January 22, 2015 Volume 88 Issue 1

Inside This Issue - OPINIONS: Je Suis Charlie: Our promise to you

- FEATURES: VSU gets Girls Can campaign

- SPORTS: VSU begins D-2 playoffs against UNA

Help out with Habitat for Humanity - Inter-ested in community service? Habitat for Hummanity is having its fi rst meeting today in Nevins Hall Room 1061 at 6 p.m. Refresh-ments will be served.Kick out Cancer- The Cancer Society is hav-ing the Relay for Life kick-off today in the UC Theatre at 7p.m.Ladies Night- If you’re looking for a break already, look no further than the Distinguished Women of Excellence’s Ladies Night Mixer. It is an all-black af-fair, and doors open at 6:30 p.m in the Student Ballrooms.

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Stella Henderson /THE SPECTATORThe Remnant Trust gave VSU various books, documents and scrolls that date as far back as 1250. Students can visit the Odum Library and take a look at the manuscripts all semester.

History in the palm of your hand

The titans of history have arrived on campus – well, their writings have, at least.

A collection of rare manu-scripts is now on display at Odum Library. The wide-ranging compilation of books, documents and scrolls—the oldest dating back to 1250—is quite impressive. The collection includes works by Machiavelli, Aristotle, John Locke, Thoreau, Booker T. Washington and Ben Franklin, just to name a few.

Starting with the collec-tion’s grand opening on Feb. 26 and continuing throughout the semester, students will be able to touch and handle these manuscripts, but only under the careful watch of library staff. Right now, students can still see the documents, which are encased in glass displays on Odum Library’s fi rst fl oor.

The old manuscripts are divided by subject matter:

Politics – Includes Aristo-tle’s “Libri Politici” (1543), John Locke’s “Two Trea-tises of Government” (1694), Machiavelli’s “Li Princeps” (1580), and a rare edition of the U.S. Constitution (1788).

Slavery and Women’s Suffrage – Includes Booker T. Washington’s “Up From Slavery: An Autobiography” (1901), Ben Franklin’s “Penn-sylvania Anti-Slavery Society Founding Document” (1787), and Susan B. Anthony’s “History of Woman Suffrage” (1887-1922).

Literature – Includes Pope Innocent III’s “On the Misery of the Human Condition” (1250), Thoreau’s “A Yankee in Canada” (1866), and “The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer” (1687).

Religion – Includes a Koran manuscript handwritten in Arabic (18th century), Martin

Luther’s “Von der Babylo-nischen der Kirchen” (On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church) (1520), and Augus-tine of Hippo’s “Confessions” (1491).

Math and Natural Sciences – Includes Newton’s “The Mathematical Principals of Natural Philosophy” (1729) and Francis Bacon’s “Of the Advancement and Profi cience of Learning” (1640).

Deborah Davis, VSU ar-chives director, said that nor-mally in the rare books world, you fi nd only bits and pieces of writings. This collection features entire works, many of which came from European great house libraries.

“The thing that’s amazing about these books is their condition is so perfect,” Davis said. “We have rare books at Valdosta State – we have

them in the archives – but they’re not as beautiful as these.”

This collection is currently on loan from The Remnant Trust, a nonprofi t organization whose mission, according to its website, is to make rare documents, normally kept under lock-and-key in presti-gious institutions, freely avail-able to students, faculty and the general public globally.

In the past few years, through some generous donations, VSU has been expanding its own rare books holdings, Davis said. In cel-ebration of the Remnant Trust collection coming to campus, the archives department is dis-playing early printed material on Odum’s second fl oor. This material includes handwritten medieval manuscripts, 18th and 19th century lithographs

and rare European maps.Davis said the works in the

Remnant Trust collection are valuable not only because of their monetary worth, but also because of the ideas they contain.

“These books have infl u-enced history and have had an impact that is so far beyond what an individual (could) do,” Davis said. “They’re important because they’re the main voices of our Western culture.

“I look at them and I imagine what the person who wrote this – if they’re hand-written – what kind of condi-tions would they be writing this under? They would be in a castle or an abbey, and their work…lasted 500 years.”

Quick FactsWHO: Various au-thors and philosophers

What: Original manuscripts of famous literature and text.

