Vol. 79 No. 22

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPEr OF GEOrGIA STATE UNIVErSITY

SErVING THE STUDENTS SINCE 1933

THE SIGNAL TUESDAY, FEbrUArY 14, 2012

WWW.GSUSIGNAL.COM

VOLUME 79 | ISSUE 22

It all began with a loud laugh during the summer of 2006.

Jimmy Saxton was the true comedian in his high school and with no surprise he received

“Mr. Paulding County” as a superlative later in 2008. Meanwhile, he was awestruck at the huge grin that came across my face at a lake house one hot evening. There was nothing better than a girl laughing at his jokes and taking part in his entertainment.

We had become friends, and I will never forget the way he made me laugh. At times, we would see one an-other, laugh together and always share unforgettable memories while we were in high school. I was two years younger than he and at a diff erent school. I always had him in the back of my mind. While he would always re-member my smile, I would always reminisce on the times we had together with friends as he kept the nights fun and enjoyable.

Years went by and it was not until we saw one another at a housewarming party that both smiles fl ashed across our faces. The attraction was there, and I knew it by the way he glanced at me throughout the night. While I was enjoying my night with numerous friends, Jimmy had something else up his sleeve. I knew there was something drawing us together. It was almost like a great magnetic force brought us together that night. He was determined to make us something greater than friends.

One week later, we went on our fi rst date. Although it was nothing immaculate, the night was pleasurable and he kept the fun going. A few days later, we shared our fi rst kiss near a pond on a hot summer’s day. For some-thing that lasted a few seconds, it was a seal to make our relationship last a while.

Later, we made our relationship offi cial, and I knew I was in love with Jimmy when he surprised me with a pair of tickets. These weren’t any ordinary pair of tickets. In fact, he took me to my fi rst Italian opera. This was proof that he loved me, because he wanted to be there to wit-ness my admiration. It was on my bucket list, and Jimmy made it possible for me to see a beautiful love story on stage. Now our love story has unfolded. Although it isn’t easy all the time, it’s real.

something else up his sleeve. I knew there was something something else up his sleeve. I knew there was something

stage. Now our love story has unfolded. Although it isn’t stage. Now our love story has unfolded. Although it isn’t

Brookelynn and JimmySt. Valentine Edition


We had become friends, and I will never forget the way he made me laugh. At times, we would see one an-other, laugh together and always share unforgettable memories while we were in high school. I was two years younger than he and at a diff erent school. I always had him in the back of my mind. While he would always re-member my smile, I would always reminisce on the times we had together with friends as he kept the nights fun and enjoyable.

Years went by and it was not until we saw one another at a housewarming party that both smiles fl ashed across our faces. The attraction was there, and I knew it by the way he glanced at me throughout the night. While I was enjoying my night with numerous friends, Jimmy had something else up his sleeve. I knew there was something drawing us together. It was almost like a great magnetic force brought us together that night. He was determined to make us something greater than friends.

One week later, we went on our fi rst date. Although it was nothing immaculate, the night was pleasurable and he kept the fun going. A few days later, we shared our fi rst kiss near a pond on a hot summer’s day. For some-thing that lasted a few seconds, it was a seal to make our relationship last a while.

Later, we made our relationship offi cial, and I knew I was in love with Jimmy when he surprised me with a pair of tickets. These weren’t any ordinary pair of tickets. In fact, he took me to my fi rst Italian opera. This was proof that he loved me, because he wanted to be there to wit-ness my admiration. It was on my bucket list, and Jimmy


ness my admiration. It was on my bucket list, and Jimmy made it possible stage. Now our love story has unfolded. Although it isn’t easy all the time, it’s real.

ness my admiration. It was on my bucket list, and Jimmy made it possible stage. Now our love story has unfolded. Although it isn’t easy all the time, it’s real.easy all the time, it’s real.easy all the time, it’s real.

Brookelynn and JimmySt. Valentine Edition

It all began with a loud laugh during the summer of 2006.

Jimmy Saxton was the true comedian in his high school and with no surprise he received

“Mr. Paulding County” as a superlative later in 2008. Meanwhile, he was awestruck at the huge grin that came

Brookelynn and Jimmy

I“Mr. Paulding County” as a superlative later in 2008. “Mr. Paulding County” as a superlative later in 2008. I


IBrookelynn and JimmyBrookelynn and Jimmy

TUESDAY, FEbrUArY 14, 2012

WWW.GSUSIGNAL.COM

TUESDAY, FEbrUArY 14, 2012

Brookelynn and JimmyBrookelynn and JimmyBrookelynn and JimmyBrookelynn and Jimmy

THE SIGNALSt. Valentine Edition

Brookelynn and JimmyBrookelynn and Jimmy

US!Follow us!

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▲ Panther softball fall short in

season-opening tournament

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▲ Special Report: Underage drinking arrests soars as enrollment increases

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▲ Are you cuckoo for cupcake shops? We found the best ones.

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Report: Underage drinking arrests soars as enrollment increases

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z ARTS LIVING&z SPORTS z NEWS ONLINE EXCLUSIVESONLINE EXCLUSIVESONLINE EXCLUSIVESONLINE EXCLUSIVESARTS LIVING&ARTS LIVING&ARTS LIVING▲ Panther softball

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More love stories inside, including Georgia State President Becker and our Editor-in-Chief Miranda Sain

t all began with a loud laugh during the summer

Brookelynn and Jimmyt all began with a loud laugh during the summer


Page 12/13

St. Valentine EditionSt. Valentine EditionSt. Valentine EditionSt. Valentine Edition Winner of The Signal’s love story contest

Possesion of MarijuanaArrests for underage drinking have

more than doubled in the last two years, according to an analysis of po-lice records.

In January alone, police arrested 10 students on campus for underage drinking. Even more noticeable, offi -cers have made more arrests inside the Lofts in the past month than in the en-tire period of April 2009 through the end of last semester.

The University Commons saw the greatest number of arrests last year at 40, while Piedmont North came in sec-ond with nine arrests.

Director of Police Carolton Mullis said arrests are up because of more stu-dents live on campus.

“We have over 2,000 students in the Commons,” Mullis said. “We have more housing than we did back in 2009, so there have been more cases.”

Mullis said police are taking addi-tional steps to address the issue.

“We have ongoing enforcement on campus,” Mullis said. “We cite the stu-dents for underage drinking and we also have an alcohol awareness pro-gram students can look into.”

According to University Police, the program provides information about the levels of impairment that correlate to the amount of alcohol consumed. It also discusses the liability and dangers involved in the consumption of alco-hol so that students can make well-in-formed decisions.

Junior Alie Davis didn’t have an ex-planation for the increase in arrests but

said that police should be doing more for the students.

“I know underage drinking is wrong but you have to think that this is common on most college campuses,” Davis said. “I wouldn’t say I know the reason students are drinking more, but I do think there should defi nitely be more security on campus to prevent this.”

Some students, such as senior Justin Allen, said most of the ar-rests might be attributed to fi rst-year freshman.

“This honestly isn’t shocking to me though,” Allen said. “Students are away from home, especially freshmen, and don’t have their parents to watch over them, so of course they are going to drink.”

Senior Robert McDay concurred.“I can see why many students drink

on campus,” McDay said. “Many stu-dents here are under 21 and do not want to wait to drink until they turn that age. School is stressful enough, and drinking is a way to get a break from all that classwork.”

Although many college campuses have stricter prevention policies, Allen said he doesn’t think Georgia State will respond like other schools.

“I don’t think Georgia State will ever be really strict about underage drinking like other campuses,” Allen said. “But they should boost up securi-ty around the Commons to keep it from happening.”

Research analysts Krystle Sharpe and Victoria Lightfoot contributed to this report.

TIFFANIE SMITHStaff Writer

Apr. - Dec. 2009

GSU StudentsArrested

2010 2011

21 33 47

46- GSU Students 79 - Non-GSU Student 21- Intent to Distribute

Underage Possesion of Alcohol

pATRick DuffY | THE SignAlIn January alone, police made 10 arrests for underage drinking, which puts Georgia State on track to break last year’s record.

Underage drinking soars

SPECIAL REPORT

With increased enrollment, the number of arrests have more than doubled in the last two and a half years

NEWS www.gsusignal.com/news

z Daily updates and breaking news. Stay in the

loop on the Web.

TUESDAY, FEbrUArY 14, 2012 04 NEWS | THE SIGNAL

Although a discussion for a campus-wide smoking ban gained some traction last semester, it now seems to be sidetracked in lieu of other issues.

However, the issue of smoking on cam-pus is still an important topic of discus-sion for officials, according to Ben Williams of the Student Life and Development Committee.

“Shelved isn’t the appropriate way to describe it, it is part of an ongoing conver-sation,” Williams said.

While Williams believes that the con-versation will continue, students simply may or may not see a ban barring those who like to light up.

“There has been discussion between students, staff and faculty on the smoking ban [and] I do believe that the conversation will continue in the near future and action may or may not be taken,” Williams said.

When the proposal was first put for-ward to the University Senate last year, stu-dents responded across the board with a variety of opinions.

Williams said he had mostly heard fa-vorable responses regarding the proposed policy.

“I have heard several responses in fa-vor of the ban and I personally feel it would be a great thing to enhance the campus,” Williams said.

Last October, non-smokers like Danielle Daoust, a junior marketing major, said they support the idea of a smoking ban because of the negative side effects of second hand smoke.

“I shouldn’t have to be affected by someone else’s decisions,” Daoust had said previously.

However, other students proposed ideas such as designated smoking zones away from crowded areas like the court-yard. Still others like Adam Burkes, a senior English major, opposed the ban entirely.

“I think it’s frankly over-restrictive,” Burkes said. “We pay tuition to go here. We’re all adults here.”

State law already bans smoking 25 feet outside the doors of a public building, al-though smokers may often be seen directly outside the doors of the library courtyard.

The Student Government Association (SGA) voted unanimously last Thursday to appoint five new senators to join the SGA.

Representing vacancies in their re-spective colleges, Cindy Park, Alex Dion, Brandon Roberts, Brianna Alvarez and James Scharnikow were all confirmed based on a block vote. Each expressed different ways they wanted to represent the student body.

“Being an education major and being in my courses now I hear a lot of complaints and feedback from regular students,” Park said.” With the College of Education, I can put the spotlight on them.”

Sophomore Alex Dion cited her diversity for why she should be confirmed.

“I’m pretty well-rounded and a lot of stu-dents can relate to me,” Dion said. “I used to commute; I live on campus now and am a part of Greek life and honor society. I am half

Turkish, so I have a culture and heritage.”Despite the appointment, SGA elections

are scheduled for the second-to-last week in March, when all positions in the SGA will be available for re-election or new candidates.

“We want you guys to know that there are a lot of options out there for you guys,” said Amy Gregg, head of Election Commission. “We are trying to bring new people with fresh innovative ideas and fresh energy”

Executive Vice President Elise Laplante explained the importance of the SGA sena-tors and what it meant to represent the stu-dent body.

“The fact that we can sit on a committee with faculty and staff and have a vote is some-thing that they don’t have at other schools…we truly have a voice on this campus. It’s just a matter of finding the right people to have a voice for the students,” Laplante said.

President James Dutton was pleased with the applicant turnout this election. The Election Committee has nearly doubled ap-plicant turnout since last year, Dutton said.

“We had a crowd of people apply. They were all super qualified. It was sort of like picking the prettiest girl in a Miss America pageant,” Dutton said.

“Throughout my term here at Georgia State University I feel like I have grown tre-mendously on a personal and professional level,” Roberts said. “Because of that growth I feel that it is vital to give back to the com-munity that has pretty much gotten me to where I am today.”

Alvarez boasts establishing organizations in her high school to assist Spanish-speaking students and parents in her community. One partnered Hispanic parent with a translator at school functions. “I feel that my experi-ence in founding these programs along with my role here at Georgia State make me an ex-cellent candidate for SGA,” Alvarez said.

After a short discussion and a unanimous vote by the SGA to approve the new appoint-ments, the senators found seats with their respective colleges and participated in the rest of the meeting.

The Student Government voted to expand the eli-gibility criteria for who can run for its top offices last week.

Previously, the offices of president and executive vice president were limited to only previous SGA mem-bers with the exception of exigent circumstances due to a bylaw requirement. Some said the requirement vio-lated the SGA’s constitution on eligibility requirements.

The vice president for Student Life Ben Williams proposed a piece of legislation Thursday night that would have completely eliminated the bylaw require-ments. SGA President James Dutton said the require-ments were created to prevent someone being elected with minor experience.

The decision to change the bylaw was made almost a week before applications are due for students pursuing a position on the Executive Board of the SGA. The dead-line to submit an application is this Friday.

The SGA constitution, voted on by the student body in 2010, cites that the SGA president and executive vice president must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA and run on a ticket together. The bylaw limiting access to senate members was not voted on by students.

