if they do, how he’ll be able to produce at age 40 is undetermined.

When he’s not playing, Prado will take over third base so it’ll be interesting to see how manager Fredi Gonzalez plugs in left field on those days. Matt Diaz would seem the most likely candidate.

The shortstop battle between rookies Tyler Pastornicky and Andrelton Simmons will be another ongoing story line for the sea-son, and while a starter hadn’t been chosen at the time of printing it’s hard to guess what kind of production you’ll get from the position

no matter who is picked.The Braves’ offense has the potential to be

good, not great, but health and inconsistency could just as easily lead to another dismal year at the plate.

The Braves pitching staff has always been a strong point, and it should be no different in 2012. But health once again will be a deter-mining factor of success in this area.

Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson, com-bined with the up and coming Mike Minor and Brandon Beachy provide an excellent one through four. And when Tim Hudson make his return from back surgery, potentially in early May, the rotation will only get better.

How Hudson does health wise and wheth-er him along with Jurrjens and Hanson can stay healthy and produce all season will deter-mine how far the Braves can go.

Also, the ability for all of these starters to work deeper into ball games must improve so the bullpen doesn’t fall apart in September from overwork like they did last year.

Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado both have the potential to be a huge part of the Braves’ starting rotation down the line, but neither had the best spring and may need a lit-tle more seasoning in the minors.

With the signing of veteran big man Livan Hernandez to a low risk one-year contract, it seems as if the Braves are aware that these two youngsters aren’t quite ready. He’ll mostly be used in long relief situations and occasional starts.

The bullpen was the best part about the Braves lasts season until they hit a break wall in the season’s final weeks.

Rookie of the Year Craig Kimbrel, with a full year’s experience under his belt, and hard throwing setup man Jonny Venters, the Braves should expect another amazing season.

Gonzalez must do a better job of managing the amount of innings these two guys work, along with the rest of the bullpen, if he wants

them to be effective in September.The NL East is a division with four teams

that could contend for first, but the Braves aren’t the only team with issues that could blow up in their faces.

The Philadelphia Phillies obviously have the pitching, but the right side of their infield is already a big question. Ryan Howard will miss a significant chunk of the season, and Chase Utley will miss opening day because of knee issues.

Utley has been declining the past several seasons, and as his health continues to falter it’s hard to imagine him ever regaining his All-Star form.

The Miami Marlins lost out on Albert Pujols but were able to sign 2011 NL bat-

ting champ Jose Reyes, as well as starter Mark Buehrle and all-star closer Heath Bell. But they also signed hothead pitcher Carlos Zambrano and hired the equally unstable manager, Ozzie Guillen, so team chemistry is a legitimate issue.

The Nationals have quietly built a solid young team, and Stephen Strasburg will look to pitch a full season after missing almost all of 2011. His health along with the typical prob-lems that come with a long team will factor in to their success.

The only NL East team with no shot of contention is the New York Mets, who let Reyes go to the Marlins and who’s ownership is a financial mess.

Braves put 2011 collapse behind them, eye NL East crown

TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012 23SPORTS | THE SIGNAL

PATRICK DUFFY | THE SIGNALBraves players and fans are hoping a fresh start will wash the away bitter taste of last season.

PATRICK DUFFY | THE SIGNALIt’s hard for fans to imagine a Braves team without the future Hall of Famer

Styles Spacing Lists

Spotlight

SPOTLIGHT PROGRAMS BOARDwww.gsu.edu/spotlight

Committee Members of the Month – March 2012Homecoming–Kiondra Kendrick • Public Relations–Justin Morgan

Membership–Bryanna Busgith and Myeia Bautista • Panther Prowl–Tiara Brewer

Spring Fling, April 3-6Ready for a week of FUN, GAMES, MUSIC and FOOD? Join Spotlight Programs Board as we welcome in a new season with our annual Spring Fling events:

Cinema Under the Stars: Hall PassTuesday, April 3, 8-11 p.m., Urban Life Plaza

Join us for the viewing of Hall Pass while enjoying free snacks! In collaboration with Alpha Omicron Pi, Omega Psi Phi, Phi Beta Sigma and Pi Kappa Alpha.

Student Game NightWednesday, April 4, 7-11 p.m., Student Center Ballroom

A fun night of game! The major attraction will be the ThinkFast Game Show. The winning team will receive a $200 cash prize. Refreshments provided.