Where: Odum Library, 1st � oor

Case against former VSU president sent back to court

A former VSU student and a former VSU president are set to go head-to-head after an appeals court reversed a deci-sion over a case that fl oated over the courts seven years ago.

Former VSU student Hayden Barnes will be going to court against Ronald Zac-cari, former president of the university.

Barnes was expelled in 2007 by Zaccari for protesting the construction of two new parking garages.

Barnes’ fi ght against the parking decks included a picture collage on Facebook showing the environmental is-sues of what he called “Zacca-ri Memorial Parking Garage.” This collage, along with many emails about the construction issues, was considered threat-ening by Zaccari.

Barnes was told that he would not be allowed to return to the university unless a psychiatrist verifi ed that he was not a threat to himself or others. After handing over the necessary documents, Barnes was still not allowed to return. Since he was withdrawn from the university without a hear-ing, he was awarded $50,000 for the violation of his due process rights.

Following the announce-ment of his lawsuit in 2008, the Georgia Board of Regents reinstated him as a student.

However, Barnes’ due process rights is just part of his struggle against Zaccari. Barnes also wants to fi ght for his First Amendment rights, which he says were violated when he was forcibly with-drawn because of the picture

collage. Barnes said this First Amendment issue is the heart of his fi ght against the university.

His First Amendment claim was originally dismissed in 2010. The Eleventh Circuit just recently decided to send the case back to the lower court for trial. A court date has not been set.

A collection of rare manuscripts comes to VSU

Kayla Stroud/ THE SPECTATOR

LaShawn Shante/ THE SPECTATOR

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Upcoming EventsVSU Opera Performance

Jan. 23, 10 a.m.Jan. 24, 7:30 p.m.Jan. 25, 3 p.m.Whitehead Auditorium(Fine Arts Building)

This show, titled “The Old Maid and The Thief and The Telephone,” is a double-bill of one-act comedies sung in English. VSU students get in free with ID, tickets for non-VSU students are $5, and general admission is $25.

Call 229-333-2150 for infor-mation and tickets, or order your tickets online at www.valdosta.edu/music/opera.

Free Movie Weekend

Jan. 23, 8 p.m.Jan. 24, 8 p.m.Jan. 25, 3 p.m.

This movie weekend, hosted by VSU’s Campus Activities Boards, features “The Cap-tive,” a thriller starring Ryan Reynolds.

Lecture by Scholar of Islam

Jan. 268-9 p.m.Odum Auditorium #1160

Dr. Alan Godlas, UGA profes-sor and one of North Ameri-ca’s leading scholars of Islam, will be giving a lecture titled “ISIS and Modernist Western Educational Philosophy as Mirror Images: An Ecological, Hermeneutical, and Affective Critique.”

The event, sponsored by the Philosophy and Religious Studies Club, is free and open to the public and will include a short Q & A session.

Blood Drive

Jan. 2712:30-5:30 p.m.Student Union Ballroom (Third Floor)

The Blazer Corps of Cadets will be hosting this blood drive. Those who pre-register and arrive on time will have a chance to win two one-day passes to Wild Adventures.

Free Yoga Class

Jan. 275:45-6:45 p.m.UC Rose Room

MGN Online

Police BriefsJan. 21

A 22-year-old Valdosta resident was stopped and arrested at the corner of Oak Street and Georgia Avenue and charged with DUI and failure to obey a traffic control device.

Jan. 19

A student was reportedly threatened by a non-student via Facebook.

Jan. 18

A vehicle was stopped outside of Hopper Hall, and the driver was charged with underage possession of alcohol, driving too fast for conditions, and disregarding a traffic control device. The driver was taken to Lowndes County Jail.

Jan. 16

A motorcycle was reportedly stolen from the Georgia Hall Lot. The last time the owner saw the motorcycle was five days before on Jan. 11.

Things to come at VSU:By Lia Armistead Staff Writer jparmistead@valdosta.edu

Surprise, surprise — there’s still construc-tion on campus. Most English students have already noticed the change in location of most of their classes from West Hall to Nevins Hall due to ongoing construction.

The change in environment has not only af-fected the students, but also the entire English department. Some professors relocated their offices to Nevins and others to Bailey.