“The people in this room decided that the people in this room should be eligible. It wasn’t a decision made by the students, it was a decision made by the people who this benefited,” Williams said.

Many senators were concerned that a president or executive VP without senate experience would not un-derstand the demands of the Student Government.

“They have 42 positions on the SGA body,” said Senator Omotoso, representing the Robinson College of Business. “There are 42 ways to make an impact.”

Theo Muhumuza, the vp of Budget and Finance, had a different reaction.

“We all represent the college students,” Muhumuza said. “So you want to exclude those students from run-ning? That’s what you have to ask yourself. You each represent 1,000 students and you think 1,000 students that go to Georgia State aren’t qualified to do this? What does that say about us?”

However, Dutton voiced concerns about candidates not familiar with the constitution or the structure of the SGA.

“We passed these last year not in an effort to limit the amount of people or the availability or the access to the SGA, that was not the intention,” Dutton said. “This [bylaw] doesn’t stop anyone from actually joining the SGA. This makes someone who doesn’t know anything about the SGA learn about the SGA first.”

The SGA’s advisor Dr. Dric Blacknall voiced con-cerns about the language of the original constitution and the process of how it was drafted versus how it now in-teracts with the bylaws.

Blacknall explained that the original framers of the constitution made the choice that the president and ex-ecutive vp do not have to be senators first.

“If I say that you can’t run for office because you are not one of the 42, then I am telling roughly 31,960 individuals that you’re not eligible for an office at your school that you’re paying money for, and that’s not fair,” Blacknall said.

The amended version of the bill allows any student with the necessary academic requirements to run for the top executive positions with the stipulation that they go through a longer interview and training process with the Election Commission Board.

The deadline to apply for a position on the Executive Board, which is now open to all students, is this Friday. To read the full constitution and all bylaws online, visit www.gsu.edu/sga/constitution_bylaws.html.

SAMARIA SMITHStaff Writer

TERAH BOYDAssociate News Editor

TERAH BOYDAssociate News Editor

Smoking ban still up in air

SGA BEAT

Executive seats up for grabsSGA policy change will allow all students to run for President and VP positions

It’s unanimous!SGA’s latest senators are voted in

TERAH BOYD | THE SignAlJames Scharnikow addresses the SGA senate on the merits of his admission into the body. Alex Dion, James Scharnikow, Brandon Roberts, Cindy Park and Brianna Alvarez (left to right) all confirmed unanimously.

pATRick DuffY | THE SignAlEven though state law already bans smoking 25 feet outside of a pub-lic building, some students believe a complete ban would make enforce-ment tougher.

February 9

Student CenterOfficers issued a Non-GSU individual a Criminal Trespass Warning. At 8:55 a.m. officers observed the individual loitering in the halls and the ladies restroom. She was issued a C.T.W. and was escorted off campus without incident. Student Recreation CenterA report was filed for Suspicious Activity. The complainant, a GSU student stated, at 12:30 p.m. he observed another GSU student looking over his shower door. The case is being handled by Investigations. Library NorthA report was filed for Theft. The complainant, a GSU student stated, at 12:55 p.m. he left his laptop computer unattended and when he returned at 1:23 p.m. he noticed it was missing. The case is being handled by Investigations. John Wesley Dobbs./Courtland St.A report was filed for Assault. The complainant, a GSU student stated, at 4:38 p.m. an unknown individual approached him and stuck him in the face. The case is being handled by Investigations. University CommonsA report was filed for a Verbal Confrontation. The complainant, a GSU student stated, at 11:00 p.m. he had a verbal confrontation with his roommate. The case is being handled by Investigations.

February 8

Petit Science ParkA report was filed for a Fire Alarm. The complainant, a GSU staff member stated, at 8:40 a.m. he heard a loud crashing noise and the fire alarm. Officers confirmed a cable inside the elevator shaft struck a sprinkler head causing the elevator to flood. AFD arrived and assessed the situation and cleared the building for re-entry.Aderhold Learning CenterOfficers issued a Non-GSU individual a Criminal Trespass Warning. At 1:30 p.m. officers were advised by a GSU student that an unknown individual was asking her personal questions and began following her. Officers made contact with the individual. He was issued a C.T.W. and was escorted off campus without incident. Urban LifeOfficers issued a Non-GSU individual a Criminal Trespass Warning. At 5:15 p.m. officers observed the individual sleeping in a chair outside of the men’s restroom. He was issued a C.T.W. and was escorted off campus without incident.

February 7

G Parking DeckA report was filed for Duty upon Striking an Unattended Vehicle. The complainant, a GSU student stated, at 4:45 p.m. he noticed his right rear tailgate and bumper was damaged. The case is being handled by Investigations.

February 6

General Classroom BuildingOfficers arrested a Non-GSU individual for Trespass after Receiving Prior Notice, Failure to Leave Campus and Obstruction of Police. At 6:40 p.m. officers observed the individual loitering and confirmed he had an active C.T.W. When officers attempted to arrest the individual he ran from the area. After a brief foot chase he was apprehended. He was then transported to Grady hospital due to breathing complications and a high pulse rate. When he was released from the hospital he was arrested, processed and transported to Fulton County Jail.Park PlaceA report was filed for Terroristic Threats. The complainant, a GSU staff member stated, on 01/27/12 at 11:00 a.m. he was threatened by another GSU staff member. The case is being handled by Investigations. R Parking LotA report was filed for Duty upon Striking an Unattended Vehicle. The complainant, a GSU student stated, at 1:30 p.m. she noticed her lower left rear bumper was damaged. The case is being handled by Investigations. University CenterOfficers issued a GSU student a Criminal Trespass Warning for Shoplifting. At 4:52 p.m. officers were advised by a staff member of the Panther Club that she observed the individual leave the area with a smoothie without paying. The staff member refused to press charges. He was issued a C.T.W. for all Sodexo campus dining facilities on campus and was escorted from the area.

TUESDAY, FEbrUArY 14, 2012 05NEWS | THE SIGNAL

pATRick DuffY | THE SignAlA group of student atheletes study at a table on the second floor of the library.

University sees spike in athlete code violations

With a recent rise in athlete aca-demic honesty violations, the University is seeking ways to address code of con-duct violations and educate incoming students.

Last month, the University Senate voted to increase the number of members of the Student Discipline Committee, the body that handles the more serious vio-lations of the Student Code of Conduct.

Although the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act lim-its how much universities may disclose regarding individual students, the Chief Justice of the Student Judicial Board Allison Renyi said more and more cases the board takes involve student athletes.

However, Renyi said that she does not think the athletes who get caught cheating understand the consequences or intent of their actions.

“[I don’t think they] do it with mali-cious intent. I do think a lot of them are less prepared on how the academic hon-esty policies work, especially the incom-ing freshmen who are athletes,” Renyi said.

According to Renyi, the Senate will consider different ways to not only bet-ter inform athletes about academic hon-esty policies, but professors and other students as well.

“We want all students to be better prepared for academic life at Georgia State,” Reyni said.

Lindsay Byron, a New Media Fellow, PhD candidate and previous teacher as-sistant, said that she’s only had one par-ticularly bad experience with an athlete.

Although she said she catches that student “sleeping in class, sleeping dur-ing peer review, and thus disrespecting and wasting the time of the students and myself,” she said believes that the “ste-reotypes of athletes as lazy and ‘bad’ stu-dents” is mostly undeserved.

However, some athletes admit their schedules can create challenges that might make others resort to cheating, while others say it is all in how they

schedule their time.“It forces me to manage my time bet-

ter,” said Michael Davis, a senior football player majoring in real estate.

“That challenge forces you to focus more. It definitely is a challenge, but if you use it properly, it can be to your ad-vantage,” Davis said. “Everyone’s got their own plan. But they [the tutors] make sure everyone gets their needs met. Some people even go to study hall on Sunday’s but only for a few hours.”

Jihad Ali, a fifth-year senior and bas-ketball player, agrees with Davis.

“We have a great academic support system,” Ali said.

“At the end of the day I’m here to get an education and play basketball,” said Ali, who studied finance as an under-graduate and is currently working on his master’s in sports administration.

Elaina Thomas, a softball player and senior political science/pre-law major, also said that having the required study hall sessions as a freshman athlete def-initely have helped her in the long run.

While she admitted that she “hated it” as a freshman, she said it played a sig-nificant role in her study habits.

“Now I’ve figured out a system [for studying]. It’s been a progressive learn-ing experience,” Thomas said. “I’m still figuring out how to balance it all.”

ALEXIS SMITH Staff Writer

““I do think a lot of them are less prepared on how the academic honesty policies work, especially the incom-ing freshmen who are athletes.”

Egyptian human rights champion addresses Georgia State

Social media is more than just a way to connect with friends—according to Egyptian activist Dalia Ziada, it can en-able young people to bring about a “new era” in civil and women’s rights.

Appearing Thursday at an event sponsored by Project Nur and the Middle East Socio-Political Association, Ziada discussed the 2011 Egyptian Revolution that toppled dicta-tor Hosni Mubarak.

Ziada emphasized the im-portance of non-violent pro-test, inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that helped

bring international attention to their cause. International pub-lic support, she said, was cru-cial in ending Mubarak’s 30-year reign.

But while the revolution “somehow empowered us from within,” Ziada acknowl-edged that challenges remain in achieving equality for all Egyptian citizens.

Channeling the move-ment’s spirit into a political force has been difficult due to the inexperience of younger ac-tivists and weak support from existing political groups and ruling military officials.

Also, women’s rights have been hampered by cultural norms. “People are unable to

see women in leadership posi-tions,” Ziada said. New organi-zations, such as the Egyptian Women’s Union, have begun to work toward reversing that mindset.

Despite these challenges, Ziada is optimistic for the fu-ture of her country and the civ-il rights of its citizens. She be-lieves the internet will contin-ue to play a role in organizing and spreading the goals of the Revolution.

“[We] don’t know how long it’s going to take,” she said about achieving equal rights for Egyptians, “but in the end, we will get what we have been fighting for.”

MICHAEL BRAzEALStaff Writer

cOuRTESY Of www.DAliAziADA.BlOgSpOT.cOm

Famed activist Dalia Ziada vis-ited Georgia State to discuss the Eygptian Revolution that toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak.

--Chief Justice Allison Renyi

TUESDAY, FEbrUArY 14, 2012 06 NEWS | THE SIGNAL

Although students may think the odds of contract-ing a sexually transmitted disease (STD) are pretty slim, the chances of contracting one are increasing in Atlanta.

According to Atlanta STD Statistics, Georgia ranked 6th highest among the 50 states in cumulative reported AIDS cases in 2008.

Since then, the most recent statistics by the CDC indicate that many sexually transmitted diseases have increased over the years and show no signs of stopping. Such sexually transmitted diseases on the rise include chlamydia, HIV/AIDS, herpes and gonorrhea.

Senior psychology major Andrew Thomas said the reason behind the rise may be a lack of awareness.

“I would think sexually transmitted diseases are not that prevalent because I have only known a few people that have had one, so I think maybe this causes a false sense of security among students,” Thomas said.

He continued by saying that Georgia State should have health statistics available to the public to raise awareness among students.

Although the numbers indicate that sexually trans-mitted diseases are increasingly prevalent in both local and national levels, there are many ways to prevent and reduce the risk of contracting these diseases.

The Georgia State Health Clinic provides educa-tional material, disease screenings and tests to students. The Student Clinic off ers a number of services for stu-dents and can be easily utilized on a regular basis for STD testing, immunizations, physicals and gynecologic exams, among other services.

The results of these tests are confi dential and are off ered by appointment only.

The Student Clinic is staff ed with experienced doc-tors and nurses that can provide a variety of services. Although some visits are free of charge, services are available to students for varying costs.

BRITTANY SPORNHAUERStaff Writer

STDs: The Valentine’s gift you don’t want ““ The most recent

statistics by the CDC indicate that many sexually transmitted diseases have increased over the years and show no signs of stopping.”

SARAH wOODS | THE SignAl

hen I decided to become more in-volved in media organizations here on campus, I was given a lot of advice.

I heard the same things from the same people. One of the most prevalent piec-es of advice I got was to police my social media accounts.

No vulgar Facebook statuses or tweets. Make sure there were not any red cups in

my pictures. I followed those rules without sec-ond thoughts even though I felt like people were making a big deal out of nothing and I would be able to do what I wanted once I was an estab-lished writer.

A few days ago, I was proven wrong.TV pundit Roland Martin has come under fi re

for recommending that a man should be slapped if he was coveting soccer player David Beckham’s underpants.

Gays and Lesbians Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) responded with anoth-er tweet criticizing Martin’s views. CNN acted

swiftly and Martin is currently suspended until further notice.

I have watched this debacle play out for days and seen Martin’s history of homophobic action be broadcasted. It has shown me how much of an impact social media can have on a person’s life.

Roland Martin has a history of getting into confl ict on his Twitter page over a variety of sub-jects. Like many of us, it seemed Martin thought he was untouchable and his word would not re-sult in any consequences.

