The Sou'Wester: September 2022

SOU’WESTERTHE

UNDER THE LIGHTS AT GSW

MEN”S SOCCER TEAM SCORES 3-0 AGAINST SOUTHERN WESLEYAN

IN THIS ISSUE

WELCOME WEEK 2022

PAGE 2 Image series on students returning to GSW for the fall semester.

RESIDENTIAL LEADER DUTIES

The Men’s Soccer Team celebrates after solidifying their lead with another goal.

Jackson Carlstrom Editor-In-Chief

On August 25, the Georgia Southwestern Men’s Soccer team opened the 2022 sea son with a bang, scoring a 3-0 victory over Southern Wesleyan University at the annual “Under the Lights” opening game.

GSW’s “Under the Lights” sea son opener, presented by Wolf Lodge Plantation, is an event for the whole community, featuring free food, shaved ice, games, giveaways, and a postmatch fireworks show from Southern Sky Fireworks. 2022

“Honestly, I felt good going into the game. We knew that this game against Southern Wesleyan was an important game because it was the first official one: we had to win it to start the season well,” Lucas Bedleg, one of the three athletes who scored during the game, said. “Before the match, I was pretty confident because during the sum mer preparation we had worked on being able to win matches like this. So I felt ready to play this long awaited match.”

The two teams proved to be of equal grit and determination in the first half of the game, with neither team scoring. Then, in the 49th minute, Matteo Landais scored off an assist from Daniel Gardner Jr, delivering a much-needed boost

PAGE 3 Residential Leader Autumn Metcalf goes behind-thescenes on her duties as Resi dential Leader.

FRESHMEN EXPERIENCE

FIRST SEMESTER AT GSW

PAGE 4 Trinity Daniels McNear and Adriana Hortelano detail their first few weeks of college.

SGA SWEARS IN NEW MEMBERS

PAGE 5 27 new senators and repre sentatives join the Student Government Association.

of adrenaline for the GSW Men’s soccer team after the scoreless first half.

The Men’s Soccer Team rode the wave of enthusiasm from their first goal throughout the rest of the game, scoring again in the 80th minute when Lucas Bedleg scored off an assist from Damean Dominguez, bringing the score to 2-0. The Men’s soc cer teams solidified their lead later on in the second half when Southern Wesleyan University was given a foul, thus giving the GSW Men’s Soccer team a

IMAGE SERIES

WELCOME WEEK 2022

Colby Hernandez Staff Writer

penalty kick. Daniel Gardner Jr. converted the penalty kick, thus bringing the final score to 3-0.

“It was a nice feeling to score my first collegiate goal,” Gard ner Jr. said. “I was thinking I had to score to make up for chances I missed prior, so it was good it went in.”

This week, the Men’s team faces Young Harris, North Georgia, and Lander University. The game stats and season schedule can be found at the GSW Canes website.

Jack Malleret attempts to keep the ball from the opposing team.

Freshman Hunter Hockman playing cornhole.

Freshmen Payton Sapp and Leah Ross taking a selfie.

Students lined up to get their free drink from Café Campesino. Students lined up to receive their free t-shirts.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

RESIDENTIAL LEADER DUTIES: AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTUMN METCALF

Talik Hill Media Editor

Could you briefly summarize the process of becoming a Residential Leader?

“It first starts as a traditional job. We put in an application, and if we’re selected for an interview, we go through the interview process. After that, you’re not offered a position just yet. You go through a leadership class, where you learn some leader ship skills. Then, you’ll be placed, based on your preference, with either older students or incom ing freshmen. It could also de pend on if the coordinator feels that you’ll work best in a specific building.”

What are the job duties that a Residential Leader has?

“The main duties that we have are doing building rounds, where we check that everything is up to code, seeing if the fire extinguishers are all up to date, and that the emergency doors are working and clear. We also do outdoor rounds to make sure the outside of the building is up to par. That’s it, besides answer ing calls, and those can be about anything, from a lockout to

quarantines. For the Residential Leader on-duty position, the way it operates depends on the building you’re working with. I know for Mags, we work with both buildings, so we rotate ev ery other week among different Residential Leaders.”

What are some ways Residential Leaders attempt to approach their resident’s questions or concerns in a compassionate way?