1 ConstructionComing soon is a new VSU website page

called The Rumor Mill, which will allow the VSU community to post questions and get direct responses from the president’s office.

The president’s office is also working with the graphic design department to help start up a website where the president can stay in touch with the VSU community through a blog while he is out of town.

2 The Prez Line

As it goes every spring semester, Relay for Life has come around. The nonprofit organiza-tion has one main goal — to fight cancer.

The actual event is held in April of each year and teams made up of VSU students, faculty and staff compete to raise awareness and funds for cancer research.

The event begins in the evening and ends at dawn the next day.

3 Cancer FightGroups of high school seniors will be taking

tours, and of course, Palms Dining Hall will be closed on these days so that prospective students can experience university dining.

The first major Open House is Saturday, Jan. 31. For those of you who live on campus, be prepared to go to Hopper Dining Hall that day and to give directions to the unfamiliar souls wandering around campus.

4 Open House

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One of America’s well-known father figures, Bill Cosby, has been accused of being anything but fatherly.

Cosby has been the center of controversy for the past few months due to multiple women speaking out, say-ing Cosby sexually assaulted them in the 1970s and ‘80s.

Cosby’s lawyers and publi-cists have been hard at work trying to put these accusations to rest and to keep Cosby’s image up. Cosby, however, does not seem as concerned about the issue as his employ-ees are.

On Jan. 8, while performing at a comedy club in London, Ontario, a woman reportedly got out of her seat to get a drink from the bar. Cosby then asked where she was go-ing, and she told him she was going to get a drink, to which

Cosby replied, “You have to be careful about drinking around me,” according to Richard Warnica, a reporter for the National Post.

This comment, coming from a man who has multiple women claiming that he raped them, is outlandish. Why, when your name is being splashed all over the media for rape accusations, would you make a joke about the matter? Furthermore, why would you joke about the oc-currences when you have yet to be proven innocent?

Rape is a serious issue, and it is nothing to joke about,

especially after it has taken these women years to find their voice and to speak out against Cosby. Rape is a traumatic crime to have com-mitted against you, and it is doubtful that the women who are making these allegations think Cosby’s “joke” about drugging someone’s drink is funny.

It is shameful that Cosby has people that have been working so hard to defend him, yet he is incriminating himself with a distasteful joke. How does Cosby expect people to believe that he is innocent of raping multiple women when he is alluding to it during a stand-up act?

Whether Cosby is innocent or guilty is beside the point. We can all agree that he should have waited until he was proven innocent to make jokes about rape. Better yet, he should probably just leave “jokes” about rape out of his stand up routines forever.

JANUARY 22, 2015 VSUSPECTATOR.COM | PAGE 3

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Je suis Charlie:Our promise to you The smoke is settling all over the

world, and the once rampant roars of “Je Suis Charlie” are quickly

turning into the memories of an earlier 2015.

The attack on Charlie Hebdo earlier this month brought to light the effects that journalism, or more importantly satire, may stir up. Many people were quick to come to the magazine’s side after the attack, but the numbers dwindled with every offensive cartoon that was shown from the magazine’s past.

It became freedom of speech gone awry. Some people went as far as saying that the attack was not only inevitable but justified.

As journalists we are bestowed with the duty of presenting news to the people. With every story having more than one side, it is not uncommon that someone is offended.

As journalists, freedom of the press and speech resonate with us. That freedom is not just for us. It is for everyone. It is the same right that allows you to get the informa-

tion you need. We got on our soapbox last semester and told you that we are necessary. This semester is no different.

We are not here to whine and we would like to think we are not self-absorbed; we just want you to know we are here for you. We are here to inform the students and the community.

The Spectator is not censored by adminis-tration. We are a student-run news organiza-tion and will do our best to provide you with news about campus events and scandals along with our opinions on some important issues.

Just like Charlie Hebdo, here at The Spec-tator we have the same fundamental right to show you what is going on around you and a little section on the third page of each is-sue to let you know how we feel about it. As long as there is news, there will be journal-ists putting ourselves out there in one way or another.

Tremaine GeniasSenior

Political Science

“The Women’s Apprecia-tion Dinner on Feb. 11. I want a lot more people to realize that guys do want to serve on this campus

because there is a lot of stuff women do for

us that is not re-shown through males.”