He was wrong, and others should look at this incident as a lesson.

In a perfect world, people would be able to do and say what they want online without having to worry about any repercussions. Sadly, we do not live in that world and we have to take precautions.

It is okay to post pictures a fun night out but it isn’t necessary to post a picture of someone puking on a sidewalk. Most social networks have privacy settings and it is relatively easy to get an email address to create an anonymous account.

This may seem tedious but it will help in the long run. Roland Martin’s slip shows that no one is exempt from criticism.

hat time of year is here again - the time be-tween the holidays at

the end of the winter when we are encouraged yet again to buy and consume. As if Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas hadn’t been high jacked enough by the retail industry, they added another holiday so people could buy heart shaped boxes and cards just for good measure.

Of course if you haven’t no-ticed by now, I’m talking about Valentine’s Day.

Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not all bad.

After all, how could I come to judge a holiday that exists to bring us closer together? It’s a time for us to put our differences aside and learn a lesson from our mistakes in the past.

Let me share with you my fa-vorite St. Valentine’s day sto-ry: it lives in infamy as a story of treachery, criminality, back-stab-bing and deception.

There was a time in Chicago when two feuding families kept the city on edge. These two fam-ilies were not the clans of star-crossed lovers, and this city was no Verona.

These “families” were not re-lated in the traditional sense; in-stead, they shared a common business interest in a very valu-able commodity at the time - hard liquor.

The year was 1929, and, due to the national prohibition of al-cohol, hard liquor was becom-

ing hard to come by. Al Capone and George “Bugs” Moran both sought sole control of the illegal distribution of the booze, which led to a “disagreement” between these two men’s gangs.

After several assassination attempts back and forth, things came to a boiling point.

Bugs Moran (who then pio-neered the now famous “drive-by shooting” technique) had his gang make several attempts on the lives of the Capone gang, and now Al Capone decided to take revenge.

The date is Valentine’s day, 1929. The Moran gang is being led into a warehouse with the prom-ises of a new shipment of booze that was high-jacked by another gang at a cheap price.

This was the first step of the deception. Next, four members of the Capone gang entered in be-hind them, two dressed as cops and the others dressed in suits and ties. The Moran gang were ordered up against the wall, and thinking that they were dealing with the police, they obliged.

The men dressed as police-men then let out a torrent of bul-lets from their Tommy-guns that tore the men apart. Then fake po-licemen led their associates out of the warehouse at gunpoint, in the most ingenious part of the scheme.

Onlookers now assumed that the police had been involved from the beginning and there was no more immediate danger.

Then men who perpetrated this massacre escaped and were never caught or held accountable.

Except for Al Capone him-self, who was later indicted on tax evasion.

So how can we take lessons from this tragedy and apply them to our love lives?

Well, for starters, you should always be with someone who you can trust. The sort of person that you would follow into a darkened warehouse.

Second, you should always be with someone who you don’t think will deceive you. If you think there is a possibility that this person that you are inter-ested in might dress up like a po-liceman and try to trick you, then they might not be “the one.”

And third, don’t date anyone who you think might be in the business of stealing, selling, dis-tributing and manufacturing ille-gal inebriants.

Now that alcohol is legal again this is less of a problem, but if you have a suspicion that this new love interest of yours might be analogous to an antiquated con-cept of a prohibition era boot leg-ging crime lord: “check please!”

Warning signs may be things like sub-machine guns in musi-cal instrument cases, fedora hats, a fondness for cigars or a tenden-cy to punctuate sentences with monosyllabic queries like “see?”

Have fun this Valentine’s Day, and stay out of trouble, you big palookas.

FROM THE EDITORIAL BOARD refl ects the majority opinion of the Editorial Board of The

Signal, but not necessarily the opinions of individual editors

Although it is wonderful to see the continued growth and rapid expansion of Georgia State’s law, business and nursing programs in recent years, it’s become necessary to consider the future of our other programs if we are to take them seriously.

And where better to start than the university’s journalism program?

Indeed, as the Communications Department and others transition into the SunTrust Tower over the summer, now is a perfect time to begin plans to form a new Journalism Department.

Although Atlanta continues to off er superior networking and career opportunities, Georgia State’s journalism program suff ers from a lack of expansion and recruitment of addition-al top-notch faculty that drives away potential applicants and transfer students.

As has been the case for years, many potential journal-ism students far and away prefer other in-state options – most notably the Grady School of Mass Communications at the University of Georgia – because of their commitment to the specialization of their journalism programs.

Meanwhile, the journalism program at Georgia State re-mains an increasingly larger subset of the already behemoth Communications department.

Creating a journalism department would also allow great-er degree specialization to fi ll the desperate need of a decent journalism school in the city of Atlanta. Additionally, it would create options for a future master’s degree or more specialized Ph.D program, things generally placed under the already far-too-encompassing “Media and Society” comm. degree.

While the charge has often been leveled against many journalism majors that the fi eld is shrinking and the competi-tion is fi ercer than ever, having a stronger journalism depart-ment with more serious professors that have industry-tested experience will actually prepare those students for the real world.

As UGA’s recent enrollment records show, lay-off s with-in the industry have only proven to test the most ardent jour-nalism majors and continue to separate the wheat from the weeds.

Indeed, there’s room in the industry for those that make room by either the product of their work or the reputation of their program – but most likely a combination of both. Having a strong Journalism Department will go a long way to ensur-ing both of those principles.

The need for a Journalism department

s an Atlanta native, I am very aware of the city’s thriving LGBTQ community. Articles have called Atlanta the most gay-

friendly city in the United States. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a story for the Signal about the drag scene. It is clear LGBTQ peo-ple have a place in Atlanta and that has led many people to believe homophobia isn’t re-ally an issue here. Sadly, a violence incident has shown that there is a lot of work that still needs to be done.

On February 5, a video of 20-year-old Brandon White being beaten went viral on the internet. His three attackers were seen punching, kicking and throwing a tire at Smith while yelling homophobic slurs at him. This attack happened as he was walk-ing out of a convenience store in southwest Atlanta. The attack is currently under inves-tigation by the City of Atlanta Police and the

FBI. Although I hate that White was attacked and I refuse to watch his beating, I think this incident could be used as a teaching moment.

Although the LGBTQ movement has made many strides and LGBTQ people are aff orded more invisibility, homophobia still runs rampant. Most states still have laws against gay people being able to get married and adopt children. There are constant re-ports of assaults and murders of transgen-dered people in this country. There are still children killing themselves because their peers are bullying them because they assume they are gay.

Yes, Proposition 8 and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell have been overturned and we get to watch shows like Glee and RuPaul’s Drag Race but homophobia is still an issue and it needs to be addressed. Until it is addressed eff ectively, I doubt there will be much prog-ress made. Unless homophobia is addressed directly, young people like Brandon White, Tyler Clementi and Sakia Gunn will continue to be beaten and die in vain.

ASHLEIGH ATWELLGuest Columnist

W A

TMILES kEENLYSIDEOpinions Editor

Valentine’s Day Massacre

“Don’t date anyone who you think might be in the business of stealing, selling, distributing and manufacturing illegal inebriants.”

Social media can come back to bite

ASHLEIGH ATWELLGuest Columnist

Gay bashing in Atlanta shows progress is still needed

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DISCLAIMEROpinions and Letters to the Editor expressed in The Signal are the opinions of the writers and readers. It does not refl ect the opinions of The Signal.

TUESDAY, FEbrUArY 14, 2012 08 OPINIONS | THE SIGNAL

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PICTURE of the WEEK

“I have no set plas at the moment I’m not really too big into Valentine’s day for past reasons”

Zachary Stoddard - Biology

“I’m going to try and make it to the Warhol/Picasso [exhibit] a the High museum. My boy-friend wants to go and he said “We should do that!”, so that’s what were going to do.”

Ashley Thomas – Managerial Sciences

“On Tuesday I’m go-ing to go out with my sorority sisters and were going to watch The Vow together, then after that just kind of hang out at the house.”

Katie Busey - Journalism

“”I think me and a couple friends are just going to watch movies, maybe romantic comedy movies or something.”

Jenee Malloy – Computer Information Systems

What are your Valentineʼs Day plans?

SIGNAL ‘TOONS

Flex your satirical chops!

Got an idea for a hilarious editorial cartoon? Send in your ideas to [email protected] and we’ll put our cartoonist to work! Submit as soon as possible.

BY AnTOniO ROSAlES | THE SignAl

BORiS TAngDowntown and Midtown from the 17th street bridge

In a small storefront nestled in historic Vinings, Andra Hall greets customers from be-hind a Plexiglas case filled with tiered, glass stands atop a white counter. Each tier holds a freshly baked, neatly decorated cupcake made from scratch.

Trays of red velvet, key lime and banana cream cupcakes rest cooling on a rolling cart just steps away from the counter. Their aromas fill the quaint space and escape with each opening of the bakery’s entrance door.

“Cake has always been popular and the fact that we’ve been able to reinvent it in single por-tions is one reason why this business is booming,” said Hall, owner of CamiCakes Cupcakes. “The fact that people can come in and get their own unique, little cakes – not just a slice from a whole cake, someone else’s cake – makes us popular.”

Web designer Jeffery Lawrence earns a living by identifying and then satisfying customers’ per-ceptions and needs.

“We love convenience and the cupcake is the answer to how to portion a regular slice of cake to the masses,” Lawrence said. “It’s small, it’s por-table and might therefore be a tad bit better than its larger counterpart.”

There’s little arguing that Atlantans can’t get enough of food on-the-go. The rise of mobile food trucks proves that quirky, hassle-free eating is a lucrative pursuit.

To Tom Fahey, co-owner of The Atlanta Cupcake Factory, cupcake crazies are just regu-lar people who want to enjoy wonderful food. He doesn’t know what to make of the cupcake shop trend, likening it to the burger boom.

At 10:22 a.m. on a Thursday morning, he an-swers the phone in a hurried voice, reminding me that restaurant doors will soon open.

“Our bakery concentrates on making the best cupcakes with the best ingredients,” Fahey said.

Fahey has found that the key to a winning

business is quality. “We don’t use shortening, and we don’t do

any marketing because there’s no profit motive. Our customers respond well to the hominess of the store. They know we’re a small, mom-and-pop shop that strives to serve good food,” Fahey said.

Fahey’s and his wife’s commitment to qual-ity has captured the eyes and appetites of cup-cake lovers near and far. Six and a half years ago, the couple started their business filling corporate orders. Shortly thereafter, due to customer de-mand, they opened a retail counter to the general public.

Hall also began her business six years ago in Orange Park, Fla. Now the franchise comprises four stores including its first Atlanta location on Peachtree Road.

Her contemporary twist on the downhome classic sets the Vinings shop apart from the city’s

older, long-lived cupcakeries. Warm, wood pan-eled walls, pale pink accents, a brown-faced, curly-haired logo and chic, simple packaging cre-ate a chain reaction that welcomes school chil-dren and senior citizens alike.

“Another reason we’re so popular is that eat-ers are given choices,” Hall said. “When you have a whole cake you’re committed to one flavor, but when you have cupcakes you have a rainbow of flavors.”

Lawrence muses that cupcakes are interest-ing, edible works of art.

“Cupcakes aren’t only cute but just as ver-satile as a whole cake, which gives itself up to a whole new array of designs and decorations if you decide to make it a cupcake cake,” Lawrence said. “Designing each cupcake and making a whole out of parts? How creative it that?”

Shows like Cupcake Wars that spotlight cup-cake bakers competing for a $10,000 prize cre-ate excitement and drive customers to their local confectionaries. For Hall and Fahey, this could mean that cupcake shops are more than a craze; they’re here to stay.

Are Atlantans cuckoo for cupcake shops?COURTNEY BOYDStaff Writer

SAvAnnA kEO | THE SignAlGigi Arredondo places frosting on the cupcakes before opening at the Atlanta Cupcake Factory.

SAvAnnA kEO | THE SignAlKerry Ulberg mixes up a cupcake batter one early morning at the Atlanta Cupcake Factory.

SAvAnnA kEO | THE SignAlGigi Arredondo rolls some sprinkles onto a cupcake at the Atlanta Cupcake Factory.

SAvAnnA kEO | THE SignAlGigi Arredondo at the Atlanta Cupcake

Factory prepares cupcakes before opening.

LIVING&ArTSz Get your daily dose

of campus event coverage and previews on the Web

www.gsusignal.com/campuslife

Sugar, Spice and everything nice

TUESDAY, FEbrUArY 14, 2012 ArTS & LIvING| THE SIGNAL10

10. Later that night, you...A. Call back and meet up for coffeeB. Nothing yet. Follow the two-day ruleC. Stay parked in the driveway and watch from carD. Tweet vaguely about your night

6. When your date takes a potty break, what do you do?A. Tell the waiter it’s their birthday for a good laughB. Texts your BFF the prog-ress of the dateC. Invite your friend that dropped by to join your tableD. Tells the band to dedicate the next song to your date

Valentines Day QuizzACk kRAIMER AND ALICIA JOHNSONAssociate Arts Editor and Editor

Valentine’s Day is both embraced and met with hostility by many people every year, and for good reason. The flowers, chocolate and forced diner conversation can get old for anyone. But before you venture out there on a date, know what type of dater you are.