A Night of IllusionThursday, April 5, 7-11 p.m., Student Center BallroomHelp Spotlight welcome Hypnotist Frederick Winters and

Mentalist Chris Carter to campus. Refreshments provided.Spring Bash

Friday, April 6, Noon-6 p.m., Unity Plaza/Gilmer StreetThe All-Atlanta Spring Bash is a one-day event for GSU students to experience the wide variety of music and culture that the great city of Atlanta has to offer. By merging music, arts and culture, we look forward to helping students find a new love for the amazing community in which we reside. Enjoy carnival games,

food truck vendors, Atlanta vendors, two stages with local artists and more.

REIGN: Spring Fashion ShowSaturday, April 7, 7-9:30 p.m., GSU Sports Arena • Doors open at 6 p.m.Black Student Alliance, Infinite Appeal, the Residence Hall Association and

Spotlight Programs Board cordially invite you to attend REIGN: Spring Fashion Show. These four organizations have teamed together to create an

unmatched experience of style in its most pure form. Tickets are free for GSU students, $7 for students of other schools and $10 for non-students.

Seats are sure to go fast, so please show up on time! See you there!

For more information, call Spotlight at 404/413-1610.

Courtyard Music Series.jpg

CAMPUS EVENTSwww.gsu.edu/studenteventsDeepak Chopra: Distinguished Speaker Series Thursday, April 12, 6 p.m. GSU Sports Arena

GSU Night at Six Flags Friday, April 20, 6 p.m.-midnight

SAVE THE

DATES!

See ads in this issue

for more information.

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Leadership Development

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENTwww.gsu.edu/leadership

Leaders Are Made, Not BornThursday, April 5, 1-2 p.m., Student Center, Lucerne Suite Have you heard the myth that leaders are born, not made? This program will highlight 10 skills that every leader needs — all of which any student can learn.

Leadership in a Changing WorldTuesday, April 10, 3-4 p.m., Student Center, Lucerne SuiteWhat does it mean to be a leader? Can anyone be a leader? Discover a new way of thinking about leadership and the role you can play in making a positive change in the world.Sign up now for Panther Leadership AcademyApplication Deadline: April 13 For more information, visit www.gsu.edu/leadership

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Student Organizations

Styles

STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS http://gsu.orgsync.com

OrgSync ContestUse OrgSync this spring and your organization could win great prizes! The fun runs March 12-April 20 with a new winner selected each week. Visit OrgSync for more details or follow us on Twitter: GSU_Leadership.

Organization RoundtableThursday, April 12, Noon-1 p.m. Golden Key Board RoomOur monthly roundtable will focus on the following organization categories in April: Community Service, Environmental and Health.

OrgSync User Walk-In TrainingFriday, April 13, 10:30 a.m.-Noon, 330 Student CenterTake advantage of walk-in training hours for all OrgSync users. Newly elected organization officers are strongly encouraged to attend to learn how to correctly use the OrgSync system for their organization.

Annual Organization RenewalDeadline: May 1Visit your organizationʼs OrgSync portal to submit renewal paperwork now. Contact studentorganizations@gsu.edu for more information.

My Week with Marilyn, April 2-8

The Woman in Black, April 9-15

Visit www.gsu.edu/cinefest for showtimes.All shows free for GSU students, faculty and staff with ID. Guests $3 before 5 p.m. and $5 at 5 p.m. and after.

xcinefest movie timeshttp://www.gsu.edu/cinefest

Georgia State University uLearn Facebook TwitterGeorgia State University uLearn Facebook Twitter

Cinefest Film Theatre

Pantherpalooza: Spring Concert

Featuring Karmin, Miguel, Dev and Big K.R.I.T.

Friday, April 6, GSU Sports Arena Doors open at 7 p.m. Show starts at 8 p.m.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! GSU Students: $10

General Admission: $20Day of Show: $25

Buy at Campus Tickets in the University Center, GSU Sports Arena Box Office or

www.ticketmaster.com (service fees apply).More Information

404/413-1610 or 380 Student CenterSponsored By

Spotlight Programs Board and Campus Events

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http://www.gsu.edu/studentcenter

WHATʼSHAPPENINGON CAMPUS! Supported by Student Activity Fees