Skye GiddensFreshman

Early Childhood Education

“I’m ready for Spring Break!”

Ben Westberry Senior

Business Adminstration

“I’m the most excited for Greek Week.”

People Poll: What VSU event are you looking

forward to this semester?

Kenzie KesselringAsst. OpiniOns EditOr

klkesselring@valdosta.edu

Bill Cosby takes joke too far

Resolutions make society better

Resolutions are meant to be kept, not ditched less than a month into the New Year.

Students partake in mak-ing New Year’s Resolutions, and this week is typically when students abandon those resolutions.

Do not stop now! You are 22 days into your resolution.

A study taken by Stop Pro-crastinating surveyed 1,000 college students in America. The top 10 goals are as fol-lows: a meaningful relation-ship and/or to change part-ners, more sleep, less war and more people, reduce debts, more quality time with books, more real friends, more study, cook real food, laugh more and just move.

The top goals that millen-

nials made show they are not as lazy as many critics say they are. College students are concerned with the well-being of the country and the well-being of themselves, which is a great thing for our country.

If everyone made a resolu-tion to recycle their cans, think of how much better our world would be. If everyone made a resolution to donate to

charity, think of the number of lives that could be changed.

In order for our generation to better our society, we must better ourselves. Whether your resolution is to get back in the gym or make better grades, it is a great resolution; stick to it. There is no reason to stop making yourself, your society and your country better.

Jordan HillOpiniOns EditOr

jorhill@valdosta.edu

Remembering MLK in 2015

We should be grateful that we were not born during the time of segregation and rac-ism, and even more thankful for the people who fought for the rights many of us are given today.

People like Dr. Martin Lu-ther King Jr. and Rosa Parks are the men and women who made major contributions to the rights of African-Ameri-cans. King not only stepped out on faith to demand respect for African-Americans, but he also gave hope to future generations of all people, regardless of color.

We still struggle with rac-ism in some places, but for the most part we are all given equal opportunity. There are still instances, such as the

Trayvon Martin case, that many people say was based on racism.

In the 1960s as well as now, society does not rely on police or other law enforcement to handle situations. Instead we run to violence—one of the things King was against.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” King said.

King never promised a perfect world. He believed in equality more than anything. We can’t expect everyone to comply with his teachings, but we can continue to prove any person in disbelief wrong.

We have overcome so many things that would make King proud. Our first African-American president was elected in 2008, which proved to many people that we all are given the same opportunity regardless of race.

King’s “I Have a Dream” speech lives on even after his death. America has accepted African-Americans and Cau-casians working in the same buildings, using the same restrooms and obtaining the same education.

We should be, as the Pledge of Allegiance says, “one na-tion under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all!”

Tierra FrancoisstAff WritEr

tsfrancois@valdosta.edu

MGN Online

Kayla Stroud/THE SPECTATOR

Alison Stephen

What are you looking forward to this semester? Tweet us @vsuspectator #lookingforwardVSU

MGN Online

PAGE 4 | VSUSPECTATOR.COM JANUARY 22, 2015

If you type in “girls can” on YouTube, you will see a cover girl video from last year around this time pop up, with celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres and Janelle Monae telling women they can be anything they want to be. If you add VSU to the front you get something a little different. What you’ll likely see is a video put together by Distinguished Women of Excellence, a relatively new organization at VSU that thinks it’s high time to start empowering the women who walk these halls. The second video is similar to cover girl’s million-dollar campaign, but more local. It was thought of by the organi-zation’s vice president, Kenya DeLouis, a senior theatre performance major. “I was looking up some stuff and I saw ‘CoverGirls Can,’” DeLouis said. “I saw the video with Ellen DeGe-neres, Sophia Vergara, Queen Latifah and it was amazing. It was really about how to express your inner self, who-ever you are just to be proud of (who) you are as women, and we thought it would be really cool to revamp this into a VSU edition.” One of the campaign’s