What kind of date are you?

1. So the date is set. What’s the first thing you do when you hang up the phone?A. Check the rates on sky-divegeoriga.comB. Start daydreamingC. Call tonight’s date and make sure you’re still onD. See which band is playing that night

2. What are you doing two hours before your date?A. Just getting home from a hikeB. Rehearsing the perfect questions to ask at dinnerC. Sleeping off the hangover from the night beforeD. Creating a Diptic on your phone to show your date who you are

3. On the way to dinner, what are you doing?A. Holding onto the motor-cyle for dear lifeB. Checking on the restau-rant reservationC. Texting your ex about the hot date you’re onD. Plugging in their Ipod to the car stereo

5. What do you order to eat and drink at din-ner?A. Fugu(blowfish) and a pangalactic gargle-blasterB. Shrimp Alfredo and a glass of chardonnayC. Three orders of mozzarella sticks and a bottle of patronD. Roasted chicken breast with sweet potato chorizo hash and a ginger martini

7. What do you do with the dessert menu?A. Orders a walnut brownie despite your nut allergy (Just for the rush)B. Ask if they want to split a strawberry shortcakeC. Order two desserts and ask “Did you want something?”D. Order the dessert sampler dish

8. When the check comes, you..A. Dine and dashB. Foot the billC. Ask “You got this, right?”D. Use your living social deal

9. You’re at the door after the date and you..A. Ask “Can I come in?”B. Close your eyes and pucker upC. Say “Don’t call me, I’ll call you.”D. Pull a flower from the hedge

4. What’s the first question you ask on your date?A. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?B. What kind of commitment are you looking for? C. How much do you weigh?D. What kind of music do you like?

Mostly A’s: Adventurous - You nor-mally don’t like V-Day because of its monotony and traditional na-ture. You want to make sure your date is fun and unconventional.

Mostly B’s: Hopeless Romantic - V-Day couldn’t come sooner in the year. You’ll do anything to make sure your date has a great night.

Mostly C’s: Forever Solo- Romance, Shmomance. You’re you regardless of the day and you could care less about a date.

Mostly D’s: Artsy- You’re a creative type and laid back just enough to enjoy the company of a new date.

In terms of fi nding and keeping a job, starting a business has never really been seen as the safest or reliable route for a per-son to take. When the unknown pressure of launching your own brand is added to the cost of living and the unstable job mar-ket, most people could give up on start-ing a business before they even begin, but it’s not impossible. Students throughout Georgia are thriving as entrepreneurs and their success can help other aspiring entre-preneurs as well.

Chevon Hines, president of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (COE), explained that there are three key things that a person wanting to start their own business should do.

“First, decide that this is something you want to do. Second, do your research and third, network,” Hines said.

Hines elaborated on her fi rst point, say-ing that a person has to be ready to take on the lifestyle that comes with starting your own business. Starting a business from scratch is a struggle for anyone, because if you don’t work, you don’t eat, she said.

Also, doing research beforehand can help to make sure that a person planning to start their own business won’t jump into the business arena without knowing what to expect, something that entrepreneur Brandon Woodford knows about fi rsthand.

Woodford, creator and founder of fashion line Wizdum Clothing, focus-es his brand around the phrase “Do Your Research,” which encourages people to use the resources they have to enlighten themselves to the learn more about the op-portunities that are available.

“My type of wisdom is the concept of being more aware and conscientious of a lot of the information that’s around you,” Woodford said. “Basically, being a cool nerd through fashion.”

Although gaining exposure was one of the greatest challenges for Woodford, he used social media resources to build his brand and expand his network.

Woodford decided to take time off as a student from Fort Valley State University to pursue his dream of starting his own business, a decision that a student has to think through if they are planning to be an entrepreneur while in school. Starting a business takes time and money, so taking classes and being an entrepreneur may not be easy. However, with proper planning it can be done.

Senior marketing major Ryan Kulp is currently opening a restaurant with Q Trinh, a student at Georgia Perimeter College, which is scheduled to open in East Village on Feb. 14 called, “We Suki Suki.” One of the ways that they have managed to fi nd a balance between building a business and taking classes is through relating what they learn in class to what they’re doing in

the workplace.“I take my courses online because I

have to. I’m so busy. But the knowledge I learn from it, I apply directly to what I’m doing,” Trinh said. “I get to apply my knowledge real-time.”

“I take classes from two in the after-noon until seven and I did that so I’d have the mornings free to think about ideas and what I have planned,” Kulp added. “I’m a marketing major so the classes I [have] taken at Georgia State, I carefully have combed through them the past year or two.”

The two networked and met last year before coming together to start their busi-ness, one of the major points stressed by Hines in regards to fi nding success in en-trepreneurship. And for those that don’t know how to build their network, COE of-fers students access to Herman J. Russell International Entrepreneurship Center, the Small Business Development Center and 200 Offi ce, which is the leading co-working space for entrepreneurs in the city.

With the diff erent paths that students can take to being a successful entrepre-neur, one idea was central in making their dreams into reality - a strong work ethic.

“It’s not about it being easy, it’s not nec-essarily about who you know, or what you know, it’s just how willing you are to do whatever it takes to make your dream hap-pen,” Kulp said.

TUESDAY, FEbrUArY 14, 2012 11ArTS & LIvING | THE SIGNAL

Pure Wizdum: Student Entrepreneur shares secret to his successTHADDEUS MORGANAssociate Living Editor

3 p.m.Student CenterBallroom free

The D

istin

guish

ed

Spea

Ker S

erIeS

2011-

12

Monday, February 20

JoHn leGend

gsucampusevents • [email protected] • www.gsu.edu/studentevents • 404/413-1857

Supported by Student Activity Fees

John legend has been named one of TIME Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People.” A nine-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist, critically acclaimed concert performer and philanthropist/social activist, he shares his experiences with audiences through lecture and song. Legend launched the nonprofit Show Me Campaign to fight poverty and sits on the boards of the Education Equality Project, Teach for America and the Harlem Village Academies, and he has received numerous awards for humanitarianism.

An Afternoon with John Legend

gRAHAm ROBSOn | THE SignAlBrandon Woodward, the creator and designer for Wizdum Clothing Line, stands after an interview with The Signal’s writer Thaddeus Morgan.

In terms of fi nding and keeping a job, starting a business has never really been seen as the safest or reliable route for a per-son to take. When the unknown pressure of launching your own brand is added to the cost of living and the unstable job mar-ket, most people could give up on start-ing a business before they even begin, but it’s not impossible. Students throughout Georgia are thriving as entrepreneurs and their success can help other aspiring entre-preneurs as well.

Chevon Hines, president of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (COE), explained that there are three key things that a person wanting to start their own business should do.

“First, decide that this is something you want to do. Second, do your research and third, network,” Hines said.

Hines elaborated on her fi rst point, say-ing that a person has to be ready to take on the lifestyle that comes with starting your own business. Starting a business from scratch is a struggle for anyone, because if you don’t work, you don’t eat, she said.

Also, doing research beforehand can help to make sure that a person planning to start their own business won’t jump into

Pure Wizdum: Student Entrepreneur shares secret to his successTHADDEUS MORGANAssociate Living Editor

Thanks to Facebook, I met the man I’ve been waiting for three years ago.

Dante would comment on my pictures and I would comment on his. Then eventually we started sending messages back and forth to one an-other. Ironically, we both discovered that we attended the same school without even knowing. We finally met face-to-face and exchanged num-bers. We went out a few times, but due to misunderstandings and other circumstances, we both parted ways.

On April 19, 2010, my ex and I broke up because I found out he cheat-ed on me, had six kids on me and not to mention he broke up with me in a text message (who does that?) Of course I was hurt and heartbroken, because we were together on and off for eight years. This was the guy I was going to spend the rest of my life with so I thought. I wasn’t try-ing to be in a relationship any time soon. A few months’ later, Facebook lover Dante and I got back in contact with each other (yes on Facebook). We started talking again as friends, because he had a girlfriend. As friends we talked and laughed about everything, and I start-ed thinking: why did we stop talking in the first place? Eventually, he broke up with his girlfriend and shifted his focus onto us. We found ourselves spending a lot of time with each oth-er. Even though I was not really for a relationship, I really adored Dante’s charm, warmth and companionship. I knew he wanted to be with me; he brought me flowers and he would send me cute text messages. On Oct. 24, 2010 we officially became a couple. He healed all my wounds that another man caused. He is the reason why I believe in love so strongly. God really cared about me be-cause he sent me one of his beautiful an-gels to protect me and my heart. I want to say thank you to Facebook, because without Facebook, I would have not met my wonder-ful lover. A year and three months later, we are the living proof of online dating.

He rocked big hair and late 1970s fash-ion; Georgia State’s President Dr. Mark Becker was a senior when he met his wife Mrs. Laura Voisnet as a junior at their col-lege of Towson University, then Towson State University. They initially noticed each other in a physics lab though both were majoring in Mathematics.

“I would see this young fellow walking down the hallway, and there was a lot of hair. I couldn’t even find his face because there were hair everywhere,” Voisnet said.

They also had a statistics class together.“Meeting each other was infinitely

more interesting than listening to our sta-tistics professor,” Voisnet said.

For their first date Dr. Becker planned a classic dinner and movie, taking Voisnet to dine out in Little Italy by the city border-line of Baltimore. They watched the movie, “All That Jazz,” starring Roy Scheider.

The pair started dating in 1980 when Becker graduated, and he proposed at the Bombay National Wildlife Refuge in December of 1982.

“There were no human beings around. We were just there, in the marsh, with the geese and probably a few thousand ducks,” Voisnet said. “He asked me, and I’m soft-

Dr. Mark Becker and Mrs. Laura Voisnet

Judy kimPhotography Editor

Bionca and Dante

Shahrukh and I knew each other through our friends in the Atlanta Muslim community; we weren’t close friends ourselves.

In my second year at Georgia State, I became president of the Muslim Student Association, while Shahrukh was Treasurer of MSA at Georgia Institute of Technology.

On an MSA council, we began working together on different projects. He graduated that se-mester (Dec. 2010) but we still continued to work together.

We slowly became closer last year when we organized a relief dinner for the community, and I found excuses to text him every day.

It really hit me when we had a meeting for the dinner on location and Shahrukh stayed back while everyone left. I doubled back to see where he went and caught him cleaning up after our group. I quietly walked away without him seeing me and then I knew why I couldn’t get him out of my mind afterward.

We slowly became closer as MSA leaders, then friends and then it became more. We told our parents early on about what was going on. We talked about different things, from

how different our interests were to our pasts. I asked him about what kind of position he was in—was he uninterested in marriage or was he

looking to meet someone with the intention of marriage— and vice versa. It wasn’t all fun and games in trying to figure out what we wanted, but we worked our way

through it.Later that year, we both told our parents that we were finally ready to get married. Both fami-

lies agreed and as tradition goes, we set a meeting for the families to meet and discuss where we would go from there.

Soon after, we had our nikkah, or our Islamic ceremony, at his house with about 150 family friends in July of 2011, a day before Ramadan. He’s working and I’m finishing up school and plan-ning our wedding!

We plan to have our reception after I graduate this semester. We’ll have a wedding reception of about 700 people (our families know way too many people) and we’ll finally move in together.

Our story isn’t like everyone else’s, not even like other Muslims. We’re so happy together and just passed our 6-month mark since our nikkah.

Safia and Shahrukh

I had plans to meet my boyfriend of six years, R.J. Winslett, on a Saturday night after he got off work. It was raining and gross outside. I pulled around the back of his work like usual to wait for him to get off work. In hind-sight, I should have realized that my first clue of what was about to unfold when I saw his family’s vehicle in the back parking lot. However, that didn’t register at all. Almost as soon as I parked the car, he called me and told me to pull into the front parking lot because his boss had already locked the back door.

I pulled into the front, turned off the car, and laid my seat back to wait for him to get off work. Seconds later, he calls me again saying, “Come inside. I’m almost done mopping.” I replied, “That’s okay. I’m good.” And, I hung up the phone. I didn’t want to get out of the car. It was raining! I didn’t want to get out of the car and watch him mop. A minute later, he calls me again and says, “No, re-ally, come inside. I’m almost done mopping.” I say that I don’t want to get out in the rain. However, he wouldn’t take no for an answer so with an attitude I hung up the phone and marched inside out in the pouring rain.