“We are trained, in a way, to ad dress things of that nature, but I feel you can never be fully pre pared for some of the situations that we’ve dealt with. It’s kind of like a guessing game. You never know what you’re going to walk into, so you never know what you’re going to do or say until you’re in that situation. We do a training called ‘Behind Closed Doors’ where we go through different scenarios like suicide identification, noise complaints, and stuff like that. Then we just go into the situation and figure out how we can solve the issue without escalating it.”

How do Residential Leaders handle disputes between roommates and/or dormmates?

“It starts with a roommate reach ing out to us and, depending on what the roommate is com fortable with, we try to sit down and have a meditation between the two to see if we can try and solve it on our level. We try to solve it for ourselves before we take it up to our coordinators.”

What’s the Canes Leading Canes or Residential Leader retreat, and what was your experience like?

“On the Residential Leader re treat last semester, I remember that we went to go bowling, and we also went to Columbus. It was just a time for us to unwind, relax and destress. For the Canes Leading Canes retreat, that’s when all the student leaders on campus get together, and we spent the night at ‘Camp John Hope.’ We were mixed and matched with other student leaders on campus, so it was an opportunity to learn about other options on campus.”

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

FRESHMEN MAKE THEIR MARK AT GSW

Amari Rudison Staff Writer

At Georgia Southwestern State University, we have a wonderful campus, and so many wonderful new students. This semester at GSW, we have almost five hundred new freshmen! GSW is a lively campus and has many things to offer for both residential students and commuters. This is a very exciting time, and since midterms are around the corner, we should check up on our freshmen and see how two of them are doing.

Trinity Daniels McNear is one of the many freshmen that live on campus, and she’s adjusting and getting involved in the GSW community. Trinity loves living on campus because she has her own space in Oaks, and it’s the perfect setting for her after a long day of classes. She chose GSW because of the amazing art pro gram and hopes to accomplish her dream of being the owner of her very own art studio. Her favorite thing at GSW is Chick-Fil-A and the drawing room in the art building. When asked if she would still choose GSW after being here for only two months, she totally agreed and said she would choose it again with no hesi tation. She’s enjoyed making new friends in the UNIV 1000 class and she’s excited to continue her journey.

For Adrianna Hortelano, being a freshman at GSW has given her so much joy. She’s made several friends, and she enjoys all her professors, especially the ones that have already made an impact on her. Her professors are all very understanding and helpful, and she’s so excited that they understand her and how she learns. When asked, Adrianna said she wouldn’t change anything about her choice com ing here. It just feels right to her. Being a commuter is a little difficult for her, but she’s hoping for a change in the way commuters hang out on campus. Adrianna joined the Latinos United Club and Student Government Association to help her throughout her freshman year. What makes Adrianna get out of bed every day is her new experiences at GSW. She sees new faces and experiences new events and friendly smiles every day. Every day is different on the GSW campus.

Trinity Daniels McNear

Adrianna Hortelano

NEW MEMBERS SWORN INTO SGA

Emma King Staff Writer

Georgia Southwestern State University offers many ways to stay connected and be involved on campus. Being involved can range from joining a club to attending campus events. Twenty-seven students chose to be involved by joining the Student Government Association. On August 23, SGA President Alex Expitia swore in 27 new senators and representatives at SGA’s first meeting of the Fall Semester in the Nursing Auditorium.

During the meeting, the new members had the chance to experience what SGA sessions would be like in the future. Besides witnessing their first session, they learned more about what SGA is and the duties that go with it.

Khatija Razi is one of the twenty-seven new members of SGA, and she shares her experience of be ing sworn into SGA. “I was nervous, but I felt a rush of serotonin as I repeated the statement to our President,” Razi said. “I cannot wait to ensure that everyone’s voices are represented and advocated for on campus issues.”

“I am extremely excited about this new group of members and ready to see what the members are passionate about and what they will do for our campus,” President Alex Expitia said.

Jackson Carlstrom Editor-In-Chief jcarlstr@radar.gsw.edu

Talik Hill Media Editor thill19@radar.gsw.edu

Samantha Gainous Staff Writer sgainous@radar.gsw.edu

Colby HernandezStaff Writer chernan4@radar.gsw.edu

Emma KingStaff Writer eking5@radar.gsw.edu

Amari Rudison Staff Writer arudison@radar.gsw.edu

Kennedy TysonStaff Writer ktyson4@radar.gsw.edu

Dr. Ashley P. Jones Faculty Advisor ashley.jones@gsw.edu

The new senators and representatives of SGA attend their first session.