events is #projectloveyour-self. It’s in relation to a na-tional project that was started in New York in 2010. The goal is to spread self-love and appreciation. Organizations all over the world have contributed to the project, which has been collecting handmade origami hearts. Their original goal was 10,000 hearts. The website shows they are less than 600 hearts away from their goal. “We plan on showing love through making cranes with positive messages on them and placing them in the river to promote love “fl owing” throughout the world,” Na-keyla Hicks, DWE president, said. “And to give back we will feed the homeless.” The organization’s cam-paign does not have a defi ni-tive end date but it know what

its end goals are—empow-ering the young women of VSU and highlighting their strengths. “Our campaign is different because we targeted things that are common to the girls of our generation,” Hicks said. “We wanted to connect to the girls of VSU so we sat in the union and identifi ed the common things we saw from our girls on campus which were leaders, athletes, even girls who have cut their hair to embrace their natural beauty.” A campaign fi lled with love and appreciation for the women of VSU, lead by two women with a vision, might be just what this campus is looking for.

Girls Can campaign comes to VSU: Women are empowered

John PreerFEATURES EDITOR

jhpreer@valdosta.edu

Elan WaiteEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ewaite@valdosta.edu

Mortal Kombat: Videogame franchise can still “fi nish” the competition

Few videogame franchises can boast the accolades of the Mortal Kombat series.

The series got its start in North America on Aug. 9, 1992.

Originally, the Mortal Kombat title was only avail-able as an arcade game.

The year following its North American debut, the Mortal Kombat title was adapted for use on Nintendo and SEGA consoles.

Mortal Kombat has upheld a reputation for extremely graphic gameplay.

One of the signature fea-tures from the series is the unique fi nishing move each character can perform after defeating an opponent.

If the player can success-fully input to correct sequence of button commands, the character will perform what is referred to as a “fatality” after being prompted by the game’s

announcer to “fi nish him.”The franchise’s most

well-known characters are the archrivals Scorpion and Sub-Zero.

Both Scorpion and Sub-Zero are skilled martial artists with superhuman powers. Actually, the vast majority of the characters in the franchise have some special ability or skill that makes them deadly.

Mortal Kombat’s second most impressive accolade is the wide variety of fi ghters you can choose from.

Each character’s move set is unique and with some prac-tice can unleash devastating combina-tions.

The franchise has sold more than 26 million copies world-wide and shows no signs of slowing down.

Enthusiasts of the fi ghting game will be happy to learn that a brand new installation to the franchise is set for re-

lease in the next few months.Mortal Kombat X is slated

for release this April and promises to be the best in-stallment yet.

Not only are the creators introducing new playable characters, they have beefed up some of the fan favorites.

A handful of trailers have been released in anticipa-tion of the new title and the graphics look amazing, taking full advantage of the new Xbox One and Playstation 4 console.

Chanelle McRae poses proudly for VSU’s Girl Can campaign. The campaign’s purpose is to raise awareness and empower the women of VSU.

Today's Birthday (01/22/15).Tend your friendships for ample reward this year. Share resources and plans, and what you need comes. New income sources bloom after 3/20. Launch a new adven- ture with a partner after 4/8. Manage �i- nancial in-vestments, insurance and agree- ments for a boost in family prosperity after October. Winter favors peaceful introspection over miscommunications. Find love where least expected.To get the advantage, check the day's rat-ing: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most chal-lenging.

Birthday Horoscope

Photo courtesy of Distinguised Women of Excellence

VSUSPECTATOR.COM | PAGE 5JANUARY 22, 2015

Reed Burkett, one of VSU’s own mass media alumni, hopes he never wakes up.

Currently living in Los An-geles, California, fulfi lling his childhood dream of being an actor, Burkett spent his early years in Alma, Georgia, where he fi rst discovered his passion for comedy, fi lm and improv.

“I grew up running around with a video camcorder in my hand fi lming my friends, cousins and brothers,” Burkett said. “We’d fi lm silly skits with music or place the camera on my dresser and perform characters with each other. I didn’t realize it at the time, but at age 12, I was already improvising.”

Burkett continued to nour-ish his passion for the arts in high school by participating in plays and helping out with the school’s news broadcast. Upon entering college, he knew he belonged in the mass media program.

“I knew it was the best route for me because I had heard great stories about the program, although I was leaning more towards a career in sports broadcasting and reporting.” Burkett said.