When I opened the door, he was standing in front of me in a nice shirt and tie. Behind him was a table with all the place settings from one of our first Valentine’s Day dinners with candle light flickering over the table. Over the sound system, Christina Perry’s “A Thousand Years” was playing. Suddenly, I knew what was going on. I said, “Oh no! What are you doing?!” R.J. then dropped to one knee and said, “Miranda, I have loved you since I was fifteen. I’m starting a new chapter in my life and there is no one else I’d want to start it with besides you. Miranda, will you marry me?” There in a box was his grandmother’s ring.

On February, my high school sweetheart and my best friend became my fiance. In September, I will marry him at the same fairgrounds where we had our first date. Together we will be forever and ever amen!

Once upon a time....The Signal held a contest to let students share their personal love stories.,with the best story being featured on the front page. All of the stories were touching, so it was a hard choice, but here are the runner ups.

Miranda and RJ

He rocked big hair and late 1970s fash-ion; Georgia State’s President Dr. Mark Becker was a senior when he met his wife Mrs. Laura Voisnet as a junior at their col-lege of Towson University, then Towson State University. They initially noticed each other in a physics lab though both were majoring in Mathematics.

“I would see this young fellow walking down the hallway, and there was a lot of hair. I couldn’t even find his face because there were hair everywhere,” Voisnet said.

They also had a statistics class together.“Meeting each other was infinitely

more interesting than listening to our sta-tistics professor,” Voisnet said.

For their first date Dr. Becker planned a classic dinner and movie, taking Voisnet to dine out in Little Italy by the city border-line of Baltimore. They watched the movie, “All That Jazz,” starring Roy Scheider.

The pair started dating in 1980 when Becker graduated, and he proposed at the Bombay National Wildlife Refuge in December of 1982.

“There were no human beings around. We were just there, in the marsh, with the geese and probably a few thousand ducks,” Voisnet said. “He asked me, and I’m soft-

spoken, [so] he doesn’t think I answered.”“She didn’t answer me,” Becker said.Initially Becker wanted to elope, but

she disagreed. “But many years later, she said I was

right... weddings are for the families and not for the people getting married,” Becker said.

The young couple married in July of 1983, and from the start, the newlyweds had a long-distance relationship while Becker was studying in graduate school at Penn State and Voisnet was at Virginia Tech.

They kept in touch through letters and accumulated hundreds of dollars worth of telephone bills. To this day Voisnet has collected and kept these letters but have hid them away for fear her children would find them. The Beckers have two children; Matt, 25, and Julia, 22.

For the Beckers, working for and being a part of the university is more than just a full-time job. Dr. Becker is usually out the door at 5 a.m. and back at 6 p.m., but then typically he will leave again for a later eve-ning event with his wife.

“We’re pretty well-matched,” Voisnet said.

“As long as she’s always right, we’re well-matched,” Becker said.

Dr. Mark Becker and Mrs. Laura Voisnet

Judy kimPhotography Editor

Light-Speed DatingI took a seat and stared at the empty space in front of me. My stomach turned

as I watched the men filing in—speed dating was uncomfortable enough; adding a “Star Wars” theme to the event only further guaranteed that I would leave the event both dateless and sufficiently creeped out. As I waited, I began to recon-sider my motives for going to the event in the first place. I was invited by a friend who watched my life take a turn for the worse. She thought that speed dating at Dragon*Con would help me regain confidence. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t at least mildly interested in the idea; I had pipe dreams of meeting my match—someone intellectual, funny, thoughtful and all of those other adjectives you read on dating websites.

After a few minutes of panicked waiting (What if nobody wants to sit across from me? Can you be kicked out for being uninteresting?), someone finally came to say hello. He was tall with brown hair and crystal-blue eyes. We decided to chat a bit before the speed-dating event started. There was an instant sense of comfort that I felt talking to him—I am typically very shy, but he made conversation flow easily. In the few minutes we took to talk, we gushed over The Flaming Lips, Dragon*Con, nerd culture and much more. When the time came for him to change seats he smiled at me and said “oh, I’m definitely writing your name down.”

A little over a week later, he mentioned that he would be in Atlanta for a party and offered to come say hello. I had very little free time that evening, so he agreed to meet me at six in the morning for breakfast the next day. Our mini-date over pancakes was a flurry of conversation and excitement; he was every bit as intriguing as when I first met him. I pulled him close and took a long look at his blue eyes. Overwhelmed with emotion, I decided to take a risk. My lips parted and met with his for a kiss that made me shiver with excitement.

It wasn’t long before he asked me to be his girlfriend and a year and a half later we are every bit as happy as we were when we met. He is my partner and my closest friend.

Brianna and JT

I had plans to meet my boyfriend of six years, R.J. Winslett, on a Saturday night after he got off work. It was raining and gross outside. I pulled around the back of his work like usual to wait for him to get off work. In hind-sight, I should have realized that my first clue of what was about to unfold when I saw his family’s vehicle in the back parking lot. However, that didn’t register at all. Almost as soon as I parked the car, he called me and told me to pull into the front parking lot because his boss had already locked the back door.

I pulled into the front, turned off the car, and laid my seat back to wait for him to get off work. Seconds later, he calls me again saying, “Come inside. I’m almost done mopping.” I replied, “That’s okay. I’m good.” And, I hung up the phone. I didn’t want to get out of the car. It was raining! I didn’t want to get out of the car and watch him mop. A minute later, he calls me again and says, “No, re-ally, come inside. I’m almost done mopping.” I say that I don’t want to get out in the rain. However, he wouldn’t take no for an answer so with an attitude I hung up the phone and marched inside out in the pouring rain.

When I opened the door, he was standing in front of me in a nice shirt and tie. Behind him was a table with all the place settings from one of our first Valentine’s Day dinners with candle light flickering over the table. Over the sound system, Christina Perry’s “A Thousand Years” was playing. Suddenly, I knew what was going on. I said, “Oh no! What are you doing?!” R.J. then dropped to one knee and said, “Miranda, I have loved you since I was fifteen. I’m starting a new chapter in my life and there is no one else I’d want to start it with besides you. Miranda, will you marry me?” There in a box was his grandmother’s ring.

On February, my high school sweetheart and my best friend became my fiance. In September, I will marry him at the same fairgrounds where we had our first date. Together we will be forever and ever amen!

I always thought I lived in a jazz-themed lifestyle, and I love jazz. I figured my knowledge of the instru-ments and style would lead me to an easy A++ out of Jazz Culture. Listening to something frequently since middle school should produce an easy GPA

booster, right? I saw this absolutely gorgeous lady in my class and strangely my heart skipped two beats. I automatically knew

she was special or maybe I was having a heart attack. I soon plotted to buy some of her time. Her style was mimicked by none, she had her own genre. All of my days at Georgia State I’ve never seen an outstanding style like this, with the beauty to match. She had an attractive mystique aura and she’d always unintentionally come to class late, drawing all of my attention towards the door with her grand entrance. Making my heart skip two beats every Monday and Wednesday morning, I think she did that on purpose; for me at least. I thought about inviting her out to a jazz club in Buckhead called Twain’s, I figured we both would appreciate a jazz date because of our interest in jazz. When she agreed to the date I tried to hide my excitement but anyone who knew me knew that I was ecstatic. Twain’s played nothing but Spanish Jazz and skat singers inter-changing solo roles with the saxophone, as we looked into each other’s brown painted eyes with great conversation and her beautiful smile. Her smile is so addictive. I’ll deny her anything and her smile would convince me otherwise. From that day I’ll never forget, we talked and laughed for almost three hours non-stop at Twain’s. The automatic chemistry we had without knowing each other was as if we both were succeeding at a BioChem class, when we’re together time doesn’t exist. Too occupied by a glo-rious queen to take notes for class, what a memorable day March 29, 2011 was and from that day on every perspective I had on jazz was altered because of the time I spent with her listening to it live. Jazz lets you realize all of the great aspects in life, and from that day I realized the greatest aspect of my life today. Sadly I ended up with a C+ in the class, but I also achieved an A++ with a queen that I’ve been dating since May 13, 2011.

Justin and BriannieMiranda and RJ

TUESDAY, FEbrUArY 14, 2012 ArTS & LIvING| THE SIGNAL14

After he fi nished his tenure with the Beatles, no one expected Paul McCartney to top himself musically. His new pop standards compilation, Kisses on the Bottom, holds this point valid, but it’s certainly not among his worst off erings.

Kisses reveals a side of McCartney that was visible in the Beatles but only to those who were paying attention. He derives a tangible enjoyment from singing the songs that inspired him as a young man, which is easy to hear in the caring attention he pays to ev-ery note. His signature croon is still very much present, even if it’s a little weathered from decades of use.

These jazzy pre-rock tunes played a vital role in what the Beatles became, which is obvious in McCartney’s ren-ditions. “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down

And Write Myself A Letter” expos-es the lyrical wit that would become characteristic of his writing style. “My Valentine,” a sultry McCartney origi-nal, could have easily been a Beatles track, and Eric Clapton’s minimal acoustic guitar accompaniment lifts it to even greater heights. The same is true for “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” with Diana Krall’s punchy blues piano putting a fresh spin on an old classic. Stevie Wonder’s harmoni-ca solo on “Only Our Hearts” is anoth-er welcome surprise.

Most of the songs sound pretty similar, but that doesn’t matter much in this case. These tracks come from the same period, and McCartney rel-ishes so much in every second of it that you won’t have a choice but to do the same.

Even though McCartney’s only instrumental contribution to the re-cord is some acoustic guitar, his infl u-

ence is felt throughout. The songs fea-tured here played an invaluable role in the creation of one of modern music’s most important fi gures, so it shouldn’t be dismissed for its lack of dynamics. Kisses could have come straight out of the period the songs came from, which is likely what Macca intended.

01 OrganismoAdron

02 Kitsuné Parisien IIVarious Artists

03 Dreams Say, View, Create, Shadow LeadsDustin Wong

04 Paralytic StalksOf Montreal

05 Back On TimePlug

06 City of Satellites RemixedVarious Artists

07 Strange WeekendPorcelain Raft

08 EsterTrailer Trash Tracys

09 Things.YesM+A

10 First Crush EPSabrepulse

11 Onwards to the WallA Place to Bury Strangers

12 Lilacs & ChampagneLilacs & Champagne

13 Natural TraitsErnest Gonzales

14 Have Some Faith in MagicErrors

15 HospitalityHospitality

16 Aff ectionateVenetian Snares

17 They SweetheartstammersPigeons

18 CyrkCate Le Bon

19 By the HedgeMinks

20 Themes for An Imaginary FilmSymmetry

21 Before Gardens After GardensBig Sir

22 Rad Times Xpress IVBlack Bananas

23 Honky Tonk MedusaDonovan Quinn

24 America Give UpHowler

25 Weekendspacifi cUV

26 AirAir

27 A Smart Black Boy | The Sonic Inceptionblctxt contxt

28 Be the VoidDr. Dog

29 TrampSharon Van Etten

30 LineageShigeto

Paul McCartney, Kisses on the Bottom

Paralytic Stalks cements the band Of Monreal’s ability to use their mu-sic in an innovative way and constant-ly push boundaries. The band, from Athens, Ga., just released its eleventh album, Paralytic Stalks. In the previ-ous ten albums, Of Montreal swayed between a mixture of funk, glam and pop music topped with cheeky lyrics.

Paralytic Stalks is more psyche-delic, with echoing voices and driving beats. The fi rst track, “Gelid Assent,” has a slow start and is basically a four minute jam session.

The band returns to some more familiar territory in the twisted love song “We Will Commit Wolf Murder.” “Something’s terrorized my psyche to get even/but you’re the only human I believe in.” By the end of the track, the

pace and beat has changed so drasti-cally it sounds like a diff erent song altogether. But Of Montreal has kept their ability to make even the strang-est songs danceable.

Throughout the album, the band’s lyrical contribution becomes more diffi cult to ignore, even if your ears are distracted by the instrumental eff orts.

“Malefi c Dowery” is another un-conventional love song about a man who is overly suspicious even when in a functional relationship. “Now I feel you’re provoking me with your fi del-ity /That your loyalty and aff ections are somehow a vopine act of hostility.”

“Wintered Debts” is a melan-choly track that focuses on the bitter drunk dialing of the desperate sub-ject. “Tried to call you from a bath-room in South Hollywood/I was too drunk to formulate any sort of earthly language.”

Both of these tracks are much more slow-paced but still classic Of Montreal.