During his time at VSU, Burkett discovered the “To Be Named Later…” improv troupe, which quickly became a major part of Burkett’s life and infl uenced him in more ways than one.

“I had no idea what improv was or what I was doing, and the fi rst thing they had us do was line up and one at a time we began playing a drill sergeant talking to the rest of the troupe as if they were soldiers,” Burkett said. “Then it clicked in my brain, ‘This is

improv!’”Burkett fell in love with the

art form and began attending all of the troupe’s open work-shops, leading him to his fi rst ever audition.

“I did the best I could, but there were so many other great performers (that) I didn’t think I had a chance,” Burkett said. “The next week the new members were posted on the call board—I got in!”

Burkett remembers per-forming with the TBNL improv troupe as one of the greatest experiences of his college career.

Upon graduating, Burkett decided to pursue his passions in acting and fi lm making, gaining experience through working with networks rang-ing from ESPN to Nickel-odeon. He moved to LA,

where he met up with some of his old TBNL troupe mem-bers and, along with some new talent, created the House of Culture Comedy improv troupe. This group writes skits which they perform both live and on YouTube.

“Everyone in HOC plays an equal role; everyone has an equal say,” Burkett said. “This comes from our improv background, group mind and chemistry. There’s a lot of trust involved. I try to book us as many shows as possible; we just love to make people laugh.”

Burkett, currently a student at Second City Conserva-tory in Hollywood, which has trained comedians and performers such as Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Key and Peele, and Stephen Colbert, is in a

main stage show at the Con-servatory called “Jurrassic Park After Dark.” He gradu-ates Feb. 23 when the show ends.

In addition to working with his improv troupe and par-ticipating in the Second City program, Burkett says that he auditions anywhere between two to nine times a week for anything ranging from feature fi lms to commercials. He also continues to produce and edit videos for musicians, dancers and his troupe around LA.

“I’ve recently signed with Tangerine Talent, a com-mercial and theatrical agency for actors,” Burkett said. “I also booked my fi rst world-wide commercial that will be coming out in a few months. Though I’ll still be making sketches here and there, I still plan on producing a short fi lm by this fall and audition-ing for Second City’s touring company in June.

Burkett dreams of one day performing for Saturday Night Live. Though he can’t speak for the whole House of Comedy group, Burkett says he wouldn’t mind coming back to VSU for a show.

“I’m performing as much as possible, fi lming as much as possible, and loving every day doing it,” Burkett said. “I couldn’t see myself doing anything different with my life right now; I’m happy.”

Photo courtesy of Reed Burkett

Spectator Spotlight: VSU graduate follows acting dream to Los Angeles

Name: Reed BurkettHometown:

Alma, GeorgiaMajor:

Mass MediaCareer:

Comedian/Actor

Inspirational performances in “Selma”, cast snubbed at Oscars

A movie adaptation on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is not a new idea. The story has been done, but never before through the artistic scope of the writer/director team of Paul Webb and Ava DuVernay.

Despite being snubbed at the Oscars, “Selma” has received high praise for its astounding performances. This fi lm not only surprised many critics, but it restarted a social commentary that still has relevance today.

“Selma” was rich with his-tory and a sense of spiritual-ity. It allowed the audience to see the lives of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, in a way that you didn’t experience in your history classes.The movie explores the inside stories of the King’s less than perfect marriage, but shows how they overcame all of the challenges they faced and pushed through the Civil

Rights Movement as partners. The passionate acting from

lead actor David Oyelowo makes viewers feel like they are standing in front of Dr. King himself. Supporting actresses Carmen Ejogo and Oprah Winfrey do a beautiful job showing how life was for women on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement.

Throughout the movie, the differences between the 1960s and today will help audience members see how far society has come, but also make them realize how far we still have to go. The relations between police offi cials and citizens in “Selma” are relevant to issues Americans have seen in the recent months, making it a must-see for movie lovers.

The historical realism of this fi lm is part of its charm. The director included time stamps from actual documents that were kept on MLK and his family, and actual video clips from the Selma march.

This awe-inspiring and inspirational movie is not one to be missed, and it is a great way to celebrate MLK Day.

Zenobia HarrisSTAFF WRITER

znharris@valdosta.edu

Kenzie KesselringASST. OPINIONS EDITOR

klkesselring@valdosta.edu

Sudoku Answer

Name:Name:Reed BurkettReed BurkettHometown: Hometown:

Alma, GeorgiaAlma, GeorgiaMajor: Major:

Mass MediaMass MediaCareer: Career:

Comedian/ActorComedian/Actor

JANUARY 22, 2015 PAGE 6 | VSUSPECTATOR.COM

Show Your Love

VSU brings in its Hall of Famers Bring on the stars for the

VSU Hall of Fame Induc-tions.

The VSU 19th Annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held on Saturday at noon in the Student Union Ballroom. Tickets for this limited space ceremony are $25 a person.

The ceremony will cel-ebrate seven class members, including alumni athletes and boosters.

“Re-connecting with those that built the Athletic tradition we have today is really an exciting time,” Sports Infor-mation Director Shawn Reed said. “No matter the age of the inductees, young or old, you get a sense that all are still Blazers and take pride in the accomplishments we are enjoying today.”

According to Reed, in order to be eligible to be inducted into the hall of fame, an athlete, coach, or contributor has to have made a significant contribution to the success of the Blazer athletic pro-gram and athletes must have completed their eligibility at least five years ago in order to be considered for the Hall of Fame.

The seven inductees include Joerg Ekkenga, men’s tennis, Marlon Jones, men’s basket-ball, Tom Odom, contribu-tor, Carley Peterson Kuhns, women’s basketball, Bryan Phillips, men’s basketball, Dr. F.D. Toth, contributor, and Brent Witcher, golf.

Ekkenga played men’s ten-nis from 2007-2009, winning the All-American honors each consecutive year he played as a Blazer, and also won a spot

in the NCAA Championship match in 2007 as a freshman.

Jones was a men’s basket-ball player from 1982-1987, scoring 1, 971 career points, which is the second highest in school history, according to Reed.

Odom graduated from VSU in 1974 and has been a booster and VSU sports fan for almost four decades. Odom has also worked on the Valdosta State radio crew for

football for the past 17 years.Kuhns played for the Lady

Blazer’s basketball team from 2004-2008. She earned the honorable mention All-Amer-ican honors in the 2007-2008 season and was also named first team All-Gulf Confer-ence in 2007 and 2008, while playing in every single game, 122, throughout her career at VSU.

Phillips was a member of the men’s basketball team

from 1966-1968, throughout which he earned the All-American honors award and was named All- Conference and All- District two years in a row. He also received hon-orable mention All-American in 1967.

Dr. Toth worked for VSU for 26 years, while serving as the Dean of the Education program for 17 of those years. He was a key part of the de-velopment of the VSU athletic program, including the start of the Blazer Football program in 1982. His dedication to the VSU programs helped move the Blazers from the NAIA ranks to the NCAA and the Gulf South Conference.

Witcher played on the golf team in 2008 and 2009, earn-ing All-American honors for both years and becoming the only VSU golfer to achieve the honor of the Jack Nicklaus Award winner as the nation’s top Division II golfer in 2009.

“Valdosta State takes pride in only inducting the best of the best,” said Reed. “Counting this year’s class, only 101 people and three national championship teams have been inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame. Each represent the very best that have put on a uniform, stood on a sideline or supported our athletes over the years.”

Photoby.Spectatorfiles

Lia ArmisteadStaff Writer

jparmistead@valdosta.edu

Brent Witcher, former VSU golf star, stands by the leaders board at the Open Golf Atlanta Tournament. Witcher is being inducted to the 2015 VSU Hall of Fame Saturday for his time on Blazers golf. In 2008 and 2009 Witcher was an All-American golfer. He also had the honor of the Jack NIcklaus Award.

VSU Athletic Hall of Fame

Class Induction 2015.

Brent Witcher-Golf - 2007-2009

F.D. Toth-Contributor- 1974-2000

Bryan Phillips-Men’s Basketball-1966-1968

Tom Odom-Booster-1975-Present

Carley Kuhns-Women’s Basketball-2004-2008

Marlon Jones-Men’s Basketball-1982-1987

Joerg Ekkenga-Men’s Tennis - 2007-2009

Women’s baskeball hopes to bounce back

Blazers hope to blaze back into victory.