Paralytic Stalks is the perfect ad-dition to Of Montreal’s lengthy dis-cography. They somehow managed to stick to their own style and still bring a fresh sound to the project.

kENDALL HARRISStaff Writer

Of Monreal, Paralytic Stalks

zACk kRAIMERAssociate Arts Editor

Editorʼs Picks-Valentines DayALICIA JOHNSONArts and Living Editor

Best Songs“My Heart Will Go On”- Celine Dion“So Amazing”-Luther Vandross“I Will Always Love You” Whitney Houston“The Only Exception”- Paramore“U Got It Bad”- Usher

Best Movies“The Notebook”“Love and Basketball”“A Walk to Remember”“Titanic”“Date Night”

Best Local RestaurantsMelting PotChin ChinBenihanaStripRosa Mexicano

Best Lounge for Drinks and DessertsChurchill GroundsThrive255 Tapas LoungeThe Chocolate BarFogo de Chao

Best PoemsEdgar Allen Poe-Annabel LeeShakespeare-Sonnet 116Langston Hughes-To ArtinaElizabeth Barrett Browning-Sonnet 43Alexander Pushkin-The Wondrous Moment

“The Innkeepers” brings solid acting and directing to the big screen with this paranormal, chilling film.

The night before the closing of their inn, Luke and Claire, played by Pat Healy and Sara Paxton, went on a journey to explore the eerie paranor-mal activity that had taken over the stingy rooms of the inn they managed.

When they started this quest, the characters were convinced that they would find something and were desperate to do something to take them out of their sultry, boring life. Throughout the movie, they scoured the inn with their video camera and microphone to see if they find any-thing one last time.

During the movie, there were a bizarre few guests who walked in through the inn’s doors. These char-acters range from a discourteous mother and her son escaping from a domestic dispute to a former ac-tress turned psychic healer, who was played by Kelly McGillis. One more character was a strange elderly man, played by George Riddle, who desired to occupy room 353, which was con-sidered the honeymoon suite.

The film portrays the characters as very relatable, because for much of the film, Paxton and Healy hang out in a way that will be familiar to any-one whose job has ever involved a lot of downtime with little welcome distraction.

All of the characters in this movie are thoroughly depicted and easy to

follow. Unfortunately, this proves to be a cost and benefit to the movie, be-cause these actors’ performances be-come too relatable and make the film a bit dry during various scenes.

Sara Paxton, as “The Innkeepers”’ asthmatic heroine, continually puts herself in situations that have her screaming and throwing her hands up in disgust. While on their quest, they come across a self-playing piano, a clawing sound in the walls and dark, stingy rooms.

The director, Ti West, has por-trayed an amazing introduction which leads to a very slow climax, making unhurried attention to detail remain constant. That attention adds richness to his characters that horror movies rarely provide.

As bright Claire and slacker Luke, who is a little older and a lot more dis-appointed with life, mock each other affectionately, the warmth between them counters the story’s chills. “The Innkeepers” leaves open the possibil-ity that the haunting is all in Paxton’s head, which does not make the final sequence any less frightening.

“The Innkeepers” expresses some visually haunting imagery but aims to portray it only long enough to be ap-preciated. The goal is not to startle the audience in manners which will make them shriek and scream but to shape their own perception of the plot and use this film just a way to get away from their, daily, mundane life.

In “The Woman in Black,” Daniel Radcliffe stars as a lawyer who journeys to a remote village in an effort to recover a deceased woman’s will and ultimately save his job. However, what he ends up finding is a town haunted by the woman in black. As Radcliffe strug-gles with his own inner battles, he also finds himself in the middle of a ghost’s vengeance that terrorizes the citizens of the village.

It was interesting to see Radcliffe, who is best known for his role in the Harry Potter films, play a different role than a young wiz-ard. The actor definitely succeeded in proving his versatility and ability to portray various character types.

Other than seeing a familiar ac-tor try on a new role, the plot of this movie was predictable and lacked intellectual depth. The idea of a haunted mansion or a ghost com-ing back to haunt a village has been done countless times in the past. This film in particular did not even attempt to put a new spin on an old fashioned type of movie.

The highlight of the film is re-ally limited to the reactions of the audience. “The Woman In Black”

does succeed in getting viewers to jump out of their seats a few times throughout the story. For instance, there is a scene where Radcliffe is walking down a long dark hallway of the haunted mansion. During this scene, he is walking toward a closed door at the end of the hall-way while a loud banging noise is overpowering the scene. When he finally makes his way into the room, the face of the ghost (wom-an in black) suddenly flashes on the screen, causing the audience to jump in fear.

Other than ghosts popping out of dark corners, the movie is not what most would deem as a hor-ror film. The most interesting part of the movie was when a woman is embodied by her deceased child in a haunted village as she draws dis-turbing pictures. Although this idea has made its way to the big screen before, this still brought a disturb-ing element to this movie.

Overall, the movie did not dem-onstrate anything worthy of an award or even a recommendation for a Friday night. If moviegoers want to see a true horrifying film, stick with the classics for now, but if the goal of the evening is that of predictability, this is the film for you.


The WomanThe InnkeepersREEL REviEWS

Director: James Watkins

Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Janet

Mcteer, and Ciaran Hinds

Release Date:Feb. 3, 2012

Director: Ti West

Stars: Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, and Kelly

McGillis

Release Date:Feb.3 , 2012

BRITTANY SPORNHAUERStaff Writer

YUTI JOSHIStaff Writer

In Black

IN THEATERS MARCH 2!FACEBOOK.COM/PROJECTX #PROJECTX

THIS FILM IS RATED R for crude and sexual content throughout, nudity, drugs, drinking, pervasive language, reckless behavior and mayhem—all involving teens. Under 17 Requires Accompanying Parent Or Adult Guardian. Please note: Passes are limited and will be distributed on a fi rst come, fi rst served basis while supplies last. No phone calls, please. Limit two passes per person. Each pass admits one. Seating is not guaranteed. Arrive early. Theater is not responsible for overbooking. This screening will be monitored for unauthorized recording. By attending, you agree not to bring any audio or video recording device into the theater (audio recording devices for credentialed press excepted) and consent to a physical search of your belongings and person. Any attempted use of recording devices will result in immediate removal from the theater, forfeiture, and may subject you to criminal and civil liability. Please allow additional time for heightened security. You can assist us by leaving all nonessential bags at home or

in your vehicle.

THE SIGNAL INVITES YOU AND A GUESTTO AN ADVANCE SCREENING OF

For a chance to win tickets

TELL US YOUR WILDEST PARTY STORY!

Brag about your Xperience in 200 words or less. Names can be

changed to protect the innocent or… the guilty.

All entries must be emailed to

[email protected]

no later than Wednesday,February 22 @ 5PM (EST). Winners will be notifi ed

via email on February 24.

4 Convenient Locations

What’s worse in the morning? This sign or

your Friday 8:00am lecture class?


SIGNAL SPOTLIGHTS

CALENDAr

Breakdancing ClubIMAN NAIMStaff Writer

Tuesdays and Thursdays are modern and upbeat at the Recreation Center thanks to the long-established break-dancing club.

The group primarily focuses on ‘B-boying,’ a style that encompasses the moves that everyone associates with breakdancing: footwork, freezes and mainstream acrobatics.

“Compared to other performing dances, like ballet, there’s a lot more dynamic moves since it incorporates ac-robatics, stand up rocking and ground work,” said the club’s president and exercise science major, Sam Cho.

Dancers within the group perfect their own technique by mixing moves and combining styles that were devised from diff erent areas around the world.

“Power moves often evoke more fascination from the au-diences who like to see fl ashy moves,” Cho said.

The crew works together to come up with their rou-tines. They usually apply moves that they have seen in oth-er performances.

“We incorporate the concepts by fi rst understanding why they work and then coming up with creative ways to employ them in our performances to accurately refl ect our own style,” Cho said.

The club is made up of members from diff erent break-dancing crews around the Atlanta area. Cho is a part of the crew, Lost in the Gym, which has had the chance to perform in other states and win competitions.

In order to win at competitions such as Kollaboration Atlanta, the crew has to practice their moves everyday and the entire group practices together at least twice a week. Too much of a work out could be dangerous, though, as many injuries happen when the dancer is too fatigued to keep practicing.

“I love performing, but it takes up a lot of personal time sometimes,” said Andrew Kim, a fi nance major with no breakdancing background before joining the club four years ago.

For those interested in breakdancing, Cho insists on

strength training and cardio. Endurance is necessary since muscle memory can only be established through repeating techniques.

Cho also plans to merge his love for breakdancing and his exercise science major by working with a crewmate to create their own company. The company will focus on health and fi tness through outlets such as dancing and fi ghting.

“This fulfi lls my entrepreneurial itch,” Cho said of his plans. “I’ve always had to try to make a diff erence in the world by positively impacting other people’s lives.”

SIGNAL SPOTLIGHTS

Breakdancing ClubTuesdays and Thursdays are modern and upbeat at the

Recreation Center thanks to the long-established break-

The group primarily focuses on ‘B-boying,’ a style that encompasses the moves that everyone associates with breakdancing: footwork, freezes and mainstream acrobatics.

“Compared to other performing dances, like ballet, there’s a lot more dynamic moves since it incorporates ac-robatics, stand up rocking and ground work,” said the club’s

Dancers within the group perfect their own technique by mixing moves and combining styles that were devised

“Power moves often evoke more fascination from the au-

The crew works together to come up with their rou-tines. They usually apply moves that they have seen in oth-

“We incorporate the concepts by fi rst understanding

In order to win at competitions such as Kollaboration Atlanta, the crew has to practice their moves everyday and the entire group practices together at least twice a week. Too much of a work out could be dangerous, though, as many injuries happen when the dancer is too fatigued to

strength training and cardio. Endurance is necessary since muscle memory can only be established through repeating techniques.

Cho also plans to merge his love for breakdancing and his exercise science major by working with a crewmate to create their own company. The company will focus on health and fi tness through outlets such as dancing and

Editor’s note: Promote your event in this calendar! Contact Alicia Johnson at [email protected] with the event name, time, date, location and a brief description.

February 14Lunch and Learn: Diversity of LoveIn celebration of Valentine’s Day, this program will focus on the intersection of diversity and love. Topics such as interracial dating and gay marriage will be discussed.University Center, 460 // 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Hong Kong Student Association Carnation Sale

What is a better way to win a girls heart than to shower her with � owers. Come by and purchase a carnation for your girlfriend, friend and/or that girl you have had your eye on! All proceeds go towards the community chest.Library Plaza // 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Wind Orchestra� e Wind Orchestra is composed of instrumentalists from the School of Music and the University at large. � e ensemble typically performs four concerts per year and features guest soloists.Rialto Th eater // 7:30 p.m.

February 15Spring Study Abroad Fair

Do you want to study abroad this summer or fall? Come to our Spring Study Abroad Fair to learn about GSU programs and scholarships!Dahlberg Hall // 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Feed Your SensesJoin your downtown friends for the Lunchtime Learning Performing Arts Series held monthly at the Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University. � e program features a di� erent artist or speaker each month providing a

casual and fun insider’s look at their cra� . Bring your lunch or box lunches will be available for $5.Rialto Th eater // 12:00 p.m.

February 16� e Togas (feat. Ty Segall,

members of Shannon & the Clams, Strange Boys and Reigning Sound)Garage rock is no newcomer to the music scene, but it’s taking over again with the likes of Ty Segall. Come catch this lo-� wunderkind’s new group featuring some of his friends and cronies. Expect an unapologetically high-energy gig with no holds barred.488 Flat Shoals // 8:30 p.m. // $10

Undergraduate Major Fair� e Academic Advisement O� ce will be available to aid all students with questions concerning majors, entrance requirements and programs. State Ballroom // 10:30 a.m.

Symphonic Wind Ensemble� e Symphonic Wind Ensemble is composed of outstanding woodwind, brass and percussion students from the School of Music. � e ensemble performs several concerts each year, and regularly features outstanding guest composers, conductors and soloists.Rialto Th eater // 7:30 p.m.

February 17Spring Career Expo

In partnership with the Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality Administration, the Career Management Center coordinates the Spring Career EXPO on behalf of the J. Mack Robinson College of Business. � e Spring Career EXPO provides students and alumni with a unique opportunity to connect with companies seeking internship candidates and full-time employees.

Professional dress/business attire is required, and bring your resume ready to introduce yourself to employers seeking quali� ed students.If you are coming from campus, hop on the Panther Express (pick-up at Aderhold or the Student Center) for transportation to and from the Georgia World Congress Center.Georgia World Congress Center // 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

February 1815 Years of Heady Beers

Sweetwater is celebrating their � � eenth year in the brewing business (and their recent expansion) with this bash at their HQ. Expect every beer they o� er plus surprise cask brews… and a slew of over-the-hill couples tripping over their own feet.195 Ottley Drive // 2 p.m.

Mediterranean MediationsYasmin Levy seamlessly blends the ancient, romantic sounds of the Jewish culture long ago nurtured and then exiled from Spain with that country’s passionate � amenco tradition. Turkey’s Omar Faruk Tekbilek is a virtuosic master of Middle Eastern wind instruments like the zurna and baðlama. Both nominated for BBC World Music Awards, these remarkable musicians together weave a transcendent mix of memory, nostalgia, tender beauty, and hope. And when their far-� ung musical in� uences meet—where else but on the Rialto stage—it is a world-music performance you don’t want to miss!Rialto Th eater // 8:00 p.m.