The Lady Blazers are set to take the court against the Uni-versity of Alabama-Huntsville Chargers tonight at 5 p.m.

VSU is coming off of a five game losing streak and the most recent to the University of West Florida. The Lady Blazers returned to the draw-ing board on Monday, Jan.19 after having a two day break to re-group.

In the first match between the Blazers and the Chargers,

VSU came out on top with a 65-60 win.

Junior forward, Imari Simp-son led the team in scoring with 17 points, shooting 7-13 from the field, while freshman guard, Jo Bistrow, added 14 points.

The Lady Blazers caught a spark after the first half as their field goal increased from 33.33 percent to 63.64 percent.

Assistant Head Coach Jennifer Grubbs spoke about the Chargers offense. “They have great three-point shoot-ing, and they do a great job of spreading the floor with four out, one in but we did a

great job inside against them when we played them back in November,” Grubbs said.

Both teams have 8-9 re-cords overall, while the Lady Blazers are 4-7 in Gulf South Conference play and the Lady Chargers are 5-6.

The Blazers look forward to playing the Chargers again but have a little more stress on them this time.

“That was two months ago we played them and this time it may be a completely differ-ent team that we are playing against,” Grubbs said. “They have new starters and so we will see how things play out.”

Blazers look into 2015 for a turnaround of Gulf South Conference play.

After ending a five game losing streak this Saturday against West Florida, the Blazers basketball are looking to get back to an even .500 re-cord tonight at 8 p.m. against The University of Alabama-Huntsville.

Senior forward James Spencer, led the team with

20 points against UWF, and Coach Mike Helfer is looking for him to have a big game against UAH.

According to Helfer, the UAH Chargers are a great defensive team, and they have a very sophisticated offense, so he is planning to step up on defense and increase the Blazer’s field goal percentage.

For the past few years, the Blazers and Chargers have had a fairly even record, al-though they did lose to UAH earlier this season, 51-83.

The Blazers lacked on of-fense in the last meet up with the Chargers, only connecting on nine of its 31 attempts in the second 20 minutes of play.

UAH is now leading the Gulf South Conference with an 8-3 record while the Blaz-ers are just 3-8 in conference play.

“I’m sure that if we focus on our fundamentals and tighten up on defense, we have a really good chance to upset the Chargers,” Helfer said.

Niamani Carlyle-HollisStaff Writer

ntcarlyes@valdosta.edu

Stuart Price Staff Writer

sprice@valdosta.edu

Men’s basketball looks to keep up hot streak

Blazer softball confident about upcoming season

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.“We haven’t changed any-

thing,” Softball Head Coach Thomas Macera said.

In his 10-year career at VSU, the Blazers have four NCAA Division II South Regional Championships and a National Championship.

Along with that, the team has held the Gulf South Con-ference Championship Title for the past six seasons.

The secret ingredient to the team’s formula for success is

chemistry. “With the team chemistry

that we have, everyone is self-less,” Macera said. “They all play for the team; they don’t play for themselves.

As a result, the Blazers have been to the NCAA Division II Softball National Championship Tournament three times in the past five year.

For the Blazers this upcom-ing season, it is all about the fundamentals.

The team’s biggest goal for 2015 is to be more funda-mentally sound, according to

Macera. The 2015 softball season is

set to kick off in less than two weeks.

The Blazers will take their first swing against the Cougars of Columbus State in Milledgeville, Georgia at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 1.

VSU’s home opener is Feb. 21, against West Florida. The Blazers have set their eyes on reclaiming a National Cham-pionship Title.

For the softball team’s full schedule this season, go to vstateblazers.com.

Upcoming Men’s and Women’s Basketball Men’s: Saturday Jan. 24 vs. North Alabama 8 p.m. @ VSU Complex Thurday Jan. 29 vs. Shorter 8 p.m. @ Rome, Ga

Women’s: Saturday Jan. 24 vs. North Alabama 6 p.m. @ VSU Complex Thursday Jan. 29 vs Shorter 6 p.m. @ Rome, Ga

LaMarcus WilkersonStaff Writer

lkwilkerson@valdosta.edu