February 20Distinguished Speaker Series: John

LegendJoin Grammy Award winning R&B singer and education activist John

Legend as he shares his experiences through lecture and song.Student Center Ballroom // 3:00

February 21Intercultural Relations Goes 3-D: Dinner, Diversity, and Dialogue

DiversityIn collaboration with the Department of Political Science, this 3-D event will focus on diversity issues relating to the 2012 Presidential Election.Student Center, Lanier Suite // 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Campus MovieFest FinaleGSU students had 5 days to write, direct, shoot, and edit a short � lm. Now we reveal the best of the best. Come to this red-carpet � nale event, dressed in your best style. Top winners will be announced from Georgia State University and they will advance to the CMF Grand Finale in Hollywood, CA, in June 2012. � is event is a collaborative e� ort between Campus Events, Spotlight Programs Board, GSTV, SGA, the Residence Hall Association (RHA) and the Rialto Center for the Arts.Rialto Th eater // 7:30 p.m.

February 22Language & Literacy

Distinguished Lecture Series: Exploring Predictors of Spoken

Language Development in Children with Autism Spectrum

DisorderA reception will follow the presentation by Dr. Helen Tager-Flusberg from Boston University.1199 Urban Life Building // 1:00 p.m.

February 23Portlandia: � e Tour @ Variety

PlayhouseIf you like the show on IFC, you won’t

want to miss their live tour when it stops at Variety Playhouse. SNL’s Fred Armisen and Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein make a great comic duo, and the program should translate well to the stage.1099 Euclid Ave // 10:30 p.m. // $30

February 25McCoy Tyner & his Trio

Jazz pianist McCoy Tyner bears a pedigree few musicians today can match. As a member of the John Coltrane Quartet, Tyner played alongside the master on original recordings of “My Favorite � ings” and “A Love Supreme,” to name just a few, and changed the sound of jazz in the process. Tyner would eventually move on and explore new musical horizons on his own both as a composer and bandleader—even experimenting with the harpsichord and celeste in his work. Some 80 albums later, he’s still a leading light of the jazz universe. Now, his Trio returns to the Rialto with a special guest, Grammy-Award winning post-bop jazz saxophonist and composer Joe Lovano, whose long and storied career has seen him play alongside the likes of Chet Baker, Woody Herman, and Abbey Lincoln.Rialto Th eater // 8:00 p.m.

March 8Zumbathon

A free event. Gi� cards to places such as Willy’s and Olive Garden will be ra� ed o� .Recreation Center // 5:00 p.m.

March 11Mikal Cronin, Pujol, Turf War

Garage rock up-and-comer Mikal Cronin last came through as an opener for Ty Segall. � is time he’s running the show, and what a show it’ll be. A� er all, who doesn’t like to party on a Sunday night?Th e E.A.R.L. // 8:00 p.m. // $8

Daniel Guerrero breakdances at the Student Recreation Center every Tuesday and Thursday with the club.

lEAH JORDAn | THE SignAl

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Alana Thomas to take on new challengesTOM TERRY IIIStaff Writer

The softball team had an excellent season last year. Through all of the base running, conditioning and bat-ting practice, Georgia State players are ready to play ball again.

This includes Georgia State se-nior Alana Thomas, who thinks that a lot of her competitive drive came from her dad.

“He went to the University of Georgia so he played intramural sports there. He played basketball, football and church softball league,” Thomas said. “He’s still really ac-tive now. He’s the kind of guy me and my sister looked up to, especially in sports. He was a great influence on all of us.”

The Thomas family was very fo-cused on sports. Alana grew up with her sister Liz playing ball and fol-lowed her sister’s footsteps. Even though she was too young to pitch or play then, she would watch her sister play football, basketball and softball with her dad.

“It was a real active family. It was great growing up,” Thomas said. “I had a great childhood, very close knit family, very sports oriented and that would be the way I would raise my family one day.”

Even when sometimes things don’t go her way playing softball, there was always that other person that was there to support Thomas—her mom.

“She’s amazing, she been to every game,” Thomas said. “She’s always cheering for us even if she doesn’t know exactly what’s going on. She’s just back there and always behind us. She’s a great cheerleader.”

Since her parents were complete opposites, Thomas’ mom was the stabilizing force that kept the family together.

“He’s real quiet and she’s very talkative and its great balance for this family and she would always know how to bring us back when we get into our fights when we’re pitching and stuff. She was a good mediator,” Thomas said.

When Thomas was young her fa-vorite athletes were Lisa Fernandez and Jennie Finch. Her idols may have changed throughout the years but they share the same optimistic trait that carried over to her game.

“People that I looked up to have good attitudes, they were always posi-tive people, they were successful and an example to other people.”

Coming out of high school, Thomas won three state champion-ships. When people describe her all they say is softball. She tries to ex-emplify all that’s good in the game of softball.

“I want to project myself as some-one with a good attitude who loves the game and still sets a good exam-ple to other players,” Thomas said. “I think that playing through these years of competitive edge and time manage-ment I think that will help me in my future.”

After years of competitive softball and schoolwork, Thomas still manag-es to not take herself too seriously.

”I like to laugh a lot and I like to have fun,” Thomas said. “I try to look at the positive side to everything, someone who likes to have a lot fun so that’s what’s it all about. If you play in this game and you don’t have fun do-ing it, then why you’re playing it?”

Other than staying active in the summer by bike-riding with her dad and hanging out with her sister, one of her favorite hobbies may seem a bit unjock-like.

“I really like watching movies. I like to read so sounds like I’m a nerd,” Thomas said. “Right now I’m read-ing The Reagan Diaries by President Reagan.”

After receiving her bachelor’s in the spring, Thomas is going to law school in the fall and sadly she’ll be done with softball. Since it’s going to be a new phase in her life, Thomas isn’t sure of what to make of it.

“It would be weird to take a new chapter in my life without softball,” Thomas said. “I’m hesitant to do it be-cause it’s scary. I’ve always had soft-ball. So it’s going to be interesting so to see how it’s going to play out.”

DYLAN RICEStaff Writer

Georgia State softball showed glimpses of why they were picked as the preseason CAA favorite, as they stormed through the competition in the First Pitch Classic before falling to Longwood University 11-7 in the final round.

Things were getting out of hand for the Panthers in the final game before they started making a come-back that fell short. Down 11 to 1, Georgia State finally got some offensive production in the fifth inning as they scored five runs, including an Emily Althafer three-run homer, to make it a ball game.

But after the fifth inning they could just manage one more run in the form of a seventh-inning Althafer solo shot and just like that the Panthers’ season opening three-game win streak ended.

But how Georgia State advanced to the finals was the big story for Panthers fans as they defeated Western Carolina University in a thrilling come-from-behind victory.

Trailing by as many as four runs, Georgia State climbed back and moved past WCU 7-5 as shortstop Paige Nowacki led the charge with a grand slam in the sixth inning.

Nowacki had an all-around big game, finishing 3-for-3 with a walk and four RBIs.

Alana Thomas, working relief for the Panthers, earned the win in the contest with 3.2 innings pitched

in which she allowed two hits.This victory came a day after Georgia State opened

the season and tournament with two solid wins.In their first game they were able to defeat

Longwood in a low-scoring effort. Held scoreless until the top of the sixth inning, the Panthers put together a nice little rally to grab the 3-2 win.

Freshman Lauren Coleman got the offensive wheels turning when she connected for a solo homer. And after a Nowacki single, catcher Callie Alford manufactured the rest of Georgia State’s runs with a two-run blast.

Kaitlyn Medlam earned the win in the opener after working 2.1 innings of bullpen work.

Scoring runs was no problem for Georgia State in the second game of tournament play as they posted 11 runs on East Tennessee State University while only al-lowing two in return.

Sitting on a 6-2 lead, Georgia State secured the vic-tory with a five run seventh inning. Carrie Williams and Althafer each had two-run homers in this explosion of an inning.

Erin Collins pitched 2.2 innings of relief to get the win.

Despite a disappointing end to the First Pitch Classic, Georgia State looks like they could live up to their CAA expectations with an offense that can ex-plode with power. In order for this to happen they’ll have to be more consistent with that offensive produc-tion and tame the rotation in order to keep opponents from putting up numbers like Longwood did in the finale.

Georgia State softball opens season with First Pitch ClassicPanthers fall to LU Lancers in final round

gEORgiA STATE cOmmunicATiOnSPaige Nowacki’s sixth inning grand slam helped earn the Panther a win over WCU.

SPOrTS www.gsusignal.com/sports

gEORgiA STATE cOmmunicATiOnSAlana Thomas will hang up her gloves and cleats after this season.

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TUESDAY, FEbrUArY 14, 2012 20 SPOrTS | THE SIGNAL

JEREL MARSHALLSports Editor

Despite splitting two home games last week, Georgia State (17-9, 9-6 CAA), with plenty of help from Josh Micheaux, showed a mental toughness that has defined their season.

Micheaux was in rare form last week as he turned in dominating performances in both the 61- 59 over Northeastern and the 80-77 over time loss to Delaware.

“I’m really proud of (Micheaux),” Coach Ron Hunter said. “I have been hard on this guy from day one and he is playing the best basketball of his life. I’ve been on this guy. A lot of guys would have buckled but he has some toughness.”

In Wednesday night’s contest against the Huskies, Micheaux took care of the dirty work, pulling in seven of Georgia State’s 12 offensive rebounds. He also added 13 points while shooting 6-10 from the field.

If you were to take a quick glance at the final box score of Saturday’s game against Delaware, you might find it hard to believe that Micheaux had an off game. But early shooting troubles, 1-5 shooting from the field including an air ball, led to a visible drop in Micheaux’s confidence. However, a trip to the locker room and a some goading from the coaching staff was enough to ignite 6-foot-6 senior.

“I really challenged him at half time,” Hunter said. “Micheaux’s game is based on toughness. So we kind of challenged him. We said, ‘you’re our tough guy and you just got out-toughed. The more I kept saying it—you could see it in his eyes—he did not like that.”

Micheaux responded by having one of the best second-half performances the Panthers have seen all year, scoring 20 of his 26 points before fouling out with 32 seconds left in regulation.

Micheaux’s 26 points is the highest of any Panther all season.

The team followed Micheaux’s lead by scoring 17 straight points early in the sec-ond half after being down 39-27 entering the break.

“That second half was probably the best half we’ve played all year,” Hunter said.

Saturday’s game was dictated by fouls as Micheaux, Eric Buckner and Tony Kimbro all fouled and James Vincent and James Fields both had 4 fouls. Delaware’s Khalid Lewis also fouled out while Devon Saddler and Jamelle Hagins also had four fouls.

Georgia State’s 27 fouls is the most they have had all season. Coach Ron Hunter seemed frustrated with some of the calls.

“I’ve been fortunate because I was in a league before where we were one of the top teams and I used to get all of those calls. I’m not getting those calls now because I’m the new guy on the block and the program is kind of coming up,” Hunter said. “Yeah it’s frus-trating but what are you going to do about it?”

The Panthers will face James Madison tonight on the road before returning to the Sports Arena Saturday to host a Sears Bracketbusters game against UTSA. Georgia State’s final home game is set for Wed. Feb. 22 against Old Dominion. This game could have major CAA tournament implications as Georgia State looks to wrestle the fourth seed in the conference away from the Monarchs.

Micheaux shines in thrilling spirit week games

• Blocked Shots – Eric Buckner (138) Previous Mark: zavian Smith, 1989-94; 128 Games Played – Jihad Ali (118)

• & James Fields (116). Both are on pace to break the school record of 122 by Trae Golston (2006-10)

Season Records (Individual)

• Blocked Shots – Eric Buckner (89) Previous Mark: Sylvester Morgan, 2004-05; 81

Season Records (Team)

• Blocked Shots – currently 138; Previous Mark: 2010-11; 148

• Fewest Pts. Allow per game: currently 58.7 Previous Mark: 2008-09; 63.6

• Lowest FG% allowed: currently 37.9%; Previous Mark: 2010-11; 40.5%

Career Records #Winning

• Set school record with 11 straight wins, breaking the school mark of 8 set during the 2001 season

• Coach Hunter’s 17-9 start is the best start to a season of any first year coach in Georgia State history

• The 11 home wins are tied for the third most in school history. The record is 16 set during the 2000-01 season

• The 10-game home court winning streak was the second longest in school history only behind a 25-game streak between 2000 and 2002.

• The 9 CAA wins are the most conference wins in a season since joining the league in 2005.

• The Panthers are on pace to have the highest seed that they have ever had in the CAA Tournament. Never have been better than an eight seed.

• The Panthers secured their first winning season since the 2003-04 season.

• The 17 wins are tied for the fourth most in school history. The team won 29 games in 2000-01 and 20 games in each 2001-02 and 2003-04.

gRAHAm ROBSOn | THE SignAlJihad Ali is on pace to break the record for number of career games played.

gRAHAm ROBSOn | THE SignAlMicheaux’s 26-point outburst was not enough tp push Panthers past Delaware.

zAkkIYYA ANDERSONStaff Writer

The Georgia State women’s basketball team (7-17, 1-12) has not won a game since Feb. 2, and, after a 94-56 loss to Delaware, has not had a victory in three games.

With only one Colonial Athletic Association win against CAA competi-tor Northeastern, the Lady Panthers have no chance of making it to the CAA Championship on March 8.

Georgia State is currently ranked last overall in the CAA, right below Northeastern, while Delaware stands at No. 1, and No. 12 in the AP polls.

The Panthers suffered an eight–game losing streak from Jan. 2 until Feb. 2 earlier this season, which came after Georgia State defeated Bethune-Cookman.

After this victory, the Panthers lost eight straight conference matchups and fell further away from their chances at a championship tournament berth.

Under the direction of second-year head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener, Georgia State has failed to find a rhythm this season and never gained any momentum.

Plagued by heartbreaking losses and devastating blowouts, the Panthers failed to find their niche both at home and on the road.

The team is 4-9 in the Georgia State Sports Arena and 2-7 in away games.

Georgia State lost to Delaware by a mar-gin of 38 points, but prior to the loss, suf-fered three straight losses by a margin of four points or fewer.

The Panthers lost to UNC Wilmington

on Feb. 9 with nine seconds left on a buzzer beater.

Georgia State has been outscored by its opponents 1486 to 1697 after 24 games this season.

The Panthers put up 61.9 points per game while their opponents post 70.7.

Perhaps most devastating statistic that has plagued the lady Panthers is their num-bers from the free-throw line.

The women are shooting 61.6 percent from the free throw line, as opposed to their opponents, who are making 70 per-cent of their free throws.

And in several of their losses, free throws determined the outcome of the game, including the game against UNCW where Chan Harris missed pair of late-game free throws.

Another cause to the dismal season the Panthers are having is the amount of turn-overs they have racked up in a 24-game period.

Georgia State now has 504 total turn-overs, amounting to 21 turnovers per game.

After an overtime defeat to Towson, Baldwin-Tener talked about how turnovers cost them an important conference match

up.“We didn’t take care of the ball, espe-

cially in the second half, and we didn’t make our free throws at the end, so we didn’t get the win. We had a chance to win on the road,” Baldwin-Tener told Georgia State Athletics.

Georgia State had a total of 25 turnovers in the game against Towson.

With the season winding down, the la-dies will now play for pride and to gain some kind of momentum going into next season.

The Panthers faced probably their toughest matchup on Sunday against Delaware, but will still have tough chal-lenges when they face No. 4 ranked UNC Wilmington in an attempt to avenge last week’s heartbreaking loss.

As custom with any coach experiencing in a losing season, Coach Baldwin-Tener tries to look for the positives in the games, even the losses, to have something to build on for the next season.

“Even though we lost, we had some good things going for us tonight,” she told Georgia State Athletics after the loss to UNC Wilmington. “The girls played with energy and enthusiasm, got a lot of loose balls, crashed the glass, got ourselves to the free throw line and we were aggressive and spirited,” Baldwin–Tener said.

The women’s team will graduate only one senior after this season - Harris is the only senior on the team.

With a fresh young roster of remaining players the Panthers will have a chance to grow as a team and improve their skills and teamwork for next year.

TUESDAY, FEbrUArY 14, 2012 21SPOrTS | THE SIGNAL

Women’s basketball playing for pride

pATRick DuffY | THE SignAlWith the postseason out of the question, the Panthers are looking to build momentum for next season.

ISMAEL SUAREzStaff Writer

Perhaps no one can express what it means to have a twin better than Georgia State basketball play-er Sade Means.

“To have a twin means a lot, you never have to worry about being lonely or searching for that close friend that everyone needs,” Means said.

Means is only the tip of the ice-berg, because, as improbable as it may seem, there are eight other Panther athletes who have twins.

Not all of them are identical or the same gender, and each duo has their own distinctive story.

Sade and Charmene are the kind of identical twins who have been together their whole lives, and if seen in person, it would be tough to tell them apart.

“People say we have no differ-ences,” said Means.

“We are extremely close,” Means said. “We talk every morn-ing and attempt to see each other every day.”

Due to their closeness, they have developed a strong bond to the point where they both devel-oped a passion for the same sport, major and the same basketball team: the Miami Heat.

“We grew up playing basket-ball with our older brother,” Means

said. “Even now, she still helps me practice and critiques me in order to make me a better player.”

They are both journalism majors with a concentration in broadcasting.

The bond that these twins cre-ated is so strong that when high school was over, going to different schools was not an option.

“When I got the scholarship to play at Georgia State, we made the decision to come together,” Means said.

The Means enjoy being able to spend so much time together, but some of the twins who are Georgia State athletes have not had the same luck.

Freshman Caolan O’Gorman, who left his homeland in Ireland when he received a scholarship to play soccer at Georgia State, is a prime example.

The Atlantic Ocean now sep-arates him from his twin sister, Aoife.

“My brother and I came to America to play soccer, and she was kind of left at home,” O’Gorman said. “I’m happy that she is do-ing well playing soccer back in Ireland.”

In Ireland, they both played soccer together until the age of 12, where they started playing for dif-ferent teams. However, those few years were enough to create a rival-

ry between the twins.“I hate to admit it, but when we

played together, she was a bit bet-ter than me,” O’Gorman said. “In a penalty shootout competition when we were about eight, she beat me in the finals and showed the trophy off to everyone who visited our home after that,” he said while

laughing.Aoife’s soccer skills paid off

,though. As a reward, she has re-ceived a scholarship to come to play at Georgia State and will have a chance to reunite with her twin brother.

“She’s definitely excited to come and play, and I’m very glad that she

got the scholarship because she’s a very good player,” O’Gorman said.

As Georgia State athletes, these nine Panther twins will contin-ue to defend the school’s pride. If both twins compete for the same team, opponents should watch out, because they’ll have double the trouble.

TUESDAY, FEbrUArY 14, 2012 22 SPOrTS | THE SIGNAL

Twins look to bring twice the competitionDOUBLE/TROUBLE:

TIFFANIE SMITHStaff Writer

With the indoor season coming to a close and the outdoor season just be-ginning, Georgia State Track and Field looks to dominate this season. Several Panthers produced good results at the Vulcan Invite and finished in top spots in Birmingham, Ala.

The teams displayed their talent in the 3,000m with Sophomore Valentin Poncelet placing second with a time of 8:15, following the women’s 5,000m where Sophomore Jennifer Rubel fin-ished third with a time of 18:26.

Top freshman athlete Hannah Stefanoff landed eighth with a time of 10:10, while freshmen Niamh Kearney placed sixth for the women’s 800m with a time of 2:25.

In the Birmingham Invitational, three players, including Poncelot and sopho-more Tyler Tomy, showed off their speed by landing second for the men’s team, following Senior Danyel Mitchell who made a statement by being runner-up in the women’s 800m with a time of 2:16.

In the men’s 5,000m, Tomy complet-ed the race with a time of 15:43 following Poncelet, who finished with a time of 8:19 in the men’s 3,000m.

“They were all very competitive com-petitions,” Head coach Chris England said. “These were very exciting races and very close second places. In addition to those three players, we have a very strong class in both the men’s and women’s track and it takes all the athletes to gel together to be successful as a team.”

Clearly this team does not seem to have a problem with “gelling together” to make things happen, as a total of 10 individual players and two relay teams finished in the top ten competitors of their events. On the men’s side, freshman Austin Boetje landed fifth place with a time of 16:08 for the 5000m. Senior Chris Harper placed eighth in the 3,000m with a time of 8:52.

On the women’s side, 2011 CAA Rookie of the Year Tamara Moore landed a spot in the finals by winning her event in the women’s 60m hurdles, leading her to fourth place with a time of 8.91. England expects her to continue her success as the rest of the season rolls on.

“Her hard work has paid off since last Spring and she’s picked up where she’s left off,” England said. “I expect her to continue to get better and to repeat her performances as CAA champion in the 100m hurdles.”

Other players for this event includ-

ed sophomore Anna Sinclair, who came in eighth place with a time of 10:24, Senior Kacee Houle who finished ninth with a time of 10:34 and Junior Kesean Henderson who earned 11th place for the women’s weight throw, despite being the only field competitor for Georgia State.

Off the track, the Panthers stand out academically by having some of the high-est GPAs among all of the athletic teams on campus and helping out the commu-nity. Recently, more than a dozen mem-bers on the men’s track team put on their gloves and participated in the Oakland Cemetery Restoration day.

“The team has an incredible work ethic and are very passionate about what they do,” England said. “We practice in rain or sunshine and they do everything the coaches ask of them, knowing it’s in their best interest to do well. We work hard with community service projects and there just good people.”

England says he expects improve-ment every week and wants every athlete to be healthy while continuing to be out-standing students and outstanding mem-bers to the community.

The Panthers look to have one final meet on the indoor track and field sched-ule at the Sewanee Invite, which will take place in Sewanee, Tenn. on Sat. Feb. 25.

Track and Field teams gel together for top finishes

gEORgiA STATE cOmmunicATiOnSSade and Charmene Means, identical twins who share not only the same genes but the same major and favorite basketball team, both play basketball for Georgia State.

gEORgiA STATE cOmmunicATiOnSDanyel Mitchell’s time of 2:16 was enough for a second-place finish in the wom-en’s 800m.

JEREL MARSHALLStaff Writer

Most college sport fans are fa-miliar with the term redshirt. This occurs when a student athlete saves a year of el-igibility, usually to either develop their skills or recuperate from an injury.

Freshmen Kyle Vorster, how-ever, was forced into wearing a shirt color that many are unfamil-iar with. Rather than going off to college in the fall like most of his teammates, Vorster took a semes-ter off and began taking classes this Spring. Vorster will join 16 other Georgia State recruits on the foot-ball team next season as the team’s only “grayshirt.”

Vorster said the decision was tough, especially since there wasn’t anyone to turn to for advice.

“Not many people knew what a (grayshirt) was,” Vorster said. “I couldn’t really ask around or ask other people about it. Not many people knew or had advice for me.”

Although it is untradition-al, Vorster’s path defi nitely has its perks. He said he is taking ad-

vantage of getting acclimated to campus.

“So far things have been really good,” Vorster said. “Being on the football team defi nitely helps be-cause they have all the tutoring and other things to help you out, so it’s easier to transition to the fi rst se-mester of college.”

Vorster also said that his team-mates have all been very helpful in helping him get adjusted.

Sifting through scholarship of-fers and deciding which program to join is another process that can be diffi cult, and this is another challenge Vorster had to face. After entertaining off ers from the likes of Georgia Southern, Coastal Carolina and West Georgia, he was won over by the Panthers’ coaching staff .

“At fi rst, when I started getting looked at by (Georgia) State I was like, ‘no,’” Vorster said, “because they are a new program and a new team and I wanted to look straight to the bigger schools.”

However, coach Bill Curry and his coaching staff left an impres-sion that Vorster couldn’t ignore.

“Coach Curry is the only coach who was recruiting me that was real personal with me,” Vorster said. “All of the (Georgia State) coaches came and talked to me per-sonally, sent letters, talked to me on

the phone, came and visited me at school and things like that.”

“The biggest thing was the rela-tionship with the coaches and the way I viewed the team,” Vorster said.

While playing at Walton High School, Vorster was a part of the 2008 state championship team. As a senior, he rushed for 1,358 yards and 18 touchdowns on 224 carries.

As he prepares to hit the fi eld in a Georgia State uniform, Vorster’s days as a running back might be behind him. Although he said he would like to get a shot to play his high school position on the colle-giate level, Vorster is expected to start the 2012 season as a safety.

One change that Vorster said he appreciates is the diff erence in coaching approaches.

“I went from a head coach that is pretty intense and in your face to Curry, who knows what to say to get deep within you,” Vorster said. “I defi nitely prefer where I am now.”

Taking a year off from football has had quite the impact on Vorster and he seems more than ready for his sabbatical to end.

“I have got so much hun-ger built up,” he said. “I am ready to put the pads back on and hit somebody.”

TUESDAY, FEbrUArY 14, 2012 23SPOrTS | THE SIGNAL

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GSU Sport’s Scoreboard:Womenʼs Basketball

2/9 vs. UNC Wilmington L 69-722/12 vs. Delaware L 94-56

Menʼs Basketball2/8 vs. Northeastern W 61-592/11 vs. Delaware L 77-80 (OT)

Menʼs Tennis2/8 @ Georgia Tech L 1-6

Womenʼs Tennis2/9 vs. ETSU W 7-0

Softball (GSU First Pitch Classic2/11 vs. Longwood W 3-2

2/11 vs. ETSU W 11-22/12 vs. Western Carolina W 7-5

2/12 vs. Longwood L 11-7

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Vol. 79 No. 22